Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 2022

Weather | 9/25, 52°, 75° | 9/26, 45°, 66° | 9/27, 45°, 69° | 9/28, 34°, 64° | 9/29, 37°, 66° | 9/30, 39°, 69° | 10/1, 40°, 69° |

• Sunday, 9/25: Freezers Defrosted & Knives Sharpened
  
  • We let our young chickens out first thing in the morning. They squawked and ran for cover under tall ragweeds. Mary and I went back into the north chicken yard in time to see a sharp-shined hawk fly by, low. It was probably migrating through and dipped down to take a look at tasty chickens.
    
  • Mary defrosted our 2 big freezers. It's a big job, because all frozen contents go out onto blankets on the floor. Then the clock is ticking as hot water is applied to frost hunks on the freezer walls to melt them. Frozen items go back in an order so they can hopefully be found later in the year. Newer items frozen this year go on the bottom. Older items go on top to be used up, first. Most two-year old items are thrown out. Fortunately, we didn't have many throwaways this year. I helped Mary in the small way of handing her packages as she refilled the freezers. We now have room in the biggest freezer for new chicken meat.
    
  • I threw out old 60- and 75-watt incandescent bulbs we replaced when we first moved here in 2009. It took 13 years to figure out we don't need them, anymore!
    
  • I sharpened 6 knives, some that we'll use during chicken butchering. Knives grew very dull, due to my negligence. Consequently, a great deal of work went into putting a sharp edge on several knives.
    
  • I looked online and found a video instructing how to change firebricks on our woodstove, a project I need to complete, since we have several cracked and fragmented bricks in the burn area of our stove.
    
  • I hunted a squirrel, off and on, throughout the day. This one moved constantly, making for a tough target. A west to northwest strong wind made tree limbs bounce considerably. At sunset, I heard it in a newer pecan tree at the edge of the north yard. I stepped with small footsteps, waiting several seconds between each footfall and making sure I wasn't stepping on crackly branches or crunchy autumn leaves. I could see it moving, but not clearly. Finally, about 15 minutes after the sun set, I had a clear shot and got the squirrel. I had a major crick in my neck from looking up so long. I made a comment to Mary how squirrels don't notice you when they're going after pecan nuts, which is their form of crack. She said, "Hunting squirrels is your form of crack."
    
    
• Monday, 9/26: First Round of Butchering Chickens
  
  • Mary made some butterscotch cookies, that we ate as snacks with coffee while butchering chickens.
  • She also brought house plants inside, since lows are predicted in the 30s for upcoming mornings. In the process of bringing in plants, she repotted a couple aloe vera plants.
  • We enjoyed a tasty meal of venison on biscuits.
  • I mowed trails through long grass to areas we need to walk through tonight while butchering chickens. It makes for easier walking in the dark. After mowing around the compost bin, I moved concrete stepping stone blocks to the north and south sides around the new bin.
  • I set up inside the east end of the machine shed with lights and a meat hook hanging from the rafters. I also set buckets of water in strategic locations.
    
  • I sharpened more knives used while butchering.
    
  • We butchered 9 chickens, processing 3 at a time through the killing cone, to me skinning and gutting them, to Mary performing a thorough washing, cutting them into pieces, storing in zippered bags, and placing them in the freezer.
  • It was a starry night with the Milky Way shining very brightly. Jupiter rose in the east when we started at 8 p.m. Around midnight, Mars rose in the northeast. We saw several meteorites fall. Coyotes howled to the southwest of us on a regular basis and barred owls mouthed off constantly. I saw a couple mice scurrying across the machine shed floor.
  • Mary cut her finger on the third to the last slice of the final chicken. It took 45 minutes for her to stop the bleeding. Powdered cayenne pepper works really well at stopping bleeding. After baths, we got to bed at 4:30 a.m.
    
    
• Tuesday, 9/27: Fall Harvest Prior to Frost Advisory
  
  • Mary cut down garlic drying over the summer from the rafters of the machine shed, then sorted and stored the garlic bulbs. We now have garlic to plant the first week of November and about 2 2/3 big sacks to use.
    
  • I cleaned up chicken butchering items.
    
  • A frost advisory was issued for our area, so Mary and I picked 5 Diablo pumpkins, 13 New England pie pumpkins, and 53 acorn squash (see photo, below). We also picked a bunch of tomatoes, several peppers, and Mary collected some comfrey leaves to dry. I checked the green apples on the skinny apple tree south of the house. They're not ripe.
  • I covered my winter greens and the strawberry plants with blankets and sheets to protect them from any frost.
    
