Winter prep-The vegetation

So I posted a bit ago on things "to do" for winter prep around here and referenced that I would do one on the vegetation round here. Maybe you will find some of it useful. We are constantly looking for better ways of doing stuff. Lynn is a consummate reader and researcher and has picked up tips from numerous sources.

Fruits and vegetables
The rows in the enclosed vegetable garden have been covered in a delightful mix of straw and sheep droppings. Sounds scrumptious doesn't it? This serves as a mulch as well as a fertilizer. Typically, you fertilize in the fall in order for all of the poopy nutrients to seep in the ground.

The strawberries have been covered with the greens from downed fir trees in the woods. Lynn is using a tip from her favorite person"Tasha Tudor". The thought is that the branches will act as a buffer from the heavy snow as well as a mulch.

The blueberry area was covered with cardboard and pine needles. The board acts as a mulch and the needles act as a weed inhibitor as well as a provider of acidic nutrient. And blueberries loves them some acid.

The asparagus was cut back and covered with cardboard. Asparagus is not weed tolerant. Like super freaking anal about weeds. So this bed has to be kept clear of them at all times. Demanding little vegetables.That is about it for the food.

Flowers

The dahlia bulbs were dug up, separated, and stored in the basement inside paper bags. Dahlias are perennial by nature but in cold climates such as this one, require this process in order to survive.

The roses in the circle garden are surrounded by makeshift canisters made of netting filled with leaves. This is in an effort to protect the root ball from dying during the deep freezes. Other roses about the property were covered with fir greens, same as the strawberries.

Last but not least, our little trees are being covered in burlap, one by one. This helps them survive the ridiculous wind we get as well as other harsh winter weather.

That about sums it up.











We are winterized part I

Well mostly.
Gone are the sunny days of our time in California when there was absolutely no thought going into the next chapter of the year. The only thing you needed to plan out there was your strategic route in getting anywhere to avoid the craptastic traffic. Life revolved around getting somewhere in a decent amount of time and finding a parking spot when you arrived.
Connecticut served as a fine transitional state for us with regards to weather. Stuff like bringing in the yard furniture, packing up the water hose, and shutting off the water to the outside were a part of our winter regiment.
Given that we now live in North Country, have animals outside, a vegetable garden, and a large number of perennial flowers, our winter preparedness list has grown exponentially.
Here's a partial list of what has to be done:

• Lawn ornamentation and furniture stored in the barn
• All winter machines such as the evil snow blower made for really tall people, and my fabulous Kubota, are serviced for cold. Oh yeh and our cars as well.
• All machine batteries are charged. (Ranger, snow mobiles)
• 300 feet of hose disconnected and stored neatly in the barn(When you live with a Fountain there is no such thing as tossing stuff around. Everything has a place and proper method of storing)
• Wood stove and furnace serviced
• Transfer cords of wood from barn to wood shed for easier access
• Stockpile ice melt both animal friendly and regular
• Hay and straw ordered, delivered, and stored in barn. (Has to last until the grass grows again in the spring)
• Coop house preparation including: window wrapping, old hay bales stacked for insulation, water dish heater installed, heat lamp installed, draft areas sealed, portable shelter moved to hen entrance. Begin deep-litter bedding (the process of natural mulching of droppings and urine mixing with pine shavings to generate heat; you can imagine the scent is divine by the time January rolls around). Run extension cords out to smaller coop for heat lamp installation.
• Sheep barn prep; Store limited amount of hay and straw bales. Install water trough heater. Begin deep litter-bedding with the existing hay.
• Wrap screened-in porch and gazebo. We do this in order to prevent snow build up on the inside that would result in rotting the wood. I have included pics. Both are covered in plastic. The gazebo has rope wrapped around the plastic to secure it from the inevitable damaging winds that we get. The porch plastic is secured using a series of wood pieces from the inside. Take a look.

You can see the framing wood pieces securing the plastic. Also visible is my cool tie-dyed duct tape used to seal an area that ripped last year. Gotta love duct tape.

