Winter's Veil

 

Another Monday morning here in The Holler. Another frosty morning and the second in a row. This is the time of year where winter and spring linger together with just  a thin veil between the two. Some mornings warm and sunny and yet others a light frost still remains.  Our average last frost date is around April 15th. The oak and hickory tree buds are just starting to swell with a promise of leaves to come. The yellow blooms of the forsythia and cornelian cherry trees have faded only to be replaced by pink. 

The most prominent of the blooms right now are the pink peach blossoms. Not to be outdone though are the white blooms of the native plum trees and Nanking cherry bushes. Lots of buds swelling on the beach plum, blueberry and gooseberry bushes though. 

While I don't see many daffodils up yet I do see the daylilies and Hosta sending green shoots out. The elderberry are already leafing out. 

These days the back deck is hopping with activity with lots of jugs of seedlings coming up. I adore winter sowing and it produces such healthy seedlings for my gardens. These jugs are full of broccoli, cabbage, lettuce and bok choy seedlings enjoying the sunshine and warmth on the tables and deck rails. Once the trees begin to leaf out then they will have to be moved out to the yard for brighter sun but for now they remain on the deck for easy watering and watching closely. Eventually they will move to the raised beds as a final home. 

And remember the little spring duckling of last year that accidentally ended up in a nest of chicken eggs and had to be raised by hand because the hen rejected her rather violently. "Tiddly Winks"  rode around in my pocket and played at my feet in the gardens last year just a fuzzy little thing. Now a full grown duck she shows up every morning at the back door to visit and partaking of her favorite snack of green peas that I keep for them in the fridge. Her sisters in crime "Thelma and Tassy" want no part of this shenanigan and prefer to stay out on the grass. Tiddly however comes pecking at the door to let mama know she is waiting not so patiently for her morning attention. 

We have again started turning compost piles that have accumulated from the regular cleaning of the animal pens over the winter. Tiddly is a regular pest and enjoys playing queen of the mountain on them while we are trying to turn them. She is just waiting for a bug of some kind to move and keeps the piles free of the most common of the insects that inhabit the piles. She also enjoys sneaking in the dog kennels and slipping dog food and I am sure glad the big dogs are not mean towards her.  

So while spring technically is here we still await last frost with bated breath. Waiting to see what damage those late frosts will claim on the fruit harvests for the year depending on what stage of development the blooms are in. The pruning and fertilizing of these trees for early spring has been completed though. Since we have so many fruit trees of different kinds planted rarely do we lose everything and especially the late bloomers usually always make a harvest.  

These are the times when I feel like a kid waiting on Christmas. Eagerly anticipating with my seedlings flourishing and my sweet potato slips rooting and my palms itching for that warm weather to arrive and stay for awhile. 

But in the meantime I have jars accumulating again on the table and am waiting for a good sale on something to refill them with. I am hoping for pork butt to go on sale and wanting to can some pulled pork for sandwiches. So for now lots of quilting and maybe getting a jump on some spring cleaning.

Hoping everyone is safe and warm and until next week.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

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I can also be reached at 

https://thebackfence.freeforums.net/

Late Winter/Early Spring Chores

These days my time is consumed with garden cleanup when we get the occasional warmer day, quilting when the weather does not permit gardening and canning. We have so much wood and prunings to burn from all the fruit tree pruning and cleanup we have been doing. We struggle to get it all burned since we still have to get state burn permits until April and with winds they have not been issuing them. 

My sweet potatoes in water are sprouting all over the place and soon I will be starting to root them. Dug out seeds for green peas, spinach, carrots, mustard, spring onions, beets, cabbage and lettuce. Peas and spinach can be planted when soil reaches 40 degrees. March potato crops and bulb onions will go in. The beds are weeded from a few winter weeds that managed to sprout in my beds. The peaches, blueberries, plums, black currants, Nanking cherries and blueberries are all pruned while still dormant. I still need to dig and separate the rhubarb crowns as they are getting too thick. A good 2 inches of compost has been spread on both large asparagus beds. The compost piles that remain from last fall have been turned. I also stuck out a dozen black currants cuttings to root and planted a small patch of potatoes that had sprouted in the pantry. So with a week of rainy weather approaching and 5 inches of rain in the forecast I will wait till the impending storms go through and plant some peas and cool weather crops. About 8 weeks out from average last frost date. 

