Well, I guess I'll start this thread up!

Sunny here today! I spent a long time yesterday priming and painting the ceiling in the bunkhouse. The ceiling slopes (we have a sort of clerestory window thingie on the south side) so parts of the ceiling are around fifteen feet high. I listened to the Mariner's game while putting the primer on, and it took me the whole game to get the stuff on (Kilz.) The ceiling is old, old, old, quarter-inch plywood that we got free. It had been stacked in a guy's yard for about fifteen years, and then stacked in ours for another year. Anyway, it has interesting worm holes in it! We had to select for the (ahem!) "prettiest" pieces. Since the Kilz dries in an hour, I ended up having enough time to paint the ceiling yesterday, too. That part was accomplished in the first half of the Seahawks game! However, today, my neck and shoulders seem to only want to look in a heavenly direction so I think I had better go out and do some weeding...maybe I can get them to reverse and correct!

Or maybe I should just take a nap. zzzzzzzzzz

-- Anonymous, August 26, 2001

Answers

I just realized that I can't even read a calendar correctly! Could someone please correct the dates for me? Thanks! I KNEW I was tired! Sheesh!!!!!!!!!!!!

-- Anonymous, August 26, 2001

All fixed and thank you for starting the thread. I was thinking I'd better check and see if anyone did.

How can August be almost over? Still, since I have no kids to send off to school and I don't go myself, summer still lasts until later in September for me.

All my squash leaves are dying, turning yellow. I don't know if that is natural or if it's some disease. There are still developing squash on them, so I guess I'll wait awhile and see.

We got lots of rain yesterday, so the weeds are easier to pull again.

-- Anonymous, August 26, 2001

Response to Over the Fence Chat 08/19-08/25

More rain here today, everything is so green, it is hard to believe it is the end of August! And, I know you all don't want to hear me complain about having to mow all this rapidly growing green grass each and every week, especially those in the areas of extreme heat and drought.

The Brandywine tomatoes are in full splendor, boy, are they the best for fresh eating, they're not pretty, but oh, so good! The cucumbers and yellow crook-neck squash are about done in with that "turn yellow and die thingie" that comes every year, but, there are still a few if I look hard.

Had a "close encounter" with lightening today, this morning as I was carrying around a big can of cat food giving the barn cats their morning "treat", there was a flash overhead and an instantaneous kaboom that shook the ground with it's intensity. The hairs on my arms stood straight up, the cat food can shocked me, and the air smelled strongly of ozone. It was a midair flash, didn't come to Earth that I could find, but went off right overhead, charging the entire area in the drizzle. Even the cats, dogs, and horses felt the charge, they all were acting very strange for a spell!

Now I usually have enough sense to come in out of thunderstorms ( usually, not always, I afraid), but it was not even storming at the time, just drizzle and no close lightening at all, until the kaboom.

Just goes to show you that sometimes we get no warning of what might happen to us in life, Mother Nature sure likes to keep us on our toes!!!

-- Anonymous, August 26, 2001

Actually pulled off a surprise party for my 16 yo niece on Friday. MANY phone calls re: the giveaway bamboo. Yesterday we worked in the yard-over 2 hours of me weed whacking and then I fixed the hottub (way big deal!) and got the netting out of the mowing deck-- mid- mowing. So much for trying to keep the deer away! Did I mention the four loads of laundry I hung out and then off to dinner with friends (and the dogs, too).

Today sister and the girls were over for more birthday celebration. We're off to the hottub shortly.

I am ready for the work week now. Happy back to school to all those who go to school.

-- Anonymous, August 26, 2001

Those wormholes will give your ceiling "character", Sheepish! That painting over your head sure is tiring, though. We're still painting our upstairs ceiling a little at a time.

It's STILL very dry here in downeast Maine. Folks are really starting to worry about their wells. No second cutting of hay around here this year! Fire danger is extremely high, also!!!

Have most of my garden harvested already. I'm still canning tomatoes...of course, but generally everything that I wanted to either can or freeze is done. Even pulled our onions and dug potatoes already. Still have cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts coming, and of course lots of corn on the cob. To really get full use of our garden I suppose I should be doing the succession planting thing...but my energy level is quite low right now!! Maybe next year??!

