- Sunday, 3/15: Mary made flour tortillas. I did research in our books and online on ways to support a leaning apple tree. Modern high-tech orchards use a trellis of cables to support wispy dwarf trees planted 2' apart and maximize apples produced by minimizing the tree needing to grow a heavy trunk. Old fashion way, or the way I would go...3x3 wooden material built into a Y and resting on concrete. Or, I might let the tree grow at an angle, graft other trees from it, and not worry about it. Karen said Erin starts working from home this week and brought her computer tower and electronic equipment home to do so. We went to bed early, since we have to be up at 4:15 am tomorrow in order to get Mocha to the vet by 7:30 to get her fixed.
- Monday, 3/16: After breakfast, Mary put Mocha in the pet carrier...boy was the kitten mad. We took her to the vet, getting there 5 minutes early, even though we stopped for school buses and slowed for a Lewis County deputy's flashing lights. Vet said she should be coming out of anesthesia by 3:30-4:00, and we can probably pick her up around that time. We bought a couple items in County Market, Walmart. and Aldi in Hannibal. At Walmart, they were holding a staff meeting in the back and after going through the self-checkout scanner, an employee wiped it down with a sanitizing wipe. Hannibal Walmart and Aldi stores are stocked better than their Quincy counterparts. Maybe Quincy really is a shit hole, like Shane Mace, my former Petco boss, always said. While driving back home, we got a voicemail from the Iowa State Extension that the tree grafting seminar is canceled due to the coronavirus and they'll send my money back...guess I'll spend it on a grafting knife and book and practice here at home. Arrived back home at 10:30, ate, and passed the time before heading back to Hannibal to pick up Mocha. There was an interesting write-up by Ruby Hollembaek on Facebook that I shared about her grandfather going from England to Alaska and enduring family deaths and illnesses. Picked Mocha up at 3, because the vet office called early telling us to do so. Cost was $90. She's coming out of surgery just fine...sore, but eating and drinking well. We watched the Mary Poppins Returns movie and liked it.
- Tuesday, 3/17: Mary washed sheets and furniture covers. After walking through the kitchen and seeing that the cats sacrificed a mouse all over the floor, Mary gave all of the floors a good mopping. She ended up doing all of the chores, due to what I did, which was to split all of the large logs left in the Machine Shed from 3 sessions of cutting firewood, and stacking them. One of the cherry trees had a huge colony of black ants in several pieces. I banged and shook all that I could see out of split pieces, then stacked them in different locations from the rest of the wood. Started at 2:30 and ended around 7:00. Mocha is doing excellent. We feel that the General Veterinary Clinic in Hannibal is the best in this region. We tried a little bit of the pear wine (see photo below). It's good. The pear taste has returned and it's not so harsh. Three months of mellowing helps. I'm sure it will get better with more aging.
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| The first tasting of the 2019 pear wine. |
- Wednesday, 3/18: Rained in the morning. It's splishy-splashy everywhere. I swam in online news. Checked Swanson Vitamins in Fargo ND, since we ordered 4 days ago and never heard word that they shipped...they're just swamped and will get to my order, soon, which by bedtime, a message arrived stating that the package was shipped. Wish I could attach a smell file. The woodshed is filled with the aroma of cherry wood and it's an amazing scent. Frogs are really loving the weather. In the evening, the air was filled with the sound of spring peepers (frogs) and blackbirds that are migrating through. We watched the Akeelah and the Bee movie made in 2006 about a girl winning the national spelling bee. It's excellent. My Samba amaryllis has all 4 flowers blooming atop its second shoot and looks great on this last day of winter (see below).
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| Second blossoms of Samba amaryllis. |
- Thursday, 3/19: I woke up to the sound of thunder, so I looked at weather maps on my phone and then unplugged all electrical appliances. Then a line of thunderstorms rolled through. Mary baked a batch of bread, so we had fresh bread with vegetable soup...good food on a rainy day. She also did some drawing and cross stitch. I updated the checkbook after checking a bunch of online news sources. We learned that they have their first coronavirus case in Quiincy, today.
- Friday, 3/20: Bill texted us that he felt sick, so he stayed home and contacted a Teladoc, who called him back. He told Bill it sounded like he had the flu and that Bill is low risk for getting serious symptoms from COVID-19, so he is low priority for getting a coronavirus test. The doctor recommended quarantine until April 1. Mary did some drawing and some crocheting. I moved my wine diary into a new loose leaf, zippered binder that Bill tossed out that once was a planner. I put college-ruled 5.5"x8" paper into it with dividers. It was interesting revisiting the trials of making wine. Also, added a fruit tree spraying record to it. Learned from online news that the IL governor declared a stay at home order, with only essential businesses open. When I looked at what's essential, it amounts to most everything. I also learned that there was a coronavirus death in the county Bill lives in. In the evening, I looked up homesteading, Alaska, and travel blogs to read for fun.
- Saturday, 3/21: Mary washed clothes and dried them on the line. I burned trash and boxes that have accumulated in the Machine Shed. I racked my grapefruit wine for the 2nd time (see below), removing about 1/2" of yeast poop (see below). The dregs tasted specifically like grapefruit peel, even though the color is very orange. It also has a tannin flavor, from the powder I added. It's bitter, too. Probably the taste will mellow with time. Bill is feeling better. Katie texted that she made bear bread and sent Mary her recipe, along with photos.
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| Tightening stopper after 2nd racking of grapefruit wine. |
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| Yeast poop. We tasted the clear liquid above the yeast residue. |
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