GOOSEBERRIES, CURRANTS, AND RHUBARB -- OH MY!

Today I stopped in at Hay's Produce Market in Clarkston to buy a rhubarb plant for the farm. Poking around, I discovered they also had Pixwell gooseberry bushes and several varieties of currants. I was surprised about that. I figured I would have to send for those because I've never seen them in the markets. Maybe I just don't get out enough. Naturally I bought the gooseberry and a red currant bush. It feels so good to be replacing some of the old bushes that have disappeared from the homestead over the years. Hay's also had blueberry bushes in several varieties. (On a previous blog, Milo said he was planting blueberry bushes in his yard.) I decided to research blueberry bushes before buying any.


Internet service returns to the homestead on May 1. Mike had it discontinued over the winter. That explains why I was unsuccessful in getting it to come up last weekend. So, I'll be away from this desk for a few days getting more updates for the blog.



Here's an old photo of the farm taken in 1935 that shows fruit trees -- quite a number of them, it appears -- on the south side of the house. I wonder how long they had that orchard, if it was successful, why they removed those trees.

OLD FRUIT TREES FOR EXPERIMENTAL PROJECT

Last Sunday Nellie and I toured the grounds of the homestead to photo the old fruit trees. My goal is to renovate these trees for sentimental reasons. They need thinning, pruning (perhaps too late this year), fertilizing, and spraying.

This old pear tree is the only tree remaining in an area that was called "the orchard" during my lifetime. My dad ignored it as he did all the old fruit trees. The only trees we picked were the two pie cherry trees which were lost to the house renovation in 1999.

The trees above are located at the pond. The trees on the left are on the lane. And the last photo is of my friend Nellie on point near the pond.

M/W'S SHOULDER SURGERY POSTPONED

As you may recall, Mike apparently had an allergic reaction to the anesthetic during his foot surgery in December. The reaction had the appearance of a heart attack. Due to that episode, his orthopedist has cancelled shoulder surgery scheduled at his facility for April 29. Surgery will be re-scheduled and take place at the hospital when certain tests have been completed. KW

REPLACING A VENT

Now – what could Mike be doing that would require a rope tied to the 4-wheeler and a kiddie fishing pole? Could it have something to do with the roof? Yes, it could! A vent had to be replaced at the back of the house, and Mike wanted to be the one to do it. When he wasn’t successful in tossing the rope over the roof, he cast weighted fish line over, tied the rope to the line in order to pull it over the roof to the front of the house, then tied it to the 4-wheeler.

I watched nervously from below as he climbed the ladder and then used the rope (securely anchored to the 4-wheeler at the front of the house) to pull himself into position on the steep-pitched roof. At one point the vent popped out of his pocket and rolled off the roof to the ground. I had to climb the ladder to give it to him.

Bracing himself by means of a loop he tied in the rope, he replaced the vent . . . .

. . . then sat a spell in order to set it with glue.

A “not-so-nervous” Nellie enjoyed a doze in the sun during the ordeal.

Warnock children might remember a trip to Arkansas c.1991 when Grandma Bennie climbed onto the roof at “Boiling Pot,” the family cabin on the Ouachita River, and proceeded to sweep leaves and debris. She saw that as an important part of roof maintenance and admitted that she did it often -- even if there alone. No one thought that was a good idea. Aunt Carol was horrified.

SPRING OPENING 2008

“If we don’t have it, I don’t know what it is,” I remarked to Mike as I locked the door of the town house behind me. “Oh! It’s the camera!” We were leaving for the farm, so I was pleased to hear that mental reminder to get the camera.

On our way, we stopped at Peck at the site of the old grain elevator so that Mike could look for a geocache. I made the initial trip down the river bank but could tell we would likely not be able to approach the cache due to high water, which proved correct. I took a picture to prove I had been there and returned to our parking site to hunt bottle caps. I found two!

At the farm, our first order of business was to turn on the water, but before doing that, it is necessary to install the tub and shower faucets. We wished we had thought of that before we turned the water on. Anyway, recovering from that mishap, we had only two basic problems: 1) some part at the back of the refrigerator had cracked and will have to be replaced before we can have cooled water and ice, and 2) the sprayer nozzle at the kitchen sink cracked. We will add “turn off refrigerator” and “remove sprayer nozzle” to our winterization list.

There was no sign of mice in the kitchen – always a good thing! – but the trap in the attic held three mice carcasses. Those industrial traps are great! On the down side, some critter(s) has riddled the yard on the south side of the house with tunnels. I provided a complimentary meal in any hole I could find. Is this too much information? Well, outwitting the vermin is a part of country life because they will ruin your work if they get a chance.

The daffodils are just short of blooming. In fact several bloomed in the warm sun of Sunday afternoon. It was disappointing to see that I lost some of the iris I planted. I probably didn’t set the corms deep enough. Live and learn. Twelve raspberry plants are struggling to overcome damage inflicted by the deer. Out of 25 strawberry plants I set out last year, I count ten.

The pond is full to overflowing which means that the cistern also is full. The wind came up early Sunday morning with gusts continuing all day, making it difficult to impossible for us to do tasks involving spraying. But Mike did lube the windmill.

Mike has left shoulder pain and has scheduled surgery for April 29. Knowing he is facing a recuperation period is pressuring him to complete spring work that might be done more leisurely if circumstances were normal. My blogs this week will relate more about our work, including pictures, I hope.

OLD OROFINO

On the sidebar you’ll see a photo of modern Orofino. Here’s an old postcard of Orofino in 1922. The photos show the business district from opposite ends of Johnson Avenue. In this old photo, note the original location of the Ford Garage. Though I can't identify the group standing beside the car, I wonder if the man farthest to the left isn't my grandfather, C. O. Portfors.

We're sorry to hear that Hallie isn't feeling well today. And Mike scheduled shoulder surgery for April 29. He anticipates a six-week recuperation period.

Here are a couple of photos from our town yard. Our ornamental cherry tree has begun to blossom, and daffodils bloom amongst the cactus and sage brush. However, it has been a cold spring. There has yet to come the day when I am thoroughly inspired to work in the yard though I have done a little weeding and also established a compost pile. Mike keeps reporting his observations, like “Is that grass coming up there something you planted?” and “I left the weeding of the spinach for you.”

Mike and I have discussed going to the farm a couple of times to open the house and check on things, but we think it might still be fairly muddy. And our town schedule of activities is ongoing just now. I’m really rather anxious to go.

I forgot to mention our new blog format for which we thank Hallie. We like the fresh spring look. We don’t have any spring pictures of the farm – something I hope to correct this year.