Had a carpenter come in and finally put a office on our garage. Been running an automotive repair business there for 15 yrs. now without a separate office. Makes it more comfortable for customers while waiting for their cars. Next will be an extra bay for DH to do his antique auto restoration work.

I'm STILL trying to give away 11 Mallard ducklings!! I never expected Mama Mallard to successfully raise all that she hatched out. And I actually figured a fox or coyote might get a few...but noooo, they're all still here! I really don't want to go into the winter with a total of 16 ducks. And we don't like to eat 'em! I also have an abundance of bantams that survived, too. Maybe we'll eat those!

Is it my imagination or is this forum "shrinking"?? Come on, folks! I really love hearing about what's going on in other parts of the country ( well, there's that selfish part of me showing itself again!!) Anyways, hope you all have a happy and productive week :-)!!!

-- Anonymous, August 27, 2001

I checking in. My ribs are recovering from my fall down the steps but I have some of the most interesting bruises (in some really interesting places) you've ever seem. I didn't realize purple came in so many different shades.

Our garden in really starting to come in(finally). We're still picking (and eating) green beans everyday. Finally got my first red tomato on Friday. (Is anything better than the first tomato?) I put 90 ears of corn in the freezer using my Food Saver. Boy was that easy. And DH says that's all the corn. We've got some of the strangest gourds coming all over the corn field. I have no idea what to do with them, but they're plentiful. Alex's watermelon vines have 5 or 6 really nice Suger Babies, so he's really pleased. Broccoli is going great, too.

We spent our first weekend at our camp in Vermont. Didn't want to come home. When I have a little more time, I'll tell you all about it. I just loved being there.

Hang in there everybody and be good to yourselves.

Wishing you enough.

-- Anonymous, August 27, 2001

Lots of people must be racing to get stuff done before school starts or before colder weather sets in, I guess. Our green beans are still at the blossom stage...we are so behind in our growing stages out here in the Northwest! I finally quit planting fall stuff except for radishes.

I just finished putting Tung oil on the bunkhouse floor. I hope I applied it correctly and I hope it dries satisfactorily! Cuz, if I didn't and it's not....yuck!!! I am trying to get the "basics" done (floor, ceiling, etc.) so I can concentrate on the decorating part this fall. (Fun stuff like curtains, shelves, etc.) The bunkhouse has basically been structurally and functionally done since Dec. 1999 (hmm, wonder why?!) but it never has been really completed (like a lot of projects around here...)

Anyway, I moved all my stuff into a bay in the garage and have been parking my truck in the drive. Two of my spinning wheels, big sacks of wool, my assorted spinning tools, and some furniture have been sitting in the garage awaiting nefarious deeds by the cats. So far they have been pretty good, but I'm not realy trusting of them. So I want to get the stuff moved back into the bunkhouse asap. If all goes well and this dries okay, I should be able to get stuff back in tomorrow. Then I really have to do some barn stuff to get ready to receive hay this week. My transcription gig has been postponed until after Labor Day. Yikes, that's this coming weekend! I guess I had better get off of here, too!

-- Anonymous, August 27, 2001

Sheepish, Will you have a long enough season to get a good bean harvest?? I'm feeding my extra pole beans to our pigs now. Don't you just love interior decorating??! DH gets quite upset with me 'cause I'm always rearranging the furniture. I even rearrange my barn occasionally! No curtains in the barn, tho' :-)!!!

-- Anonymous, August 27, 2001

Golly Gee Whiz - it sure is a great morning!! Amazing how something so superficial as sleep can change your attitude! I started three days in a row off yesterday - slept half the day and all night - now I'm ready to rock and roll! Got up early this AM and had coffee on the porch glider with the cat - hummer-birds were out early too. Got 5 feeders on the porch and they are hitting them hard - awful early in the year for this I thought, tho it is nearly September. Makes me wonder what the winter will bring. Anyone else seen any signs of a hard winter coming? Brrrr - glad I contracted for 1000 gals of propane already! Gave 85 cents a gallon for it; saw a post on CS yesterday where I had paid $1.57.9 last Jan!

