postaday

Morning harvest, didn’t make it, and I think I’m addicted

/ Re-Farmer / 1 Comment

So, today didn’t happen as planned, but it sort of happened as expected.

For all that I felt so well yesterday, I had a mostly sleepless night. I finally just got up, fed the outside cats, and did my morning routine. I made sure to bring a container along, as the bush beans had not been harvested yesterday, so I knew there would be plenty to pick, today.

I pretty much filled the colander I was using. It was mostly yellow beans, as we have more plants of those, and they seem to be more prolific, but there were plenty of purple and green pods to pick, too.

Once back inside, I stayed long enough that knew the lab would be open, then headed out. The plan was still to go to Costco after I got my blood work and EKG done, so I made sure to grab ice packs. By the time I got to the hospital, though, I knew I wasn’t going anywhere else. I was just too tired and sleepy, on top of all my joints aching from tossing and turning all night.

At the lab, I was called in very quickly after dropping off my requisition papers. Blood was drawn first, and then it was straight to gown up for the EKG. The test itself took less time than it took to wire me up!

From there, I just stopped to get a bit more gas before heading home, had a light lunch, took some pain killers and tried to lie down.

It didn’t really work. Neither the painkillers, nor the attempt at a nap.

When I finally gave up, I was soon back outside again. It was a bit early, but I went ahead and did the evening cat feeding, as well as refreshing their water bowls and putting in new frozen water bottles. My brother and SIL had their own plans change a few times, but they will be coming out today; while my brother works on his tractor, my SIL planned to start mowing the lawn. It goes a lot faster with their big zero turn mower, that’s for sure! They’ll be going back to the city for the night, though, and coming back tomorrow.

I decided to do a bit of weed trimming.

One area I wanted to get trimmed is what will be a stone framed flower garden near the gate, around my mother’s angel statue. I had already started to place rocks down but wasn’t happy with it. I moved them all aside, then weed trimmed the area before laying them back out in what I think is a better set up. Eventually, soil will be added to make a slightly raised bed, as that area is low and becomes a pond at times. The plan is to sow varieties of flower seeds in there that do better being planted in the fall and going through a winter’s deep freeze.

After that, I did some trimming around the garage and the baler my brother parked beside it. I’ve got my first two logs meant for the outdoor kitchen in there, too, and it’s hard to get in there with a mower, so it was starting to get pretty overgrown.

By the time I was done that area, plus trimming around some rocks in the yard so no one would accidentally go over them with a mower, I was also just plain done. Even this small amount of physical activity has trigged a return of my abdominal pain. Something I’d hoped wouldn’t happen, after not having any of this pain at all yesterday. Even so, I hoped I could rest and go back outside, but as I sit here typing, I’m realizing that this is not going to happen after all.

*sigh*

I did, however, do something else today, for next year’s garden.

I’m starting to think I’m addicted to seeds. 😂🤣

I’d been going through the MI Gardener site last night and even went so far as to start a shopping cart going, but then headed to bed. I don’t actually need more seeds, but I wanted to try some new varieties, fill some gaps, and there was a modest sale on.

Well, today a 40% off seed sale started, so I went back and added a few more things and placed the order.

I am such a sucker for seeds!

This is what I ordered today.

Yes, I got more tomatoes. These mature in only 42 days, hence the name, 42 Day Tomato, which means they can actually be direct sown in the spring rather than started indoors.

I tried another variety of spinach, Verdil. I still have others, but we like spinach, but have not been able to actually get good results for a while. This variety is less prone to bolting.

I also got yet another variety of pepper, Diamond Bell. We’re still working out what varieties the family enjoys most.

The Honey Rock Melon is a short season variety that could also be potentially direct sowed, rather than starting indoors.

The Tendergreen Cucumber can be harvested small for pickling or long for fresh eating, and the girls have expressed a desire for a slicing variety.

I got yet another variety of corn – Double Red Sweet. Not a lot of seeds in the packages, so I got two. I just like the look of them, and like to try something other than your basic yellow corn.

I got even more carrot seeds. I’m coming to the conclusion that we can’t plant too many carrots. I chose an orange variety called Tendersweet, and…

… I got a yellow variety, just for something different.

Yes, I still have Atomic Red carrots, too. Variety is good.

I have had no luck with the tiny bok choi, as they always seem to bolt, so I’ve decided to try a Pak Choi cabbage that is less prone to bolting.

I was looking at the beets and decided to just get another Assorted Beet Mix – and then got another Sugar Beet packet. I still have some, but I want to try growing enough both to try making my own sugar, and to use as chicken feed, when we finally get our birds.

The Black Sesame seed is something I am curious to try, though it might not be next year.

I already got the plain garbanzo beans, and I figured I may as well try the black version, too.

I also wanted to try a new zucchini variety; Bianco Di Trieste. Because we never manage to have “too much” summer squash!

I have so many different types of melon sees, but I couldn’t resist getting some Tendersweet Orange watermelon – another shorter season variety.

I also have quite a few varieties of peas, but decided to try the Wando pea as well. We have yet to grow grow enough peas to do much more than snack on them, so I hope this variety does better. There aren’t a lot of seeds in the packages, so I got two.

I’ve been interesting in growing leeks for some time, and today I finally picked up Carentan Leek; a variety that has a shorter growing season.

And finally, I picked up some Copenhagen cabbage which, if I remember correctly, is the variety of cabbage I bought transplants for when I didn’t think the Purple Savoy cabbage would grow at all. So we will have both varieties again, next year.

Once of the things I’ll be doing closer to fall is going through my entire seed inventory and organizing it into things I can plant in the fall for winter sowing, things that need to be started indoors, and things for direct sowing.

Hopefully, after I’ve had my surgery, I’ll be better able, physically, to build and prepare beds. This forced inactivity is driving me nuts.

If I’m not careful, I might end up buying more seeds again…

I’m not addicted. I can quit at any time! 😂

The Re-Farmer

A Garden Friend, and an update

/ Re-Farmer / Leave a comment

I have been out for much of the day, between my medical appointment and the stock up shopping. The stock up shopping will get its own post, later.

This morning, I did the outside cat feeding and my morning rounds, as usual.

Gouda was missing this morning. I do hope I see him when I go out later to water the garden!

I didn’t water this morning, but I did check everything out. While adjusting the melon vines, something moved.

