Kentucky ridgetop - part 2

continued from the first thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/111417

Well, I finally had the chance to begin a new album to show a few pictures.





I had to leave before they were done, and the rest of my life got so busy, that it'll be weeks before I can get back there to enjoy and share the finished work.

Sorry for the size of the pictures, I'm not used to photobucket yet, but it seems easy enough to get the hang of it. Clicking on a picture takes you to the full album.

Love it! Are you going to get a window in that dormer?

Yes, but not at once. I'm going to look around for a very special window for the front. I can't afford to buy what I'd like just now. The necessaries have tapped me out. We're putting in small casement windows on both side walls, but they have not been delivered. They will allow the dormer to act as a heat chimney in the summer time, pulling the hottest air out of the house, and hopefully keeping a nice cooling air flow going. They will catch the prevailing breezes.

I asked too soon: I just saw that in your album.

And it's coming along nicely.

You should post a 'before' picture here, too. :)

Here's a pine seedling I transplanted a couple of months ago:



The two of them are on the property line and will help to screen my neighbor's place. That's his barn in the distance. They look like they might make it.

Here's a small window I framed in last weekend. There is one one the other side of the dormer wall too, and they will act as summer chimneys to pull hot air out of the house.

Huh! I thought I did them identically. Let's try another one. The finished roof:

I'm going to try to get siding back up on that short wall this weekend. The roof is steep and slippery, so I have to rig safety lines. I'll probably use the same siding as what is on the little shed (not mine) and stain it similarly.

Ruth, I can't access the pictures, sorry.

Did you try using the " width=500>" ending to posted photos?

Yeah, that must be the address for the back door. Shutterfly seems not interested in encouraging friends to view the albums.

I did figure out how to get adequately sized pictures.
Here's the finish I plan for the siding:


But I may have to delay the work. My eyesight just took a dive this evening, and I need to find an opthamologist.
I got all the safety equipment set up today and finally went to Lowes for the siding and the stain in the evening. I had them cut the siding to size and it fit in the back of my mini-mini-van. When I got back to my daughter's house, I had another (second this year!) posterior vitreous detachment. Need to make sure it doesn't progress to retinal detachment. Grrrr! It's the weekend and I'm a state away from my doctor.

Sorry to hear about your eye issues!

The place is coming along nicely. I'm impressed: I don't know how to frame a window!

The very good news is I found a retina specialist this morning, and after a very thorough examination, he declared the retina has not been affected. I'm not allowed to lift anything over 25 pounds for 6 weeks. No siding work got done. I was so blessed to find a doctor willing to fit me in to his saturday morning clinic.

That is wonderful and a blessing.

What can you do? Anything?

And what happened to the siding that was removed, couldn't it be reused?

I'll probably spend tomorrow tidying. Lots of materials stacked inside. And yes, I will use some of the vinyl to temporarily cover the dormer. But I love the excuse to eliminate the vinyl siding. I would really like to use cedar, but the budget isn't there.

All in time...

Glad to hear you found an eye doctor, and I hope you recover quickly!

Take care!

Wow, it looks fantastic now! You have brought it such a long way since you first showed us the pics of it. Really sorry to hear of your eye trouble and hope everything is ok in that quarter now.

The siding on the little shed is a great color and, I bet, will weather beautifully.

It's like having cobwebs floating in your vision. I can blink them away, but they return. It makes close work difficult, particularly computer reports. My boss responded by requesting a large screen monitor, and that helps. Otherwise, no problems.

I'm still considering siding color options. There is a nice green stain I'm attracted to. Perhaps I'll ask for opinions here. My son-in-law cautions that either way, there will be yearly or semi-yearly maintenance with the wood siding. He's the person who did the shed restoration for their yard.

I'm particularly drawn to jewel tones, and why not put them on my house?
Here is a color that makes me sigh:

Pretty colour! That would really be a nice pop of colour on your dormer.

I think it might be more expensive than wood but have you looked at HardiPlank? Not sure of spelling, but it's a concrete composite board that looks a lot like wood siding but it's wayyyy better at holding paint (our garage (hardi-plank siding) hasn't needed painting in over 10 years whereas our house (wood sided) looks horrible after two years) and it's much more fire-resistant. You can get hardi-plank with the colour baked on now which probably won't need maintenance ever. When we did our garage we bought primed-only and then painted it ourselves but it hasn't peeled AT ALL. It's fantastic.

You could paint your front door that colour! It's one of my faves as well--in fact, I'm making a quilt in those tones for one of my lads.

I love that teal! It is my MOST favorite color!

@tiffin, that's a good idea...and maybe the trim...

Very nice colour - you could do a lot with that.

Using a stain on wood is (I think) better than paint because you can just put another coat over top without worrying about stripping or sanding off the old layer, especially using the oil based stains. And they do cover pretty well. My rough wood siding had a very, very, dark brown stain and I covered it with a pale green solid-colour stain - it only took two coats. That was probably 18 years ago, and it still looks OK. I've used stain on my deck as well, and have had to redo it every few years in the high-traffic areas. I will probably re-side at some point, and am thinking of something like that HardiPlank. I think I would go with some more adventurous colours this time, though.

Even with the weather forcastiing snow this weekend, I went on down to Kentucky. I stayed at my daughter's, and went out to the ridgetop during the day, to drop off stuff, and hike the property. Coming over Big Hill into Jackson County was dramatic. At the top of the rise, no snow changed to snow covering everything. Not a lot of it, but it was wet and fluffy, so it clings to everything.
It serves to outline the bramble piles and the fallen tree snarls. I was able to navigate through parts of the woods I'd never penetrated before, and surprised myself. I would come out on a spot I'd been many times already, but the changed perspective made it look new.
I think I found my SE corner, and it's not a far down the hill as I had hoped. Oh well. The dragon tree resides just outside my line, protecting me from whatever haunty things might come up the hill.
I'll try to post a few pictures tomorrow.

