A modest start to the orchard

My Raintree Nursery (http://www.raintreenursery.com/) order finally came in today! Of course it did... after 1o days of beautiful sunny and warm weather, it's just my luck that it arrived on a chilly rainy day when it's supposed to get down to 38 degrees tonight. Lovely.

But I love Raintree. I've been ordering from them for years and they have always sent me healthy trees and shrubs that have taken off as soon as they hit the dirt. In this shipment:

1 - Sweetheart Cherry tree (self-pollinating)
2 - Glenora blue seedless grapes
2 - Lakemont green seedless grapes
1 - Chandler Blueberry
1 - Darrow Blueberry
2 - Crimson Cherry Rhubarb
5 - Anne Rasberry (gold)
5 - Caroline Raspberry (red)
5 - Tulameen Raspberry (red)
1 - Lattarula Fig

The strawberries come in groups of 25 for under 10 bucks. But with Raintree I've always gotten a few extra! I haven't counted the Tri Star (everbearing) plants yet, but I counted the Benton (June bearers) and got 29 plants! I got the Rhubarb planted first, then Heidi Ho and I started planting the Bentons, but then a storm whooshed in and drenched us in rain before we had a chance to make to the porch. It's only 51 degrees out there now and still raining, which is why I decided a change of clothes and warm blanket took precedence over the strawberries.

Check out the cherry tree! Look at all those buds just waiting to grow!



And take a look at the raspberry sprouts just waiting for some soil and sunshine!





Over the weekend Glenn brought a Bobcat skid steer home (the joys of working for an equipment rental!) and we were able to do a few things around the farm, as well as fill in the last two garden beds! He scooped up some really nice black soil from in front of the small barn, then put the two truck loads of compost on top of the soil in both beds. He wasn't even done filling in the second bed before I had started planting in the first one! I planted the rest of the onions down both sides, then calendulas and dill here and there down the sides. The perennial stuff went on the ends of the beds: bronze fennel, parsely (biennial), catnip, lemon balm, and borage (annual, but gets huge).

Breaktime! Ho and Brie both had to check Glenn out in the Bobcat to make sure it wasn't eating him. Brie, who is always up for an adventure, probably wanted to ride with him if it wasn't so noisy.




Neither of the boys thought climbing into the noisy metal beast was such a good idea, but they're big whimps anyway.

I'm worried about Mr. Brandywine, the poor little tomato seedling that was made to suffer for my gardening impatience. It's supposed to be 38 tonight and 34 tomorrow night. Yikes! The good news is that this seems to be winter's last horrah for the season because starting Wednesday it's back into the 50's at night and 70's during the day. So just like Junior, my little 'mater has his own blanket on tonight. I covered him with straw and grass cuttings then topped it off with an upside down plastic pot. Let's hope it's enough!

The Great Escape

Maverick ran away to join the circus. Or at least he tried. Our wonderful neighbor came over to do some bull dozing in Mav and Junior's pasture. The previous owner had tons of dirt brought into fill in some ruts and flatten some places out, but never got around to actually doing the work. Our neighbor has a bulldozer and enjoys destroying things (even if it's just piles of dirt), so this worked out fine. The problem is that he left the gate wide open when he left the other night. DUH. Junior was out in the yard grazing loose as he does every day. He lost a lot of weight when I had to separate him from his woman and free choice grain (he limits himself to about 6qts a day) and the lush grass in the yard are helping to put some weight back on and he no longer looks like the poster child for the Equine Rescue League. And since he's a thoroughbred, he's showing no signs of laminitis or founder. Whew.

