Just wondered what you all have been doing lately?? I love to hear everything that is going on in your world! People probably get tired of just hearing about me!!!!

We helped our neighbor build a big stone flower bed around her barn. Cale loves to work with stone! It turned out pretty nice.

Yesterday I had preschool, and then I had to run around getting everything set for Cale to drive his new truck. It had been in the shop getting a few things done, for over a week! I had to go to the title office, get the plates and the insurance office. None of them were crowded, but they are all at different ends of town...

Last night Cale bought a log splitter, he is getting a little weary of splitting by hand all of the time, so he found one for a good price and bought it.

The kids and I priced all the yard sale stuff, so it is all ready to set out Saturday.

Today I am going to bake a bunch of stuff. I am just craving peanut butter cookies!!! I am going to make pumpkin bread and zucchini bread too... It has been very warm here, in the 80's the last few days. Well let us know what is going on!

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 18, 2002

Answers

I jumped on a plane last Friday to travel to Ribeirão Preto, where I have the "Total Transformation" course that night and for 12 hours Saturday (including lunch and breaks). That night my host and I stayed up talking until 1 a.m., and we got up at 5:20 a.m. for me to catch my plane home. I was tired, but satisfied with the results. People stayed awake and attentive the whole time.

Seems my bag didn't even make it on the plane on the leg home, but they delivered it the next morning, minus a pocket knife that was in a zippered outer pocket.

Today I'm off to São Paulo to meet with the editor of the magazine I publish. He's taking over the editor's job this year, so we've lots still to cover.

And I'm trying to get two books out before the end of the month; not mine, but one by a colleague, and another I'm editing of a collection of speeches from a national encounter.

That's why I haven't shown my face lately, nor kept up very well with my lists and sites!

Great day for everybody around this amazing ball of dirt we call home.

-- Randal in Brazil (randal@rhyme.cjb.net), April 18, 2002.

It's finally spring like in Mn. and everyone wants their trees, bushes,flowers so I'm very busy arranging shipping etc. Lots to do around home, yardwork, a new chicken coop, some prairie yet to burn. Maybe today after work I will put the back blade on the tractor and grade the driveway, it's getting kinda bad. I have to mow down the fall bearing raspberries, I give up the summer crop by doing that but it's just easier and I think I get more in the fall when I do that and we have lots of summer bearing varities so there is no berry shortage. Time to get ready for school bus.

-- John in Mn. (nospam@mywork.com), April 18, 2002.

Okay Melissa, ya gotta realize that there are some guys who visit this forum of your'n....right. You just can't go and say "Cale bought a log splitter" without giving us more information....savvy? What brand of engine does it have (or does it run off the tractors PTO?) How many horsepower? How inches is the cylinder stroke? How many tons splitting capacity? Whats the cycle time? Does it have a one or two stage pump? Come on Melissa, we need to know these things! And let that be a lesson for the rest of you gals. Never write a power equipment post without giving us guys the details!

-- Cabin Fever (cabinfever_MN@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002.

How inches is the cylinder stroke? Did you leave a word out, Cabin, or do I REALLY not know anything about log splitters?

Lance would love to have a splitter, he wants to sell wood is part of it, but I really keep him so busy that he doesn't have time to split it by hand, which is why we don't use our fireplace all winter, only when it is reeeaaaaalllllyyy cold! We haven't found any used ones in decent condition around here - seems like when people buy them, they use them until they are all used up!

-- Christine in OK (cljford@mmcable.com), April 18, 2002.

This is a homemade log splitter, it is BIG!!! It looks very heavy duty and it has a motor that runs it. Last night he was playing around with some big pieces of dry elm, which he has never been able to split by hand and he can usually split anything!!) and it popped them right in half while it was idling!! So we kind of looked at each other and thought wow! This thing will split anything!!! The reason we got it was the people got divorced and the wife got the splitter but wouldn't use it by herself. It has a long cylinder, I will have to check how big, but what I liked was that it goes all the way to the splitting thingie!! (the wedge???) You know how some of them stop about 4 inches from the end and then you have to put another piece of woood there to get the first one out?? So that should not happen here. I will have to check the "technical" details, but you all know I am a girl!!!