Got to go move all the junk out of the East yard so Pop can mow when he gets home from coffee; got to do a ton of laundry, restring the clothesline, pick and can tomatoes, weed around the peppermint and get back to hauling composted manure and sand to the front perennial beds. Gonna try to get Pop to mow off the berries and put my split row tiller back on to see what I can salvage of the berry patch - it got badly ignored this summer while I was at work all the time.

I'll probably pick up a few potted mums today while I'm in town with the laundry - still haven't pulled out the cleome yet (it's sooo pretty, as long as you can't smell it!) but when I do; it's gonna leave some pretty large bare spots in the bed. Been ogling the bulb catalogs too....

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2001

Golly Gee Whiz - it sure is a great morning!! Amazing how something so superficial as sleep can change your attitude! I started three days in a row off yesterday - slept half the day and all night - now I'm ready to rock and roll! Got up early this AM and had coffee on the porch glider with the cat - hummer-birds were out early too. Got 5 feeders on the porch and they are hitting them hard - awful early in the year for this I thought, tho it is nearly September. Makes me wonder what the winter will bring. Anyone else seen any signs of a hard winter coming? Brrrr - glad I contracted for 1000 gals of propane already! Gave 85 cents a gallon for it; saw a post on CS yesterday where I had paid $1.57.9 last Jan!

Got to go move all the junk out of the East yard so Pop can mow when he gets home from coffee; got to do a ton of laundry, restring the clothesline, pick and can tomatoes, weed around the peppermint and get back to hauling composted manure and sand to the front perennial beds. Gonna try to get Pop to mow off the berries and put my split row tiller back on to see what I can salvage of the berry patch - it got badly ignored this summer while I was at work all the time.

I'll probably pick up a few potted mums today while I'm in town with the laundry - still haven't pulled out the cleome yet (it's sooo pretty, as long as you can't smell it!) but when I do; it's gonna leave some pretty large bare spots in the bed. Been ogling the bulb catalogs too.... I have trouble convincing Pop that perennials get bigger - that peony that is taking up 1/4 of a sqare foot this year is gonna be hogging a 3'X 3' area in a year or two. He wants to keep sticking plants in to fill it up. I put annuals in the nekkid spots to hush him up this year and it's making it kind of hard to figure out where to put spring bulbs!

I've decided that I'm gonna tell Jessie that I want cardboard for my birthday next month! Her Dad (the ex) runs an HVAC and commercial refridg. business, sells and repairs appliances and he gets a lot of big chunks of good heavy cardboard in. I've discovered that it is just the greatest for killing off the weeds and grass for starting new beds! And I've got a lot of areas that I want to do something with next year. I'll toss some more of that composted manure over the cardboard to make it look decent while it anihilates the weeds.

Got three areas on the east side of the house (on each side of the two basement window wells) where I'm thinking about putting some herbs. I put some lemon balm in one section already. Nothing much will grow over there because there are two black walnut trees that shade that area of the yard. The trees stay because they have good black walnuts on them and the are the only shade I've got on that side of the house. I've got a trumpet creeper that grows up a post right next to the walnuts and it hasn't taken over, as is its wont; so perhaps some really invasive herbs would be tough enough to fight it out with the walnuts; yet not get way out of hand - kind of like Sharon's comfrey and raspberry bed! Any suggestions for the herbs?

Well, I've bored y'all enough for one morning and I ain't getting one thing done sitting here at the computer, so I'm off to go accomplish something! (Wish me luck!)

You folks all have an enjoyable day!

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2001

It's 3:25 p.m. central time, I guess we're back up -- for now anyway!

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2001

Yippee! The forums are back! I am having a very slow day at work today. I hate being here doing nothing when I know that there's so much to do at home. I canned 5 pints of stewed tomatoes on Monday and I still have enough tomatoes left to do at least 10 more pints. I'm out of jars though, and they're getting hard to find around here. I asked for some at the store today and was told that canning jars are a seasonal item and that canning season is over. They need to take a look at my garden!

Anyone have any big Labor Day plans?

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2001

Yeah - work. Boo-hoo, whimper, whine...