Looking forward to pictures. :)

Pictures!
We were without computers for a couple of days, so I just got some pics loaded.
Last weekend's weather:

showing how the snow compressed the brambles.

the dragon tree:


the almost frozen pond:


into my woods:


Also, I've set up a booth at the antique mall:


and took time last weekend to bring spring:


Heading down again this weekend with my grand-daughter to do some spring cleaning and get ready for another fun season. Temps are supposed to moderate to the low 60s.

Pretty! :)

Looking forward to seeing the pics of the finished roof...or did I miss them? I do like that dragon tree.

We're still having snow flurries, and night temps in the 20s-30s. But I'm going down this weekend because I don't want to miss the spring peepers and the redbuds and the flowering plum. (Last year's spring came much earlier.) I'm anxious for my season to get a move on. Not expecting to get much done, but perhaps do some garden digging.
Sigh.

tiffin, the roof is pictured in post #7. I still have siding work to do.

aha, I missed that one somehow....or maybe I thought the dormer would have something on it. Anyway, fascinated by the whole project!

Take lots of blankets, and pictures, too!

We supposedly had about 7 seconds' worth of snow flurries today, or so I was told by a coworker who has a window in his office.

Brrr....it's cold out there, and the bird seed is all gone. I've got to get more tomorrow!

I got Siberian irises, daylilies and lilys-of-the-valley planted. I'm protecting the LOV from the deer, as I think it may be tasty. The others shouldn't be a problem. I brought a hunk of my yellow rose and a smallish hawthorn sapling, but I haven't decided where they should go - because they're both fairly invasive. The rose is difficult to transplant for some reason, so it may not be an issue.

On futhur reflection, I've decided to not introduce the hawthorn.

The sun finally came out today, after I got my work done.

One of my neighbors down the road has offered me a storage shed on skids for my lawn mower and garden tools. For free! I just need to make arrangements to pick it up. Yay!!

Thanks for the update!

It's snowing. *Harrumph!*

The deer might leave the lily of the valley alone, as the roots, leaves, stems etc., contain a poison somewhat like digitalis in foxgloves.

That's why I just planted some. I know they have a taste for day lilies and hostas.

That's reassuring. I've got lots of daylilies to sacrifice, but I'd like to cultivate the LOV, as it has ebbed in my gardens in WV.

I stopped at one of the local Conservation Districts and was given at least 30 white pine seedlings, which is the only species they had left. Hoping they keep well enough in the bag till I can get them in the ground in another couple of weeks. The conservationist said they would, if I keep them damp and cool. I have just the spot for a small grove of them, blocking my neighbor's house.

Be careful with the Lily of the Valley--it can sometimes invade native areas and crowd out native plants--this sheet lists some native alternatives.

http://goodoakllc.com/info/weeds/lilyofthevalley.pdf

Oh, I can only hope it will prosper in it's new spot - which is fairly bare of anything else, so no danger of crowding others out. I'd be happy to have an abundance to share with family and friends. I've seen others establish good colonies alongside the house perimeter, so that's what I've done.

My woods don't seem to have any spring native flowers, so I'll be looking to introduce may apple and Virginia bluebells. I won't let the LOV into the woods.

hmmm....wild ginger...

getting inspiration here:
http://carolynsshadegardens.com/tag/mertensia-virginica/

I actually have several of the species she recommends, but hadn't thought about using them for woodland gardening. New project!

Great website!

Last evening I dug peonies, violets, blue-eyed grass, cranesbill, and I forget or don't know what else and loaded them into the car. I'm taking my 5 year old grand-daughter with me this weekend. She is an avid naturalist, so even though the weather is supposed to be cool to cold, I think we'll have a great time.

eta perennial peas. I dug up some starts because the seeds I've been spreading haven't taken.

Pictures!!!!!!!

I love construction pictures.

Too much to do!!!!
I want to be in three or four, maybe even five places at once. Yesterday it rained pretty much the whole day, so I spent it inside, cleaning, and staging the remainder of the insulation. We had our yearly flush of ladybugs swarming the windows last weekend, and my 5 year old grand chose to spend the nights in town with Aunt Rose. This week, half are dead on the floor, and the rest are still crawling out of the cracks. It takes a lot of vacuuming to get most of them, and then several more sweeps back for stragglers. I admit I stayed near the radio , sucked in by the Boston drama. My bedroom looks great now! Thursday night, I slept with windows open. Last night we got a freeze. Four blankets!
Today, I got some perennials in the ground, and knocked down half an acre (exageration) of 7 foot weedy stems, just by walking into them and stomping. Hoping my mower will start tomorrow.
I found a holly I'd planted last year and given up as dead; instead, it's loving the location and has tripled in size, and has lots of shoots sprouting.
I was really wanting to get into the woods to discover what was coming up. Lots of may apples, solomon seal, spring beauties, fiddle heads. And, yes, poison ivy. My campaign last year has definitely made a difference. (There are areas which are nearly clean.) And this year, I'll have an earlier start. There's not much leaf surface just yet, and it looks an awful lot like other stuff as it emerges.

Ugh!
I dug and hauled and mowed and dragged all day. I am whooped. Reaching for the aspirin.

All your bender overs seized up? Are those real ladybugs or those Japanese imports that are more orange and have the white bit on their heads and NIP?