A long, skinny something.

An adorable garden friend!

I just saw the tail at first, and I thought it was going under the mulch but, when I went around the other side to check on the other melon vines, I spotted the head. I was very happy to see the garter snake.

Eat up those slugs and bugs, my slithery friend! Just leave the frogs alone, please!

My appointment with the doctor was at 11:30, and it takes about an hour to get there. I left almost 2 hours early, knowing there was construction along the way. It also gave me enough time to stop at a gas station to pick up an energy drink for the road.

Not gas, though. The price has gone up to $1.819

Ouch.

In the end, I got to the clinic barely 10 minutes early. Once I got there, I realized I’d been there before. Several years ago, my brother and I had taken my mother to see a specialist in this clinic. Not the same doctor, though. I don’t think this one was even there at that time.

Once there, I had three pages of forms to fill out, on top of the medical history form they had emailed me that I’d submitted. Some of the info I’d sent them was already inputted into these forms. It’s always strange filling these out. Too many questions have answers of … no, not in my medical history, but yes, and that’s why I’m here!

I barely finished those when I got called in, first to get my vitals. My height and weight, anyhow. The BP machine failed, so they just skipped it.

When the doctor came in, things went very quickly and efficiently. She had some odd information on the file, just as a date for when all this started – which was my birthday. So I explained how the first symptoms were there quite a while ago, but not something that stood out enough for me to remember exactly when they started, the progression until I found myself with a reversal of menopause, then catching on to this being a rare side effect of the anti-inflammatories I was taking, and how it all subsided as soon as I stopped taking them, but haven’t gone away completely. She was wondering why I hadn’t gone to a doctor earlier, and I had to explain that we live in the boonies, it was winter, we got snowed in, and I had to cancel a couple of appointments because our truck broke down.

Then we went through what tests I’ve already had done, the referral to a specialist in the city and a biopsy that I no longer need, since I’m seeing her now, instead.

She confirmed that all the tests except that one ultrasound, have come back normal.

She then said she wanted go get me into the OR as soon as possible, because I’m coming up on 60, and this should not be happening. Normal test results notwithstanding.

She knew of an opening in mid August – another doctor got a cancellation or something – and she wanted to book me for that. Otherwise, the earliest would be the end of October.

I took the August date.

She walked through the procedure with me – basically, she needs to get a camera in there to actually see what’s going on – what procedures she will be doing, and what she might be doing, depending on what she sees at the time. I got some instructions, signed the consent form, and will get more details when the hospital calls me. I’ll find out then if I’ll be overnight, or if it’ll be a day surgery. I’ve got strict instructions on an 8 hour water only fast, with the water being cut off 3 hours before surgery.

I also got requisitions for blood work and EKG, to be done today or tomorrow. Since I was doing the stock up shop after my appointment, it wasn’t going to be today, so I’ll do it tomorrow. I’m expecting to do the Costco shop tomorrow, and the town I drive through on my way to the city to get to the new Costco has a hospital and lab. I can stop there in the morning, then keep going to the city when it’s all done.

As for today’s stock up shop, it was rather different doing it in this area rather than in the city, but it worked out. It’s starting to cool down, though, so I’m going to head out and water the garden while it’s still light out.

The irony of all this?

I’ve had zero pains today. Not even mild pains.

So very weird.

But then, all of this has been very weird from the start!

The story of my life, really!

😄😄

The Re-Farmer

Our 2026 Garden: July garden tour video

/ Re-Farmer / Leave a comment

So… I ended up not going anywhere today, which would normally have been our first trip to the city for stock up shopping.

I took the above screen cap well before we were to reach the hottest part of the day, which was around 3 -5pm. As I write this, we’ve finally started to cool down. While the high was around 32C/90F, the humidex reached heights of 38C/100F

I decided to stay home. Today’s city trip would have been the Canadian Tire, Walmart and international grocery store run. I have my doctor’s appointment tomorrow in the smaller, nearer city. I can do the Canadian Tire and Walmart stuff after my appointment, and anything we wanted to get at the international grocery store can wait.

I ended up spending most of the day lying down. I did manage to get outside to feed the cats (I counted 18, including the kitten that showed up for cat soup), and a morning walkabout, but not much beyond that. The new painkillers are doing nothing. I eventually tried the T3s again, and they did nothing. It wasn’t the worst pain day I’ve had, but it was enough to make doing anything very uncomfortable – and “doing anything” included sitting, standing or lying down.

I really hope the doctor can figure out what’s going on when I see her tomorrow.

In the end, I did finally put together the clips I took and made the July garden tour video.

I hope you enjoy it!

The Re-Farmer

Our 2026 Garden: pretty things

/ Re-Farmer / Leave a comment

I spent very little time in the garden today, but did want to share these, from when I did the evening watering.

First, the Arikara squash is looking fantastic!

There are a couple of female flowers that have gotten quite large. No male flowers are as large, but there are enough that they might actually bloom at the same time and pollinate. The vines are getting big enough that I’m starting to train them around towards the compost ring, so there is room to mow and walk around that side of the bed.

Then there was this fussy little friend.

I have no idea what type of caterpillar that is, but it was enjoying the oregano. There is so much of it, I just left the caterpillar be. It actually didn’t seem to be eating the leaves, though. So we’ll see.

I didn’t try to do any harvesting, though I’m sure I could have picked more bush beans. Plus, there is that one yellow zucchini that is looking great. I’ll probably harvest it tomorrow morning.

Hopefully, I’ll actually be home tomorrow. I got my CT scan done today, but I’ll cover that in my next post.

The Re-Farmer

Home for now, plus a harvest

/ Re-Farmer / Leave a comment

So… today actually started out pretty good.

We were getting predictions of rain and thunderstorms. At one point, my weather app told me it was raining right that moment.

It wasn’t.

So I went out to water the garden in the morning. In the process, I gathered what I would call our first real harvest of the year, with everything weeks behind.

I picked a few of the Rainbow Mix carrots. They’re still small, and it was more of a thinning by harvesting action. The baby carrots will taste just fine!

I was very happy when I started checking the bush beans. The yellow ones seem to be ripening the fastest, and I picked a decent amount of those, plus a few green and purple ones. Then I grabbed a few of the turnips that were left and a bunch of Golden Boy celery. I’ve been picking a bunch of celery every now and then, along with harvesting some turnips, but nothing that I would really consider what would be a typical harvest I would normally get from the garden, until today.

