winter
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On the fourth day in a row of freezing and subzero weather I bundled up and pruned the pear and three apple trees. As the sprouts and branches came down, they were frozen: sap flow had ceased. That’s what we want during fruit tree pruning. I pruned what could be reached. I used a ladder… Read more
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Ambient temperatures were in the low 60s on Sunday, creating a suitable environment for a yard walkabout. The report is in: Spring is coming. The flowering bulbs were the first sign of it. Along with apple trees beginning to bud, garlic is up under the layer of straw, and lilac bushes show new growth. Most… Read more
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The specificity of the garden project is comforting. There is a clear beginning and end. The work product will be useful. It is eminently do-able in a single work shift. I crave more of that over the complicated and grand-scale projects lingering on my to-do list. I yearn for resolution of the vagaries of living… Read more
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The thaw began and there is no stopping it. The ground remained covered with snow for most of February, yet no more. Snow cover is slowly melting and will soon be gone. Above the septic tank was first to go. 36 hours after the COVID-19 vaccination I still feel normal. Even the soreness around the… Read more
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I cleared the driveway of snow a dozen times this year, including yesterday. There has been snow cover for weeks and it is expected to continue. It’s the first real winter, the kind we had when I was a kid, in a long time. The record-setting cold that has gripped the central U.S. has pushed… Read more
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Garlic plants emerged in the garden. It was a mild winter so I expected they would. The actuality of it is what we crave. The rows were mulched in autumn, although they could use more. Next time I head into town I’ll pick up a couple of bales of straw. I don’t know when that… Read more
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Most of the usual seeders were absent from the greenhouse as I made blocks for 3,840 seedlings. Those who did work tried to stay at least six feet away from each other, although it was hard given the confined space. “You may be the vector,” I said to one. “No, you are the vector,” they… Read more
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A friend grows straw for the home, farm and auto supply store and he isn’t in the fields yet. The ground is frozen. In addition to producing wheat straw he grows commodity crops and has a tough row to hoe… literally. I enjoy interacting with him and his crew as they remove a hundred bales… Read more
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I planted our first Big Grove Township garden in Spring 1994. What I grew is lost in memory. Yesterday the original plot looked a wreck with desiccated weeds and a hodge-podge of sunken containers, fencing, two composters, a wheel barrow, an old wash tub, six-inch pieces of drainage tile resting on a couple of pallets,… Read more
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Sunday a group of us gathered at Wild Woods Farm to pull plastic over the new greenhouse. Pulling plastic takes a couple of experienced team leaders and a crew that can follow directions. The idea is to make the plastic covering as taught as possible then secure it with wiggle wire for years of use.… Read more
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