And this is the gazebo wrapped. Jim had an idea for next year. Use plastic that is colored and rope that is also colored to give the appearance of a giant gift. Pretty cool. We'll see if any of us remember. :) The plastic we use is easily obtainable at any hardware store and it has lasted 3 yrs. We expect to replace it next year.
In the next post I will cover the prep for the garden and the flowers.

Functional and fun

We all know how precious perennials are to Lynn. Well the hydrangea are no exception. The variety that Lynn planted around the house are not the kind to be cut back so we needed a way to protect them from falling snow or ice. The plants are located in spots where the snow will either be falling from our metal roof or packed with the glorious tractor during snow removal. What's a gardener to do?
Enlist Jim to build a protective sandwich board out of plywood. Here is a pic of the one he built this year.

Looks rather plain and dull doesn't it? Well that is precisely what we thought last year when the other two were built. So, Lynn spruced them up a bit.

This next one has faded some. Apparently, this saw a lot of action during last year's winter. Way to take one for the team!

This picture shows how the plant sits underneath the board.

Looks as snug as a bug in a rug. We can attest to the fact that this design works. I wonder what drawing Lynn will choose for the new one?

I like to rock!

Good day to you. This is a bit of a random post but that is kinda how my brain works.
I love to attend live auctions. I enjoy walking around inspecting the goods during the preview, sizing up the competition, and the game itself, the bidding. All in all a good time to be had.
Apparently, the result of many an auction is my acquiring a rocking chair.  I suppose you could call me an inadvertent collector. I don't consciously seek out these chairs. I just end up with them somehow. There is something incredibly appealing about this type of chair. I am not sure I can articulate what exactly it is. I was not raised with them so there is no childhood attachment. I don't really even spend much time sitting in them. So what is it about them? I suppose they just look very warm and inviting. Homey. Comforting. Earthy. Who knows. I thought I would share some pics of my chairs. Oh and of course, I have been banned from getting any more. :(

Cowadunga

I blogged a bit ago about a friend of ours creating a pond on his property and how we released a bunch of young large-mouth bass. There were other events that occurred that day that I did not get into.
You see, one of the many pots he has his hands into is the raising of beef cattle. I have never spent any time with cattle. In fact, as I have mentioned previously, I am not entirely comfortable around hoofed creatures. why? The way I see it they are a combination of a ton of stupid and a ton of body mass with sharp feet. Not a great mix in my opinion. There ya have it. It is as simple as that.
Anyhoo, despite my wariness of the bovines, I decided to take some pics. They were pretty far out from where I was standing so I felt just fine. That is, until Tim's colleague arrived with his overly exuberant dog. Said dog felt the need to bark continuously while he sat in the car. This apparently acted as some message to the cows. I don't know if it was one of caution or of feeding time. Regardless they decided to move. And move they did.
At first they just picked up their heads, looked in our direction and began to walk. I was still a fair distance and kept snapping pics. And then apparently a stupid bomb went off(something I believe happens frequently around them)and they started to pick up their speed.
I darted over to the side of the camp up the ramp to the door for safety, while still able to snap pics of the thundering herd of dumb. Tim and his friend were inside completely oblivious to my situation, so they were of no assistance. Here is a pic of some stampeding by me.

Thankfully the ladies slowed down. One by one they passed me glancing over to see if I meant harm. Then, somehow the parade turned into a catwalk. I swear I am not imagining this. A cow would walk up to a spot, stand there until I took a picture, then would walk on. Here is an example.

You gotta be kidding me. We went from panic to vanity in a matter of seconds. Reminded me of any red carpet event in Hollywood. In fact, there was very little difference as far as I could tell. :)
So I complied in an effort to make these ladies feel better about themselves. I even found myself hurling compliments at them. Here's another pic of a mother/daughter combo. A Kardashian breed perhaps? lol







I never thought I would serve as paparazzi to farm animals. But I embraced it. You just never know what a day holds in store for you.

I have just the thing

For a cold and rainy day. Enjoy

Expand your horizons

Or at least your grazing space. Today we decided to let the sheep out into the main area where our vegetable garden is. And they are feasting. They say the grass is always greener on the other side and this time they are right. So the girls are out there eating away. I snapped some pics.

Delilah enjoying a bite up against the chicken fence

lovin it

The chickens are investigating the situation. Tallulah looks very suspicious to them.