After watering the main garden area, I left the harvest on the chest freezer in the old kitchen and went back to watering the garden beds around the east and south yards, and the old kitchen garden. The Arikara squash is looking amazing, and I can see more Blueberry tomatoes starting to form.

About half way through, I was starting to feel pain starting to kick in, but it wasn’t too bad yet. I messaged my daughters asking them to put away the harvest, and if they could make me a breakfast. By the time I was inside and finished eating, it was definitely time to take some pain killers and try lying down.

It didn’t work.

It just kept getting worse. Quickly. Bad enough that I finally started talking to the family about driving myself to the ER.

They agreed.

My brother and SIL were still here and I was updating them, but it turned out they had their Messenger off. Which is fine. I was just keeping them informed.

The girls got the truck to the house and unloaded of market inventory, loaded my walker for me, put my prescriptions and a charger cable for my phone into a bag for me to bring along, and took care of the gate so I didn’t have to go in and out of the truck as I left. The only time I started having issues with the drive in was when I found myself stuck behind someone doing 65kph in a 100kph zone and couldn’t pass.

When I parked at the hospital, I was so incredibly glad for that walker. Sitting while driving wasn’t too bad, but once I was walking, I found I couldn’t straighten up.

Once by the admissions window, I started getting my health care card and the woman at the desk waved me over right away. When I handed her the card through the slot under the window, my hands were shaking violently. I couldn’t stay standing, and my face must have been a sight, based on how quickly she got me processed.

From there, it was a brief time in the waiting room and then I was in the triage room. A nurse got my vitals and asked me all sorts of questions. My BP was, understandably, a bit high, but not too bad. Considering the pain I was quite obviously in, it was not a concern.

Then it was back to the waiting from for a bit longer before they took some blood, and then it was a wait until the results were in. That’s when I got to talk to the ER doctor.

We went over the details again, including the whole background about how this started with those anti-inflammatories I had started taking, a while back. They had worked so well for what I was taking them for, too!

The doctor then found herself with a bit of a conundrum. The things she normally would have done – the tests, the referrals, etc. – were things that were already done, or in progress. There was that one ultrasound that showed abnormal, and it’s why I was being referred to a specialist in the city for a biopsy.

So what, she asked me, did I want her to do, in context of being in the ER?

We talked about the pain levels some more. I couldn’t sit, I couldn’t stand, I couldn’t even lie down, to get any relief. She did prescribe tramadol and she wanted me to fill the prescription right away, to use in stead of the T3s. She even made sure that it was not anti-inflammatory, and that it wasn’t contraindicated with anything else I was taking. The pharmacy was still open for a couple more hours, and she was ready to send me home with the prescription.

As we talked more about how bad the pain was, and she looked at the ultrasound results some more, she realized that my doctor’s referral was something that could take months to be fulfilled. I needed to be seen right away.

She knew of a specialist at the hospital in the smaller, nearer city. She told me to stay until she had a chance to get through to the specialist and see if I could see her right away.

The pharmacy closed while I was waiting.

When she came back later, she told me the specialist wanted me to have a CT scan, and that I should get a curretage.

*sigh*

She wanted me in either tonight or tomorrow. Which I was actually quite happy to hear.

The next while in the waiting room was for the appointment for the CT scan. I was there long enough that I was starting to become hungry to the point of getting light headed. Of course, I kept the family up to date on all this (my brother and SIL had seen my messages by this time). My husband and daughters were suggesting that, if I was going home, to make sure I grabbed food somewhere first, even before I mentioned getting so hungry. Frankly, I would have just gone to the truck for the beef jerky in our road food stash, but I didn’t want to miss someone coming back with information for me.

One of the nurses came by as soon as they had the appointment made. It’s for tomorrow morning, and my daughter and I will have to be on the road by 9am. I’ll need to fast, plus make sure to have a liter of water to drink before the CT scan.

My daughter, meanwhile, has called the clinic for her own appointment in the city tomorrow and left a message about rescheduling. I can’t say I feel too badly about that, since this is the clinic I found so creepy and actually felt was unsafe, while in the waiting room during her last appointment, which was essentially a meet and greet. This is something we disagree on.

So that’s where we’re at now. I’ve just finished having something to eat with my evening meds and supplements and will now start my fast. I’ll be going to bed pretty much as soon as I’m done this post.

Tomorrow should be… interesting.

Hopefully, this will finally bring an end so the issues I’ve been having! Or at least tell us what’s going on, so long after I stopped taking the anti-inflammatories.

Meanwhile, all my brain can do is list off the things I want to, or should be, doing that I physically can’t right now. The pain did eventually recede, but just getting up and walking around it enough for me to feel it threatening to come back.

I need to lie down before I start doing tasks I really should not be doing.

The Re-Farmer

A good, yet disappointing, day

/ Re-Farmer / Leave a comment

Today was market day, and the original plan was to be there for the usual 10-3, then stay for the 4-8 special event. In the wee hours, I got a response from the rescue mentioning that we were the only ones talking about being there for the 10-3 part, and that they were closing to tours from 2-4 to prepare for the event. So I decided we’d skip the first time slot and just be there for the event.

Which make for a more relaxed morning. I got up to feed the outside cats in my nightgown and tried to go back to bed for a couple more hours, instead.

It didn’t work.

I can’t complain, though, as I started getting messages from my SIL, and I always enjoy a chat with her. After a while I got up and headed outside to water the garden before things got too hot.

*sigh*

Yes, I found some deer damage. More of the Jet Black hollyhock leaves are gone, and then there was this…

The first image was the single self seeded Jabousek lettuce I had meant to leave to go to seed. It was starting to bolt, too. Nothing left but this stump. This type of lettuce has survived deer damage before, though, so I’m leaving it and expect it will sent up new shoots fairly quickly.

The second image is a purple cabbage that also got eaten. Just one. Apparently, the deer liked the lettuce better than the cabbage. It’s unfortunate the wire mesh cover had to be removed to make room for the seed onions. Now there’s nothing to protect it from the deer.

Thankfully, that was the only deer damage I spotted while watering. Once that was done, I had plans to finish mowing areas of the lawn that I’d finally cleared of other things, so I only needed to move some garden hose out of the way. Since we were going to be out, I was planning to do it tomorrow, but cleared what needed to be cleared in advance before going inside.

