I Miss This Place

It's been a long time since we've spent any time out at Purgatory Ranch.  A gun-toting, senile old neighbor (not Uncle Bruce) made it too dangerous for us to have much energy for working out here.  Also, six small kids, 3 acres at home, and all our animals at YJ Acres made our energy resources low anyhow.

 Six Penny Pond has water, which is awesome, but some cedars need chopping.

 We did chop down a few cedars, with the naive idea that we might be able to use one for a Christmas tree. Yeah, no.  I had so many splinters in my hands from cutting three trees and hauling them to the car, that this idea was quickly abandoned.  But it's three less trees for James to brush hog.

 (How did she get to be so old and grown up?)

 I have missed being out here.  Half the kids and I trekked around the acreage, exploring the boundaries and seeing what there was to see.  I could have happily spent all day.

James spent the morning brush hogging and much of the front 20 acres as possible.  We don't currently have the man power, ability, or supplies to burn the front 20, and the cedars MUST be kept down.  We had the entire field cleared last year and are determined to keep the area clear and usable.

On another day, James will have to come back and finish.  At least we made progress.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Purgatory Ranch, End of May

Tree onions are setting bulblets in a wild frenzy of growth.

I haven't hacked out too many onions in my weeding, and neither downpour nor animals have consumed entire rows.

The north bed looks to be a 60% loss.  What there is, is so choked by weeds that I am freeing row by row.  It will take time.

 The south bed is looking wonderful.  After this picture, I managed to hill up and weed four rows of potatoes.  Growth is amazing!

Much to my surprise (not, I think, to James), our pond holds water for the first time in almost three years.  Clearing out the cedars and junk helped!

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Grateful for the Rain

I am always nervous until the first potato sprouts appear.  What if I killed the potatoes?  What if I didn't plant them right?  (As if there was a way to plant a potato wrong... Okay, there is, but really?)

So I have anxiously examining the potato patch for sprouts.  Thursday, finally, in the mud, I found some!  There are plenty more still to sprout, and the grass is kicking tail, but I don't weed until enough sprouts are up that I know I won't hack any.

Tree Onions

Potato

Tree clearing progress

All in a Saturday's Work

First, James spend the morning helping a friend clear all the trees (particularly red cedars) from around Six Penny Pond, as well as cleaning out the garbage remaining from a torched single-wide a previous owner decided should be burned.  In the pond.  Yuck.

And that, my friends, was all before lunch.

After lunch, James began assembly of a shed for the kids' bikes, toys, etc.

I planted three Heritage raspberries; emptied the barn of garden tools, which were deposited in the newly-constructed, used shed next to the garden; fed and water the guineas; cleaned their previous home; and supervised the kids, including JoJo, who was particularly crabby.

Then, James and I selected planting sites for four rhubarb crowns.  Exciting stuff around here!

After dinner, as the crowning event of our insanity, we planted 200+ strawberry plants, half Earliglow and half Honeoye.  I stretched our remaining drip hoses and discovered I need, oh, maybe six more!

On the to do list to address the watering needs of the strawberries is also to discover whether or not the outside faucets to our house run through the water softener.  If yes, we have a watering problem.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

End of the Year

And we have been absent, but not idle.

Rain continues to fall on Purgatory Ranch, giving us a full pond for the first time in two years.

Isn't the ice beautiful?

Did you know that you can't but a cap for 8" PCV pipe around here?  6" will have to do, and we only capped the inner pipe.  It's a good thing Uncle Bruce came through and figured out a way to cap the pipe after we left.

Man's Dignity Through Work

Labor day weekend, for a time if expected laziness, turned out to be full of labor and effort, much to my surprise and pleasure. (I like to have a task list and complete it.)

Saturday, James' truck Grey Dog blew a head gasket, which resulted in James and a neighbor from up the street pushing a dead truck half a mile home. God bless neighbors who help fools like us. After the truck's demise, James and I cleaned out the truck, preparing it for possible repair/disposal. The wagonload of possessions necessitated a plan to clean the garage in the near rather than distant future.

Monday, James cleaned the garage while I weeded, cleared finished garden beds, and tidied the wood pile behind the garage. We are in the midst of removing our compost heaps in favor of less mousy compost barrels. James also completed the awesome task of hanging the ladders on the wall of the garage, protecting them from rot and leaf debris.