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 18, 2002.

Christine, how MANY inches is the cylinder stroke? Sheesh, I'll have to start proof reading my posts! Melissa, I'll check in tomorrow for the specs.

-- Cabin Fever (cabinfever_MN@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002.

Since this is the third day of wind and abnormal heat for April I have not been working in the garden as I had hoped. For one thing it is so dry. I think I'm going to have to water to get things started. Hung the laundry out on Monday, so windy it popped a few clothes pins off. Took it all in after a couple hours and it was nice and dry and fluffy! Spent a couple hours yesterday picking up branches that had blown down in a storm on Tuesday night. Yesterday afternoon I had my JAM group after school which is always sort of fun. Today I repotted some tomato plants that were getting too big for their starter pots but it is to windy to set them in the ground and besides they say we may have a frost later in the week! Crazy Nebraska spring.Working on finishing the embroidery on one more tea towel which will give me a set of five that will be a gift for a bridal shower I'm going to on Sunday at church. Oh, one more thing, my husband and I got to babysit our grandson Zachary last evening while our daughter-in-law and our son went out for dinner on our son's 23rd birthday. That's been the best part of the week so far:)

-- Nancy (nannyb@huntel.net), April 18, 2002.

Got up at six, and was really foggy, comes off Gulf. Fed all the animals and barn cats. And then met my niegbor for our mile walk. We chewed the fat about everything. I have to clean house today, So I can stick a new canvas on the Esel. I have been painting snow pictures, but think I will switch to western type now. The garden is growing well, My English peas are blooming, and will be shelling before long.I hope to freeze a lot. Canning is comeing up here. Usually all our crops are done by July 4th. The swimming pool is just about at the right temp. for swimming, And school will be out soon so kids will start showing up to swim. Thats about it down here on the Gulf.

-- Irene texas (tkorsborn@cs.com), April 18, 2002.

Parts of the garden were finally dry enough, so that I could start planting. So far I have planted peas, spinach, lettuce, radishes, green onions, 3 kinds of onions which I started from seed, gold ball turnips, pansies, sweet peas, and snapdragons. Need to get the potatoes planted, but that is my son's department. The weeds are up and growing, so I have to try and get a jump on them.

We are looking over homeschool curriculum catalogs to try and select what Kyle wants to study next year. There's too many choices!

I bought an antique metal bed at an estate auction for $1. So, it needs sanded and repainted. It went so cheap because on the footboard some of the metal spindles are bent. Well, when I lived in Toledo, I trashed picked a metal bed footboard, which I was going to use as a garden gate, but never got around to doing this. It fits this bed perfectly. The headboard has a real pretty design, it looks like caning, only its metal. Looks depression era to me. I just love being cheap and creative at the same time.

It's been very warm here too, but this weekend the highs are only going to be in the 50's. My peaches, pears, and redbud trees are blooming and they are very beautiful.

-- vicki in NW OH (thga76@aol.com), April 18, 2002.

Cabin Fever,

The reason we gals don't post the technical details is because you guys generally have no understanding of "thingies, doo-dads, whatchamacallits", etc. Now, when Melissa posts something about a "thingie", we gals know what she's referring to but guys are not only confused, they tend to ridicule our technical terms.

One time my nerdy BIL, who is a Ph.D and a computer geek at a university, introduced me to his significant other. The S.O and I really hit it off. When BIL returned, he found his S.O. animatedly describing to me some of the power equipment she used in her sign business, complete with all the little thingys and other descriptive terms. BIL immediately began to berate her for confusing me with her improper terminology. S.O. calmly informed him that I had no problem understanding her descriptions and knew exactly what she was referring to, with me nodding vigorously in agreement. BIL obviously was the one with the problem.

