Friday, December 25, 2020

The Road

I took a walk down the road from the house... on the road after us, there are only 2 other places... I thought the road looked so inviting. It makes me wonder about what might be beyond the bend?




As long as we are talking about roads.  Early one morning on my way to the big town, (Elizabethtown), I found a traffic jam. Yep, this commuter traffic in the country.



And something I did see around that bend in the road. A neighbors tractor. Do you see a face on the front of it?



There is another tractor in a barn up the road. I need to take the camera with me ... to get that tractors portrait. However, it will have to wait until spring. Today it is flaking some snow and about 15° outside and the wind chill is taking that to about 2°! 

I hope you have a nice Christmas and that the New Year is a boring one, so that we can fill it with our own excitement and joy!!!

Beth

Monday, November 30, 2020

Fall 2020

I never think to post to this blog, or the pictures need to be edited... or I can't find them... But I am going to write several and at least post something monthly. Mostly pictures, because I have taken so many that I have not shared since moving to rural Kentucky. 

As usual, I have focused on the neighborhood, which is pretty much, all nature and well I haven't gone anywhere in a year.

There are fields and forests and little open areas, a creek, a dirt road, some dilapidated buildings old tractors, lots of interest if you care to look!

I'm going to kick this off with fall color. When we moved out here and I saw the field across the road, I knew there would be some great fall color... just not last year. Between the drought, the fall rains, and then the cold, the leaves pretty much just fell off the trees.


The only color in 2019 and most of the leaves are gone

This year's better weather conditions gave us some great Kentucky fall color.


Even on a cloudy day the colors glow



The other side of the field on a little brighter day




As you may know by now, the pond is my favorite place. 

The road side of the pond and dam, looking back toward the creek



A little volunteer Bradford Pear, with great color this year.

This little Bradford Pear was strangling under a heavy layer of vining Honeysuckle. We cut some of the honeysuckle vines off and gave it a little taste of Roundup and we got a nice bit of color from the Bradford Pear this year. I can see that there is another smaller one down the dam hill a bit further too.



Late in the day the field across the road

One late afternoon I caught the slanting rays of the sun low in the sky over the trees. You can see that the tops of most of the trees are bare.

So, that was fall this year in color. I love all of the seasons. Fall is not my favorite all the time, just right now. 



Beth






Sunday, August 9, 2020

A little Blogger help...

 Blogger has insisted that we all upgrade, if not now then by September for sure. I have seen where several are confused or having problems with uploading and moving photos and then unable to write under once the pictures are loaded. So I am going to see what is what... and try and help some out. This is down and dirty... and not a full tutorial, just some tips to show you that it can be done... just a little differently than you may have done it before. To help... blog text is small, tips/hints are large and in gray. BTW- I am not an expert, this is just what worked or has worked for me.

To start a new post click the +New Post button at the very top of the menu on the left. The new interface is clean, without a bunch of distractions...

The farm this summer has kept us busy. The rain has come in droves, so things are growing madly. The month of July we had more than 11 inches of rain. Most of it came in 3 separate, but heavy rain cycles, with a few worthless showers between. Fortunately, some friends offered us a drip irrigation system, which we had in place, to spread some water a bit more evenly between drenchings.

The first 2 pictures I loaded. Use the picture icon in the menu when creating a post, to find and add the pictures. After the photos loaded to the page, I clicked to the right of the 1st photo to put the cursor at the right, (it shows as a long blinking black line when you do this), it is not visible here. Click enter and the cursor moves down below the picture. Begin typing, then use the menu at the top to align text how you would like it to appear. In my case, the photos are centered, so the text was too. I used the top menu to align left, and kept the photo centered.

The garden in early spring too. You can see some of the tomatoes, zucchini, onions, and cucumbers, so far. We added lots more plants as they became available.


To edit a photo location or add a caption click the photo once. A small icon menu will appear; choose the alignment, add a caption, make it larger or smaller... etc. 