I’d been inside for awhile when I got messages and photos, letting me know…

… my brother had cleared the old tire from around the stump! It’s now ready for the tree guys to come back with the stump grinder. My brother had to move several patio blocks to get the job done, which I had expected might be necessary. Once the stump is cleared out, we’ll be able to level the area and reset the blocks that the roots had heaved out of place.

I was stunned that he’d gone it. I hadn’t heard a thing! Neither had anyone else in the household. Meanwhile, he’d been concerned he was making too much noise!

The above photo was taken much later in the day, though. After we’d come back from the market.

Set up time was from 2-3:30 if we wanted to unload our vehicles on location. After unloading, we were requested to park in another area to make room for families coming to the event. When my daughter and I loaded the tent, folding chairs and table into the box of the truck (everything else has been staying in the back of the cab all month), my SIL was out mowing the outer yard with their big zero turn mower. When I opened the gate before we drove out, she took advantage of it and mowed around the driveway on the other side of the gate, which was handy. My daughter and I left early enough to stop at the general store first, where we picked up some canned drinks in two sizes to use as part of my display, along with a couple of sub sandwiches and drinks ourselves, since we’d be having our supper while at the market.

We were the first vendors there. I found someone to let us know where to set up, since it was no longer going to be in what is otherwise a parking area.

Happily, we got to be next to the emu and chicken enclosures.

Emus make the most remarkable noises. !!!

We had started out as the end of the row (or the beginning of it, I suppose), but someone set up their display a bit closer to the emu enclosure, while others set up in the other direction. Enough vendors showed up that a couple of displays were set up across from us to start a second row.

It was hot for the first couple of hours, and the poor vendor that set up closer to the emus hadn’t been able to bring her tent. She only had a patio umbrella, and the wind kept trying to blow it away! She ended up spending quite a bit of time in the shade of our tent, and we had some wonderful conversation with her.

In the end, though, we didn’t sell a single thing, and she sold only one thing – and it was to another vendor! A couple of others we spoke to as we were packing up did have some better sales, and the hot dog guy who was set up in a concession stand near the petting zoo shelter must have done really well. The rest of us did not do well at all. The people were there for the event and the animals, not the market.

This is a major fundraising things for the rescue, so they went all out. They had mascots from popular children’s shows and movies wandering around. There was a bouncy castle, face painting, pony and horse rides and, of course, the petting zoo inside a shelter where admissions were also processed. They had three new baby donkeys in there, plus the kittens that are up for adoption.

They weren’t doing tours, so no one was going into the large animal enclosures, but they did allow people to go into the chicken enclosure and coop.

Which was fine, at first, but near the end we started becoming very concerned. Some kids were chasing the chickens around too aggressively. These chickens are also rescues. Some of them still having visible red patches where their feathers had been pecked out. The parents were in the enclosure, too, taking video of their kids trying to catch the chickens.

It kept getting worse. There was one little black chicken that two kids were chasing around. I saw the girl catch it several times, only to let it go, so she could chase it again. Then kids started chasing the chickens around the back of the coop, where there is a narrow space between the coop and the enclosure fence, with a kid at each side of the coop, trying to trap the chickens. When we started seeing a little boy running after the chickens, stomping his feet and flailing his arms – and the adults just watching and taking photos and video – it was too much. I went over to the shelter where the petting zoo was and found a couple of the volunteers who help run the rescue and manage the tours. I started to say that there were kids getting out of control in the chicken enclosure and one of them immediately turned and headed for it, before I even finished.

This is not an uncommon problem.

I explained a bit more to the other person before returning to our tent. The woman who’d left to deal with the situation was inside the enclosure and working on getting the kids together and away from the chickens.

As my daughter and I continued to chat with our neighbour, I could see the volunteer in the enclosure, looking like she was supervising the kids for a while.

The next time I looked over, everyone had been removed from the chicken enclosure and the volunteer was latching the gate (a wooden frame with wire mesh). She then left and came back with a lock and chain to wind around the latch and gate handle. She left again, then came back to staple a sign to the gate. After a while, I decided to go read the sign when I saw one of the kids from earlier – about 5 or 6 years old – that had been chasing the chickens, going to the gate with an adult I presume was the father. The kid immediately began trying to open the gate, pulling on the chain, the handle, the latch… The dad then told the kid it was closed and started leading him away.

The kid promptly began screaming and crying and having a major tantrum because he couldn’t get back in to torment the chickens.

When I got close enough to read the sign, it said the chicken coop was closed so the chickens could have a rest, adding a “thanks for understanding” at the end.

That one little black chicken that was being chased, caught, released and chased some more, was sitting on a step into the coop, not moving. All the others were moving around, pecking and drinking and clearly looking much calmer, but that one little chicken just sat there. The poor thing must have been so exhausted!

By this time, it was getting close to the end of the event, and the crowds were starting to disappear. Some of the vendors were already packing up. We waited a bit longer, since I could see that our truck was blocked by another vehicle, so there wasn’t much point in rushing things.

Our neighbour was done packing up at about the same time we were, and my truck was no longer blocked, so she and I walked over to our vehicles together. The family that owns the place had said we could drive to the vendor area from where we were parked, but it is so rough, we both took the road and went around the other way. The section of fence we’d gone through before, though, had been boarded up again, and we had to wait for someone to come with a driver and take the boards off again. By the time she was done, there were four vehicles, including me and our neighbour, waiting to come in, and one vehicle on the other side of the fence, waiting to leave!

My daughter and I were able to pack up very quickly. While my daughter was in the box of the truck, strapping it down, I went over to help our neighbour. I figured the least I could do was bring her packed bins closer to her car, but in the end, my daughter and I were able to help her load things in, too. She did not have a particularly large car. No wonder she didn’t have room for a canopy tent!

As far as any of us know, this is the last market day at the rescue. They had brought up the possibility of extending into August, but no one had heard anything about that actually happening. It was pretty disappointing for the vendors in general, but we also understood that this was the first time they’d tried including a market, so no one knows about it and people coming in for the tours were probably not expecting to shop at a market, too. With how busy it was, I hope the rescue had a good fundraising day, at least!