But Maverick was still in the pasture, at least until he realized the gate was open. Then he packed a small hobo bag with some grain and his shedding blade, tied it to a stick, and wondered off down the road. I was in the garden (yes, barefoot) and the dogs alerted me to the fact that Maverick was no longer where he was supposed to be. By the time I rounded the garage and got a look at the road all I saw was a brown and white butt disappearing around the curve. Had this been Junior, Semi, or Kita, I wouldn't have worried too much. They would have gone around the curve, realized they couldn't see the rest of the herd anymore and come running back to the safety of the yard. We have very little traffic on our road, and what traffic we have goes slowly because the road is such a rutted mess so getting hit by a car is not a big worry.

So I grabbed the lead rope hanging on the porch and a bucket of grain and didn't stop to call the dogs in or put on some shoes. I got to the top of the driveway and looked behind me to see three dogs and two cats close on my heels. I'm not sure how the cats thought they could help, but it's their horse too and I guess they wanted to make sure he returned home safe and sound. Or maybe they wanted to join the circus too.

At this point Maverick has a good lead on me and is just swinging along at a nice little walk, totally ignoring the gravel under his feet. I'd like to say I was able to ignore the gravel under my feet, but um, not so much. I'm sure I made a heck of a picture at this point and I'm almost positive I could hear Maverick laughing at me and wondering how long he should torture me. Luckily, after about 1/2 mile he turned around and gave me this surprised look like "hey, have you been behind me the whole time??" His second thought was also obvious, "you have FOOD!" He walked back to me, buried his face in the bucket, and didn't look up until I had the lead rope around his neck.

The cats were whining by this time, complaining because we'd gone too far, the rocks hurt their feet, it really wasn't all that much fun, they were hungry, yada yada yada. Maverick followed me obediently all the way home and went back in his pasture without a fuss. As a reward I unpacked his shedding blade, scratched all the itchies and gave him a little more grain.

I'm a total atheist so correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't one of the 10 commandments "beat thy neighbor with a bag of bricks if he leaves the gate open"?

I couldn't help it!

I'm convinced that every gardener has a little voice in their heads that tells them to plant the 'maters out too early. Because everyone wants not only the biggest tomato on the block, but also the earliest. It's a bragging right well deserved after tilling, weeding, fertilizing, pruning, staking, tying, and deworming well before everyone else just to get that 5lb mater in June. Does it ever really happen north of Zone 8? It seems that no matter how early I put out my maters and how much I protect them on chilly nights, and feed them organic goodness, no matter how many green horn worms I cut in half or smoosh with a rock (yuck), I NEVER get mater's before July. And that was when I was in Zone 7 down in VA.

Now I'm zone 6 and the weather has been gorgeous for a couple of weeks. On Sunday the little voice in my head became a teenager's boombox and I had to obey. I just had to plant something. I started out simple and just did the onions. But that didn't satisfy the need to play in the dirt, so I planted a few calendulas and a couple of dills. A yarrow, a bronze fennel, my root-bound oregano, two more flat leafed parsleys, and a catnip. And yet I wanted more. I tried to busy myself by thinning the beets, carrots, fennel, kohlrabi and peas but it still wasn't enough. I tried to convince myself that even if I do put a mater out now I can't possibly protect it enough if we get a cold snap. Plastic, straw, upside down bucket... it just wouldn't be enough. In the end, I just didn't care. I was willing to take the chance, but managed to convince myself that only one of the 22 tomato plants had to suffer for my impatience and lack of willpower.

Here's my brave little Brandywine out in the big wide world all by itself. The pic below that is of all of the garden beds that are currently built. The two on the left still need to be filled in and that's happening this week. There's a equestrian school about 30 min away that sells composted manure for $20 bucks a pickup load and loads it up for you. Score!

The beds are made out of "trees". We have a huge pile of left over trees that the previous owner put thru the sawmill to get planking out of. The leftovers are anywhere from 2" - 4" thick, and usually about 12' long or longer. And since one side is flat, they make perfect and free bed building material. To "stitch" them together, Glenn took some old 4x4 posts that the previous owner had also left, cut them to about 2 1/2' long, then cut one end into a point using a circular saw. Not pretty, but very functional! Then he used a sledge to pound them into the ground where two boards met, then nailed the boards to the 4x4s.