My time has also been used wisely canning bone broth and I also canned 2 cookings of dried cranberry beans. As I find produce on sale I continue to can in small batches as the opportunity arises. I have about a third of my quilt left to quilt and then bind it and I will be done. I am aiming for the end of the month. As soon as that one is done I have another top ready to go on the frame. Early spring here is usually very rainy and I am hoping to get a second quilt out before summer gardening and canning goes into full swing. 

In the near future as well I hope to spray with dormant oil spray the peaches and plums to help prevent pests. I will also spray under the tree with Neem. 

O Wise One and I remain healthy and Covid free at the moment. We concentrate on each other, the crops, gardens and animals. We continue to eat clean and exercise as often as possible as weather permits. O Wise One in his seventies now and me not far behind yet we remain active, productive and blessed. 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter 

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I can also be found at

https://thebackfence.freeforums.net/

 

Whispers

By turning down the noise of my life, I was able to hear those still, small whispers of a loving God, whispers that filled my heart and never failed to refresh my soul.

Mindy Starns Clark

The Return Of The Flowers

My mama's Rugosa Roses are blooming again and the smell of roses is on the air. Can there be a more beautiful smell on earth. With the windows open you can detect that scent all through the house. 

The spirea or bridal wreath as my mother always referred to this shrub is  putting on quite the show right now.

 The bees are really swarming to the chives in bloom.

 

And they especially love the cheddar pinks or dianthus with their strong scent of cloves.

The Iris are just starting to bloom,  the Columbine have been blooming however for about a week. With the return of the Columbine the hummingbirds have showed up for this year as well. 

I love that combination of red, yellow and blue.

 

The Knockout roses are especially lush this year with all the rain but have not started to bloom yet. 

 

The pink Knockout going down the steps have one or two buds just open but are loaded with buds.

After a long brown winter it is so nice to have many of these old friends come back and cover my beds with color. What has May brought to bloom in your yard this week?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Spring 2013 Right On Schedule

Temperatures here continue to fluctuate with early spring. 50 and 60 degree temperatures during the day with the nights dipping down into the 30's and 40's. The last several weeks have been extremely rainy and it is looking like a cool and wet spring shaping up for us. I am hoping all this moisture combined with those late snows will bring an end to the drought conditions that plagued us last year. The Old Farmer's Almanac places our average last frost date at April 15th so I would say we are pretty well on schedule.  The fruit trees all reflect the spring like conditions and as always the plum trees are the first to bloom. This is always my fruit crop that is lost many years to late frosts. With a low of 28 predicted for this upcoming Friday I am a little worried. 

But for now I will simply enjoy the show and pray knowing that for every crop failure there is usually a boom crop of something else to replace it. God usually provides and rarely do we ever go hungry. 

It's funny to see the bright blossoms up against a backdrop of bare and gray trees. 

The Indian Blood Red Peach blooms are just starting to open on this rainy Monday morning as I take pictures and write this.  

The apple trees are just starting to leaf out.

The flower gardens are again awash with color after a long and dull winter. 

And the daffodils that I have tucked all over this farm are sprinkled like yellow specks of sunshine around trees and shrubs and along sheds drinking in all this rain. This double daffodil was originally dug from around the old burned out farmhouse that was original to this farm. There are now many clumps of this spread around the place. 

With all the rain the grass is again green and will soon need mowing. A little patchier after the drought but with a little reseeding in places it will be as good as new. If there is one thing this old patch of rolling prairie can grow it is rocks and grass : )

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

2013's First Harvest

 Spring just kind of slipped right in there while I was busy with other things. I been moaning about it for weeks and it just kind of appeared this morning. Of all the nerve. My doors are wide open and the temperatures are in the 70's.  

That new clothes pin bag I made this winter is hanging on the line with my laundry. Just look at that sunshine in that picture. I could just do a little dance. 

I took a walk this morning to open the cold frame and picked some lettuce. The first of the season. We'll have salad tonight with boiled farm eggs, pickled beets, cheese and baby green peas from the freezer and homemade garlic cheese croutons. Should go good with my venison, gravy and mashed potatoes. 