I noticed a lot of variation in spots - some no-spots even. I collected a sample and will look more closely once they all stop crawling. I see that the Asian ladies are varied, too.

Thanks for the update. How's the pond doing? :)

It fills to the brim and then leaks. The peepers, this year, decided not to re-inhabit it, but have taken up residency in the drainage ditch waters.

That reminds me - I rescued a lizard from a bucket of rainwater last evening. He was so cold he couldn't scuttle away.

Took today off to go pick up some free pecan and persimmon seedlings.

As tiffin put it, my bender-overs have recovered, and I'm back at the office. (yuck)

I won't get back there for a couple of weeks, but hopefully, I'll find my camera battery charger before then.
The seedlings were small indeed, but I managed to cadge 6 persimmons and 2 pecans. I heeled them into the ground and watered, planning to dig better permanent homes later. I got my taters in the ground, too. I'm trying an heirloom variety - Purple Viking. I've never raised potatoes before. Started a couple of raised beds near the dirt pile, so as to make it easy to cover them.

First mowing of the main yard and second for the orchard, and moving into the weedy, uneven meadow area. I will mow that area once only to discourage the blackberries and the saplings, and then let it go. Last year it was all in yellow primroses at the end of the summer.

Started laying out a front deck. Six feet deep, 12 feet long.

One serious hike into the woods to begin the PI attack. I was making enough of a commotion to notify a very big snake of my presence. I heard, more than saw, it slither away across the dead leaf litter. Glad to know where it hangs out.

Does your pond have any water plants?

I have a small pond I'm working on, and have planted a waterlily.

Nothing yet. There is no point in cultivating it when I will need to drain it again. Still puzzling over a permanent design solution.

Y'all are posting some great stuff this weekend. I helped my daughter spruce up her shady front yard yesterday.

I'm battling bag worms. They've pretty much stripped one of my apple trees. I police the orchard this time of year, and there were no visisble webs two weeks ago.

Also, the possum or raccoon has found my gardens and has been rummaging.

More later, on my way to church right now.

Ruth, we used to get "tent caterpillars". My father would roll up a newspaper, light the end, and "fry" the bag.

Doh! Tent Caterpillar is what I meant.
I use a hoe to bring the branch down and then tear the web off and drop it in a bucket of bleach water. Strays can be disposed of in the same way. Once the chlorine evaporates, it's onto the compost pile.

Another great weekend.

Friday started out sunny, but rain was promised. I did a PI trip through the lower woods. It rained a couple of hours later, so not sure how effective my treatment. I did find and kill a grand-daddy vine in the middle of a dense growth. I find that makes a huge difference the year after.

I re-set my lower rain barrel on top of a heavy circle of concrete which was an access cover to the cistern. (I replaced it with a plastic cover easier to remove and with a better seal.)

The tree frogs have moved to the pond for mating season, and I managed to confirm orange under legs.

It rained steadily through to Saturday evening. I took the opportunity to use up all of the R-30 insulation laying about in the attic space. Had nearly enough to finish that roof area. I'll be covering it with a vapour barrier and then old sheets, to finish and brighten the space. It will be storage and grand-kid space after I get the flooring in permanent place.

The sun finally came out again Saturday evening, and I called it dry enough Sunday to mow. There are areas still too unven and rocky to mow. I started raking the rocks into piles last fall, and I'm taking wheelbarrows full into my pine woods to fill the path, which is seasonally wet and mud, as it follows the drainage pattern of my hillside. I love finding a re-use for waste materials.

I've tried off brand and no-brand grass seed with mixed results for the still bare spaces, with poor results. I finally spent the money and bought a bag of the expensive stuff and I'm thrilled with the results. My testimony is for Pennington brand. They treat their seed with mycorrhizae which actually does seem to promote quick growth. I like their mixes of seed species, too.

My potatoes have sprouted and I built their raised beds higher to allow more growth and still allow chicken wire protection. I realized that the critter digging in my beds was looking more for earthworms, but will take the potatos if they are not protected.

Thursday. I discovered a patch of pink wood sorrels out behind my work-place, and I dug some up to introduce them to my woods.
And then I saw them already established in one spot. :)
I took just a few minutes Sunday to walk the upper woods and notice spring wild flowers and try to identify more species of trees, etc. I think I see southern maidenhair fern, but it's been decades since I knew it. Saw trilliums, not yet blooming, false solomons seal, and some other interesting leaves. Hepatica? Wild ginger? Where's that field guide? I failed to dig the camera out. Sorry! The cranesbill I've introduced seems very happy.

Me too.

:)

And I'm happy for you.

I'm getting a kick out of you checking out the underside of tree frog legs. Happy for you too!

My Kentucky daughter is away from home this next week, so I took my first week's vacation so that I could dog-sit for her. My 82 year old dad decided to come with me to see my place. I took him through the woods yesterday, and we both conked out before dark last evening; but he was up before me this morning taking down a dead tree in the orchard.
What with running into town twice a day, I don't expect to get major stuff done, but who knows.
Everything is so overgrown already. Hack and mow, and some carpentry are on the list.

Assuredly, we will enjoy ourselves. The skies are clear, the stars are bright at night, and the fireflies are competing with them. They must be huge - very bright flashes, but only at the very tops of the tree-line at the moment.

You are so blessed to have an 82-year old dad to take with you. This post made me miss mine terribly, as he too would have been up and out early, doing things.

yes, I am blessed.

Taking down a dead tree? Your dad sounds like my dad: he'll be 85 this month, but likes to keep busy.

I envy you the firefly show. :)

Today is overcast. We went to church last evening, so the day is open.
Dad is working on the tree. My potatoes really came up in the interim. They had just shown first few leaves, and now one bed is 16 inches tall. I must have composted the other bed differently, they are much shorter. So I really need to move some soil into those beds.

