Friday, April 30, 2021

WINDY GOODBYE APRIL

 Up on this Friday morning to see all the grandkids here. Hubbie took g-son to school and the girls and I watched TV until he got back. The middle school g-son attends is only 1 mile out the road but because of the heavy traffic in and out of the school it takes hubbie almost 30 minutes to get him there and get back home each morning.  I got chores done then had breakfast with the girls.  After we ate we got ready to go deliver cakes and then we decided to go to the walling trail and have a picnic lunch. We stopped by McDonalds on the way to the trail and got the girls lunch.  We loaded them all up in the strollers. Daughter had given us a nice double jogging stroller so we had seats for all three today. The wind was blowing hard and the big girls wanted to bundle up.

CA agreed to ride in this stroller long enough to eat her lunch as we walked but wasn't happy about it.
The girls ate very good lunches as we walked and soon CA was on foot and unbeknownst to her sister and cousin she pushed them .

The hopscotch game along the way got all the girls out of the strollers.




We walked 2 miles and the girls were ready to come home and rest when we left there.  We came home expecting CA especially to get a nap on the way home but no one went to sleep.  We came home and hubbie and I had a late lunch. I went and picked some fresh lettuce , radishes and asparagus to make a salad for lunch.  The wind was still blowing so hard we decided to stay inside and play for the afternoon.  D-in-love picked up RL and after RL left IR crashed for a nap. Daughter came in from meeting a girl with a sandbox I have been wanting and her and hubbie took CA with them to Home Depot for mulch and play sand.  IR slept the whole time they were gone.  When they got back she took IR now a sleeping CA home . Hubbie hauled the mulch over to her house so son-in-love could help unload it.  When they left I got chores done and then watered all my raised beds. 
This month has flown by and has been a typical weather month for April here in the mountains.
The month began and ended with very windy days.  We had a very nice Easter with the family to begin the month. I hatched out chicks in the incubator and got a total of 27 chicks.  We got out early garden plantedwith potatoes, onions , peas and went to a plant house for some pearly plants and some flowers plus 3 Raspberry plants. We had a freeze for a couple nights that took away some of our fruits . The bigger girls spent the night with us this month for a break through on their part.  We also finally found some tree cutters who took down a couple dangerous leaning oak trees.  All in all it has been a pretty calm month for all the family and we are thankful for all the blessings we were given though the month and look forward to what God has in store for us in the coming month.
Thankful for all the mercies granted to me as I strive to follow God's path.
God Bless and Good Night





Thursday, April 29, 2021

TREES FINALLY DOWN

 Up this morning to get this busy day started.  Hubbie went to take g-son to school and then I got chores done and had breakfast with IR and CA.  I have lots to get done today and was hoping things would be on schedule but of course the first thing that I was depending on being on time was late. I had a curbside Walmart order to pick up and was expecting it to be ready about 9:45 but it wasn't ready until 10:15. I did some rearranging and vacuuming in our bedroom while waiting on the order. We have a pest control man coming this afternoon to treat the house and I wanted to get somethings away from the baseboards and window sills.  I went to pick up my Walmart order and then I could get my cake icings done. I was almost finished with these when the tree cutters showed up. We weren't expecting them to come this morning because the wind is blowing about 25 MPH.  But they started right into working.

