Posted on 10/08/2022 5:57:29 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
That looks very familiar……
What a great day to mow! Clyde & I ‘made tracks’ for 5 hours & got all the back fields done, the old horse ring & around the barn. Tomorrow is the yard, entrances, front field & the front pasture (where my garden is located). I’m estimating the time to get that done at 3 hours.
It was sunny & a bit breezy. Started out in long pants & a T-shirt. About an hour in, added a flannel shirt & the last hour or so, I had to wear a fleece jacket. I needed something on my hands too, but toughed it out.
It doesn’t “smell” like Fall yet - that distinctive ‘leafy’ smell. I did catch a whiff of turpentine when I hit a couple of spots that had some pine needles. The grass around the large pines is now cut so when the big pine needle ‘fall’ happens, they’ll be easier to rake up. The far back field has a corner we have to bush hog & it’s grown up with lots of Ironweed. I see I missed the Ironweed bloom which is disappointing - they usually attract a lot of butterflies.
I did have to walk the fields before getting on the mower & pick up branches that the winds from Ian remnants knocked down. As I was throwing branches to the base of one of the pines, I thought “hmmmm, that looks sort of like a ground bee hole” and about that time a yellow jacket flew out. The ground bees will ‘sleep a breathless sleep’ tonight & not wake up in the morning.
The full moon is actually tomorrow, but I’m outside watching the “Hunter’s Moon” rise in the east with a hot cup of tea & fleece jacket on - it’s really chilly. To the west, there will be frost tonight. Life is good!
I am sorry to hear that! :)
This past week was generally warm and dry here in Central Missouri. A frontal passage late in the week brought our first frost of the season Friday night, which happened to be the exact average first-frost date for this area.
My sweet corn popped silk on Thursday, and appears to have made it through the frost with no damage. The only thing now standing between me and a bumper crop is the weather. I need another 30 days of good luck.
We harvested all of the peppers in advance of the cold. I’ve got 25 gallons that need to be processed. I got started chopping jalapenos yesterday. Those, and probably most of the chilis and huns, are going into the smoker to dehydrate, then I’ll grind them up into yummy smoked chili powder.
I spent several hours yesterday moving dirt to the pond dam and smoothing it out to the final golf course finish grade, then the seal in Nanner’s steering cylinder blew out so now I’m parked until I can get the cylinder removed and sent out for a rebuild. No telling how long that will take so later today I’ll use the garden tiller and a rock rake to finish the smoothing and then seed the bit that I got done.
Today is chainsaw day. I get to go around all the fencerows and chop up leaners and deadfall that have or are about to damage the fencing, and make any needed repairs. Pops mowed the horse paddocks yesterday so that’s one less thing for me to do before winter.
Progress! Sorry about the broken vehicle. A weekly problem around here, too. :(
Beau will be back from Bear Camp this week, and I KNOW one of his projects for us will be, ‘Chain Saw Day.’
He and the two neighboring farmers have some complicated system of who fixes what on the fences, but he is always in charge of the chainsaw. ;)
He used to compete in his youth; he’s very good at it and quick!
South Jersey here. Hardly an acorn on the oaks this year. Very dry summer, think the oaks were on survival mode this year. Same with mulberries and persimmons.. Critters are going to really have to work to get through this winter
Whoever came up with the idea of planting Russian olive trees on the Garden State was an idiot. Invasive all over South jersey, even the birds only eat it as a last resort.
We do have quite a few black walnuts this year. Not a bumper crop but worth collecting.
We have bushes called autumn olive and wow, are they invasive.
We have been trying to control the invasives and replace them with native species.
Actually checked with local botanist who said Russian Olives are eatble but must be proceeded, which is a long process including boiling them.
I’m seeing Black Walnuts everywhere, but that’s not unusual in dry or wet seasons. No fallen acorns, yet.
Yep. With no nuts, the critters are going to have a tough winter in your neck of the woods. :(
Poor folks got poor ways, right? Nanner is the workhorse machine here when heavy things need to be moved. When he's broke down it slows down some work and stops other work dead. Fortunately we've got a smaller loader tractor that can fill in on the light work.
Mrs. Augie's golf cart Flash is broke down too. The starter solenoid has been acting funky for a while and finally gave up for good last week. We use Flash for all sorts of light work around the place. I installed a receiver hitch and drawbar on the back of it so it's able to tow the little small dump trailer around full of tools or mulch or whatever. The new solenoid should be here on Wednesday so it won't be down much longer.
re: bush honeysuckle
Lop the stem close to the ground.
Apply Tordon RTU to the stump.
Done.
Also, I never knew what they turned into, so I went looking. They turn into a Tiger Moth, (Pyrrharctia isabella), which I have never seen, but they only live about two weeks in moth form. They mate and then die. :(
And now you know...the REST of the story. :)
Way cool!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.