The garden has grown some, and we are looking at it from the other direction. Here you can see the carrots and corn on the right, the blueberry bushes, beans, onions, and tomatoes on the left side. There is more but distinguishing at this distance if difficult.

As in the previous version of Blogger, moving pictures is a pain. If out of order, I usually make them smaller and put where I want them, and then adjust the size back to the size I prefer to use in the post. If I want to avoid most of the difficulties of moving pictures, I will write the text and then insert the pictures where I want them. End of the fuss! The picture of the pond (below) was much larger, and the picture of the garden above, also smaller. I made them both small and moved the garden to the place above, then made it bigger. I hope you can follow this, I am trying to avoid using screen shots to illustrate. 


This is the pond in the spring.  Lots of cattails, algae, and clouds reflecting on the water.

I did notice that if I had any other pictures in the uploaded, that I did not use in the first go, they were not there for adding later. So I again, found the turtle on the computer, selected it to add to the upload and selected upload. Once loaded I selected it to add to the blog. Be sure to have the cursor where you want to add the picture or you will be moving pictures again!



Again, no room under the picture to add text so I clicked to the right, hit return/enter, and created this text and the text below about the turtle.
 The turtle is a marine turtle, not a snapping turtle. 
Other than this one time we have not seen one this large out of the water. We do see every once in a while a turtle head peeking out of the water in the middle.



March loafing... actually, this is before the heat when he would spend a good part of the day grazing. Now when it is hot he is in the shed on the right, called a loafing shed. He is seldom out during the heat, except to get a drink of water and the back to the deep shade of the shed. We think he does most of his grazing at night... not really sure because he blends in so well with the lightless pasture.

Another way to insert the pictures. Is to use the enter key to advance several lines, (at least 3). Place the cursor on the middle line and insert the picture. You will now have a blank line at the bottom as well as one above the photo.

All the tools behave as they have in the past, if you have used Blogger before. Highlight text you would like to format and use the icons at the top of the editor.

Please keep in mind that I am not a Blogger expert. This is what has worked for me... today and in the past. I urge you to play and discover... what works and what doesn't for you. 

Also, save often and use the preview button (both are on the right side of the blog). You will find the save button when you use the down arrow next to preview.

Hope this helps someone... or two.

Beth



Monday, May 25, 2020

New Residents at the Farm

So we are growing... getting to the point where we can really start to be a farm in more ways than just land with a barn and fences.

So, speaking of farm... we need a name for the farm... we've tried out a few things, but nothing sticks. Any suggestions??? We're listening.
Visiting Guests

We have some guests here. Our neighbors have 3 goats. They were in a temporary pen, that as goats do, they figured out how to escape. Not just one, but all 3. Our little pasture is securely fenced so we offered it for a temporary safe place for them to stay. We had an ulterior motive, in that we were hoping they would chew the pasture down and we wouldn't have to mow it. They have been here for about 6 weeks and are doing a poor job of it and we have had to mow once and may have to mow again. In their defense, they are rather small and it is a big pasture!
Manicured Pasture

We have added new residents! We have 2 of the three new residents in place. They arrived on Tuesday, May 12th, and were estimated to weigh about 25 pounds +/-. 
Piggie Ann

Iggy Piggy

Yes, they have names. I named them after people that do NOT hold a special place in my heart, and it just worked out. Actually, the names came to me while we were waiting for the house to become ours. The female is "Piggie Ann" and the male is "Iggy Piggy". The names are pretty close to their human names so they fit and roll off the tongue easily. If you prefer they have second names too. Pork Chop and Boston Butt!!!

Good Friends and security


Taste Test

It has turned into summer this weekend. It is a holiday weekend for the working people and for us, it means to stay home. Too many take "holiday" to mean a free for all and anything goes if it is fun. Often to include being ill-mannered, heavy drinking, crowds, and poor judgment. Just best to stay at home! I hope you have/had a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend!