I've never raised potatoes before, so advice is welcome.

My apple trees were hard hit by the tent caterpillars. One probably will not recover. The other one set fruit and is also still throwing out new leaves and even some flowers. In order to allow all the energy to go into leaf production, we removed all of the fruit and flowers today.

Also finally got around to staining the replacement siding. Hard work!

Put my persimmon trees in their permanent spots. They doubled their size in just a month. One had been clipped off (???) but it has thrown out more buds.

I loved not having to pack up and return to the normal routine yesterday afternoon. Ahhhh!

Wed. AM
oh-oh. Went to my first meeting with the group Sustainable Berea. Everyone brought starts from their gardens, and I came home with raspberry canes. Now I need to figure out where to put them. Another project!

Raspberries will take over...plant with care!

It kept threatening rain today, so we didn't start any big projects. I pulled stuff out of the shed and re-organized it, as I keep accumulating more stuff, wood in particular.
One of the home remodeling stores 'round the corner from my daughter, frequently has pallet wood and wood packaging stacked outside, free for taking. This week, they've got what look like raised beds, made of rough lumber and bound with metal strapping, slightly less than 3'x4'. These may have been packaging for appliances or windows. I've gotten 7 already and will run out and get the last four here in a bit. Perfect for raspberry growing.

The south edge of the yard drops gradually down, and the vista is one of the features that sold me on the property. In two years, tulip poplars and locust trees and brambles have grown up 15 feet or more, obscuring the spectacular view. My dad and I waded in today and cut down the first layer of trees, and really opened it up again. At least giving an indication of how great the view can be. I can see that's going to be a regular chore until I get those goats.

Almost stepped on a snake yesterday. It was a 4' racer. It hurried away.
There's a frog that suns next to the pond. Any time I pass nearby, he shrieks "Yikes!" and dives into the water.

Of course I had to google "racer snake". Good lord, they climb trees and drop down on things! They aren't poisonous but have been known to "run at" people to frighten them away. I'd be the racer in that case!

Funny, my adrenalin system seems to be able to discern between poisonous and non-poisonous snakes. Regular snakes are interesting. Copperheads freak me out - for hours after. Several years ago, I stepped over a copperhead which, thankfully had a mouse in its jaws. I streaked to the car, and continued to survey my ankles for dangerous snakes all the way home.

Little Buddy (the lizard who lived below my doorstep) is dead. RIP
I'll miss his friendly greeting.
He tried the bucket again, and again couldn't get back out.

We woke to cool misty rain. All I've done today is get those raspberry starts into the ground in my daughter's back garden.
The Rt. 25 25 mile yard sale is nearby, but I'm practicing discipline.
Right. First yard sale in town, I stopped and bought an old grandfather clock. The lady turned the hands to the hour, and the deep chimes melted my reserve. It has a wonderful brass face.

Sorry to hear about Little Buddy - maybe one of his friends and/or relations will move in.

Congrats on your clock. Love those chimes.

What with all the excavations there have been lots of rocks and stones exposed, much of it temporarily pushed to the edge of the yard, some of the bigger stuff gathered for bed edgings. I always like to find a use for waste materials, and a reason to clean up a problem. The rocks remaining in the yard have been a nuisance for planting and mowing chores. I've been raking them up and wheelbarrowing them to the pine woods. The path through the woods follows the spring water course, and it was muddy/slippery this spring. My nuisance rocks have become a very servicible path, somewhat like this:

My rocks are more angular, and I think will be friendlier to the foot once they settle in. They also make the path obvious in the dark. Doesn't glow exactly, but will pick up moonlight.

Recycling!

What a nice idea!

I noticed that the poison ivy vines in the trees have already begun berry production. Surely this is 6 weeks earlier than last year! Anyway, I waded into the thickest part of my woods to chop the vines going into the trees. I came into intimate contact with hanging leaves and lost my favorite hat somewhere. Washing up really well afterward allowed me to escape with only a minor rash.
Hoping to post a few garden pictures later today.

I found out the best way to prevent or minimize a poison ivy rash:

take an antihistamine, like Zyrtec!

This information came from a physician, who explained to me that a poison ivy rash is an allergic reaction. If you take the antihistamine, it helps prevent the usual symptoms.

:)

That's a dang good idea.

Not only is it a dang good idea, IT WORKS. :)

Pictures!

The roses put on an awesome show this year. This one greeted us the first week of June:


One of the potato beds:


Some free raised beds with reinforcing strapping:


My woodland path:


Lining up future garden beds:


The only thing in the boxes is two persimmon saplings:

I boxed them in so as to not mistakenly run over them.

And the next garden:

If you look at the perimeter, this is where the original farm pond was dug out. I've been filling it in with mulch and lining the edges with mid-sized rocks. The current pond is just to the right, and will be incorporated in the design. The potato raised beds are on the far right, completing the circle. The small pallets I found for a walkway are perfect. Solid wood, rather than spaced, and a narrower size, good for throwing in the back of my station wagon.

This is all so wonderful! Love seeing your pics.

Love the pics! Thank you for sharing.

Looking through my pictures, I found this angle of the pond garden that shows much better how it fits into the bigger scheme.



Notice the young trees that line the drop-off. This picture was taken last fall, and already this spring they had grown enough to totally obscure the view. Those are the ones my dad and I cut down.

Hi y'all. Hope your 4th of July celebrations are off to a good start. I'm focusing on insulating my bedroom ceiling this week. I'm half done. Figured out how to suspend myself above the open stairway. It makes a huge difference in comfort level in the house. Just putting my hand up against the roof with and without insulation proves what a difference.

