Animals
Finally! Thursday's mail brought the arrival of 100 blueberry plants that we had ordered months ago. Mike had spent weeks preparing the soil so that when these gems arrived, we could immediately get them into the ground. I quickly opened the cartons, looking for a planting guide. Funny, one of the first items on the guide was a suggestion for when to plant the bushes...of course it said immediately upon receipt, but also suggested that a cloudy afternoon was the best time. Well, seeing how as of late in Central Pa. all we have are cloudy afternoons, we got started. Friday at noon, Mike began digging holes and Jack and I began filling each with a mixture of peat moss and our wonderful, rich soil. One by one, each of the plants was introduced to it's new home, gently mulched with pine needles and given a drink of water.
The next task will be to gently prune each cane, removing flower buds and leaving the vegetative buds in order to adequately establish the strength of each plant before allowing it to bear fruit. No berries this year....but next......Mmmmm Mmmmmm....we can hardly wait! Oh, and by the way, it is hard to get out of bed and move on the day after planting 100 bushes!
- I'm Not Going Anywhere
Every once in a while, an evening comes alongwhen I say to myself..."Maybe I should stop writing this blog."That thought usually enters my mind at the end of a busy day...when all I want to do is go to sleep...not fight with Blogger or You-tube or any...
- Pecking Order
This might be the one chicken characteristic that I cannot stand. That is.....the weakest chicken is always picked on by the others. Yesterday morning I witnessed a very sad display of this pecking order behavior. Unfortunately my favorite gal, Babs,...
- New Raspberries
This week has been perfect for planting fruit trees and bushes. We have added 4 apples trees, 2 pear trees, 11 blackberry and golden raspberry bushes and 2 more grape plants. Oh, how wonderful it will be to have a bowl of homegrown fruit on our table!...
- Sure Signs Of Spring
Finally, the blueberries have buds.....a sure sign that Spring is on its' way. Oh how anxious we are for blueberry harvest time! This is one of the 100 blueberry bushes that we planted 2 summers ago. The bushes are all still very small, but growing....
- Year #1
And so the farm began its magical transformation. Each month brought new additions. We added a horse (Briggs) and a pony (Donny Brasco) to the herd. Donny, being an intact male, spent a few months "mocking" Mike - escaping every chance he got and generally...
Animals
Blueberry Bliss
Finally! Thursday's mail brought the arrival of 100 blueberry plants that we had ordered months ago. Mike had spent weeks preparing the soil so that when these gems arrived, we could immediately get them into the ground. I quickly opened the cartons, looking for a planting guide. Funny, one of the first items on the guide was a suggestion for when to plant the bushes...of course it said immediately upon receipt, but also suggested that a cloudy afternoon was the best time. Well, seeing how as of late in Central Pa. all we have are cloudy afternoons, we got started. Friday at noon, Mike began digging holes and Jack and I began filling each with a mixture of peat moss and our wonderful, rich soil. One by one, each of the plants was introduced to it's new home, gently mulched with pine needles and given a drink of water.
The next task will be to gently prune each cane, removing flower buds and leaving the vegetative buds in order to adequately establish the strength of each plant before allowing it to bear fruit. No berries this year....but next......Mmmmm Mmmmmm....we can hardly wait! Oh, and by the way, it is hard to get out of bed and move on the day after planting 100 bushes!
- I'm Not Going Anywhere
Every once in a while, an evening comes alongwhen I say to myself..."Maybe I should stop writing this blog."That thought usually enters my mind at the end of a busy day...when all I want to do is go to sleep...not fight with Blogger or You-tube or any...
- Pecking Order
This might be the one chicken characteristic that I cannot stand. That is.....the weakest chicken is always picked on by the others. Yesterday morning I witnessed a very sad display of this pecking order behavior. Unfortunately my favorite gal, Babs,...
- New Raspberries
This week has been perfect for planting fruit trees and bushes. We have added 4 apples trees, 2 pear trees, 11 blackberry and golden raspberry bushes and 2 more grape plants. Oh, how wonderful it will be to have a bowl of homegrown fruit on our table!...
- Sure Signs Of Spring
Finally, the blueberries have buds.....a sure sign that Spring is on its' way. Oh how anxious we are for blueberry harvest time! This is one of the 100 blueberry bushes that we planted 2 summers ago. The bushes are all still very small, but growing....
- Year #1
And so the farm began its magical transformation. Each month brought new additions. We added a horse (Briggs) and a pony (Donny Brasco) to the herd. Donny, being an intact male, spent a few months "mocking" Mike - escaping every chance he got and generally...