While we were at the market, I got some messages from my brother and SIL. They had loaded up one of their trailers and were planning to go to the dump while it was open. I have the card needed for that, but was able to just send them a photo of it and they were able to show that to the attendant. When we first moved here and were cleaning 40+ years of my parents’ stuff out, we found a lot of paint cans. Some of which had never been opened, but where so old, the box they were in was degrading. We took all the pain cans we could find and put them in one of the stalls in the barn. Today, they took all the pain cans to the dump! The dump has an area set aside for paint cans. This will have opened up quite a bit of space in the stall we’d put them in. That’s also where we put all the batteries we’d been finding. They will be taking those to a scrap yard. Taking old batteries to a scrap yard is something the yard will pay for, like when we take in our aluminum. When a large number of batteries are brought in at once, they pay extra. There are more than a dozen old batteries to take in, so that should work out rather well. The scrap yard isn’t open on the weekends, though, and that’s when my brother and SIL can make it out, so they’ll have to figure out when they can do that.

After we got back from the market and brought some of the stuff into the house (we’ll unpack the inventory and display items tomorrow), I immediately did my evening walkabout while it was still like. Much to my surprise, I found that my SIL had not only mowed the outer yard, but the inner yard, too! I had done much of it not long ago and there were just the smaller areas I’d cleared – including where I’d finally cut up that big maple branch that had fallen – that still needed to be done, and the grass doesn’t grow quickly there, anyhow. My SIL had mowed those areas, and in the main garden area we’re slowly trying to reclaim, too! It looks amazing!

My nasturtiums, I found, also look amazing.

So many blossoms!

I took a peek under the net over the high raised bed, with the bush beans. I might actually be able to start harvesting beans tomorrow! I might wait an extra day, though. It’s looking like we’ll have quite a few beans! The yellow beans seem to be ripening the fastest, but I’m also seeing the green and purple beans starting to look ready to pick. I am so looking forwards to having our first fresh green beans!!

I was being eaten alive by mosquitoes, though, so I didn’t stay out for too long. We did find the can of bug spray in the truck, though – it had rolled under the seat! I made sure that got brought to the house.

So that’s where we are at tomorrow. It was a good day, in that we enjoyed being at the market, had a great time chatting with the vendor next to us, and had some nice surprises at home. The only disappointment was the lack of sales, and not just for ourselves. It should be interesting to see if the rescue will do this again next year. I suspect not, but you never know!

The Re-Farmer

An actual productive day!

/ Re-Farmer / Leave a comment

This morning, my daughter and I headed out for errands. Too early, it turned out. I had a package waiting at the post office, but while the general store it’s in opens at 9, the post office itself turns out to open at 9:30. I could have sworn they opened earlier! My daughter had dashed in and did get the mail, but left the parcel card for on the way home.

When we got to town, my daughter was a sweetheart and took me out for breakfast (lunch, for her) before we hit the grocery store. This time, we were actually able to refill a couple of water bottles – last time we barely managed to fill one, as both dispensers had no pressure. We picked up a few things, including some things for my husband to make sure he’d have easy food available while my younger daughter and I are away all day tomorrow. My older daughter will be home to make sure he doesn’t have a repeat of last week and almost die on me again!!!

After that, we made a stop at the gas station that ended up taking an unexpectedly long time. On the way home, we just made it to the post office before they closed for a couple of hours over the lunch period, and my daughter was able to get my parcel.

Unfortunately, by the time we finished in town, my pain levels were kicking in again. By the time we got home, I was able to help bring things inside, but had to pain killer up and used some diclofenac cream, then lay down for a while. After a couple of hours, there was no relief in pain. It was long enough that I could take more T3s, and that eventually did it. I’m really hoping that new prescription does the job and this pain goes away, but I’d only had one dose so far. It’ll take at least a little while before I can tell if it’s working.

By the time I was able to get up again, I was eager to test out the contents of my parcel.

My eavestrogh pressure washer was finally in!

I was pleased to see it had a quick connect, but when I tried to attach it to the hose, I realized it had two male couplings. I had to remove the quick connect nozzle and attach the piece with the on-off switch (not visible in the photo) directly to the hose. Very odd.

I then spent the next hour or so, trying to clean a couple of the shortest eavestroughs.

I did not succeed.

I knew it would be difficult. The eavestroughs all have tiny forests of elm seeds growing in them. The debris was dense enough to break the brush head on the other cleaning tool I’d picked up – it came with two brush heads, and the first one broke the first time I tried to use it!

I was able to get some debris cleared out, but found myself with a different problem. The downspouts were getting clogged. After fighting it it for quite some time, I gave up and tried to clear the eavestrough on the other side of the old kitchen/sunroom. It was even worse. Finally, I have one last try at a corner of the living room, just trying to clear the opening to the downspout. Water could barely leak through at all!

I had to stop. There was no point in continuing. The eavestroughs were just too badly clogged.

I’d been updating my brother and SIL about all this, knowing they’d be coming out some time tonight. After failing to clear the eavestroughs, I got out the chain saw and a 100 foot extension cord, instead.

I FINALLY got that big piece of fallen maple branch cleared! It had broken up a bit when it hit the ground and I’d been able to drag off the narrow part of the branch, but the remaining piece was just too large and heavy to move – and it was taking up a significant portion of the lawn.

Not any more!

It took two wagon loads to clear away the logs and the scattered pieces of bark. Anything big enough to be a problem for the law mower. In the second image of the slide show above, you can see most of the logs (a couple of pieces are hidden behind the pile) set up and ready for the fire pit. Maple will make some good cooking fires, and this wood has been dead and dry for some time, so it can be used right away.

It was while I was finishing up putting the logs away and cleaning up as much bark out of the grass as I could, that I heard my brother and SIL arrive.

Since I had the chainsaw out anyhow, I moved on to the sections of maple I’d dragged under the hawthorn “fence”. This includes the pieces that had broken off another maple some time ago that I hadn’t got to, yet.

With these, I stacked the logs in between trees in the living “fence”. There are still some branches to do, but they were too thin to bother using a chain saw. I’ll come back with a hand saw.

I had considered cleaning up more fallen trees in the maple grove, right near the old branch pile and the fire pit logs. I decided against it. I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, and the chainsaw needs sharpening.