Sherri, do you have any Dollar Stores in your area? Ours still have jars left over. Wish I was closer, I'd run you over a couple of dozen I got from the auction - they're still sitting on my front porch; unwashed. Sigh!

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2001

We have Dollar Bill's, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Dollar Inn, Dollar Hut, and Dollar Time! I think that I probably just asked at the wrong store. I work on the "Brie" side of town but live on the "Velveeta" side. I'll check out the stores around my house tonight.

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2001

Well, Sherri, your city is bigger than mine, but canning jars are available here year round (though in greater numbers around this time) at the hardware stores, at least True Value. So if that is not the kind of place you're looking, it might be another place to try.

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2001

Well, I hadn't forgot about you all, I tried to post something the other day and it wouldn't do it. So I will try again. Sounds like everyone has been so busy. I havn't been near as busy as I should be. I did get a peach pie made the other day and a loaf of banana bread. Still need to do apples. The kids are on their second week of school and things are getting better I think. Maranda still has some trouble understanding her math teacher. The school changed their lunch milk to one % and the kids don't like that at all. So now I have to send their milk or juice and let Justin once a week have a soda. I don't know what was so wrong with the 2% they had been having. My nephew is in his terrible two's alright. He is quite a handful some days. Michael is down at our two acres mowing and we are still trying to get the mowing caught up, but the mower was broke for a few days till parts came in. I have a young hen wanting to set. I keep taking her off the nest and telling her "no". The silly thing. It has been a pretty day here today. It was a cool morning, warming up some this afternoon, sunny and a little breeze. I sat alone this morning after the kids left for school and Michael and Curtis were asleep. That happens so rarely and its so good for the soul. I will check with the forum later Phyllis

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2001

The weather here is good, too. Yesterday I took the grandson blueberry picking. Now I'm drying some for later. Also am drying apples. The garden is doing quite well. I really enjoy going shopping for dinner in my own back yard.

DH & I are going to our new place in Vermont. This is the cabin my FIL left to DH & me. Great little place on a wooded knoll. So nice and quiet. Can't see the neighbors but can watch their cows graze in the pasture. A great little slice of heaven.

Hope everyone has a great (and safe) Labor Day Weekend.

Wishing you enough.

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2001

Sure is great to have the forums back. Had myself a "slight" panic attack this afternoon!!!! Couldn't get to BTS or CS (those are the only forums I have time for). All's right with the world now :-)!!!

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2001

Oh Dianne, just read over on CS about your cabin in Vermont. Sounds absolutely beautiful!! The best thing about log walls is that you can hang a picture anywhere! I remember, after we had built ours, for months afterwards we'd hear the logs splitting and cracking in the middle of the night. Sounded like rifle fire! Anyways...enjoy your home away from home!

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2001

Thanks Marcia,

We're heading up there tomorrow and I can hardly wait. Now that I have weekends away to look forward too, some of the things that annoy me hear (noise, neighbors, etc.,) don't bother me as much.

A funny thing about this camp: My in-laws have been going there for years, but DH & I knew that someday it would be ours. When I would visit I would mentally re-arrange furniture and think about other changes I would make "when it was mine!" Once we actually took ownership, the only changes I made was to remove three pictures from the walls. Everything else just seems to fit just perfectly. My FIL was an inventor so there are all kinds of neat little things he did to camp to make it so much more comfortable. Fortunately, DH is the same way. If I need something, he just makes it.

Case in point: there is no running water system inside the camp. However, there is an abundant spring at the bottom of the hill. We carry water, but FIL created a way of having water come through the faucets by adapting a fruit tree sprayer that we pump up and WOW! turn on the faucet and get "running" water. It's cold, but at least it's running.

There are also neat little "holders" for oil lamps, electric blanket controls, tools, etc. Everywhere you look, you can see samples of his handiwork. I never particularly cared too much for this man, but I can't help but admire his talents.

Thanks for the encouragement. When I hear logs cracking during the night, I'll at least know what it is.

Wishing you enough.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Let's all go to the cabin for Labor Day! I hear air fares are getting really cheap! ...Okay, back to reality, although it sure sounds wonderful!

Heads up....the server still seems to be pretty buggy...I just got bounced around with some error messages. At least it seems to be up and mostly running. I missed our forum!