The daffodils are everywhere basking in the sunshine. The plum trees are always the first of the season to bloom and they are just about ready for the blossom to open up. The rhubarb is just barely breaking the ground but no asparagus yet. 

The birds are singing, the turkey gobblers are strutting and all fluffed up. Got the seed potatoes , peas and onions all in the ground and next thing in line is the remaining lettuce transplants, broccoli and cabbage transplants. 

Everyone have a great weekend!

Happy Spring : ) 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Can It Be ?

Has that illusive season called spring finally found the holler?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Looking Back

When you blog you have a great record of the seasons through the years. This was March 20th 2010. This was a year of record snowfalls too. A late spring followed a beautiful summer with wonderful weather and rainfall every week. We had a heavy fruit harvest and the gardens were prolific that year. Especially those summer crops of beans and corn.  

March 28, 2010

March 21, 2011 

This year we were plagued with late frosts that wreaked havoc on the fruit harvests. There was some fruit but not as heavy as other years.  By march of this year we were already raising baby pigs and hatching chicks. 

March 26, 2012

This year started out really early with a drier than normal and early spring. The trees bloomed out early and were covered with blossoms only to lose all their set fruit in the following summer drought. Cool weather crops were planted before St. Patricks Day and produced well. About the end of spring it stopped raining and it was down hill from there as the state of Missouri was in the grips of one of the worst droughts in their history.

March 24, 2013

We have to wonder if this is one of those years where we will go straight from winter weather into summer heat without a spring. When you garden and try to raise much of your own food the weather becomes so important. Want to talk to a farmer bring up the weather. Walk into the town cafe and what are they discussing... the weather. We are praying that all this snow will help to end our drought. With lots of spring rainfall and all this snow together it will only help to replenish all that lost moisture from last year. 

Gardening is always a gamble. Some years you win and some years you just depend on a different crop. On years that the spring crops don't make as much the summer crops usually make more in my experience. So instead of lots of cabbage and broccoli we will  eat more beans, corn and squash.  Our areas is normally frost free by April 15th so I guess only time will tell. 

Somehow we have not had daffodils yet this year and it is almost Easter. The crocus were buried under almost 18 inches of snow. With Easter around the corner and we still huddle in our homes and look out the window at a snow covered landscape. We dream of warm summer breezes and opening up the windows, hanging laundry on the line and again burying our hands in the soil. For now we settle with spring cleaning and catching up on indoor chores. Sharpening kitchen knives, cleaning light fixtures and various things often put aside for times such as these.

I continue to quilt and sew mixing cleaning chores and cooking in with it. But mostly we wait. 

Unfortunately waiting doesn't make for a whole lot to write on this blog so please bear with me after all winter can't last forever. Can it?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter    

The Natives Are Restless

Look what was hiding under all that snow! With early signs of spring it seems every animal on the farm gets a little silly. 

Rocky and Bullwinkle sure are eyeing them daffodils and are ready to be back out grazing weeds. With almost 4 weeks of snow cover they have missed the grass. Although we have plenty of hay they still miss their grazing. These two young withers are better than weed eaters and take a lot less gas. 

Look at this handsome young fellow all fluffed up and strutting.  He is the last remaining young one from last years turkey hatch so he is not even a year old. I sold most of my young birds on Craig's List. A lady had called and wanted to purchase him then didn't show up to pick him up. I cannot put him in with his daddy because they will fight and I am scared the larger gobbler will injure him. So for now he is in a pen by himself. He is an awful lonely fellow. Maybe I will try listing him again and find him a honey. Anyone out there local needing a young Bourbon Red gobbler let me know. 

And these two young hooligans are confined to the kennel when not under close human supervision. They have been digging in the garden, the compost pile, chewing hoses and just all around up to no good. I had forgotten how much fun it is training young and energetic farm puppies. They have a lot of discipline yet to learn. Although we have started them young on the leash training and basic commands they still need lots of work : ) 

They are not real fond of time out and look pretty pitiful don't they !!

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Back In Production

We have had a short reprieve from winter here in Hickery Holler. In true Missouri weather tradition we saw the first 60 degree temperatures of the new year yesterday with a small temporary warm up. 