To fill the first two beds, we got some very old hay from our neighbor and put down about 6" in the bottom. Pored in kitchen compost and spread it about, then a mix of compost and top soil to finish it off. The problem with this method is that we're doing it now instead of this past fall. So the first bed that I did several weeks ago has already sunken quite a bit below the top of the bed because the hay is rotting and settling. We had enough soil and compost for the second bed to fill it above the top of the boards, so hopefully it will still be pretty deep by the end of the season. And of course I'll be adding compost as mulch during the season. We bought a push mower with grass catcher over the weekend and now everything in the garden has a nice mulch of cut grass.

What's left to go in the garden? A whole flat of chamomile (I love that stuff!), a flat of peppers both sweet and hot, way too many calendulas, more breathmints (onions), dill, bronze fennel, catmint, borage, monarda, a flat of basil, more flat-leafed parsley, more yarrow, and a few alyssums.

Is everything going to fit in the garden beds we have now? Well, no, probably not. But I really don't have the heart to tell Glenn he needs to build and fill more beds until he's finished filling the empty ones we have now. :) And yes, I help! The first bed I did by myself and my back thanked me in the morning.

The new and improved Maverick

Today is Maverick's one month anniversary here on the farm. We had a photo shoot to celebrate the occasion, but he was really much more interested in stuffing his face than posing for the camera. It's not easy trying to take pics of a hungry colt by yourself. There's so much grass to eat and so little time! And as a side note, I did manage to trim his front feet the other night. He acted like he'd done it a million times before. He probably couldn't understand the big fuss I made and why I was nervous about it. Now I can't even understand why I was nervous about it. I should have known if I expected one thing, he'd do the exact opposite! My back couldn't handle the hind feet, so those are on the schedule for tomorrow. {And no, Jane... I wasn't barefoot when I trimmed his hooves!}


This is my favorite photo from today. Mouth full of grass and gazing at his horny mares in the next pasture.

Chunky butt only gets 15 min twice a day out in the yard to graze. The pasture is greening up as well, so it's daily checks of everyone's feet to make sure no one is considering founder.

The cats have a competition going on. I believe it's called "Who can do the dumbest thing around the new horse and scare mom the most". There are usually at least two or three cats keeping us company whenever I have Maverick out. Today it was just the Noodle and he decided that laying right behind Maverick's back feet was the dumbest thing he could come up with.

Jack is still in the lead (if I am, in fact, the judge of this contest). Yesterday he thought jumping up and trying to catch Maverick's tail as he swatted at flies was a good idea. Before that I caught him tickling the back of Mav's hind leg with his tail. Mav must have thought it was a fly because he just kept picking up his hoof, but never punted the cat. Jilly Bean rubs up against Mav's legs all the time and he's learned to ignore her (whew!).

Somedays I wish I was a horse

Or a cat...

Insomnia has got to be the worst thing for a morning person like myself. And with all the sleeping critters around me all day it's hard to stifle the constant yawns when I'm on the phone with clients. At least working from home provides uninterupted 10 minute cat naps and I don't have to worry about drooling on my keyboard or snoring loud enough for the person in the next cubical to hear me.

But since work has just ended for the day and it's 60 degrees and sunny -- the horses are calling for me to bring the shedding blade and curry brush, the monarda seedlings are begging to be potted up, and the onions are literally dying to get into the garden and out of the loaf pan. I wish I could say Maverick can't wait for me to try trimming his feet, but I have a feeling he's not looking foward to it anymore than I am.

I love it here, I really do

The farrier was supposed to come out yesterday a 10:30, wave his magic wand, and make Maverick's feet all better. Glenn ran up to the barn to get everyone in around 10. I'm working, barefooted as usual, when I hear Glenn screaming at the top of the hill for me. My first thought was oh no, one of the horses is hurt. I step out the door and can immediately tell, from a thousand yards away, that someone isn't hurt, someone is pissed. Maverick is still skittish around Glenn, Glenn tries to catch Mav, Mav spins and tries to implant his hind feet into Glenn's head. He misses, but the sound of air whooshing past Glenn's left ear did not put him in a good mood.

