Life and times of a new farmer/homesteader
Truly a wonderful day {
03:54
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Thursday, February 12, 2004
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Today is so nice. Here in the coast range of northwest Oregon it's a balmy 54 degrees F outside, and the sun is shining. Sorry for all those of you living under several feet of snow. We get maritime weather here, and while it did get down under 20 a couple times this winter, el nino finally kicked in and the jet stream is no longer giving us weather from Alaska and parts east. That has made the last couple weeks really nice. No, I'm not trying to rub it in. Really. No, really. I think mom nature is just making up for that 110 mile an hour wind storm we had late last year. And the two floods. And the arctic weather in December and November. The rains should start soon, then we will be soggy until summer, all three weeks of it in August. Then the rains start again. The Pacific North West almost always has a couple really nice weeks in late January, early February. On el nino years, it can last for a month or more. This is it!I planted the new Jerusalem Artichokes I got today. I have a dirt auger that I attatch to a cordless drill for digging in the clayey loam soils around here. It's about 2-1/2" across, and it digs a six inch deep hole in about three seconds in even the soggiest clay. I'm sure a pointed stick would work fine, but this makes planting a dozen or so tubers about a five minute job. The clay does stick to it though, and it needs to be cleaned fairly often. I guess you wouldn't need to clean a stick. The soil on my property is all pretty clayey, except for the garden plot. Some one took really good care of that area. It has a tilth that just begs to be planted. Lots of organic matter and a wonderful texture. It's a little acidic, and it needs phosphorus, but other than that it's just beautiful. Nice and dark, with pretty good drainage, except for the south east corner. That's where I planted the walking onions, and none have shown yet. I'm getting alot of garlic showing though, and some shallots. I just hope that the saffron crocuses I planted near the walking onions come up. I hope I can get them to naturalize. Someday, you might be able to get Oregon grown saffron! If I don't keep it all for myself, that is. I love saffron, and a dozen bulbs are almost cheaper than three dozen threads. If nothing comes up in that corner, I'll plant cranberries, blueberries, and currants. The blueberries that are near there are doing pretty well. On the subject of saffron, if you plant some and expect it to bloom in the spring like your other crocuses, don't give up when it doesn't. It's a fall blooming crocus. A really pretty purple one. Speaking of crocuses, the bulbs in front of my parents house in Portland are already blooming. Well, the orange ones are. The purple and white ones aren't yet, but they should be soon. I don't think they have any other colors, not that I remember anyways. I need to get some for out here next fall. The only flowers I planted last fall were irises and daffodills. The irises are showing green, but I've only seen one daffodill showing any growth. I don't know how many flowers I will get this year, but I'm hoping for alot. I bought some wildflower seed too, but it's still in the packet. It's a butterfly mix, with all sorts of flowers (and NO california poppy, which can grow like a weed here and can be unhealthy for livestock.) I might plant half of the seeds tomorrow, and the other half in late March, when I know there (probably) won't be another frost. I'm not expecting any more freezing weather this year, because of el nino. You never know though. I might just break out the tractor and till an area for them, then leave it for a week, then till again and plant them. I'm kind of curious as to how the tractor will handle slightly wet soil. Here, the soil is often wet. Not always, but almost always. At least that's what I'm used to. I really can't say for sure as to if that's the case here. The chickens were a ton of fun today. One of the revelers (roosters,) actually has a purple sheen to its black feathers in the sunlight. I know that when the sheen is green it's called beetle, but purple? It wasn't the rooster I was going to keep for breeding, but with that color, I might anyway. It would be an interesting trait to breed for. He actually as green sheen to his black tail feathers, purple sheen to his black wing feathers, a red chest, buff neck and legs, and a white head. He has never let me get as close to him as he did today, as he is one of the more skittish roosters. I can't say that would be a bad trait to pass on either, as I worry about the chickens that just come running out to greet me, even when a hawk is around. Not too much, as I have yet to lose a chicken to a predator. Polly joined me when I was playing with the chickens. It is so much fun to watch King Crower chase Polly around the barn. The rest of the chickens just fly into the rafters and on top of the coop, but King Crower chases her around. Polly tries to herd him, and he charges her. Then Polly tucks tail and runs. Hours of entertainment. Who needs a TV, when you have chickens? Ok, confession time. The new computer has a DVD player. I haven't used it yet, but I might. Next winter. Too much to do right now. There are a couple movies I would like to see. Even a couple I would like to own. Second Hand Lions is the only one that comes to mind, although there are a few westerns and some sci-fi I would like to get. Excalibur would be nice too, although I have seen it about fifty times. Not that I can afford to buy DVDs, but you never know. Of course, I don't know how much they cost. I've never had a DVD player before. Never seen the need. It could be nice for those really dreary winter days, although I have to admit that I'm far more interested in books. Plus, if the power goes out, books still work. The really cool thing about the DVD player is that it's a recorder too. DVDs can hold up to 8.5 Gb of data. That's alot of freeware. I can't imagine actually copying a movie, but I can imagine puting a couple dozen applications on a disc. Free up some harddrive space. Well, I'm going to go watch the sunset. Have a great day. Peace, Raymond { Last Page } { Page 181 of 181 } { Next Page } |
