CHECKING ON THE FARM

Our CRP contract has come due, so Mike and I traveled to Nezperce this morning to sign papers at the USDA office. It was routine but had to be done.

Since we were within 20 miles of the farm, we drove on in to check on the house and grounds. Today was a calm day – lovely and sunny at 37 degrees – but yesterday a regional windstorm blew through, so we were anxious to see if we had sustained damage. We didn't see much snow, but our rep at USDA said they had had a lot of rain.

Everything looked good at the farm, though apparently the wind blew the bark off the dead tree in the grove, and that’s not a big deal. Perhaps 2021 will see us taking down that huge “stump.” We’ll probably have to wait until after harvest.

We’ve been using pinecones as fire starters, so I filled a crate with them. I packed another crate with more food from the pantry. I used to think it was better to keep the cupboard stocked, but now I see the wisdom of rotating it out and bringing in fresh stuff in the spring.

We had two mice in traps, and those were in the storage closet under the stairs – the same closet in which we found the nest some months back. Obviously, we needed to make another effort to discover their point of egress, and Mike said it should be today. So, we removed enough stuff that he could crawl to the back of the closet where the ceiling meets the floor, and when he pulled back the carpet, he could see holes where the ceiling meets the floor. We had sealant but couldn’t apply it at that angle, so Mike packed in more steel wool. Naturally, we again left traps in the closet.

After a light lunch, we drove back to town, opting to return the way we had come (Hwy 95) and avoid the Gilbert Grade, which would be wet and muddy. KW