Can't believe I caught this limb in the air !!!!
The day didn't start well for the tree cutters as the first and only 2 limbs they cut off got caught in the strong winds and one hit and destroyed a gate which they replaced and the other fell across the back chicken fence which was repairable. We told them we certainly would understand if they waited until the wind died down but they kept working. They successfully got the 2 huge Oak trees on the ground by about 3:00 after getting here around 11:00 so that wasn't too bad. It was a nerve wracking day for hubbie and I especially after one of the cutters almost got hit by a falling cut off the tree.  I think they were tired from a hard week of work and were taking some risky chances but thankfully they succeeded and no one got hurt and we don't have a tree trough our house !!!!
The large tree that was leaning toward our house did have rot in the center of the tree trunk which could have caused it to fall on our house at any time. I am very very thankful that the trees are on the ground.
The pest control guy came about 2:30 and did a great job spraying inside and outside the house . Hopefully this will take care of all the borer bees and stink bugs we have around here now and keep the ants out in the future.
He went from our house to #1 son's which we also supervised since d-in-love went to another of g-son's track meets in Polk county . We missed another one but hopefully next week we will get to go see him.
The pest guy also treated daughter's house .
#2 son came over and helped hubbie get some of the large logs cut up and moved so we can put our new chicken lot fence back up. 
Hubbie and I will try to get a couple logs sawed and hauled away each afternoon until the mess is cleaned up.
I got chores done and was greeted by this little beauty who is the first chick hatched to a Silkie hen this season.
A bright spot to bring this stressful day to an end.   Hubbie or I didn't even eat anything all day and we realized this evening we were very hungry. Peanut butter on rice cakes filled supper menu.
I relaxed this evening in humble gratefulness of God's blessings on this day.  I am very thankful that the job is done and that God's hand seemed to be all around it, including the way we discovered these guys were even out there doing this job.
Thankful for all the other blessings of this day also and for the amazing Savior we get to call ours.
God Bless and Good Night



Wednesday, April 28, 2021

EARLY ERRAND DAY

 Up to greet all the grandkids today. Hubbie took g-son to school then I got chores done and we had breakfast with the girls.  We are running our errands today because the tree cutters and a our pest spray company are both coming tomorrow.  We went to the PO, Sav Mor grocery, Walgreens, bank, dump, and Fletcher Feed to pick up chicken feed and a new roll of wire to reconstruct the lot after the trees are down. We came home for a late lunch of mac and cheese for the girls and sandwiches for hubbie and I. After lunch the girls played outside while we unloaded the feed and got things put away.


CA napped while we worked.
We came inside and the girls colored and played the afternoon away. After they were picked up hubbie and I went outside and raked the driveway and upper lawn of all the small branches left from the fallen limbs from the tree cutters. I am so hoping by tomorrow night this view will be really changed and these 2 limbless trees will be reduced to short stumps.
Back inside I baked some cakes and then hubbie and I relaxed for the evening.
Thankful for the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night


Tuesday, April 27, 2021

SECOND TREE CUTTING DAY

 Up to IR and CA here this morning. Hubbie went to picked up g-son and take him to school while the girls and I watched TV. I got chores done when he got back and we all had breakfast together. We waited once again until 10:00 for our tree cutters to show back up. One of them had a flat tire this morning so that threw them more behind. They went right to work and got  a lot done today.


The girls played below the house for most of the day until lunch and then CA took a long nap and IR played out front on the swings and rode this little green battery operated tractor.
The tree trimming was more nerve wracking today as they dropped really heavy pieces that jarred the entire house when they hit the ground. They got all the limbs down except one in the very top of the first tree they trimmed. They worked for 5 hours today before they wore out. They were supposed to have a third man today which would have definitely made things easier but he didn't show up.  After they left I went to pick up an Aldi order and then we went to work cleaning up all the limbs and logs they dropped today.

#2 son and #1 son brought came to help today and we worked for about 3 hours today getting the mess cleaned up  but we are ready for day number three now which will be Thursday. The tree cutters had another obligation for tomorrow.
All that is left to get down are the tall tree trunks and one lone limb in the top of one of the trees.
I got chores done and then hubbie and I both collapsed for the second night in a row but it feels good to get this finally done.
Thankful for the blessings of this day and for the safety of the tree cutters .
God Bless and Good Night



Monday, April 26, 2021

TREE CUTTING DAY FINALLY HERE

 Up early today to greet all the grandkids.  Hubbie took g-son to school and then I got chores done early so I wouldn't be outside when the tree cutters get here. He said they would be here this morning but didn't say what time.  The young hens are liking their new home in the green house and the weed filled lot.

The fence is gone and I pray that all my Hosta's survive all the tree cuttings dropped on them.