Part way through the cutting, I had to refill the oil in the chainsaw, so I went to the garage to get the jug. My brother was in lean to side where their mower is stored, looking for something. When he came out and saw me, chugging a water bottle I’d got from the truck, he told me he was going to go up on the roof to check where the leak is coming from. While he did that, I remembered to grab a broken old hose reel he’d dug out of the junk pile for me. I’d found it in the barn some time ago and we tried to use it for an actual hose, but it didn’t work and the hose ended up splitting and cracking. He had the idea that it could still be used to store the longer extension cords, and I was finally able to give it a try when it was time to put things away.

It worked beautifully.

By the time I was putting things away, my brother had done checking the roof over the second floor, and was clearing the eavestrough over the “new part” of the house. He mentioned he might need a hose, so I passed that up to him and he was able to grab it with the tool he was using the clear the eavestroughs. He was up there for quite a long time. The eavestroughs were horribly clogged. Thankfully, he was also able to clear the downspouts.

As for the roof that was leaking, he said the eavestrough over the 2nd floor windows were also clogged. Which is odd, because the girls told me that it never gets clogged. He concluded that this was why there was a leak at one of the windows.

I’ve since passed that on to my daughter and they disagree. This area was a problem before we moved out here. They’d patched the damaged wall, only for it to become damaged again in our first winter. It had stopped after the roof was replaced, until this past winter. They don’t see a connection between the state of the eavestroughs and the leaking.

Well, we’re supposed to get more storms in the next while, so I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

While trying to clear the eavestrough from the sun room, I almost refilled the rain barrel, so while my brother was using the hose to pressure wash the eavestroughs he had cleared of debris, I use the rain barrel to do some watering, even though we had rain this morning.

I was quite happy to see this.

I’m really hoping these were successfully pollinated. I’d hate for these lovely zucchini to whizzen away!

I was also really happy to confirm something that I wasn’t sure I was seeing right, over the past few days.

This is a luffa seedling! I direct sowed them because this variety needs only 55 days to maturity, which means it still has a chance to make it, and we might actually have luffa. I still have not been able to find my package with the remaining seeds, so it would be really awesome if it survives long enough that we can collect seeds.

After my brother was done on the roof, he brought over some tools and a reciprocating saw, with a blade that can cut metal, to work on the tire around the elm tree stump. He was able to cut through it in three places, then we used a pry bar and my chisel tip bar to try and work things loose.

There was progress, but my brother was so tired by then, we left it for the night.

After he left, I brought the hose over to rinse the dirt off my tools when I decided to use the highest pressure setting to try and wash away some of the soil inside the cut up tire.

That ball of dirt is so filled with swirling tree roots, almost no soil got washed away at all. !!!

Still, we’ll probably have it off by the end of the weekend, which means the tree guys will not have to figure out how to deal with it when they come back with their stump grinder. That tire has been sitting there for so long, the rubber is starting to disintegrate in places. It was still hard to cut through, though!

So that’s where we’re at now.

Tomorrow is going to be a very long day at the market, but I’m looking forward to it.

Now, to try and get some actual sleep, so I’m not drifting off at my table tomrorow!

The Re-Farmer

Bad pain day

/ Re-Farmer / Leave a comment

Well, so much for being productive…

One of my daughters took care of feeding the outside cats for me this morning, so I could get a bit more sleep after doing a wellness check on my husband.

My first attempt at lying down got interrupted by a phone call. It was the pharmacy. They noticed I was to get prescriptions delivered today, but my husband’s were listed as a pick up. Did I want his delivered, too? After confirming that an in person pick up was not required (which sometimes happens, due to regulations around some of his meds), I absolutely said yes! That made things more flexible for me when it came to getting the mail and going to town.

Then my daughter was a sweetheart and kept a handset with her upstairs, so she could answer the phone if it rang again.

After I got a couple more hours of attempted sleep, I eventually made it outside and started with the watering. The rain barrel was finally full again, so I used watering cans to do all the south garden beds and the old kitchen until the barrel was empty, finishing by using the hose to water the grape vines.

By then, I was really struggling and having difficulty standing up straight, so I went inside. I let the family know that the front was watered, but not the main garden area, but that I was going to take some pain killers and try lying down. Not to sleep, but because it was sitting was just as painful as standing. Granted, lying down wasn’t any less painful, but at least I didn’t have to try to keep myself upright.

I had meant to finish the watering after I felt better, but my younger daughter went out to finish the watering for me, leaving the phone with my husband. Over time, however, the pain increased rather than decreased. When my daughter came in to check on me, I was wanting to sit up so I could take another painkiller, but needed her to help me. My prescription says to take two or three at a time, but I was only taking one. I’m going to have to change that.

Getting up was not an option, though. So when the prescription delivery came, my daughter went out to meet him.

For my own meds, I got a refill on my topical painkiller, more T3s, as I was running low, and my new prescription. My older daughter just came down while I was working on this to take a look, because she’s on the same medication, but my dose is 5 times higher than hers. It turns out to be a different type of the same thing – and a lot less expensive. It is covered 100% by our provincial pharmacare system, though, so it’s not even billed to my husband’s insurance. It is also the only medication I’m on where the time between doses makes a difference. It says to take one before bed, and I never get to bed at the same time, so I’ve set a daily alarm for myself.

For today, though, I took my first dose right away, after getting a daughter to help me sit up again. Then it was back to lying down. My SIL messaged me around this time, and we talked about the bill for the bin for trash that was hauled away already, and asking about the bill for tree removal that my brother hasn’t received yet. They’ll be coming out for the weekend again and my brother plans to check the roof and the window where it’s leaking. A major concern would be mold. I know the roofers put an extra layer of underlay on that section of the roof, because it’s such a low slope, and it has held out fine until this year, and even before the new roof was put on, it had never leaked with rain. Just from the ice dam that forms during spring melt. So something has gone very wrong up there, but we can’t see it from the ground, and none of us are able bodied enough to climb onto roof to see.

I’m really hoping the new meds help, because what I was dealing with today was some of the worst pain yet. The T3s, at least, seemed to finally kick in, and was was feeling much better later. Well enough that I could feed the outside cats – and got to see Sprout bringing her little white and grey kitten to the food bowls under the shrine! That’s a first that we’ve seen.