So as not to re-treat PI areas again before the chemical has time to do it's thing, I've branched out to taming the wild grapevines. I have not ever seen any fruit on them. They just amass themselves over top of the trees and even seem to pull some down.

Also working on my front walk - putting in metal edging so that the glass mulch I fill in with doesn't spill out onto the yard.

Headed for Lowes now for enough to keep me busy tomorrow.

Sounds like a busy but profitable holiday!

Chomping at the bit to return this weekend. My 12 year old grandson is coming with. His job will be to clear a spot for construction of a playhouse in the woods. The grands submitted designs early in the spring, and it's time to begin the project. We envision something along the lines of a hobbit domicile.

>87 2wonderY:: far, far away from the poison ivy patch!

Well, you've got a point. It's pretty thick underbrush in that spot and I haven't looked since early spring. We'll have to make an inspection and probably take some battle action.
We'll also have blackberries to harvest.

Yummy! :)

Making a cobbler for dinner. The berries are huge this year, I guess because of all the rain and heat.

Isaac is very taken with the bow and arrow. He managed to pierce a sapling in the first few minutes, and now he wants to hunt live animals. I forbade shooting at the frogs, as I don't need more holes in the pond liner, but he's got my permission to try for a rabbit. If he's successful (one chance in ????), he gets to prepare and cook it.

We had two sessions working on the playhouse site. We first cleared a secret path into the thicket, then started clearing small trees and vines. Today we took measurements and placed corner stakes, and raked the ground good. There were a few PI plants, so excavation will be next time. Gotta find some kid sized work gloves, to protect from PI roots once we start leveling the ground.

Isaac has a list of twenty items from the weekend, rating from best to worst. Specific foods are near the top of the list, along with bow and arrow, and swimming in the reservoir. It's been loads of fun for both of us.

The cobblers were SO GOOD! We made one at Rose's house, and since she is gluten-free, we made up a recipe using almond flour, buckwheat flour and cornmeal. It was rich in butter and eggs, too. We made another at daughter Anne's house, and just enriched a couple of blueberry muffin mixes with butter. Served warm over vanilla ice cream, and they were definitely worth bragging about. I particularly liked the addition of cornmeal. It contributed flavor and mouth-feel, if you know what I mean.

I do know what you mean! Cobblers are one of my all-time most favourite treats but ours were always served with a bit of vanilla custard. Glad you checked the base of the playhouse area for PI!

Post pics of the hobbit house when you get it finished.

Did Isaac see or shoot a rabbit?

There are plenty of rabbits that hang out along the driveway, and he claims to have nearly got most of them at one time or another over the weekend.

LOL...

Isaac and ten year old Olivia have been huddling together the past two weeks, making plans.

They're both coming with me this weekend. I doubt I'll get any of my own projects worked on. I'm hoping to borrow a truck to bring the basic building materials from town. If we can get some walls in place in the woods, I think they'll be happy.

We're planning to use 2" rigid foam insulation for part of the structure, and probably use pallet wood to supplement.

Lorraine, at the building supply store, invited us to take her private stash of scrap plywood from packaging materials. Bless her! We'll use it to line the inside of the cabin.

The grands were so good! They worked hard at getting trenches dug and lined with brick. They both got all chigger-bit, and hot and sweaty, but not the first complaint! Our building site is in the midst of new sassafras trees, and the scent is heavenly.

They helped me move other materials as well. I've begun building raised beds along the east side of the house. I have 4 feet of foundation wall exposed there. I'll be looking for scrap windows in order to build cold frames. They will act to help collect solar heat for the house itself.

I'm getting closer to declaring my 5 acres poison ivy-free. There are still some significant patches along the eastern line, and I'll always have to fight it from the north, but west and south are looking good. I haven't yet been in the furthest SW corner. There is some PI undergrowth, but the trees are more mature, with less viney growth into them.

The blackberries are past their prime, but we gathered more than 2 quarts for another cobbler. We had a nice rainshower on Saturday, and the berries really seemed to plump up the next day.

Isaac built the campfire, and got it going nicely, with just one match. (That's the family standard we set.) Roasted Italian sausage, eaten from sticks, not forks, thank you. Olivia was determined to use "just the outdoors.'

What a wonderful experience for those kids. No wonder they were good: they were stimulated and interested!

100: I'm getting closer to declaring my 5 acres poison ivy-free.
Wow! Impressive.

>102 qebo:
The plants I haven't treated yet now seem to be cringing as I approach. I'm actually stepping outside of my property line in some cases.

I was out on the ridgetop this past weekend, but I was extremely lazy. I was switching out bed equipment, and a foundation piece smashed a couple of toes. I mostly hung out on the couch and nursed them. The only trip into the woods I did find an interesting mushroom -



Not my photo, but tentatively identified as Crested Coral moshroom.

Wow! What a kewl-looking fungi!

Hope your toes are better.

I found my hat! It was further up the slope than I thought I'd been. Yay!
I'm spending the week on the ridgetop and I've been lazy until today.
Today I introduced myself to a downridge neighbor and got permission to take manure from their piles. They are commercial horse and pony growers. (Not sure whether they qualify as "breeders."
I've been meeting more local hippies and I'm invited to a Saturday morning get-together. Hmmm. What should I bring?
Thistle, ironweed and tickseed are providing the main color accents.

I'm building cold-frames along the east foundation wall.

Thanks for checking in!

A local source of manure is great. FYI, I think horse manure isn't as prized, since it contains more weed seeds than other manure, such as cow manure (I think it has to do with the digestion process).