So still barefooted I trudge up the steep hill to the barn where I find Junior locked in the barn already screaming in outrage and Maverick running merry circles around the barn with the horny ones (our three mares). First thing, designate an angry Glenn as gate keeper and grab the lead rope from him. Semi comes in first, surprisingly enough. She's usually the only horse that's difficult to catch. Then Kita next, simply because her stomach overpowers everything else -- even her sex drive. Willow, who is not still in season but seems to consider Maverick a son or lost puppy, takes a few more spins around the barn with him before she allows me to catch her. Once the girls are in Maverick lets me walk up to him and put on a halter and lead rope. It was 10:30 before everyone was settled down and eating hay, at which point I walked back down to the house to man the phones. Because EVERYONE gets lost when coming to our house. It's just a matter of how far they go before they give up and call.

The phone rang when I was two steps inside the door.

"Hey, this is the farrier. You're not going to believe this."

Ok, he's just lost.

"I was parked at a gas station and somebody sideswiped my truck. It's totalled."

Oh No.

Then he tells me that he has no idea how long it will take him to get his insurance to hook him up with another truck and make it out to the farm. I had also spent several hours on the phone trying to find a vet to make a farm call to geld Maverick. No luck there either. I called the state vet board and the only vets they knew of were too far away or didn't make farm calls for new clients. But gee, can't you just throw him on the trailer and bring him to us? Sure, I'll work on that.

Had I known that getting good vet and farrier care up here would have been so hard we might have looked elsewhere for property!

A not so perfect hoof

I'm finally able to pick up Maverick's front feet and left hind. He's touchy on the right hind and after a few attempts he lost patience with me and tried to cow-kick me -- but again in that slow motion kind of way that says "I really don't want to hurt you, but leave that leg alone!" So I did, for now. :)



Finding a farrier and vet in this area has proven to be extremely difficult, but I finally found a farrier willing to come out this way to work on the little guy. He'll be here Wednesday morning and hopefully Maverick will be better about picking up his feet by then. I've been working with him daily, but the little bugger is smart and if I have a halter in my hands he knows something is up!

The pictures really don't show enough. Even when I look at them today, I think "oh, they're not so bad". But you have to look at them "face to face" so to speak to really see what a mess they are. Note that each foot only has a bar on one side or the other, there should be two definable bars on either side of the frog. I was trying to get the feet cleaner, but Maverick had other ideas. Like clog dancing on my feet and biting me in the butt. I'll be sure to get better pics on Wednesday after the farrier has a chance to work on him.

Oh, and I'm STILL looking for a vet. Ugh.

The verdict is in!

Maverick is here to stay.

There was a brief thought in the beginning that went something like this:

Do we really need a fifth horse??

No, but we can't leave him with that idiot.

Sure, but let's rehome him once he's healthy and friendly.

But, I'll be attached to him by then.

Oh yeah, nevermind.

Maverick has really made the decision easy the past few days since he's been turned out with Junior. My worries about catching him in the big pasture were unfounded. The day after the big release I went up to the barn to feed. Not only did he come trotting up to the barn when I called, but he came right to me and stood still while I reached out a hand to pet him. It was all downhill from there! As he ate I was able to rub him all over and run my hands down his front legs and lightly tug on those mudballs on his tummy. After he finished eating I walked back over to him (I had to spend quality time with Junior, he's still heartbroken over being across the fence from his honey) and even without food I was able to walk right up and scratch him. I played with his ears a bit and slipped off the halter. Walked away, came back and slipped the halter back on. More scratching, then removed the halter again, walked away, came back a few minutes later and put it back on. No fuss, no muss! So I left the halter off, since I hate leaving halters on horses when I don't have to... too many opportunities for injuries!

