Catching Up "Again"

 First off....

So happy to hear all is well in Tucson.

We had a scare with Dad.

And then Mom got sick.

Can't wait to chat with her in 

the morning and make sure she is

all better again!

Whew!

In the meantime,

it has been a BUSY few days here.

Starting with Wednesday.

Kyle started the reconstruction of the

chicken coop by dropping 4 posts in

the ground and then putting posts

ON the ground for the walls to sit on.

Then he picked up the back wall and

put it on its base and secured it in place.

Got the roost bars in place.

Then it was time for the front wall.

Had to do them out of order, 

because that's the order they fell in...

Had to pick it up with the excavator

and get it all hooked up with a chain.

Had to get it spun around so it was

facing the right direction.

It was a pretty windy afternoon,

so it took some talent!

The wind was helping / not helping...

depended on the moment.

But he persevered.

Slid that puppy into place,

like it was no big deal.

The man is a MAESTRO!

Not bad for a day's work.

I had to leave to go teach,

he got the two end walls reconstructed

(they were pretty torn up... but he got

them put back together.)

And called it a day.

The next day he picked up that roof you

see still on the ground and got it all

together so the chickens had someplace

to sleep!

He put it up against the fence in the 

alleyway leading into the pig barn.

Cut a hole and connected the fence

to the coop.

The roof looks a little "ruffled".

(No idea what his hand is doing...

probably holding some screws?)

Got the door all installed.

Meanwhile, a ward member was there

harvesting two of our pigs in the next 

pasture. It was extremely distracting!

There was ONE casualty we couldn't salvage.

Poor little ladder.

But now the coop is on the ground and

we don't NEED the ladder to get in and out

anymore. I'm VERY happy about that!

Friday he hooked up the tiller on the

tractor and we got the rows all prepped

for the next planting.

He added some sand (from the "pond" he dug)

and some coconut coir to the first three rows.

I added some 10-10-10 fertilizer and he

planted 4 rows of carrots in each of the

three 50' rows.

One row of red, one of yellow and one of orange.

We hope to have LOTS of carrots!

Then we put in 3 rows of onion sets!

Fingers crossed!

Saturday morning we headed into town early

to meet up with some other members to 

clean the church. 

Then to the store to get more onions to plant,

and then to WalMart to get some cookies,

and then to Wendy's for lunch.

It was a SCORCHER out there!

Yes.

It's MARCH.

(I talked to Jim, it was 72 in Florida!!!)

Back to the church for a baptism for

the wife of a long time member.

It was a really nice meeting.

I expected maybe 8 or 9 people to attend.

It's 2:00 on a Saturday afternoon.

We had 37 people.

Standing room only in the Relief Society

Room and the little tiny font room.

(I bought 36 cookies..... lol.)

The temperature on the way home.

Yikes!!!!!

We stopped at the house to change clothes

and then ran out to the farm to take some

measurements and drop off some stuff.

 

On the ride home.....

There was a LARGE fire just outside town.

That's our Chief of Police's farmstead.

It came close to his home, but they were

able to get it under control.

Lucky it was Saturday and not Friday!

Friday there were extremely high winds.

As you can see from the picture, on Saturday

there was almost no wind.

The smoke was going straight up.

It still burned a good amount of pasture land.

But his cattle were in another part of the property,

and between the fire trucks, 

a plane borrowed from the state

and lots of local farmers using their

equipment to cut fire breaks around the

burned areas, they were able to 

contain it to only a few hundred acres.

Looked like someone tossed a cigarette

butt out their window. The burned area

started right at the edge of the highway,

and burned a good area.

There were LOTS of people concentrating

on protecting the Chief's place, but

also the OIL WELL right there by the highway.

The police drove up and down the streets

in North WaKeeney letting us know about

the fire (like you couldn't see / smell it)

and asking us to put sprinklers on our yards

and prepare for an evacuation order if the

winds picked up.

After the major fires last week in Nebraska,

everyone was a little extra on edge.

But it turned out well and we were

all thankful for the efforts of those

who worked so quickly and efficiently

to get it put out before anything more than

grass land was lost.