In the coming-soon department: we have another resident due here in a week or so. We've met him and he's got a name too! I'm going to keep that quiet... for a few more days... it'll give me something to talk about later.

More Later! Beth






Thursday, May 14, 2020

Wildflowers



Got a bit off track... Not enough time to get everything done... and then how much longer it takes to get anything done... But enough complaining.

Spring in the country and in a woodland forest is fabulously different than in a peopled area. So, far not so much the critters as it is the flora. Every time I take a walk in the woods here, I find a new to me flower- or one I am happy to know grows here.

The Spring Beauty


The Spring Beauty has flowers smaller than a dime at fully open and has been blooming since late March in many locations in the woods

Cutleaf Toothwart

A wildflower that also has very small flowers, when fully opened and is a dappled sun plant that grows best in the forest floor mulch. Pretty much done for the season, but I still find a small stand in hidden areas.

Muscari (Grape Hyacinth)
In the lawn under a big Maple tree in the front I found these. Hundreds of them. I was missing the natural volunteers in the lawn at the Etown house when these started popping up.

Rue Anenome
These are down near the big creek at the back of the property. 


Pear Tree Blossoms

A very large and overgrown pear tree (not necessarily wild) is the only fruiting tree on the property. It had millions of beautiful blooms, which were pollinated and did begin to produce fruit, but sadly we had a late freeze and the little starts all shriveled off. Not that, the very overgrown tree had any big fruit ... It will need to be severely trimmed back this fall if we want anything larger than 2 bites.
Woodland Ferns
Having spent many of my summers in the forest of coastal Northern California, I kind of expect the forest floor to be covered in deep shade loving ferns. While the oak canopy does create shade, it is nothing like the deep cool shade in the redwood forests.

Wild Blue Phlox
The Wild Blue Phox was a neat surprise, especially when I stumbled upon a big yellow Swallowtail visiting. 


One of the scenes I love is this view up the road toward home on the way back from a walk to the end of the road.

What have you discovered in your own backyard this spring?

More Later! Beth








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Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Springtime Neighbors

None of our visits to the place before we moved in had the neighbor cows in the field directly across the street. When the cows are rotated into this field, (about every 3 weeks or so) they become the closest neighbors. They are beef cows, and there is a new crop of calves every few months. There is a bull in this herd so the cows breed naturally. The picture below shows 2 calves from last fall. 



Some of the other visitors are not seen except for the very early morning hours or evening... just before sunset. This doe is here nearly every day and has visitors passing through during the night. We see the tracks and the others on the trail camera. One even came right up to the camera... to investigate. Yep, a close-up. I'll dig that up someday and post it!



There is a band of 5 male turkeys that have a routine... the second half of last summer they would come along the cow pasture every morning about 9. They were so skittish and shy that the only pictures I could get were from the house. This year we are hearing them in the woods behind the house. There is a flock of about 40 hens in the area too. 



We found this tortoise in the woods behind the house as well. Saw quite a few last summer and none so far this year. We don't have any turtles in the pond either, but if we find a snapper he will be heading down the road lickety split!



We have started prepping the garden. This place came with a garden area with raised planting rows, but the soil is terrible. So we started a 3 bin composting area, and added the first bin to the rows, and ordered up a load of topsoil augmented with some steer manure. A neighbor stopped by with his tractor and offered to move the dirt onto the rows for us. Hopefully, the garden will yield some fresh veggies so we can thank him for the assistance!



The weather turned back to winter for a couple of days with some really cold overnight temperatures, back to the low 20°s and daytime in the upper 40°s and low 50°s, and breezy. While it looks pretty outside you definitely need a coat outside.

More Later. Beth

Saturday, April 18, 2020

Meet the Clucks

Last August we needed to get some chickens. Not that we hadn't tried, but the big box stores insist that you buy 6 at a time... and then never seem to have any in stock. So the next best thing? A Facebook search turned up some 4-month-old pullets (females) of the Cream Legbar Variety. It was mid-afternoon when I set off to collect them. On my way out of the garage, I grabbed a large empty moving box and threw it into the back of the car.

