People who know Jake well often describe him as the sweetest, gentlest dog in the world. Yet as Al and I know from daily life with Jake, he still has those doggy instincts that are far removed from his sweeter side. One such example is pictured above: Jake ripping the flesh off a deer leg that he found in the field and deposited on our front walk. I would not have been able to take this away from him directly. But while he was momentarily preoccupied with chasing a cat, I was able to pick the thing up and throw in the back of the truck for later disposal in a ditch down the road. Living in the country has toughened me up considerably. But still there’s something a bit disconcerting about picking up an animal leg with this much flesh and fur still intact. I guess any detached body part of these dimensions and in this sort of predecomposed state is just plain eery.

About a month ago I was outside with pruners and noticed a small branch on our lilac was just hanging there by a thread. And so I cut it off and pounded the bottom of the cutting with a hammer and stuck it in water to see if I could force it. I had read about doing this but hadn’t actually tried until now. I have to admit that I was on the verge of composting this cutting many times as it seemed to be just sitting there doing nothing, and now I’m glad I didn’t because apparently it was doing something. The buds turned greener and greener and gradually began to open. The green is very welcome in this winter wasteland. I don’t care if this thing actually blooms or not, the green is good enough for me.

Peaches hoping to catch a bird

Peaches is second cat who has made our barn home this winter. I decided (just now) on the name Peaches because s/he? is the color of peaches and cream. We first saw Peaches last Friday evening upon returning home, darting from our porch at the speed of lightning. Peaches was spotted later that evening staring at us through our patio door.
Sure enough, Peaches found the barn, where a bowl of cat food is often replenished for Barney, the other barn cat. Unfortunately for Peaches, Barney doesn’t seem to want to share his food or the attention I give him when in the barn. This morning I was able to feed Peaches some cheese and milk as Barney wasn’t around

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We now have trim in the kitchen! Billy added some timber frame accents and we are thrilled with the outcome. Finally a room that feels finished (an illusion as we still have to put on a coat of poly. Wonder how long we can put that off. I wouldn’t mind waiting ’til next winter). Thinking ahead to gardening now, but won’t be able to act for another 6 weeks. Maybe I just won’t do anything in the meantime.

This is seriously disappointing. Lessons learned: binder clips are not that strong, wind sucks, better to fix something when it is a little broken – rather than waiting for morning. I suspect we need a more permanent structure… perhaps the old chicken coop could be used.

It is windy out there this morning, but the plastic is still attached. Good news.

This hoop house is suppose to be an easy assemble, easy move around type structure, but with all the reinforcing that had to happen, it’s not going to move so easily. Still, it’s exciting to contemplate the jump-on-growing-season possibilities this structure will provide – assuming it stays intact. Already the ground inside is warming up.

It will need to dry out some more before we plant anything. Not sure what to plant yet, other than spinach. I have a solar gardening book that might offer some ideas.

I finally convinced Anne to order seeds with me from Pine Tree Garden this morning. Here is what’s coming to the garden this year, assuming things go well. 

KOLIBRI KOHLRABI (43 days)
GOURD MIX
ARMENIAN CUCUMBER (90 days)
JADE CROSS  (F1 hybrid 87 days)
IMPERIAL STAR ARTICHOKE (F1 Hybrid)
LANCELOT LEEK (F1 hybrid 100 days)
MATINA SWEET LETTUCE (50 days)
AMBROSIA MELON (F1 hybrid 83 days)
CASCADIA SNAP PEA (48 days)
TABASCO PEPPER (85 days)
PASILLA BAJIO HOT PEPPER
SWEET RED CHERRY PEPPER (75 days)
MANYEL TOMATO
DIAMOND PEPPER (78 days)
HOWDEN PUMPKIN (105 days)
PINETREE RADISH MIX
SPINACH MIX 1 oz
SCALLOP-SUNBURST (F1 hybrid 50 days)
VEGETABLE SPAGHETTI SQUASH (100 days)
DELICATA SQUASH (97 days)

I did it. I finally did it. I built a little light shelf for seed trays this season. I see these types of things for sale in the catalogs every year and they usually cost an unreasonable $295 or more! No way am I paying that much for a shelf with lights. My version was made with wood I had so my cost estimate won’t be very accurate, but I’d guess $25 for the wood, $40 for the lights (including full spectrum bulbs), and maybe another $10 screws and a poly finish. Optional timers are more and I actually bought a fancy one for about $25 that would accept the three-pronged light plugs. 

The construction was wonderfully simple so maybe it won’t last, but for light seasonal applications, it should work just fine. The vertical posts are 1×6 pine boards ripped in half and cut to 43″. The shelves are 1×10 pine boards cut to 52″. I pre-drilled all the screw holes and counter-sunk slightly. I thought I would need to add more diagonal braces, but it feels stable. Screw in some hooks to hang the lights, mount the powerstrip, and you are done. It took me an afternoon, but could be stretched out for the whole weekend with extra trips to the hardware store. 

Now I just need to order the seeds.

Identical to one of the nests I posted the last week, but still in the tree. It’s a beautiful nest. Ann and Jim think it’s an oriole nest. Will a new oriole family move in, or will some other bird like a sparrow inhabit it? Need to make some blue bird houses. Last year made 4 bird houses hoping for blue birds but we made the entry holes too big and got sparrows. Also need to make mental note to clean sparrow nests out of gutters before spring thaws.

Billy came over this weekend and finished installing the kitchen lighting. It is so awesome to be able to see what you’re doing in there now.

Got one more wall sanded and painted. Only one left to g0. Hope this ancient ruin doesn’t fall over after all this work. Did we ever mention it was built in 1900?