It was nice to have a relatively quiet Sunday.

We went in early so Rod could attend

his 7:30 Bishopric meeting.

Then we both went to the 8:30

Ward Council meeting.

Then church at 10:00.

Relief Society at 11:00.

Meetings until nearly 2:00.

And finally HOME.

Kyle came over for some pork ribs

for dinner and then we were all happy

to head off to bed.

Which is where I'm headed NOW.

Waiting for Warm Ground

 We are just waiting for the ground

in the farm garden to warm up to

50 degrees so we can transplant

our tomatoes.

It's going to be 94 on Saturday.

But it was 8 on Monday.

So.... yeah.

Looks like the night time temps

will be in the high 30s and low 40s

with daytime temps in the low 70s

now for the next 15 days.

It might not be long now...

but in the meantime, they needed to move.

Yesterday after our Hays trip,

Kyle helped me rearrange the

"greenhouse".

(hahahaha)

We moved all the tomato plants

to the floor (with plastic trash bags

under them to catch any drips...)

Hardwood floors are beautiful,

but kind of a pain in the neck.

On the top shelf on the left are our chives.

They will get transplanted around the tomatoes.

The next row are peppers.

And the bottom shelf are 2 more trays of

72 more pepper starts and a tray of

roma tomatoes (you can't see them in this picture).

The tomatoes are SUPER leggy, but we will

"plant 'em DEEP" and get some good

root growth on them.

I pulled flowers off all the SunGold cherries

yesterday. Too early guys!

These are the peppers we were pretty

sure I had killed by overwatering.

They are looking pretty healthy now though.

(The baggie covered pot in the back are some

okra seeds from last year's crop... just checking

to see if they are viable. If they are, I have to

rake them all up before Kyle tills that area...)

Keep growing little guy!

And the little romas are going to get

up potted probably Thursday.

Or maybe I'll wait until we transplant the 

others into the garden. 

There are 72 of these guys and not that

much room on the floor for them!

We are hoping to have tomatoes 

coming out of our ears this summer.

Fingers crossed!!!!!

We need to get the cattle panels up

for the peas that have finally germinated

as well as for the tomatoes.

They are moving to where we just pulled

all the okra out.

Meanwhile, Rod is working on the

plumbing under the house for the

half bathroom yesterday and today.

I think he got the kitchen and prep room

sink plumbing (pipes to the septic)

all finished.

Then he'll work on the master bath.

Next comes the water lines (pex).

We bought all those lines and fittings

when we were in town yesterday.

Kyle will likely have to install those

since they are going in the attic instead

of under the house.

(Less chance of freezing in the winter...)

And, of course, Rod isn't allowed to 

go on ladders and into the ceiling.

(Or on the roof.)

Once all the waterlines are done,

we can start putting up drywall and

closing up those walls and ceilings!

And THEN it will start looking like

an actual house!

Nope.

Not excited AT ALL.

Silly BamBam!

 Kyle called me last night.

We decided it was too windy

for him to come into town for dinner.

He got the trailer popped back

onto its tires, but there is going

to be LOTS of work to get the

coop functional again.

Good news though, it didn't mess

up the door.

He really likes that door!

It's an actual door, not something

he built from scrap wood like

the doors on the pig barn...

Unfortunately the brand new

solar light we bought and he installed

on Tuesday didn't survive though.

and.....

possibly when the coop fell over and

made a big racket (we imagine, he was

in town at church when it happened)

Bam (the male puppy) got out.

No evidence of going UNDER any of the

fences or gates. (And if he had squirted

under, Pebbles would have followed,

she's his little shadow.)

So he probably jumped the 4' fence.

While we were talking, Kyle could hear

Bam barking and Winston barking back.

He was pretty sure he could see him

across the road, but it was about 18 degrees

outside, the wind was still roaring,

and he was just barely thawing out from

feeding the pigs.

So... good luck Bam.

This morning he saw him about .5 mile 

away across the road, 

He went over and got him and

brought him back and put him in 

with the other dogs where he belongs.