I spyed the first Iris bloom of the season this morning.

The tree cutters arrived about 9:45 and went straight to work. These guys that do this are always crazily brave to me with my fear of heights it makes me queasy just watching them.

We took the girls out of the house and they played outside for most of the day . We even had a picnic lunch outside to stay safely out of the tree cutters way and out of the house in case things went badly wrong.





They left around 2:15 and our work began as soon as the girls were picked up. Daughter had tot take one of her dogs to the vet so she took IR and CA with her. G-son has his first track meet today so d-in-love picked up RL to go to that with her. Hubbie and I have never missed one of his meets but we will miss this one because we have a big mess of tree limbs to get up before the cutters come back tomorrow.  We started working and I dragged the smaller limbs to a brush pile out in the woods while hubbie cut up the bigger limbs and loaded them onto a wood hauling box on the back of this tractor.  Daughter came back with the girls after taking the dog home and helped me drag branches to the brush pile. Both the girls ,IR and CA got into the work also carrying limbs to the pile and were proud of themselves to help.


Son-in-love and #2 son both showed up after they got off work and #1 son came after he watched g-son jump at the track meet.  With all of them helping they made short work of the rest of the wood and branches. We are so thankful for kids who will pitch in the help us at anytime. Here is a before pic.....

But I forgot to take an after pic but this driveway was cleared  in about 2 hours with all of us working. So thankful for kids that don't mind helping.
They said it would probably take them part of 3 days to get it all down but I am just thankful to get someone finally that would do the job.

After everyone left hubbie and I got chores done. I finished the last load of laundry and then we both collapsed .  The beautiful full "pink" moon rose early tonight and was so pretty.


Thankful for the blessings of this day and thankful for the mercies given to the tree cutter guys today as they worked.

God Bless and Good Night

Sunday, April 25, 2021

GETTING READY FOR THE TREE CUTTERS

 We were  awaken by RL announcing it was morning time because she could see out the window this morning at 8:00.  The girls were happily chatting about how glad they were to spend the night and already planning next time. I needed them to help me move the chicks from the sunroom to the brooder box on the front porch and they were happy to carry the chicks for me.   I got chores done and then d-in-love came up and took the girls back to her house while we fixed lunch. We had meat loaf , baked potatoes, green beans and biscuits for lunch. Everyone made it to lunch except son-in-love who is helping Ben his brother move. We ate and then had a nice visit while the kids played outside.


After everyone left hubbie and I went outside to get the greenhouse and the lot beside it ready to move the younger hens to while the tree cutters are here and then we got things ready to take up their fencing after they are moved tonight. We got chores done and then I moved all the hens to the greenhouse when they went into their regular house to roost. I moved all their nest , feeders and waterer. Hubbie worked on getting their lot fencing down and I helped him with that after I got all the hens settled. The fence had been up in this place for over 10 years so it was buried and it took us a lot longer than we expected to get it down and then we discovered it was rusted apart at the bottom so we will have to buy new wire anyway. It was almost 10:00 when we finally came inside. 

We were very glad to fall into bed tonight after such a busy day.

Thankful for the blessings of this day and for the strength God gives us each day.

God Bless and Good Night

Saturday, April 24, 2021

SLEEP OVER NIGHT

 A rainy Saturday morning to relax and rest a little longer is always welcome around here. The rain wasn't suppose to be here yet but it is raining pretty hard as I get out to get chores done. I am so glad to see the rain for the garden and the raised beds. Everything really needed a good soaking rain and so far that is what we are getting.  Back inside I had breakfast then watered all my plants in the sunroom. I have some aphids again starting on my pepper plants so I mixed up a mixture of essential oils of peppermint, oregano and clove oil and gave them a good spraying. Hopefully I can get it stopped this year before they get really bad.  I looked all around the bedrooms for lady bugs that usually come in this time of year to bring them to the plants for aphid control but didn't find any today.  Hubbie and I did some house cleaning this morning while the rain continued outside. I put away some laundry and then relaxed for a while.  

