Gardening 2011 and the FIRE at Janaye's Granny's House

And so begins "Gardening 2011" season.  YEA!!!  It's beginning!

Saturday, January 23, 2011 - Onion sets out in the garden!!!  Tony got out "Boss Hawg" the Tiller, cranked it up and we worked in 10 bags of clippings and leaves, and he turned up that dirt like nobody's business.  When we first started that morning, the ground was still hard and a tad frozen, but it warmed up after a bit.  Daddy was there, too, and he threw his efforts in and helped me make rows, fertilize, lime and get the onions in the ground.  Set out about 500 or so - Yellow Granex, White Granex, and Aggie 1016's.

After Dad & I dug the first row, we put some fertilizer and a peench of lime into the row and worked it in good.  Dad says the onions will grow underground while it's cold and they'll reach down for the fertilizer.  Cain't argue with that - he always has a good onion crop!  In a few weeks, we can start eatin' green onions with our meals!  We luv 'em even tho we're all a bit stinky - everybody has to eat some so's we're all "armed"...

Now, see how straight this row is?  Daddy was an architect when he was young, and he always is a stickler for detail.  His brother, Uncle Bob, always said you could grow more from a crooked row than a straight one.  Dad used to give him a hard time about his crooked rows.  But he always had a bumper crop, too!  So I guess they're both right!

I know they're hard to see, but the onion tops are there. I wound up with 7 rows of onions.  Taters will go in next after the ground is not freezin'.  Taters are easy and really make you feel like a farmer - they look so pretty while the tops are growing!  Can you eat tater greens?  Hmmm...

Mr. Jasper is always nearby watching or helping.  Today, KATHY at Cedar Pond, I caught my first two gophers for 2011.  Jasper pulled one of the traps out of the ground, and ate the gopher off it - all except for the jaw.  There was only a piece of hide left on the trap and some gopher teeth.  I pulled the second dead one out of another mound, and as soon as I took it off the trap, Jasper grabbed it and started playing with it.  He was hoping it would move I guess...  He knows what I'm doing when I'm setting traps, and he helps me dig.  I have my little hand spade and he sticks his arms way down in the holes and feels around.  I've seen him catch one.  He does know what he's doing - and he knows what I'm doing, too.

Sorry, people - some of you squeamish folks might not wanna hear about that...

In other news, Saturday p.m., the cute little gingerbread house on the land behind ours burned to the ground.  The area volunteer fire departments raced by our place and we went out to see if we could see where they were going.  Little did we know that the house behind us was engulfed in flames.  There were about 8-9 firetrucks  there fighting the blaze for most of the night.  They left in the wee hours, but were called back Saturday morning when it broke out again in some hot spots.

No lives were lost - no one was home.  A space heater - probably propane - was left burning, and they think that was what sparked the fire.  Nice young family lived there on the land.  It had been family land for a long, long time.  I need to call and check on them and see if there's anything they need...

We took the Mule and rode over there about midnight to see what we could see.  You hate to be a voyeur, but you also wanna know what's going on.  We stayed in our pasture hoping none of the sparks flew our way...

There's a bit of a shell on the front of the house - you can still see the picket fence...

Such a sweet family... I just think of all the personal items that were lost - the things that cannot be replaced - the pictures, the keepsakes, the hand-me-down treasures --- but they have the most important thing - EACH OTHER!

Thank the Lord for volunteer fire departments!  If you have one or more in your area, be sure to support them both physically and monetarily!  They are selfless, brave and a dire necessity in small communities!  They've saved our hay pastures on our place.  Fire would have gotten to our house had they not been around!  SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS!!!!

OK, there's my soapbox for the day!  Have a good one, and as always...

Keep your dress down!

PS - had to git rid of that snow header.  I was gettin' blue... From here on out, it's warm colors, warm thoughts and ...

"Blue Skies and Rainbows

and Sunbeams from Heaven,

are what I can see

when the Lord is living in me!"

(Know that song?)