It's still good. :)

I wondered about the weed content. Their acres seem to be ALL weeds. They definitely over-stock, and there are pastures which are washing out in ravines because of the lack of soil cover. They are feeding hay to all the pastured animals. (in the summer?!) You name it, they seem to have some, in the way of stock. I've seen cattle, goats, sheep, burros, ducks and geese, besides the shetlands and the miniature horses. Seems to me there are llamas and other exotics as well, though those must be pastured elsewhere this season.

Ah well, we shall see. Putting the manure, richly mixed with straw and sawdust already, straight into raised beds.

Yesterday morning my intention was to finish unloading manure and soil into the new raised beds, but this is what greeted me:



I was able to reach out a window above and shoot it with my trusty bow and arry.



I learned how sneaky they can be, because the first arrow disturbed but didn't hit, and it slid completely under some loose materials.

It kinda spoiled the rest of the day, though. I went out and bought a big machete.

No likey.

Copperhead?

Snakes serve a purpose, but the poisonous ones need to stay out of my yard!

Yeah, I took the first picture into town first for a positive ID, and we had that discussion about letting snakes be. I've seen garters, racers and black snakes, and I have no problem with them. But I'd rather the copperheads do not get comfortable around the house and yard. I'm just glad this one was so obvious and lethargic.

The local nursery gives out Bloomin' Bucks as you purchase in the spring, and they are redeemable the last two weeks of September.
I took mine in today and bought two bird attractors, presumably because of the winter berries - Juniper Cypress and Crape Myrtle. I have no history with either. But since I'm eliminating the poison ivy berries, I'm trying to replace them with other things.

I bought a pale green leaf coral bells and a lady's mantle, both for naturalizing in the woods.

And a dainty Peach Drift rose, which is still blooming.

Yesterday, in the woods, I picked up from the ground, a ripe pawpaw and a persimmon!!!!
I didn't even know I had persimmon trees.
And I hadn't seen any pawpaws on the trees this year. They were both near the raccoon's den. He must have dropped them. I ate both. I enjoyed the pawpaw more.

A lady from last year's solar tour came out to visit and point me in the right direction to get started on my own solar array. She was very complimentary. I have an excellent solar window. I need to get serious about learning the nitty grittys.

Crepe Myrtle is the Southern version of Lilacs.

I have several seedlings to give away...

What color?
I've been corresponding with the owner because mine had conflicting labels. I meant to get a deep pink, but I think I ended up with lavender.

Mine are pink, but not pastel and not dark, more of an in between pink...does that make sense?

That sounds like the color I was trying for. Pink Velour is the variety name.

I have two in pots, a couple feet tall. They tend to sprout all over the yard.

Ooops, I didn't realize that. Re-thinking.

The sprouting part? Or the size?

They might not do as well on your ridgetop as they do in my eastern NC yard. However, if you want a few seedlings, I could probably stuff them in a flat rate box.

The sprouting part! Hmmm. Let me think on't.

Let me rephrase it: they sprout around the mother tree. They are not 'all over the yard', just where an adult tree is growing.

They're not invasive.

They might not do well where you live, unless they get a bit of protection:



I looked up Pink Velour, and that's the color I have.

Since I'm on furlough, I've been on my ridgetop this week. Hadn't been able to settle down to a task until today.
But I stopped at a new friend's home yesterday and helped her drain her pond. She is paving the walls and bottom with mortared rock and it will be a naturalized swimming pool.

Today I resumed insulating.

I was outside one night, enjoying the sky, and noticed that my yard had numerous glowing spots. Ran and got the flashlight and discovered firefly larvae! How so totally magical!

How magical indeed! I didn't know that the larvae also "glowed".

I have never seen fireflies! They don't live this far up in the Great White North. Hope I will see them some day :)

We get them in Ontario but I didn't know the larvae glowed. How cool is that!

122: Oh cool! I didn't know about the larvae either.

You're all invited to Kentucky next October! And tardis, come down in June for the big lightshow.

My friend and I sat and watched fireflies several years ago at his cottage in New Brunswick - they are lovely, and except for brief glimpses, that was the first time I'd seen them. I'd love to see the larvae! Nothing like that lives this far north, but the stars are brilliant here, and we do get to see the northern lights fairly often.

Yeah, I was thinking about the trade-offs of different latitudes. I've never seen the northern lights! *Pine!*

Well, I guess that is one of the great reasons to travel - to see wonderful things that you don't see at home! I hope to be able to sit and watch fireflies again somewhere, someday, and would love to share the northern lights with anyone who wants to come up this way.

Gosh, I wish that gal would put a roof on that house up top. It's going to snow soon!

I saw the northern lights one time from Vancouver. I'll never forget it.

Tiffin, the roof is on! See #7.

We were going to put siding up last week, but Nathan gets cranky and *sickly* on days he and Rose have promised to come and help. He lazed around till he got a phone call to do something else. I think he doesn't like doing work for me, though I pay him. (Philisophical differences. I do things backwards.)
I've got my safety system pretty well set up. I just hesitate to wrestle largish, heavy panels up in place all by myself.

I'm making friends in the community, and I'll bet I can find a volunteer to help me soon. There's a bunch of "old hippies" that seem pretty solid, and I've been to their doings a few times. Gotta build credence and reciprocity before I ask for myself. So I'm trying to join in on their projects as I can.

Still tucking in the insulation. Three or four more rolls should finish up the roof. That'll be a big relief.

I think the ginsengers have been through my woods. One of my trees had fresh slash marks with the resin still running at the top of a trail, and dug up spots at the bottom. Didn't know I had ginseng. I've ordered seed to sow in more secret spots.