After an exciting and unplanned run to the airport, and a delightful, planned excursion to the park with my family, we decided a visit to Purgatory Ranch would round out the long weekend nicely. I had previously proposed that James chop wood while the kids and I pick up sticks, but that AND cleaning out the garage had been deemed too taxing for a day off. Our intention was to enjoy a picnic supper, after which James would fire his Judge.

Upon our arrival to the land we discovered, much to our delight, that the culvert/access onto our land had been completed! The barbed wire fence was still in place, so we could not inaugurate its use, but we were able to admire it. After supper and a stroll to the (still dry and junked) Six Penny Pond, we spied our neighbor to the south, who shall henceforth be called Boomer, waiting for us.

He generously offered the use of his wire clippers, post remover, and post planter (okay, I don't know the actual names for these. I'll ask him next time I see him.). He showed James how to unbend the wire clips holding our saggy baggy barbed wire onto the post. Then he gave James the post remover and James pulled two posts so we could move them to the property line and the other side of the road access. I am amazed at the ingenuity of the inventor of the post planter. The construction, while requiring knowledge for cutting and welding metal pipe, is still uncomplicated but certainly facilitates the replacement of posts.

James also removed a large rock from the middle of the drive (that would have been a "so long oilpan" type of accident). We also marked the location of a tree stump that needs to be removed. We discussed the need for some smoothing of the joint between the new drive and our land. Boomer offered the use of his tractor, but that will have to wait until he has a new tire on it. He patched the tube himself after driving through a field of honey locusts, but didn't have the oomph to put the tire back in place. He told us he had overdone, and James told him next time to call us.

We need to chop/split wood soon. I pray the cool weather holds!

I have lost, somehow in the writing, the sense of work interspersed with friendly conversation and teasing. We have a good neighbor. It's too bad we weren't able to sell our house this summer. Our next venture closer to the land will begin in May. For now, we will have to content ourselves with frequent visits.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise. It's Purgatory Ranch.

Junk Removal Take... 10?

Six Penny Pond, besides being dry, has been a source of angst for its status as a rat- and skunk- infested junk pile.  There have been several attempts to remedy this.

First, the men took a DYI approach.  That was a little too exciting for everyone involved.

We've done a little picking up of small junk, but it doesn't really make a dent when there's an entire (burnt-out) mobile home to clean up.  It gives a new meaning to the phrase "trailer trash."

James advertised on craigslist for scrappers.  They came, they saw, they left... without the junk.  Apparently, they couldn't be bothered with rusty barbed wire (not that I blame them, but, come'on, you're scrappers!).

James finally received another call.  He directed the scrappers to the land, but they were unfamiliar with the area and plagued him all day with phone calls.  "Where is it?"

James made arrangements to meet this scrappers and lead them to the land.  Fifteen minutes after their agreed-upon meeting time, James was home.  The scrapper had a heart attack.  Good thing he did that BEFORE they drove all the way to the land!

Finally, today, James was able to lead them out.  Two (we think) loads later, we still have plenty-o-junk, but not of interest to a scrapper.

At least progress is being made.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Weeds vs. Man, Round 2

I think we kicked butt and took names this time.

The garlic, now harvested, is a beautiful thing to behold.  Large, pungent bulbs will provide us with plenty for cooking as well as some excellent cloves for planting this fall.

Apparently tree onions don't need help replanting themselves, so I don't need to do ANYTHING with them, except make sure we don't disturb their self-planting efforts.

A few potatoes were unearthed by our thorough weeding.

The deer, or some other nibbling creature, has been sampling our onion greens.

We have eradicated a majority of the weeds, although, no doubt, there are others lurking under still-green potato plants.  The potatoes show little signs of flagging, so this year's potato harvest will be later than that of 2010.  All involved are hoping that such delay makes for a bigger harvest.

Then there's this thing called poison ivy.  I think it is now growing in our drive to Six Penny Pond.  Since Dan and I both have SERIOUS issues with poison ivy (um, think multiple rounds of steroids and still itching like crazy), this is NOT a positive development.  I don't think there's even a way to go to war against poison ivy, and I've read that even the mere mention of war against it causes its growth rate to quadruple.  Oh, we're in trouble.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch (hence the poison ivy).

Weeds vs. Man

Weeds are attempted to seize the upper hand at Purgatory Ranch.