Dufus!

It was a bit brisk when I got up.

We were planning to go to the farm

around noon, but it was still

below freezing.

So no.

Instead I'm reading a book

and kind of watching You Tube.

Waiting til 4:30 to start today's class.

Tomorrow the forecast is sunny and 74.

That will feel good!

WINDY!!!!!

 It's been a busy couple of days!

Friday (Saturday???) Kyle got lots more

of the siding done, this time on the North side.

He is SOOOO almost finished!

(And happy about it, that's a LOT of up 

and down and up and down on a ladder...)

Looking good, eh?

And Rod has been UNDER the house,

doing the plumbing and getting it ready

for the pex inside the house...

That's lots of scooching around for a guy

with broken ribs and a not all the way

healed back.

But he's so happy to be back at work

and contributing to the build.

I'm proud of him.

(He's "mostly" listening to his body...)

Check out the temp on Saturday.

83 degrees!!!

And this morning we woke up to snowing

and a high of 37.

(Which happened about 6 am...)

Tonight it's going to be 11!

(Feels like ZERO)

And it's WINDY!!!!!

Sustained winds 38 - 40 mph with

gusts between 60 and 70 mph.

Kyle's house is fine.

Our house is fine.

Chicken house???????

Not so fine.

Of course, Kyle used his heavy equipment

and got the trailer standing up again,

but there's going to need to be some

major rebuilding for the coop.

(Looks like the roof is laying on the ground

next to the coop...)

But he wanted to get it standing up so the

girls would at least have a place to get up

under there to stay out of the wind tonight.

Hopefully they were all ok.

Oh the many joys of "spring" in the midwest.

Tomorrow is also going to be chilly and then

BAM.

Summer.

This is probably the last cold snap though,

so after a few days, we'll check the temp

in the dirt in the garden and maybe be able

to get the tomatoes in the ground.

But.... I'm not sure if our peas will survive.

They broke the surface yesterday probably.

They just don't love hot weather and it

looks like 80's for the next week.

And then probably drop back into the

high 60's and low 70s for awhile,

so as long as they make it through the

next few days, we might be ok.

HOPE SO!

We planted TEN 50-foot rows!

5 rows each.

In each row, there is a row of bush,

then two rows of pole (with a cattle panel 

in the middle of them) and another row of bush.

So yeah, tomorrow we need to put up

the cattle panels too.

Garden season is UPON US!

Happy Birthday NANCY!

 Goodness gracious,

how time is flying!

It seems like I just did a birthday

post the other day!

So... today is Nancy's big day!

And a BIG DAY it is!!!!!

Michelle (with lots of help from Nanc 

I'm sure...) is hosting her HUGE

event today.

LOTS and lots of amazing vendors

all brought together in one location

for the lucky people of Tucson to

enjoy and purchase fun and unique things

but local artisans.

SO much work.

And so worth it!!!

Sondra, Greg, Syd and Zoe got to

drive out and spend a few days

with them too!

How I WISH I could have pulled off

a visit at the same time.

I'm sure they are all having a BLAST!

There's a BIG birthday party planned

to celebrate Nancy on the 14th and Greg J

on the 13th.

(Rozann's Greg, not Sondra's Greg...)

(Good taste in husband names girls!)

But if you ask Nanc, I'm sure she will

tell you the BEST present she got was

a phone call from Chris, currently in the

hospital in Bangkok....

Some EXCELLENT health news for him!

No better news for a Mom to receive just

12 minutes into her birthday.

We are SO happy and relieved for you!

Anyhow.

We all know how amazing Nancy is.

She says she is "pulling back", but

even then, she does so much for so many.

So many people LOVE her to bits.

Every time I talk to Mom (every Tuesday)

Nancy is busy going to lunch with this friend,

and helping out with something with this friend,

and having a get together with these friends...

(As an introvert, it makes my teeth hurt... lol)

But she THRIVES!

I am so grateful to have Nancy as my sister.