Shook some pawpaws down and introduced the fruit to my grands. They loved the big shiny seeds and they plan to plant their own grove.

Only tiny isolated PI plants left to find. HA HA!! I'm seeing dessicated PI berry branchlets on the ground where they've fallen from the vines I've killed up in the trees. Hoping they aren't attractive to the birds, because I haven't been collecting them. New understory plants are already establishing themselves. I made the acquaintance of weed specialist, Nancy Gift, and I'm plotting to invite her to come and hike my land.

I'm back to work, oy! We are buried under seasonal work which sat unattended for three weeks. Lots of small crises to deal with along with normal work.

Here's a picture of my Crepe Myrtle:



and yes, that's what they look like now.

That's the color I was going for. The proprieter allowed me to switch out for one that is that shade, even though the first one hadn't survived. Up here, they were already berried and fall leaf color more than a month ago.

So glad the roof is on *wink*! Did you put a window in the gable at the front middle? I'd love to see how it looks now, if you did. Glad to read you are making contacts in the neighbourhood.

No windows yet in the gable front. No funds yet. I'll either stumble into something perfect second-hand or wait till I borrow more funds and buy some beautiful wood Andersons.

How about an up to date picture of the house? :)

It looks pretty much like it did in the spring. Haven't even put that siding up.

The woods however...

I ordered half a dozen Mertensia dormant roots from a place in North Carolina. I hope I got them properly in the ground in the open woods above the driveway. I also bought a couple of ounces of Ginseng seed, which amounted to much more than what I had expected. The Sangers were on my property this fall and I saw evidence of digging.

Broadcast seeding is not recommended. They each need to be placed in their own 1" hole. Didn't have time to plant them, so it'll have to wait till next visit. Want to plant them in obscure pockets.

It dipped below freezing in parts of the county, but my eastern exposure stays more protected from weather, and it was 40 degrees outside, and 50 degrees inside with a little electric stove running. I was perfectly comfortable, expecting it to be cooler.

I'm building a rocket stove for cooking purposes. Curious to see how operating that changes the inside environment.

A 'rocket' stove?

Aha!

http://www.richsoil.com/rocket-stove-mass-heater.jsp

For cooking, more like this.

Gah! This mini-Ice Age is making me crazy. For lots of reasons, I haven't been able to check on things on the ridgetop since early November, and I hadn't yet removed items that are now frozen solid, I'm sure. In kitchen cupboards mostly, but workshop too.

In Parkersburg, my house is now officially 100 years old, and the windows I have't replaced have full sheets of solid frost on the storm window sashes. The wood floors crack as I walk on them, and the back kitchen has a breeze moving through it. It's much better than when we'd just started renovations - The dog's water dish used to freeze sitting on the kitchen floor.

I am so sorry you are dealing with this unreasonable cold. Come Spring~ come, come, come....

How is your part of the world faring?

Truthfully, my gripes about the weather are miniscule. I just hope and pray all of the homeless are finding shelters.

The pacific northwest has been having some slightly chilly weather but we can not even talk about it because it is so mild compared to the Arctic Freeze the rest of the country is experiencing. Our temps are in the 30s and 40s, a little frost on the car in the morning, and some occasional slippery ice on the sidewalk. Sunshine makes it all sparkly and pretty and other than walking the dogs and feeling the cold penetrate my coat I have no complaints at all. I love the temperate climate here!

I join you in concern for those who do not have resources to stay safe and warm in this awful weather. I so wish we, as a country, could be better about stepping up and lending a helping hand where it is needed.

(146) Karen, one good thing is that private citizens and groups often step up and help where the government can't or won't. Here's an example I saw this morning:

http://www.missourinet.com/2014/01/06/charity-groups-in-metro-areas-patrol-stree...

I bet it's pretty up on the Ridgetop, Ruth...

We're cold here too. I like winter but this is a bit too cold for even moi. I too worry about the homeless and the critters. The dog has actually been glad to put her boot things on.

Science project!!!

What will freeze solid and what won't??

Vinegar freezes, pickles don't.
Glass cleaner does, bleach doesn't.
Canned goods appear to be okay - no bulging cans.
Honey, peanut butter - solid.
Salad dressings - not.

Dish soap - mushy.

Plastic gallons of water - SOLID.
5 gallons of water in a cooler - SOLID.
10 gallons in a cooler - frozen, but not solid.
Hoping the coolers are salvagable.

I would think most of those items are salvageable, as long as the containers don't leak.

Yes, so far only the plastic gallon jugs of water have leaked.

149: Science project!!!
Well, that's the most entertaining way to look at it.

Wow! My trees really took a hit this winter from a lot of directions.
Apparently, an ice storm came through a few weeks ago and snapped the tops of most of my trees on the grade above the driveway. That's just God doing some pruning. But the heavy snows and crazy winds have taken down a lot of pines and cedars. The entire pine grove behind my shed is gone. They were beautiful trees.

At the bottom of the property, middle of the woods, six huge pines all blew down - 4 with the roots tipped out, 2 blasted and twisted in the first four feet.

My flowering plum took some heavy damage, with several main branches broken.

I'm shopping for a chainsaw today.

The pine seedlings have all been uniformly bitten back by browsing deer. We shall see if they recover.

Ah, that is kind of heart breaking, isn't it? Will you replant the pine grove? Is this going to be the planting of small seedlings, or will you try to find some bigger trees?

I always grieve a bit when I see that a tree has bit the dust.

Pines have shallow root systems, so they are probably more prone to being blown over.

I suspect the pine seedlings will recover.

I feel sad about you losing your pine grove, Ruth, as well as having a lot of damage to your trees. The winds of the last two years haven't been kind to our trees up here either. My clump birch has suffered as a result of two bad ice storms. I get so anthropomorphic about my trees.

Brace yourself. The polar vortex is supposed to be back this week.

Bought one chainsaw, but returned it un-used. I saw and handled the one I really want, but realized I need to do some research first.

I did get some ginseng seeds in the ground, but it's a lot of tramping, scratching, bending and then getting up again. I'm out of shape and exhausted.

158: I'm always dismayed at how exhausted I am after a day of squatting down and standing up in the garden. People go to the gym for that kind of workout.

Gardening is more fun, though...

And oh! the rewards! The gym does not give you wonderful growing plants. Or at least, it shouldn't have any growing plants in it.

Dagnab!

I remembered I left some bittersweet seed out on the deck to be rained on or eaten by birds.

Also left my purse at my daughter's house this morning.
Where is my brain?

The youngest grand (aged 4) repeatedly invited me to use her bed last night, and I found her perched asleep on a cushion on the floor when I went in to bed. Gotta love her!

What a sweet Grand! Ain't they Grand! Them Grands.

Lovely bit about your grandchild... :)

Very productive weekend, even with Saturday taken up with training.

The only chainsaw training I could find was through the Kentucky Baptist Convention Disaster Relief organization. Interestingly, I'd been letting God know that I wanted some new opportunities to serve, as most of what I'd been doing is no longer possible because of my work schedule. So I was glad to connect with this group. The chainsaw safety part of the training was just a film and some extra talk by the instructors. No hands on at all - they are trying to find a venue for the hands on part, and were NOT interested in my downed trees. They want to teach tree removal from the beginning with upright trees. So, perhaps later this spring. Meanwhile, I've been nudging several Extension Agents to establish a class.

I got back earlier than hoped and dragged the newly tuned-up lawnmower out and took down most of the brushy meadow that I'd let go last year.

Also several sessions in the woods with my reciprocating saw removing branches and clearing space for safer chainsawing. Got most of my ginseng seed in the ground, looking for the most sheltered places to keep them from the poachers. Then I remembered I have Ramp seeds, but no time to do anything with them. Ramps are wild onions with a very strong flavor. Very regional.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_tricoccum

Also salvaged the swollen seeds of bittersweet that had been rained on. They should still be good.

Some moving of rock, too. Still gathering up loose rocks from everywhere in lawn and meadow. Also stopped by the roadside shale deposit and gathered up bunches of newly freed geodes. Will let my grands open them when they come visit. Most are duds, but I found another one with a pyrite center.

My pond continues to drain, so it has moved up on the list of priorities. I'm going to investigate bentonite, but perhaps will pave it, now that I've seen it done on a larger scale.

>165 2wonderY: were NOT interested in my downed trees
Aw, too bad, that would've been win-win.

Congrats on a very productive weekend! I am in awe.

>166 qebo: I know!

Further research says I ought to wait till late summer to put the ramp seeds into the ground for next year sprouting. But will I remember?

>167 maggie1944: Huh? You've told us your tales of bramble wars too.

You must come from pioneer stock full of grit and determination, not to mention strength and energy. I almost need a nap after reading all the stuff you accomplish.

Yup, I'm with tiffin: need a nap after even thinking about all you did do this weekend. I have had bramble wars, especially with the rampant blackberries which threaten to overtake all the spare land in the entire huge county. But those wars were nearly 20 years ago! I'm glad to not have that issue in this yard, yet. They are at the door but have not yet found a safe way into the yard.

>165 2wonderY: Maybe all your work is why I took a five hour nap after raking leaves and pulling weeds for just a few hours on Saturday! lol

>171 lesmel: Thanks for the support!

I'm with tiffin and Karen...I wish I had the energy to do the yard/woods clearing as you do, but I don't. I used to.

(posted in March 2014)
Oh, more...

My kind driveway neighbors took down the main broken limb of the flowering plum and cut it up for hauling. I moved all the wood and cut the rest of it up. Brought several 5 gallon buckets full of branchlets to share with the children, as they will bloom, and there is no reason to waste all those wonderful buds. Clipped some dogwood branchlets from another broken tree too, for the same reason.

Mine should be blooming when I get home, as I gathered the first bunch last visit.

continued on thread 3: http://www.librarything.com/topic/171873

At Ruth's invitation, a picture of a different ridge in a different country. My 1969 Series II Land Rover stands on the spot where I hope my own new house will be built in the next couple of years.

John posted elsewhere about his land and plans and it sounded like something we'd love to follow.

John, you need to start a thread yourself and give us some of the details, like geography and what your plans are. They're exciting.

>176 2wonderY: Thanks, Ruth. I'll do so eventually, but there's not much to post at the moment except boring interactions with architects, structural engineers and building contractors!

Once it's built what do you plan to grow there? I'm sure it will be something wonderfully exotic compared to North America.

>178 varielle: Too far ahead to plan. We'll need to see what grows there, and also check out how the rainfall is distributed throughout the year. Thorn trees, obviously, plus sisal and various shrubs and cacti. No doubt we'll grow kale, as it's a staple in Kenya, and hopefully other veg, plus herbs. Maybe cassava, as that seems fairly hardy, and we'll try some fruit trees. Looks like the sort of terrain where small chilli peppers will grow. We'll plant various indigenous trees. We've got the remnants of a cattle kraal which will provide rich fertiliser, and compost seems to mature much quicker here than it does in colder climates.

>84 2wonderY: Nice downslope! I think your idea (https://www.librarything.com/topic/190149#5173108) is a good one!