Thus far we have had a really mild winter and very little snowfall so we look forward to a chance of rain today. But that fickle mother nature also threatens to again have snow by tomorrow and the cold returns. So our reprieve from winter is very short lived.  

But the days get longer everyday and we are starting to see the evidence of that. The chickens are again picking up their egg laying and gradually everyday we get more eggs. I am starting to again see full cartons of eggs in my refrigerator on a regular basis. Yesterday I saw my first robin of the year and the first housefly. Again this year with such a mild winter I fear the bugs will be bad just as last year. Already we are seeing moths and flies.   

But for now we will enjoy our 60 degree day and dream of the days when we can again throw open the windows and doors, air out the quilts and hang the laundry in the warm spring sunshine.  

We will continue to work on our winter projects for now after all we are not finished yet. We'll snuggle under those quilts and continue to dream of that elusive thing called Spring.

UPDATE: We have gotten over an inch of rain since I posted this in the AM. Temperatures are dropping but the rain sure is nice even though it will be a muddy mess now : )

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Goodbye 2012

As we say our farewell to 2012 and welcome in the new year I cannot help but be thankful. Christmas was a quiet affair this year for us but enjoyed none the less. I took great pride in watching as my grown daughter made great efforts to establish new traditions for her young growing family and delighted that we were able to be a part of those. I delighted that she made many of her gifts herself and she and my grandchildren made all their Christmas candy homemade. It gave me great pride to see the young homemaker and mother she has become and was probably one of the highlights of the season for me.  

As we pack away the lights and take down the decorations I reflect on what a terrible time was predicted by many for this December of 2012 as end of the world predictions flew all over the media for the last year or so. Guess the Mayans got that one wrong. Although things have not been easy this year the world as we know it, good or bad, still exists. We have survived hurricanes, droughts, school shootings and horrible disasters to once again bring in a new beginning to another year. We are thankful for our blessings and mourn deeply for our losses but move on. None know what the future will bring, but for me ,  I will welcome in this new calendar year with hope and faith in my heart.   

The last year has not always been easy for our family. We mourned the loss of our beloved dog Sadie but gained the lives of her two precious puppies Marlowe and Moxie. 

We welcomed a new daughter in law into our lives last month and are expecting a new grandchild from our oldest daughter in April. We also mourned the passing of several old friends. As my husband and I age, many years now are marked by the loss of friends and loved ones. Each passing serving to remind us just how fragile and dear that life really is. Last month we also mourned the loss of a grandchild as another of my sons and his wife lost a baby. Even at my age sometimes these things are just so hard to understand. This wonderful life gone before it ever really had a chance to live. A child wanted so desperately and loved so much. We can only pray for the parents and hope that another blessing will be bestowed on this loving couple. 

But with 2013 also comes good news with the announcement that Baby O has once again won both the local and district Voice of Democracy essay contest. In February she will again journey to Missouri's capitol to compete in the state competition. The prize a $5,000  scholarship. She competed 2 years ago and won 6th place in the state.  We wish her luck again this coming year!

And as for O Wise One and I we will be right here cheering Baby O on in February. We'll  be waiting with open arms to welcome a new grandchild into the world in April. Loving God and each other and waiting....... 

Waiting for those first green crisp asparagus shoots to pop through the cool spring ground......

Waiting for those sweet juicy strawberries warm in the early summer sun.......

Waiting to again hear the hum of bees working those first apple blossoms.......

Waiting for the smell of fresh cut hay ...........

We hope you'll travel along  and we will look for you on that first glorious spring sunrise. We invite you to share our path. A path less taken these days but glorious none the less.  A path of hard work but also of great joy. And at the end of the day weary from hard labor a knowledge and satisfaction of a job well done. A path where nourishment comes not from a shelf but from the land and the animals that land nourishes and supports. Where we provide for ourselves first, live frugally and simply and then share where we can.  

A path like life, of sunrises and sunsets, of seeds and sowing, of pain and joy, of harvests and losses.  

A path of faith...

Faith in God, ourselves, family, humanity and the earth itself. 

We hope you will continue to visit in 2013 and may your new year be safe and blessed. 

  Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter