New Projects are gonna kill me........

 

I have been fiddling with my way backyard for decades.  It started as a weedy field, an attempt a huge garden by my parents, back to weedy field, then to ornamental delight and do you know how hard it is to keep those stones clean and white.  Great for monks in a zen garden but I am no monk and this is not a zen garden so away with the stones!  

and now back to garden and fruit farm.  The deer herd is burgeoning far beyond tolerable.  Several trees were plowed over by bucks sharpening Fall antlers.  When I walked around the way back the beginning of March I knew it was time to dig in and start again.  

It began with taking out three large pines and one large serviceberry........ with my trusty Japanese pruning saw.  Amazing the damage one little saw and a crazy person can do in couple days! 

from this........

to this in three short days...... carnage! 

I now need to rent a big ass wood chipper from our local rental place.  So for 4 hours on a Spring day I will slap down $198 and turn brush piles into wood chip piles.  That is pure gold in my book and should get me through the next few months of mulching paths and beds. 

Last year we had the property surveyed and had pins with bright yellow caps sunk all along the property line.  Mostly for a crazy neighbor with aggressive lawn mower habits, constantly taking out my blackberry brushes as if the deer weren't bad enough.  Well I am happy to say he is gone but he didn't take the deer with him when he packed up. 

As I walked around the back 40 surveying the deer damage and winter damage.  I thought why not put in a fence, the markers are there and it's Spring.  NOT: let me pay someone to put in a fence.  Off to Giant Eagle and buy a gift card to Home Depot for several hundred dollars because then I get gas points and right now I am up to a dollar off a gallon!  My van could handle 10 fence posts and three bags of concrete in one trip.  It has taken three and half trips to Home Depot.  I started digging post holes on the south side and sunk ten fence posts.....  these are days 50 looks way better than 70 in this body but then I have those damn eastern european genes.  

So far three sides down and one more to go.  I saved the best to last.  The east side of the fence is all tree roots from old maple trees and yes, that last row might kill me but I have a sawzall and very long extension cord!  I can get 10-11 posts sunk in a day.  And the teenage kid behind us had pulled the marker in the northeast corner 😡.  Had to rent a metal detector to find the original 1865 iron pin!  

Planning on putting 16 foot cattle panels for fencing and thankful Tractor Supply moved in not too far from here! 

Lessons learned this week..... If you do not want to be considered elderly go to Home Depot.  There is no one there to help anyone, you are left to your own devices and I love that.  However if you go to your local bank and take out the funds to the buy gift cards for this project you get a lecture.  OMG are you being scammed, you are elderly and you are the perfect target.  No I'm putting in a fence and paying cash but I'm buying gift cards so I get free gas as I am on a limited income these days.  She dolefully counted out the bills and tucked it into a neat little envelope.  "now were are you putting this?"  (I don't carry a purse like most elderly women).  I slid it into the interior pocket of my coat and said; thanks.  "Oh ma'am please be careful."  As I walked out the door I said; "Not to worry; I'm locked and loaded!"  I patted my other pocket.  Nothing but my phone but she really didn't need to know that.  

Off to Home Depot.  Grab a lumber cart, load 10 timber fence posts and grab three 80 pound bags of cement; not a soul in sight.  Cashed out, dug my heels in and wrangled all this out to my van.  The cart boy was retrieving carts in the parking lot and while I was heaving 80 pound bags of concrete I thought he was coming over to help the elderly.  Nope.  He put his hands on the back of my lumber cart and said; Almost done?  I'll take your cart back....... I still had two more bags to load and 5 more timbers.  He stood there and watched.  WTF cart boy...... I closed the doors on my van and drove away fueled by even more WTF cart boy thoughts.  Unload and start digging post holes...... encounters like this make the day go so much faster.  

After gardening here for over 40 years you see the difference in soil too.  This made me so happy! 

and if anyone is wondering where Butch is....... Florida! 

New times ahead, old ones are hard to let go........

The hardest blog I have had to write but it must be written.....

Kirby  2/27/2025

February was so cold, so long and so hard this year.  My best buddy crossed the rainbow bridge on February 27th.  An ending to a wonderful 8 year ride.  It was probably one of the hardest things I've had to do in a very long time.  It was the final winter gut punch.   He is still wandering around the house and I am still talking to him.  The first week I got up several times in the middle of night, hearing him panting at the bottom of the stairs but no Kirby, hearing the jingle of your collar but you're not there, hearing the click of your paws on floor, I turn my head and your not there, but I know you are and probably will be for awhile. You were not ready to go either.

  We had a truly remarkable relationship.  I remember bringing him home; blind, scared, a broken jaw and so many scars I would never be able to heal.  His first three years on earth were the stuff nightmares are made of but he landed here.  I made a promise to him that we would do our best to make up for those first three years.  We more than doubled that time with beach walks, swimming in a cool lake on a hot day.  Laying next to a warm kiln in the studio on chilly mornings.  I think it was a good life.  He was the perfect dog for me.  He never ran away, we never once heard him bark.  He had the ability to bark and on warm days we would sit in the backyard and I would try to get him to bark.  Are you happy?  The tail would wag, he would bury his massive head in my lap and sing a little.  I would talk back and we could have a very sweet conversation.  He was "that dog".  If you are lucky you get to bond to that one special dog and for me it was Kirby.  We did everything together.  I left him two times in his eight years here; once to head up to Alaska to see Rachael and once to head off to a clay conference.  He went every where; delivered pots to far off galleries, off to watch Abby graduate in Gunnison, CO, play in the cool snow of Monarch Pass on a warm summer day.   He slept in front of my bedroom door every night until he could no longer climb the stairs.  He made me a more patient and better person.  Yes, he was stubborn and hard headed and probably why we were such good buddies.  

 

He taught me it's OK to stop and feel the warm sun on your face....

always stand with your face to wind ....... 

Sleep well my dear boy, until we meet again I know you will be at the rainbow bridge waiting for me. 

Until then chase the stardust bunnies around sky and run free.  It has been a joyous ride and I miss your soft fur and warm snuggles more than there are words to write..... 

  

The house has been de-dogged.  All his meds, bandages, foods and leashes have been donated to the local dog shelter.  I have not yet been able to wash the nose prints off the sliding glass doors.  I am so happy it is Spring and there are new green growing things and new projects to start.  And yet in the middle of the garden with dirty hands and doing some busy work I think; is time to go check on Kirby, do his bandages need changed, maybe he needs a snack and I go back to my busy work.  Argh, the adjustment to a new life. 

Although the sun has set ....... until we meet again my best buddy ever. 

With all that is going on in the world I can officially say 2025 just sucks....

Still February, still fighting for everything......

 Still snowing .....

But! today we reached 34F with glorious sun!  I went for a walk at 8:30 am and my face did not freeze off!   I came home and had coffee in the hoop house; by 11:00 am it was 82F with humidity and I had to open the west door to cool things off.  I stayed out there way too long!  And if the sun is out tomorrow I will be back again.  I think I need a recliner out there.  

I left the compound around 2 pm to pick up two fittings for a hydroponic tower I'm cobbling together.  I haven't gone out on a Saturday in quite awhile and I was shocked!  I have been reading that consumer confidence is down by 10% this month.  Apparently not in our neck of the woods.  Route 20 was bumper to bumper.  Every store, including the ones I currently boycott were loaded: Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Goodwill did not have a parking space in sight!  I stopped at a local grocery store to pick up a few fresh veggies and we checked out.  I had my own bags and always bag myself.  The woman in front of us was MIA as the groceries careened down the belt.  The check out woman just kept scanning away.  A bump from behind and a frazzled woman plopped a giant chunk of plastic sealed red oozing meat on the belt.  It was a big piece of beast or something like that but the splat was alarming.  She had one grocery cart of plastic filled bags and her total came to ........ (drum roll) ..... $513.72.  Did you buy a whole cow?  Even when I used to buy a whole cow it didn't come to $513.72!  I was dying to ask her what she got for more than my house payment.  

We were up next and even Butch commented on how healthy our stuff looked rolling down the belt.  We are belt judgers!  A lot of greens; 2 bunches of kale, 2 bunches of green leafy lettuce, a big bunch of radishes, a bottle of red wine that was on sale, a large head of purple cabbage that cost as much as the wine and a couple organic oranges.  And a bag of potato chips that somehow fell in the cart when I wasn't paying attention.  Try not to take Butch shopping, ever!  Every stop something ended up in the cart that I had not budgeted or even wanted in the house, like sea salt chocolate bars.  A perfect meal, chips and chocolate.  Anyway our bill came to $31.04.  The same checker grabbed our receipt out of the machine and said; Well that can't be right!  She had me take all the things out of my bags and compare them to the receipt.  Yup, we are careful shoppers.  She said a couple times, but you have wine.  And we pointed out it was $10 off a bottle and was now $6.99 a bottle.  She verified it with manager and we won!  She was in utter disbelief that we were getting out of the store for under $100.  Yes, I was smug about the whole thing :)  And I gotta say I even think $31 is bit high for what we got!  The produce was from a local grower too.  Not GREAT LAKES GROWERS out of Middlefield as they had the biggest MAGA signs outside their greenhouses that I had ever seen, visible from space!  They hire Amish women as below minimum wage and I'm just not supporting them.  I'm not sure if they even know what DEI stands for. 

I honestly thought we'd be enjoying greens out of the hoop house this winter but that didn't happen!  So once again I am realizing how resourceful we need to be.  How you must not put all your eggs in one basket and always have a backup.  Micro-greens are great but they're just not a salad.  They great on top of the salad but not a whole salad.  

I started collecting buckets from bakeries around town.  I'm up to 9 bucket for hydroponic grow towers.  I should have at least one hooked up tomorrow.  I'm planning on turning the bay on the south side of the house into a conservatory with three bucket set ups and Ursula.  Ursula has been amazing this winter!

It is possible to grow greens all winter here, it's just been a bit of a learning curve. When I read the data on getting lettuce to the grocery shelf; great paper Ohio State research on growing local lettuce  I am committed to either growing my own or buying as much locally as I possibly can.  A head of romaine lettuce uses 29 gallons of water, is shipped over 2,000 miles from drought stricken southern California and manages to land on the grocery shelf still green.  Yikes that is a lot of resources for me to enjoy a bowl of crunchy water!  70% of the lettuce in this country is produced in Southern California, so read those labels!

The studio has been too cold to do much tinkering this year.  As the days grow warmer and longer I am finding myself out there more and more and I couldn't be happier!  I found myself walking in a snow storm on Tuesday with windchills that took my breath away but it was worth it!  The sun is coming back and the sky is so blue.  Tulips are forcing their way through the ground next to the studio but no sign of the garlic yet. 

I have time to call my congress people every single morning.  All three republicans and only one has a 

real live person that answers a phone and listens to constituents concerns.  The other two are newly elected MAGA nitwits.  I swear I'm ordering a rainbow hat with MAGA letters in sparkles:  "Make America Gay Again" and I'm headed straight to Home Depot!  I am not sure how we get out of this mess but daily I watch our country slip away.  Food Security is front and center.  And then this came out yesterday.

PFAS regulation rollback under Trump

Since our drinking water comes directly from Lake Erie I have been shopping for a water filtration system to go under my sink.  All the Great Lakes are at risk Forever Chemicals in the Great Lakes

Everyday we wake up to new nightmare and it's getting impossible to keep up.  So I ask what do I need to stay healthy and live?  Food, water and shelter.  So I guess that is what I am working on.  

Climate change is foremost in my mind, even bigger than politics.  If there is no planet who cares about politics?  I am honestly exhausted by this administration but that is how they want us to feel so we stop calling, stop writing letters, stop speaking out.  Step back catch your breath, recharge and step into it again.  And participate! 

Today is recharge day........

The Long Haul........ winter and a country in chaos

 As the country dissolves into chaos and we slog through what seems like a very long winter, sanity seems to be slipping away.

 

It feels like combat fatigue.  Slap on the hiking boots and start walking when the weather permits.  I keep threatening to join a gym but that would entail me getting into a cold van and traveling several miles, getting out of warm van to have my nose hairs sucked into my brain and I think; nope.  It's the way of the country, we could have signed up for no chaos but nope we got went for crazy.  I've turned off the TV and the newsfeed on my phone.  I always worried we might go to war and I'd never know.  Well, now the government is at war with, "We The People". Trump and Elon use the constitution for toilet paper and everyday seems like a new fire or flood.  So I am choosing to listen Heather Cox Richardson in the evening after dinner and the rest of the day is for seed starting, micro-greens, walking, winter pruning and food prep.  The crazier it gets the more food I squirrel away or the more seeds I buy, the more miles I walk and those seem to be my coping mechanisms.   The patriarchy is not going down easily or without a fight and this is their last gasp to hang on to colonialism and that old white guy sovereignty.  It won't end well but it needs to end.  They will not go quietly into the night, they will burn everything down on their way out the door and we will have a golden opportunity to start over.  

After a 4-5 mile hike I do feel better.  A deer crossed my path the other night and I thought; you have no idea who Trump is or Elon Musk.  It was a revelation!  The sun is going to come up in the morning and set at night and this planet will go on spinning with or without us.  Well isn't that a nice thought?! 

As cold and as icy as it was this morning I set off on an amazing adventure.  A walk that should have taken me an hour at most, ended up taking three.  

Stop and look where your feet are planting, it could be someones home. 

It was so very quiet but then the crows kicked up a fuss and I watched overhead as silent bald eagle flew over head.  Another one who has no idea who Trump is ...... 

This area that I hike is very close to my house and I am surprised at the invasive species that have taken over so many places. 

Pampas Grass where cattails used to be.....

False bamboo or Japanese knotweed..... also where cattails should be.

They are not considered food for any animals although they seem to offer some shelter.  I think I'd rather see the cattails but this stuff is here to stay.  These two species are almost impossible to kill.  I keep looking for ways to use them but not been very successful.  I even tried cooking the young shoots of the knotweed.  I boiled it in two changes of water, stuffed it with cream cheese and still had my hard time choking the stuff down, grateful there was bit of cream cheese in there!  Pampas grass, maybe cordage but cattails are much better IMHO.  

In these times of chaos how is everyone doing?  How are you coping?  

see you in the yard or on the trail 💚

Deep Winter

February 1st and winter holds on.  It has been a typical Ohio winter as I remember winters.  My kids in Alaska are having a warmer winter than Ohio; days reaching 45F with sun.  Here on the shores of Lake Erie it's been overcast much of the last three months and temperatures dipping into the -30's with the windchills coming off a very frozen lake.  Nose hair numbing to be sure!  

But isn't winter beautiful?  The solitude, the snow muffles the harshness of city life, it is a blessing in the wee hours of the morning when I poke my head out the back door to see a herd of deer dancing around the bird feeder.  

January is a month for planning.  Every January is kicked off by planting onion seeds on the new moon.  On the menu this year; Sedona, Talon, Patterson, Blush and Redwing.  I made the mistake of using two year old seed and I will not do that again; as germination has been less than stellar.  I know onions and leeks do much better with fresh seed!  But it just kills me to toss seed so I planted a flat to see if this was really true and yes it is. 

So spotty......

Another flat has been replanted and we will cross our fingers!  

Ursula is looking good and I am snacking a couple times a week off lettuce and other greens.  Not enough to make a salad but the tasting has been delish! 

January, also known as the hungry gap and has me down the hydroponic rabbit hole!  

I have a nice lettuce mix and broccoli micro-greens growing at present.  I've had fun trying out clay pellets for the first time and learning about hydroponic fertilizers and PH balance etc.  It's keeping my mind off the country and world at the moment.  I really needed a break.

I'm back to canning a few things (beans), stocking up my grains, quinoa and barley.  Canadian, non-bromated, no glycosphate, organic hard winter, high protein flour.  (Read your labels!  If your flour is not labeled UNBLEACHED, it is bleached.  Bleached flours have had all their germ & bran removed.  The flour is artificially aged through the use of BLEACH.  Last time I looked, bleach is toxic so why TF is it ok to be in flour?  Add bromate, why?  Well here is an article on the carcinogenic properties of bromate and why they add it to flour: BROMATE

All in 50 pound bags.  A case of soba noodles, the chicken that was on sale (no it isn't free range, organic chicken, its chicken)  I saw eggs for $8 a dozen in the store today so I am eyeing those fluffy butts at Tractor Supply.  Avian Bird Flu has hit NE Ohio in a big way!  On the January planning map; ways to insulate the chickens from wild birds.  So more labor intensive projects ahead.   

But on the days there is sun you can find me in the hoop house soaking up the smell of moist earth and humid warmth.  A good cup of tea and audiobooks for a quick lunch break is heaven! 

I've had time to drop into technology too.  Both computers are working, both printers are working (one wirelessly), I hooked up a camera to my monitor so I can Facetime or join zoom meetings again.  I am plugging along getting my 13 year old camera to shoot video with a remote.  My brain is still in old technology and I have not kept up with the latest and greatest as technology is so expensive!  But I am muddling my way through on a very small budget. 

Apertures, ISO's, shudder speeds .... it is a bit daunting.

I have uploaded a video on my youtube channel if you're interested in installing a paper bag floor: Paper bag floors  

Hoping to upload a few more on winter pruning, starting seeds, micro-greens and pottery. Maybe a few from kitchen central too.  Goal for 2025, get my youtube channel up and running! 

I feel like the times are precarious at best.  I am not a "prepper" or a doomsday-er or flat earth-er, it's just time to hunker down in lieu of the political climate, the climate in general, oh those wild weather patterns.  The last time our government shut down I remember the lines at the Cleveland Food Bank and it was staggering.  People in brand new trucks and SUV's with the trunks open, waiting for a box or two of food.  Some in designer clothes clutching their pearls.  This time around it could be so much worse but honestly, we just don't know.  Inventory your freezer, your storage shelves, don't forget your pets.  Put a few jugs of water aside.  I am watching and taking notes on North Carolina, California, Tennessee and other hard hit places.  What are the take aways?  Have a "go bag" ready but if you don't need to go it would be good to have some things put aside to get you through some tough times.  I have been waiting 3 weeks for a quart of hydroponic liquid fertilizer that should have been here two and half weeks ago but due to inclement weather it's held up somewhere in the midwest and who knows when it will get here.  Ya, a first world problem for sure.  I am now looking for local hydroponic suppliers and happy to say I have found 3 in our area.  

As I sit her pounding away on my keyboard it has just been announced that 25% tariffs will be put in place for Canada and Mexico and a 10% tax on China.  Hmmmm what will be immediately impacted?  Since Mexico supplies 63% of the US imported veggies and 47% of the imported fruit & nuts, buckle up for your next trip to produce section.

• Avocados
• Tomatoes
• Bell peppers
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Cucumbers
• Squash
• Bananas 
• Pineapple 
• Snacks
• Cooking oil
• Nuts
• Tea

But wait there's more! 

The US imported $69 billion worth of vehicles from Mexico and $37 billion from Canada in 2023.

Tariffs could add about $3,000 to the price of some vehicles.  Even if you only need repairs, tariffs on parts will be going up.

The US imports 75% of its smartphones from China.  Tariffs could raise the price of smartphones by 26%.

Canada provides 85% of imported lumber to the US.  I can't wait to go to Home Depot and price lumber!  And you think the new house market is stagnant now, 😂

Appliances....... I'll be down at the river beating my clothes on a rock. 

Wonder if farmers will suffer due to retaliatory tariffs?  It's happened before. 

Canada and Mexico are major buyers of US farm exports.

Canada supplies 60% of US crude oil imports.  If tariffs include oil, gas prices could rise by 30-75 cents per gallon, TD Economics figures warn.   That electric bike is looking pretty good. 

and all this from a guy who campaigned on lower prices on groceries, housing, etc..... Ya I can't wait to see all those free eggs, there will be so many eggs were gonna be throwing them at the White House.  And gas, gas would be so cheap we'll be taking a bath in that stuff.... drill baby drill.  For all those who drank the orange kool-aid; buckle up buttercup it's gonna be long 4 years.  

Ya, it's all fake news.......