As late, we have been, um, lax about the weeding of the larger potato plants, assuming that their broad leaves and towering nature would choke out weeds.  Don't laugh.  If the drought had continued, I think we would have been right.

Then there were a few events called rain.  Lots and lots of rain.  Apparently intended to feed all those nasty little weed seeds and seedlings.

We are still ahead of the grass by a long shot.  If you remember the pictures from last year, there might have been more grass than potatoes.

However, there are some other weeds that have been cozying up to our potatoes, and look just enough like potato plants that you actually have to pay attention!

The Lewis clan weeded Monday sans hoes (we were intending to dig a few potatoes, maybe, but not weeds.  Don't remind us that we're city slickers!).  Most of the weeds needed to be hand-pulled anyway, and it gave us some up-close-and-personal time with the soil and potatoes... and weeds.  We will be digging the garlic next time, as the tops are brown.

Tomorrow we will resume picket duty, and the weeds will be crushed.

(and about that pond-junk-fiasco we were all expecting... the junk man couldn't handle our junk.)

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Expect Some Excitement Today...

The men are cleaning out the pond today at 2 pm.  If you remember how exciting the last attempt was, you'll be sure to check in tonight or tomorrow for an update.  If you don't see an update, please harass them on facebook so we can hear the story, unedited, about skunks and rats and flying tow straps!

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Spring Saturday = Visit to the Land

It hailed last night.  Stormed mightily.  So, upon arrival to the land, our neighbor to the south (who we always provide with a good laugh) informed me that I was "just like a city farmer.  Always showin' up after the storm."  Hey, I mentioned it hailed.  Do you think the van will look any better with a second round of hail damage?  Methinks not.

 Our kiwis look like someone to a blow-torch to them, so they are dead.  Meanwhile, the gooseberries, castoffs of my brother, are sprouting from the roots, and the blueberries are greening up nicely.  The pond has mud at the bottom, which has not been the case for MONTHS.

Purple, red, yellow and green stakes = homes for future windbreak trees

The men marked out where Dan's windbreak will go at their future home.  By the time they finished that, it was a little warmer than I can take (I'm a redhead, and apparently don't adjust well to heat.  I like think I'm not a wimp as I did deliver three babies without an epidural or much pain medicine, and James is too gentlemanly to suggest such a thing).  They also hoed the potatoes.

Garlic and tree onions thriving on neglect

First potato sprouts

James still says we should have named the land something OTHER than Purgatory Ranch, but I think he's stuck.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

You Say Po-tay-to, I Say Po-tah-to...

We all say FUN!

The men departed first in order to rent a tiller attachment for our 13hp (and 13 wee horses at that) tractor.  Upon arrival at the rental store, James attached the tiller, lifted it up… and nearly flipped the tractor.  So they rented a tractor too… a big tractor, for us.

By the time I arrived at Purgatory Ranch, James had mastered the basics and was getting a little frisky driving the tractor.  It certainly made short work of tilling both the old bed (and doubling its size) and a new bed.  The fluffiness (I considered saying “tenderness,” but I don’t know if anyone else would say that) of the soil was amazing in comparison to last year’s unbroken hardness.

During the tractor escapades, my girls enjoyed a little time running around the borrowed trailer.

Upon completion of his work, James reloaded the tractor onto the trailer, and I fully appreciated how much larger it was than our little tractor: James’ truck almost came off the ground.

Needless to say, James and Dan “need” full-size pickups, a large tractor, and a trailer to haul it.  Myle and I say we’re too broke.

While James was returning said tractor and trailer, Dan and I began marking rows with sticks.  Myle arrived with their kids, and we broke bread together.  Yum.  

Shortly thereafter, a man arrived with nearly 4 tons of dirt that we hoped he could dump gradually across the bed.  Most of it ended up in one large pile.  (It’s Purgatory Ranch for a reason, so we all moved a little dirt.)

Around the time of the compost moving, my dad, older sister and her son, and second youngest brother arrived.  They were amazing.  I walked all the kids to Six Penny Pond, but it is still dry.  70 pounds of potatoes later (Kennebec, Blue Viking, and Yukon Gold), we are looking forward to an exciting and gigantic crop in the summer.

At the end, the men (who by now were aching and sore, no doubt) loaded their children into the wheelbarrow and gave them a run up and down the patch.  I think they were happy (the kids, I mean).

 Later, we will be planting sweet potatoes and onions in a new patch that James freshly tilled.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.