My dh refers to the language as "ding-bat", and says it can be understood only by another ding-bat. 'I' think males are envious that women have a universal language, backed up by a secret sign language, that a male will never be able to comprehend. So be careful when you ask for further technical details from the females on this or any other forum, unless you can grasp the language. ;)

-- Lenette (kigervixen@nospam.com), April 18, 2002.

very warm here as well. I'm trying to do some gardening but its still pretty muddy. I worked on the swamp of a driveway this morning- its a little better. I went this morning and collected a huge tractor tire that a farmer nieghbor of ours didn't want-I'll go to the concrete plant this weekend and fill it full of sand for a sandbox for my daughter. Trying to think of some cheap bunny prooffencing-anybody got any ideas? Tues night Grandpa had an asthma attack at 2 am we had to take him to the emergency room-yesterday was "just get through the day with out falling over" In fact, I think I might just get some lunch and maybe a quick nap

-- Kelly (homearts2002@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002.

Well, it is getting pretty warm down here in deep south Texas. We are going to hit mid to high 90's, with 70% plus humidity. Plenty sticky, but summer is just around the corner (groan . . .)

We need some rain badly. Last weekend, a departing winter Texan asked me, "Doesn't it EVER rain here?" I told, "I'm not sure, I've only lived here 39 years", exaggerating, but only slightly.

Plans for building and stocking chicken tractor have been postponed, until my wife and I get child rearing habits down pat. We really hate to start new projects without having the former ones already taken care of. Too bad; the ticks and fleas are really thick this year, I'll bet the chickens would grown fat on them alone! I also don't want to put out lawn poison, as I'm afraid of effects on future chickens.

Work is great; I finished a LDS church last week, and two county clinics are really shaping up (I'm an architectural draftsman, in case anyone forgot), so work is hopping.

Have a great week people.

-- j.r. guerra in s. tx. (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), April 18, 2002.

A week ago Saturday it was zero and we still had 2 feet of snow. Our temps for the last 3 days have been 86, 90 and 80*. The grass greened up, flowers are blooming and leaves are coming out. I blinked and spring came and went!

I have been trying to work up my garden and get some things planted. I have 2 acres of raised beds, so that takes awhile ;-) Also, I had 4 blood transfusions since December for anemia, am on oxygen and have congestive heart failure. That just adds to the challenge.

I have been thinking I should have had more kids ;-) Only had one and she is 18. She is working in town as a carpenter, so I can't get as much help as I'd like in the garden! Lucky for me, the remodeling job ends Friday, so maybe I can snag her for a few days.

I have three 55 gallon drums of wood ashes to spread on the garden and about 30 lbs of shallot sets to plant. That should keep me busy the rest of the day. I'm hiding from the strong sun right now ;-)

-- Peace and Carrots Farm, Vermont (wsm311@aol.com), April 18, 2002.

I just made a to do list of things that need to be done around the house. the list was three pages long. All of it needs to be done this weekend. My problem is, Where do I fit going to work around everything that needs to be done at home?

-- Melinda (speciallady104@hotmail.com), April 18, 2002.

j.r., what EVER you do, don't put diazinon granules down where chickens will be soon afterward (probably the same for liquid), as the chickens will eat them and die - trust me, I killed two of mine about a year and a half ago this way. Made about half a dozen more really sick, too. I never even thought about them eating it, but then dogs will drink antifreeze if it's offered, so...

I don't know about the effects after a period of time - the chickens we still have are out in the yard where the granules were spread and it doesn't seem to bother them, but we haven't put any more down since then, either!! (if I remember right, the ants were eating our trees and everything else is why we tried it in the first place).

-- Christine in OK (cljford@mmcable.com), April 18, 2002.

Well...we cleaned out garden beds this weekend. It was beautiful out. I have to get peas in as soon as the ground is dry enough (the snow just melted).

We burned grass on Monday evening..Wow. I'm always alittle on pins and needles to do this, even though I understand why it's good to do. The grass was high and dry this year! There wasn't even a window of time to burn last year..too dry, so I've seen several controlled burns done around here this year. Our burn went fine. Fortunately, it is raining today, we need it.

The garlic is coming up.

I always plant lots of onions, but I hope to sucessfully grow shallots this year..they haven't done so well in the past. Anyone have an organic gardening tip for these?

thanks.