I will be FOREVER grateful for her staying on

the phone with me into the weeeeeee hours of the

morning as I drove through the dark on

various versions of "Bob's Road" through the

backwoods of Kansas on my way to Wichita.

She kept me laughing and talking and

NOT stressing about what was happening with Rod.

Just a typical thing that Nancy does without

even thinking about it.

She just..... does.

Whatever people need.

And she is so intuitive about WHAT they need.

I love you Nanc!

And I miss you!

I'll get out there to visit........

once things here calm a little.

(hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha)

Happy Birthday!!!!

Siding Going Up

 It's pretty windy out there...

but if you play your cards right

(And Kyle usually does)

you can work on the side of the

house that's NOT in the wind.

So yesterday he finished the

South side of the house.

Looking good, eh?

The raw board on the bottom is where we will

attach the deck and above will be the deck roof.

But we have to get the septic tank in first,

since the pipes run under the deck.

Yesterday Rod went into town (by himself)

and picked up all the PVC to run the pipes

under the house and out to the septic.

We dropped it all off today.

Had to pick up 500# of pig feed,

so did it all in one trip.

Tomorrow he's going to start working

on the plumbing.

He's SO EXCITED to finally be able to

do something besides sit in his chair

and walk on his treadmill.

He PROMISED to listen to his body

and not over do.

Meanwhile, it was 74 out there today!

(And windy)

We dug down into the rows and discovered

some little pea seeds that have germinated.

Another day or two and they should

break the surface of the soil and we

will see little pea plants!!!!

I'm so excited!

We are going to have an artic blast 

(hopefully the last) on Sunday.

But then it looks like it's going to be

spring weather going forward.

We just got back from a quick trip to

our little town grocery store (Malays).

They are having a big 3-day sale.

We got some personal frozen pizzas for

$0.50 each, some pot pies for $1. each

and some hot dogs for $0.97.

(And buns for $2.09..... lol. Not on sale.)

We like to support our little grocery

store when we can.

Sometimes their prices are just too high,

but when you just need a gallon of milk

or whatever, it's cheaper to pay their

prices than to make a trip into Hays.

And they DO have some awesome

specialty things we can't get at WalMart.

Like their stuffed mushrooms.

SOOO yummy!

Anyhow.

It was a fun day and we got quite a 

bit accomplished.

And now I think I'm going to go make

us some hotdogs and BBQ potato chips

for dinner.

Sounds like fun.

Oh, and we got a single daffodil.

He doesn't look too happy.

Better get some water on him!

GROWING!!!!!

 Egads!

The tomatoes are GROWING like crazy.

They have OUTGROWN their shelf.

Jim laughed at me today...

they are SunGold cherry tomatoes.

Indeterminate and FAST growers.

He was all like... "You planted them ALREADY???"

Well, yes.

Last year we felt like we were behind.

So this year we decided to be proactive

and plant them early.

Possibly a little too early.

Possibly.

LOL.

Monday it was 84.

Today the high was 52 and its going

to be pretty chilly out there.

But LOOK AT SUNDAY!

And then it jumps back up and

nothing below 32 overnight for the

rest of the 15 day forecast and

likely for the rest of "winter".

(although there's always that surprise

spring storm possible...)

Anyhow.

We really need to do something with them.

We are thinking about taking them off the

shelf and putting them on a big table

and making a little PVC frame to hang

their lights (adjustable) above them.

Similar to Jim's setup.

Except his is permanent so he

made it out of wood.

Anyhow.

Hopefully by mid-next week we can

start moving them outside to harden off

and then get them (at least the cherries)

into the ground.

We have a lot of Roma tomatoes, but they

aren't in such a big hurry.

They'll be ok for awhile longer.

And I have another tray of 72 that are

just now getting their true leaves

so it will be at least a month before

they need to go outside.

But those CHERRIES!

Goodness gracious!

Hahahahahahahahaha.

(I've been picking flowers off them...

don't want them to start fruiting yet!)

But they WANT to.

We might be sitting in a parking lot

with trays of cherry tomatoes while

everybody else in town is just

starting to plant!