I even felt well enough to finally rake up some grass clippings that were thick enough to start killing the lawn under them, and even do a walkabout. As I was doing that, spotting the kitten and then the skunks coming in, too, I realized something. I haven’t seen Domino for a while. We let her out of the isolation shelter just before Sweetie came back, and Sweetie broke out during the storm her first night here. I think Domino disappeared soon after that. I haven’t seen Adam for about a week now, and today I realized that I haven’t seen Havarti for several days. That’s three cats disappearing in a relatively short time, for long enough that I wouldn’t expect them to come back at all. Domino is the missing one that bothers me most. She was at the rescue for a couple of months, could not adapt to the indoor life, so we took her back. She seemed so happy to be back and let me pet her far more often than she ever did, before she’d gone to the rescue. Now, she’s just gone.

*sigh*

Anyhow.

In the end, it was a pretty rough day. Even my family later commented on how much better I was looking this evening, and how terrible I’d looked earlier!

Tomorrow will be my first test on how the new meds are working, but the real big test will be on Saturday, when I plan to have my table at the market open from 10am to 8pm. Those last four hours should be the busiest, as the large animal rescue has a big event planned.

Personally, I’ll be happy if I can just stay upright all day tomorrow, and not end up back in bed, curled up in pain, for hours again.

The Re-Farmer

Recovery day

/ Re-Farmer / Leave a comment

I’m happy with how much I was able to get done outside yesterday, but I know myself well enough by now, not to try and do that two days in a row.

I was pre-emptive about things, which seems to have made a difference. Before going to bed, my daughter was a sweetheart and did my lower back with the diclofenac cream, as I could feel it starting to give out. While I was outside yesterday, taking a break to hydrate, sitting on the storage house steps, I could feel a Charlie horse threatening, so I made sure to treat both my legs with Tei Fu lotion, and took some extra magnesium with my evening meds/supplements. I still have some T3s left, so I took one as well. It seemed to work out, as I was actually able to sleep with zero muscle cramps, and my left hip giving me only relatively minor grief. When I had to get up during the night, all my joints were very stiff, but not painfully so.

Still, I was exhausted. In the morning, I got up before my alarm went off to do a wellness check on my husband. He was stable and doing all right.

My younger daughter has been going to bed very early, then getting up very early. By the time I’d gotten up to check in my husband, she had already mopped the floors and was starting to work in the kitchen. She was a sweetheart and took care of feeding the outside cats so I could go back to bed. I was still awake when she came in, so she regaled me with how the cats were for her. Sweetie seems to have mostly moved into the sun room now. She’ll run off when we come out, but quickly goes back. All the cats were eagerly awaiting the cat soup! I don’t know what we’re going to do when we run out of the donated freeze dried mix we’re using for this. They’re not going to understand why there’s no more cat soup! We don’t even give them a lot of it, considering how many cats are eating it. It’s more like a supplement but, gosh, they love that stuff. Which makes it very strange that the inside cats don’t like it at all!

Anyhow. Thanks to my daughter, I got a couple more hours of sleep, but I’ve still been tired all day. I did go out and do a deep watering of the garden beds. I had intended to work on some other larger jobs; either getting the push mower out at its highest setting to cut back that last overgrown section by the food forest area, now that’s it clear or poplar saplings, or get the electric chain saw out and cut that last big fallen section of maple that’s still in the west yard, into firewood for the fire pit. By the time I was done the watering, it was getting quite hot and, in the end, I wasn’t up to doing either.

I did get a chance to grab a pry bar to see what I could see around the elm tree’s stump that’s surrounded by a tire. After prying around the inside edge of the tire, it seems to be completely filled with soil. The edges I worked the pry bar under were flexible, but there is steel cable in there, so it could be moved only so far. If we can find a way to get that tire off, though, it will make things a lot easier for the tree guys when they come back with the stump grinder.

I must say, though, the yard feels completely different now that the elm tree is gone. I hadn’t realized just how… oppressive it had felt. Now that it’s gone, walking through the area feels so light and open and airy. Yes, we’ve lost a shade tree, and we’ll be feeling the heat through the kitchen window, but that’s nothing a curtain can’t fix. Meanwhile, I can now look out the kitchen window and see so much more! Of course, the “light” feeling has a lot to do with no longer having that one huge branch hanging over the roof, and the constant concern during high winds that it would finally break and fall.

One thing I made a point of doing was to go out and take some garden tour videos, being completely attacked by mosquitoes while I was out there. After uploading the files and watching them, I wasn’t very happy with them, so I went out and did it again. I’m still not happy with them. My head space just isn’t there for it. I plan to go to bed early and, hopefully, when I look at them again tomorrow, I’ll be able to judge them better.

It’s getting a bit cooler now, so I might try going for a walkabout before going to bed. Tomorrow is supposed to be a bit hotter. I’ll be going in to town before we reach the high of the day. My husband has a prescription refill that needs to be picked up, not delivered, so I’ll be getting my new prescription at the same time. I should remember to pick up some more bug spray, too. I’ve run out. There are two containers in the truck, and I can’t find either of them! The mosquitoes are just insane. While trying to take video, I’d find my hand holding my phone suddenly covered with half a dozen mosquitoes. Worse is when I’d accidentally inhale one. Did that several times! Ew.

Anyhow.

I did get a few little things done, but mostly today was a day of recovery. I’m at an age where I know I can’t push myself like I used to!

Getting old and broken really sucks at times. Still better than the alternative, though. 😉😉

The Re-Farmer

It’s finally done!

/ Re-Farmer / Leave a comment

Today was absolutely gorgeous out, and I was able to get so much done outside!

I was going to share some of the photos I took, but I need to do my garden tour videos, so I’ll just save it for that. I normally would have taken the videos yesterday, on the 20th, but that didn’t work out. I was going to do it today, but ended up not doing it for a very good reason.

The tree remove guys made it out today! They almost didn’t, calling to say they’d come on Saturday, instead, but then we got another call saying they’d be out in half an hour.

Yay!

Before they got here, I started things outside sometime after 7:30am, with the usual cat feeding, then the morning rounds. I moved the solar powered critter cam off the elm tree that was coming down and attached it to the back of the water bowl shelter, facing the isolation shelter, catio and shrine feeding station. I haven’t experimented yet, but I should be able move it around to see quite a lot of the yard.