I've been putting shelves up in the bunkhouse and moving stuff back in. Mr. S. was getting testy about all the stuff in the garage stall! (His messes in the garage are always worse than mine, though!) Today we are putting in WIDE shelves way up near the ceiling so I can stack sacks of wool up there. It is all coming together. Sure hope so soon, as those weeds are having a riot out in the gardens...

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Marcia, I *hope* our beans happen this year! Every year I either panic about not getting any "made" in time, or more often, whether or not they will get picked while we are on vacation. I think we have enough time left for a harvest. Our Septembers are warm and summery, although we have waning light. Sun sets around 8 these days I think...light out until 8:30 or so.

We had the strangest weather this year. First cool and wet, then hot and dry, then cool and wet, now hot and dry. The vegetables don't have a clue what to do next! I have had WAY more strawberries than I have ever seen, and I thought they were too crowded to produce. I have lots of corn but the ears are wimpy. I have big Hubbard squashes in the making, but they are still yellow. Good news is that the coles are all doing well so far. Next year I intend to get everything started and do transplants. No time to fool around with this weather. The tomato plant on my patio still has all it's tomatoes at the yellow fruit stage and has been like that for over a month! Sheesh!!!

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

The big news here is GRANNY HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!! It was way too boring here for her. She wanted more polish folks to talk with and polish radio, polish newspaper and polish products so she moved to Chicago where she has some friends and polish everything.

I personally didn't mind her being here too much because she was helpful but she was driving Chris crazy. Chris, my wife, the sweetest creature to walk the face of the earth IMO, would get up in the AM determined to be compassionate, kind and understanding. By the end of the day she was wanting to bury granny in the woods---not a good sign.

I'm getting rid of the chickens this week. Chris, who's named most of them, refuses to have anything to do with cooking or eating them and the egg money doesn't even pay for their feed so whats the point, they're just costing us money. A buddy is gonna buy all of them from us. His girlfriend who lives with him with her three kids enjoys the chickens and one of the kids loves them and they eat ALOT of eggs. We've gotten a couple incubators as freebies so I'm gonna give him one of those too. Otherwise the kids, city kids, are bored out there in the boonies so the hope is they'll be less bored with some critters around.

We're thinking about finding a good home for the goats too. We really enjoy them but they're just costing us money too and we just don't have the time to spend with them, as much as we love them.

I'm wanting to concentrate on the greenhouse and another project I'm working on that will, I hope, enable me to quit my job and work at home doing the homesteady thing. Until then I just want to minimize the work and expense load. Too many other things to do that are gonna cost money.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

For some reason my attempt to post this last nite didn't take so I'll try again.

The big news around here is that GRANNY HAS LEFT THE BUILDING! She was really bored here because there were no other Polish folks around to socialize with so she moved to Chicago where there's polish people, radio, products and newspapers. She has friends there and knows her way around.

Personally, speaking just for myself, I didn't mind her being here because she was helpful but she was driving Chris nuts. Chris, my wife, is the sweetest, gentlest, kindest creature to walk the face of the earth. She'd awaken in the morning with the best of intentions, to be kind, compassionate, and understanding toward Granny but by the time she went to bed she was wondering where to bury granny in the woods----not a good sign so its best granny went to Chicago.

We're selling all the chickens tomorrow. My best retail egg customer is taking them. He lives with his girlfriend and her three kids out in the boonies. The kids are bored and the thought is with the chickens around the kids'll be busy with chicken related chores and the rearing of chicks. I gave him a freebie incubator with the deal so they plan on hatching some eggs too.

I wasn't making enuf $ from the eggs to even pay for their feed and Chris refused to even think about cooking or eating the chickens so whats the point.

We're also thinking about selling or giving away the goats too. We really enjoy them but don't have enuf time to spend with them. If there's anyone in Wisconsin who'd like a pair of Nubian does who've never been bred let be know. The only condition, besides a good home, is that they stay together.

I'm kind of regrouping around here and intend to focus my efforts on the greenhouse, garden, and another thing I've been working on that will hopefully make enuf money so I can quit my job.

-- Anonymous, September 01, 2001