Yesterday I was able to approach him from the side, reach out and start scratching. Until then, he was only approachable from the head. He never even thought about shying away! He also earned his forever home by proving that he doesn't have a mean bone in his body. Brie walked up to him yesterday and was trying to sniff his hind leg. He tried cow-kicking her in the head, but in extreme slow motion. Like "look, I don't want to hurt you, but you don't need to be that close". Brie had more than enough time to step backwards and get out of the way. Add to that the fact that he hasn't tried to kick us humans or even nip us in a week, and we've got ourselves a winner!

The second verdict in today is that I start my veggie and herb seeds too early. Every damned year. I can't help it. I have no gardening constraint. The same little voice that tells me we need a whole flat of sweet basil is the same voice that tells me to start the tomatoes nine weeks before the last frost date. That's what rowcovers are for, right? And so what if I'm out of room and grow lights in the house, that just means a trip to Lowe's for more lights and another folding table. *sigh*

The only constraint I did show this year was in the number of tomato seeds I started. My typical garden contains no fewer than 40 tomato plants, sometimes as many 70. Why? Because. That's the best answer I can come up with. Yes, I do a lot of canning. Yes, we give away A LOT of 'maters. But do I still need that many? Of course. But this year I surprised myself by only potting up 22 tomato plants. What was I thinking when I threw all the extras that germinated into the compost?? How will we ever survive the summer with only 22 'mater plants??

Here is my little indoor "greenhouse" now. The grow lights are up out of the way for the picture, but I've definitely run out of space under them.

In a small loaf pan I've got three types of onions: Walla Walla, Greek Salad, and White Spanish. We eat a lot of onions! Tomato list: Ruffled Yellow (divine for stuffing), Brandywine, White Oxheart, Kellogs Breakfast, Orange Oxheart, Bull Sac, Pineapple (my absolute favorite), Black Cherry, Green Zebra, Great White, German Red Strawberry, Giant Belgium, Orange Cherry, and Golden Queen. Because I only grow heirlooms you won't ever find a blah and tasteless Better Boy or Early Girl in my garden. And you'll never find more than three or four of any one type of tomato. I have got to have variety!

Glenn is a hot pepperaholic and couldn't live without Jalepeno, Ancho, and everyone's favorite salad bar pepper, the Robustini. Sweet peppers include: California Wonder (red), Orange Sun, Diamond (white), Chocolate (yum), Albino Bullnose (white), and Giant Arcongua. I skipped the purple bell peppers this year, but have grown in the past with good results. My yellow bell pepper seeds were too old and didn't germinate, so yet another season will go by without yellow bells.

Most of the broccoli is already out with the lettuce and spinach. The eggplant seeds had terrible germination rates this year and I've only potted up one Rosa Bianca. My Casper seedlings were the first to appear, but also the only seedlings to die from damp off. My Zebra eggplants never came up at all. Even though Glenn claims to be tired of fried eggplant and eggplant parmigiana, I know he'll be asking me in July why I didn't buy more eggplant seeds!

I've also got yarrow, catnip, bronze fennel, calendula, monarda, chives, lemon balm, alyssum, nasturtiums, feverfew, pyrethrum, dill, and flat-leaf parsley. I managed to take some cuttings from some of my cold intolerant perennials at the old place, like lemon verbena and night-blooming Jasmine. I had also transplanted a clump of the lemon grass that grew so well last year and that's in a sunny window just waiting to be transplanted out. My bay tree just put out a few new leaves and grew an inch, while my oregano has been plagued by white flies all winter, but will probably spring to life once it's planted out.

This weekend I'll try to find space in my lettuce bed to sow some radishes and kohlrabi. The weather forcast for the next 10 days claims mid to high 60's during the day... hmmm... maybe I can find some siberian tomato plants to put out... :)