Another thing I got done was adjust the netting over the sunflowers at the chain link fence. I’d already adjusted the hoops, but they are growing fast and already pressing against the netting again. I took the slack off from over the fence and draped it into the inside of the hoop rods, which are now mostly just standing straight up. The netting is still wrapped around the ends of the bed to keep the cats out, but it worked. The sunflower can now grow to their full height with nothing obstructing them. I also spent some time training the winter squash up the chain link fence, as much as possible.

After breakfast, I headed out again and transplanted the few more little seedlings that have managed to sprout in the seed tray. Two winter squash, same variety that I suddenly can’t remember. Golden Pippin, maybe? There were two Siberian watermelon, two other melons of different varieties, and a single Eureka cucumber. The first that has germinated from these old seeds. I have no idea if any of them will survive, and it’s unlikely there is enough growing season left for any of them, but I’m still hoping we have a long and mild fall.

The transplanting done, I broke out the push mower. I was able to do the paths around the main garden beds, then around the tarp on the ground, where it’s killing off another section of grass and weeds, and cleared around the little poppy and winter squash bed. Then I kept going and was able to clear more of the area where the poppy bed it, though not all of it, and got in among the trees in the maple grove.

I kept that up until I headed in for lunch. The rest will have to wait for another time. After eating (my daughter was a sweetheart and made lunch for me) I headed back outside, this time with the weed trimmer. Since I’d gotten so much done with the push mower first, I was able to finally do the edges of all the main garden beds and even go into the maple grove a fair bit. I was able to clear enough to access around most of the old garden shed, where there is a lot of stuff that needs to be moved to the junk pile for later hauling away.

It was while I was on my third battery and almost finished that one, when I guy came around the house. It was one of the tree guys, hauling the lift. Two other guys hauling the wood chipper showed up not long after.

I showed him which trees needed to be done. The big elm tree was priority, but he assured me they had time to do the dead spruce, too.

Normally, that tree would have been de-branched, then brought down in roughly 4′ sections. I asked him if it was possible to do it differently, as it was a nice straight tree and I wanted to use the wood. I explained that I wanted the thickest part of the trunk in a 10′ section, then an 18′ section, and the rest would be the usual 4′ sections. He said that would not be a problem. They would debranch the tree, fell it whole, then cut the lengths I wanted.

I also said I wanted to keep the wood chips, which he was good with. In fact, there were chips already in the truck that I could have, too! I wanted to have the pile closer to the house this time, and decided on a space I’d just cleared because the chicken coop (still, sadly, without chickens).

When the truck with the shredder arrived, they started off with the spruce. Using the lift, they removed all the branches and the top. Chipping the branches filled the truck, so I got a lot of wood chips rather quickly.

Then they left the spruce and moved to the elm tree.

While they worked, I did a bit more weed trimming before the last battery died. Then I got the wagon and some loppers and headed back to the main garden area. My SIL has been slowly chipping away at the overgrown area with their zero turn mower, but part of it has a whole bunch of poplars invade, and many were too big, even for that mower. I was able to clear all of the poplar out of that area, then did the area near the old squash tunnel, which was also getting very full of poplar saplings invading the open area. These areas can now finally be mowed! There are still more little poplars I need to clean up, that that will wait for antoehr day.

By this time, I was getting quite tired and sore, and sat with a water bottle where I could safely see how the tree guys were doing.

Fantastic. They were doing amazing.

That elm tree was a huge job. The started off using an extended pole chain saw and cleared the south side of the tree, leaving the huge branch over the roof for last. While one guy was on the lift, very carefully taking sections off, the other two guys were cleaning up. They stopped to chip branches several times, with more clean up in between.

Getting the roof clear was the “easy” part. Then they got to the main trunk. It was too thick to take down in pieces, and they ended up using a chain saw and wedges to fell the whole thing.

The balance of weight at the top, however, made that very unpredictable. As soon as it started falling, the top twisted around. The guy with the chainsaw had to let go and jump back. The trunk hit the chainsaw on the way down, flipping it around, before landing.

Amazingly, the chainsaw not only kept running, but didn’t break!

Then they had to break the trunk down, and reduce the stump as far as they could.

What a huge job!

We now have a huge stack of green wood, including some amazing slices. There is potential for carving in there, before it get weathered and dry. It’s been a long time since I’ve done any wood carving.

Once the elm was down and everything cleaned up, they went back to the spruce tree. That gave ma a chance to take the above pictures. The second one has my rubber booted foot in it for scale.

Talking to one of the guys later on, he brought up about coming back with the stump grinder, but he’s at a loss about what to do with that tire. The stump grinder can’t touch that, or it will be damaged. It has to be removed somehow. It would be filled with tree and soil.

As for the spruce, it took a lot faster to bring that down than how it would usually be done, in pieces. They felled it, taking steps to make sure it fell in the direction they needed it to. When it landed, it actually bounced, and exploded loose bark all over the place!

Then they cut the sections I’d asked for and, amazingly, picked up and carried them to where I wanted. The 10′ log was heavier, and that got placed near the first one I’ve already collected. Sort of. I had meant to store the lengths along the side of the garage, but my brother parked his baler in the space, so I got them to just leave it along the chain link fence. It’s blocking that half of the gate, but the hinges are broken anyhow, so I could simply take the gate off and put it back on again.

It took the three of them to take the 18′ length to the main garden area for me, then two of the guys brought over the 4′ pieces while the third one worked on the stump. That stump needed to go as close to the ground as possible. I told him that this is where the septic truck has to squeeze through. Now, not only is there more space to maneuver, but there won’t be a stump in the way, either.

Once that was all done and cleaned up, they were on their way out. It all took 3 1/2 hours. I was able to give the main guy my brother’s email address to send the bill to. At 3 1/2 hours, that worked out to $1400, plus tax.

We talked a bit about coming back with the stump grinder – I only asked for a call in advance so I could open the gate – and the problem of that tire, then he headed out.

At this point, there was still enough light that I cold start making some garden tour video, but by this time, I was too exhausted. It’s been outside for almost 12 hours by then, minus going inside to eat and hydrate.

So I will do that tomorrow.

It’s coming up on 9:30pm as I write this, and I am more than ready to collapse into bed.

It feels so good to have gotten so much work done outside! I’m going to pay for it tonight and probably tomorrow but, for now, I am feeling really good.

Well.

Except for the falling asleep while I type thing that’s also going on right now!

The Re-Farmer