Winter and Spring

Here's a little something that we've never seen before around here.  ICE on our pond. Back a few weeks ago when we were having temps in the teens for several days I made a point to go down the pond and see if there was any ice down there. Sure enough, there was!  Wadn't very thick ice, but ice nevertheless.  Kind of a bad photo into the sun. Could that little green area/dot be some kind of ghostly figure?  I keep running across that Paranormal show on TV.   I don't think I've EVER seen where they've actually got a ghost on film.  Just alot of dark shots, shivers, and goofy sounds that "they" say are from spirits. Any of ya'll believe in that stuff?  Not me...at least I don't think so...

ANYWAY, my thoughts have been turning to my garden and spring.  I have to think about that this time of year else I'll get the SAD blues.  I'm trying to just "be" in the present but it's so hard for me.  In Texas, we do have an advantage of warmer weather where we CAN set out root crops and some other things at this time of year.  I know of folks that have had their onions and a few other things out practically year round.  I sorta follow my daddy's lead on when to set things out. He usually goes by the Farmer's Almanac and of course we have to do things around the weather and our schedules.  I got my garden tilled up this past weekend, and set my onions out yesterday afternoon in the 20 mph wind.  Our daffodils are coming up and the paperwhites have already bloomed and are fading...

Tony got everything started off. Lowe's had some ripped 40 lb.bags of cow manure (which they sold to us for $1.50 a bag - all you have to do is ask about ripped bags and if they have any they'll discount them bigtime!), and he and my son Josh loaded up a ton (literally) of manure and dumped it all on the garden plot.  I put two bags of pelleted lime on it (makes the onions sweeter and not so hot, helps the tomatoes not to get blossom-end rot, among other bonuses).  Then we tilled it all in together plus all the leaves for some good compost-y stuff. 

My garden has improved each year.  I even expanded it this year. We moved a side fence and added another area specifically for corn.  It will be alot of trouble, but this year after thinning the corn sprouts out, I'm going to either stake the stalks or put a row of temp. fencing up between the rows.  The wind blows so hard on the rise where Sand Flat Farm sits that it will flat knock the corn over on the ground.  Anybody got any good ideas on how to keep worms from getting into the ends of the ears?  I'm trying not to use pesticides etc.

Josh is lending moral support and supervising the burning of deadwood and weeds and old rotting fence posts.  He's great at lending moral support.  Actually, he did most of the tilling and all of the fence-taking-down, but Tony and I had to have a turn. It's so nice to have sons that can do heavy work for you.  Josh is so laid back and calm - never gets ruffled about anything. Very serious type. He's quiet but when he has something to say, you better listen, cuz it's probably somethin' profound.

Here's yours truly taking her turn on the tiller.  It's a monstrous heavy thang, but it's SOOO much easier than doing it all by hand which is the way we've been doing it.  I got this tiller from my uncle's estate way back in September when he and my aunt both passed away within the same week.  It's a workhorse, and the bonus - I'll always think of my uncle Bob whenever we use it.  He'd have loved that I have it - I was pretty crazy about him.  He always had a huge garden...

So anyway, that's what I've been doing, besides working.  Working at work, and working on 2 of our 3 houses trying to get one ready to rent, one ready to sell (maybe) and then there's the farm. It always keeps us busy, but we absolutely love it!  I'm researching materials for a chicken house and run now. I want to do it cheap, use recycled materials - but not trashy-lookin', etc. I'll keep you posted on that project.

Take care my dear friends!  I don't thank you all enough for coming by, for your comments, for your interest into my little world, for your prayers and concern.  Thank you just doesn't cover it!  Love you all!