Sunday, November 03, 2013

Bye-bye, garden

We didn't make church today, since the oldest grandson spent yesterday and most of today helping Cliff fix fence on all sides of our property.  It was in terrible shape, but Cliff said it ought to keep our cows at home.  We are so thankful for Arick's help, since I can no longer navigate the hills and hollers.  In fact, I no longer walk with Cliff.  I really miss it, but it was causing me so much pain it ruined the rest of my day.  Cliff said I had better stop, so I don't wear my knees out any worse than they already are.  That is the last I intend to talk about my aches and pains.  
I do miss our daily walks terribly, but we do what we must.  
I was going to go take pictures of the guys fixing fence, but they were so far toward the back of the place that I gave up and came back to the house.  I did take the new header picture on my way back, though.  

This afternoon I went to the garden and started cleaning up the mess.  


Looking to the north, there's a row of turnips which I hope to share with my cousin Betty, since Cliff hates them, and I can only eat so many.  Just on the the other side of the turnips is the strawberry bed.  I do not garden properly, so I didn't thin the strawberries and I never cover them with straw.  I'm lazy.


I got the tomato plants, cages, and posts all removed from the garden.  Now I have 10,352 green tomatoes to pick up and haul off.  This is still looking toward the north, where you can see that Cliff has put out a hay bale for the cattle (all four of them).


Looking south, in the foreground you can see the tastiest carrots I've ever grown, planted late in the summer.  Beyond them are a few remaining beets.  The chickens are turned out every afternoon, even though there isn't that much for them to forage at this time of year.  


The house next door has been vastly improved.  The new neighbors have a horse-boarding operation, and the lady gives riding lessons.  Her husband is a local farmer, but we notice him doing a lot of work around the barn, too  We see them putting the horses up at night, and in the morning when they let them out it's fun to watch the horses running for the love of freedom.  


This is the horse barn, with an indoor arena.  

Because of the rain last week and the fact that baby Cora's daddy works construction, Monday was the only day we had her until I begged her dad to bring her over for a few hours on Thursday (for free, of course); I told him we were having withdrawal symptoms.  We are so attached to her at this point, we'd probably pay THEM if we had to, just to be a part of her life.    

7 comments:

  1. That's so cute that you went through Baby Withdrawal! You've mentioned feeling down; I'm wondering if it's because you're not walking anymore. I know the exercise is good for the physical and mental health. Wish I could think of a way you could still do so without the wear and tear on your knees. :(

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  2. I think I could do an exercise bike without harm, Margaret, although that wouldn't get me outside in the sunlight (I've always had minor problems with S.A.D.). There are just a lot of things I would rather change right now about my circumstances, and several minor things have gone wrong, but the things that are important are going just fine.

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  3. I hate that you have had to give up your walks. :( Feel better!

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  4. That is a nice horse barn your neighbors have.

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  5. There are so many things I can't do anymore and it is frustrating. I told an old line dance friend at least we're till here. So many of them aren't. Do you eat raw turnips? You make me want to go get some. I haven't had any in a long time. Looks like you're keeping busy with the garden chores, so that's good.

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  6. It would be hard to give up your walking, I had to do that last year. Limitations like that are not easy to accept. Your carrot crop is looking very good! We had a freeze here so our growing season has pretty much ended too.

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  7. Babies will do that to you. :) Every year I think about a garden. That's it, I think about one. Turnips. Love turnips.

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