-- Cat (catcrazy@somewhere.com), April 18, 2002.

It is cold out and it seems that whenever I step outside to do chores, or pick a fresh salad for dinner, it begins to hail! It is beautiful outside though... sun in between white/dark grey cumulonimbus clouds (looked that up in the kids weather book!), and the trees in bloom. It is difficult to get any big job done outside in this kind of weather - and I feel like my to-do list is getting longer.

I have 40 more broccoli/cabbage transplants to set out, and more garden beds to prepare for planting. Need to set up drip irrigation in the hoophouse because handwatering is getting old! Peas are about 8 inches tall, 1st set of broccoli/cabbage plants are standing strong against this wild weather, potatoes are peeking out of the ground, it won't be long until we can have something besides salad and kale!

My chickens are unhappy - does anyone know what I can bathe my chickens in to help them overcome their "depluming mites"? My book says a bath of sulphur and soap, but I do not keep sulphur around. How about mineral oil or baby oil? Would that smother the mites? Regular dusts like Sevin, etc., have not helped with this particular mite.

I have been warming the house by baking bread, Peanut butter cookies, and blueberry cakes. I am making double batches and freezing for later on when we are outside working most of the day and come into the house HUNGRY!

Also keeping busy helping my three oldest children finish up their third quarter schoolwork. We homeschool and plan to finish up and pack our books away by May 31...

We have 100 fat little Cornish-Cross chicks in the brooder. In one week they have gone from being cute and not too time-consuming, to bossy, demanding little birds! They are going through food and water like crazy. Soon they will be in that 'ugly' stage, half feathered- out and gangly looking!

Well, that is what we're doing around here. Wishing it would warm up!

-- Lisa in OR (langfordfam@proaxis.com), April 18, 2002.

Could you try ashes for the chickens. Mine love to roll around in them, and they never have any bugs or anything on them.

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 18, 2002.

Melissa, I keep ashes from our woodstove in a box with the birds (who are confined in chicken tractors for the time being). They can roll anytime, but prefer to eat them! Thanks, for the idea though. I am finding this particular mite is not responding to 'dusting' of any kind. Wonder if an oily bath (mineral or baby or vegetable) would suffocate the mites that are burrowed in the feather shafts. I am going to give it a shot when we have a sunny day. Anyone else have birds that overcame feather-pulling?

We finally found a solution to predators and keeping their living quarters clean, and that is the chicken tractor. We run them all over our market garden beds. However, they are still confined and now we have a parasite problem - one that we never experienced when they were free-ranging. It is always something, it seems! I kept the chickens in our hoophouse over the winter, but now I need that space for planting, so they are back in their portable homes.

-- Lisa in OR (langfordfam@proaxis.com), April 18, 2002.

This being the first spring on the new farm, I am swamped! To top it off, Hubby is out of town for new licensing classes and training for 3 weeks. Good thing I have other family help around the farm! We have the garden almost all in but still lots to do. I can't believe we have to weed already. We are getting so much rain everything is growing like crazy -- including the grass. Mowing and weedeating alone takes 2 days.

We just remodeled the old chicken coop and moved the babies in. We still have to get the chicken run in. I am building raised beds for to put the strawberry plants in. Looking for a couple of goats, which might be an impossible task around here...sheep everywhere, not a goat to be found. Also need to get the pig pen built and find a couple of oinkers. Have yet to get a calf, but am looking. The pasture is just beautiful so hope to get one soon. We have chickens up the ying yang but having a time finding the other animals.

All the flowers and trees are blooming and it is beautiful this time of year. This is my favorite season - everything comes to life and the new babies come to the farm!

-- Karen (mountains_mama2@hotmail.com), April 18, 2002.

Thanks for the confirmation, Christine. I kinda thought it would be a bad idea to poison the ground you are planning to let some livestock feed on. Just need to water more, I guess, but with water restrictions going on here . . . catch 22 situation. Thanks again.

-- j.r. guerra in s. tx. (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), April 19, 2002.