The drive took me west and down some narrow one-lane roads, that for some reason were all paved!!! I did hear a bit of music while driving that sounded a little like the soundtrack from the movie Deliverance! Several times I questioned the GPS but eventually, I arrived at the destination.

The lady has a big spread all fenced in with free-range goats, sheep, chickens- several varieties, turkey 2 varieties, a bunch of dogs and cats... and maybe more critters that I didn't see. We exchanged the money for chickens, put them in the empty box, and I left for home.

The look on the DH's face when I opened the box and 6 half-grown chickens popped out. He was expecting chickens that fit in your hand. We locked up the pen and left them to explore their habitat.
The next day we explored more of what chickens need and set about acquiring the supplies. Finding chickens was so difficult that we were not prepared for immediate occupancy, but quickly caught up.

Its been about 8 months and the chickens love free-ranging around the yard. When we open the gate every morning to let them out 4 head immediately for the pond and a drink. Nevermind that they do that at the watering bucket first thing out of their coop too. Only 3 of the chickens actually have names. Loooucy and Ethel are the 2 that are least worried about people and Chicken Little. The name is obvious if you know the story. That chicken is afraid of her own shadow.

When I was growing up my dad used to call them "cackleberries", but we call them 'squakberries'. These girls are supplying us with 1-2 dozen every week, (even during the cold winter), so we are eating lots of eggs and giving some away as well. The girls lay eggs ranging in colors of pale mint green to a bright pale blue and they have large bright creamy yolks. The egg on the bottom is a store-bought egg for reference. Although now, most of the eggs are all a big Medium!

Its time to start recording some information about living here, the weather, rain amounts, additions or subtractions and the work or improvements we are making... on the farm. So far the weather this spring has been up and down temperature-wise, from the upper 20's at night to the highs in the daytime as high as 80 degrees. Many days that have been sunny have been tempered with a frigid wind from the north/northwest. The warmest just last week with a taste of the humidity that will soon be here. Typical for the power shift of the north versus the south for control of where the storms come from. This week we have had weather suitable for shorts and yesterday long pants and jackets. High winds are predicted from most of the day, up to 50 mph. An inch of rain fell on Sunday 4/13/2020 and 3/4 of an inch before sunrise on Monday.

As Always More Later! Beth


Saturday, April 11, 2020

Its Been a While

Not that there are too many visitors over here... and blogs are becoming passe because Facebook and Instagram are so much easier and less wordy... that quick snaps are easier. I like to add the words... to explain the picture... So here goes... Pictures and Words ...

The new place came with some extras. The previous owner had some cats, but she left us all the kittens. Seven ranging in age from about 3 months to 6 months. At first we weren't sure where they belonged... and they were very afraid of humans. But after 2 days I bought some food, and we claimed all 7.
All 7 cats

We spent 6 months trapping the cats and getting them spayed or neutered (2 females and 5 males). Their names started out as numbers #1 thru #7, but during convalescence, true names stuck. I can pet 6 of the 7 when the food is given, One really really doesn't want companionship at all. He is Mr. Meany. He earned his name because he is a bit mean too. The 2 orange tabbies Tommy and Tutone I can only stroke at mealtime, but they are hanging closer during the daytime hours and actually arch to meet a hand when feeding. Patience was a terribly fearful female and would wait to eat until I left the area. However, during her convalescence, she discovered a kind hand and is nearly the first to the feeding station each morning. The other 3 were friendly and trusting pretty early on. #1 was the first to seek and step up to me at times other than feeding, and his name stuck. The Prince got his name because he would just lay in his convalescent crate... for food to be delivered and revel in touch, but he was also friendly before his procedure and was called #2. And Prudence discovered people and is a trip hazard when I go out into the yard. She LOVES to be stroked and follows me around when the dogs are not out too. None are friendly with anyone but me.

More Later... Hopefull not quite so much later. Beth