RL and IR have been talking all week about spending the night tonight so we got chores done early to be ready for them when they get here. We ended up with 1 inch of rain today which is a perfect amount. Today is d-in-love's birthday so she was going out with some friends tonight and RL doesn't understand why she can't go along with her mom.   After the girls arrived they ate supper with us then played happily until bath time. They love taking a bath together and we let them stay in the tub until the water gets cold so they love it.


They decided they wouldn't sleep in them tent in the living room and instead would just sleep with us in our king size bed.

It is tight but they like to snuggle closely.  They giggled and talked until about 10:30 and hubbie took IR back in the living room to watch TV to separate them so they would both go to sleep. It worked like a charm as RL was asleep in bed with me by 10:45 and IR was asleep in the rocker by 11:00.  We all slept pretty well all night and neither girl made a big fuss about going home this time.

Thankful for the blessings if this day.

God Bless and Good Night

Friday, April 23, 2021

FREEZE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

 Up to greet all the grandkids this morning. The temperature was 29 this morning so another freezing night.  Hubbie took g-son to school and then I did chores  and had breakfast with the girls. Daughter called and had bought all our lunches from Chick-f-la today so after I delivered and cake for daughter at 11:00 we headed there to pick up lunches.  The girls enjoyed their chicken nuggets, fries and yogurt. I had a salad and hubbie had a sandwich. After lunch we all went outside to clean up all the frost coverings we had put over things trying to protect them.  Some worked some did not.   We covered the cabbage, broccoli and brusel sprout plants with buckets and they were fine.

The peas and onions that we didn't cover look fine as they have a higher cold tolerance than most things.

These raised beds that we covered with blankets did fine.

The prognosis is still out on the blueberries that we covered with blankets and sheets. There is a lot of browning and empty little sockets where forming berries were.

Sadly we lost our grape crop for the season in spite of our covering efforts as these are not cold hardly at all and were out way farther than they should have been this time of year.
Hubbie counted only about 3 little pears on this one tree and aren't sure if they will even make .
It was interesting as I walked around the farm as in some places I could tell the frost or cold took much worse tole than in other spots. The Rosemary in this pot looks fine but the Thyme not so much.

Just below this pot was a pot of Lavender that also looks fine.

And just below this Lavender is a pot of a perennial flowering plant that I don't remember the name of was devastated.

These Hostas have some damage on the upper most leaves.
This Butterfly bush also sustained damage to the new leaves.

All the above plants were in the back yard. As I moved around above the house to the row of large Azaleas they don't look like they had too much damage. Some of the tallest flowers look pretty melted.




As I moved to the front of the house I am pleased to say this lovely Azalea looks pretty non damaged so far.
And this old fashioned Snowball bush in the front yard looks unfazed also.
I hate we lost some things but my heart goes out to the fruit farmers as some of them lost their entire crops in as little as 3 hours of near mid 20's temperatures.
I lost this entire bed of beautiful lettuce not at the hands of the cold temps but as the hands of a rodent who took shelter under the warm blanket cover and totally destroyed all the lettuce in the entire bed.
We will be moving this bed to a new location since something has found a feasting place.
The girls had been outside playing the whole time I have been checking out damage and getting all the coverers put away in the dry before the rain comes tonight and we all needed some snacks and rest time.
You can certainly tell it is Friday afternoon.


After the girls were picked up hubbie and I went outside to move the raised bed . We shoveled all the dirt from it and got g-son and #1 son to come up and help us carry it to the join the other beds out in front of the barn.   I will replant the lettuce after the rains tomorrow.  A man came after the 6 Silkie roosters I had for sale and we found out while he was here he is a tree cutter. He looked at the big Oak tree leaning toward the house that we have tried to get 2 other tree cutters to take down and they never showed up and he said he could take the tree down next week if we wanted. So he is supposed to come one day next week. But I have to wonder if he will really show up since the 2 other guys also promised they would be here multiple times and never showed up.
We finished chores after he left and settled in for a quiet evening.
Thankful for the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night