  • While dumping chicken feet in the north woods, I said something out loud and spooked a buck deer from the dry creek bed just down the hill from me. Mary had a deer snorting at her from near the Kieffer pear tree after dark. It means deer are moving in closer to our home, because people are hanging out of trees trying to twang them with archery equipment. Deer always move in closer when hunting pressure surrounds our property.

  

  Harvested acorn squash and pumpkins.

• Wednesday, 9/28: Chicken Butchering, Round 2
  
  • I sharpened all of the knives we use for butchering chickens, plus a paring knife used in the kitchen.
  • Mary froze green peppers recently picked from the garden.
  • I shot at a squirrel and missed a couple times. This one is wise and sneaky. It runs up and down trees and tree limbs on the opposite side from me.
  • We did chores and got butchering things ready earlier than normal.
  • We butchered another 9 chickens, starting at 7:45 p.m. Unlike Monday, when we took a break after 3 chickens, this night we completed a batch of 6, took a cookie/coffee break, then finished the final 3. They were all Rhode Island reds, tonight. They're super long-legged. An east breeze kicked up while I skinned the last 3 chickens, which at about 39°, meant I had to don an extra coat. We finished late, but without cut fingers. Though cool, the outside temperatures are perfect for handling fresh meat.
  • Coyotes howled a couple times. The normal barred owls talked to us through the night. I watched 2 mice chase one another. We saw a couple meteors. Mary looked it up and the Orionid Meteor Shower started on 9/26, so we're just at the beginning of it. The night sky is spectacular, at our location.
    
    
• Thursday, 9/29: Butchering Chickens: The End
  
  • I called Craig Dyk, Mid-Rivers' accountant who bought our home when we left Circle, MT. Monies to us from the Mid-Rivers pension did not show up this month, due to the change away from Mid-Rivers and to Mutual of Omaha. As Craig explained, it's because when we get paid on the 27th of every month, it's really for the next month. Now, the money will show up on the first of every month. Craig said roots from a lilac bush outside our old house worked through the basement walls, forcing a constant leak into the basement. They fixed it and turned the basement into a main bedroom. He really likes the house. His crippled up 76-year old father stayed with him and his wife for awhile. He's now in an assisted living home in Billings. Craig brought it up because he recently saw Mom and was amazed at how young she seems to act. He said Mid-Rivers is selling all cable TV systems next year. Subscriber numbers are dropping. Their main income is internet service through fiber to the home. They've dropped to about 90 employees. When I left in 2009, there were about 175.
  • Karen flew from Montana to her home in Georgia. She made it home late in the day.
  • I asked Karen how her daughter, Erin, was doing in Florida, with Hurricane Ian blowing through the state. Erin is fine. I asked my cousin Marjorie, how her brother, Johnny, who also lives in Florida, was faring. She said he's fine, since he lives on high ground.
    
  • I cleaned up butchering stuff and resharpened knives. Mary made flour tortillas and chimichangas with sliced fresh tomatoes.
  • We butchered the last 8 chickens. They were huge and tough to cut up. We started butchering the wrong varieties on Monday. We should have started with Barred Rock and large Rhode Island Reds and ended with Buff Orpingtons. Oh well...we'll know better next time. It's amazing how a tiny chick that fits into the palm of your hand grows into an 8-pound full-grown chicken in just 15-16 weeks. We are very happy to finish butchering chickens, which is never a fun task.
    
  • A barred owl was in a tree above the machine shed, where I was skinning chickens, and talked to me. I saw a bulge in the top of a plastic garbage bag near where I was working. Several minutes later, the head of an opossum looked out from behind that bag. After Mary took the last chicken inside, I delivered knives and a large stainless steel bowl inside. When I returned, there was the opossum looking into the bucket of chicken guts. It was tiny...only about 5 inches long. It ran off. 
  • The neighbor, who lives in the house across the gravel road from us, was calling his dog for about 2 hours. Coyotes howled about 3 times while he was hollering. I hope coyotes didn't kill his dog. Later, while cleaning up, a dog was barking at me from that house. I guess it returned home. We don't kick dogs out the door. When a dog is outside at our place, we're always with the pet. We know what kind of wildings live out there.
    
    
• Friday, 9/30: Quiet Day After Chicken Butchering
  
  • We opened the gate between the north and south areas of the chicken run and let the 4 newer barred rock pullets mingle with our 8 older hens and Leo, our rooster. There's some pecking of the younger birds, but they're getting along pretty well.
  • Mary and I removed the chicken coop wall that separated the chicks from the older birds.
    
  • Mary did some cross stitching.
  • I hunted squirrels for a bit in the evening. Two shots sent a couple squirrels running north. I didn't get any.
  • Katie informed us that she's back in Anchorage, soon to take a Montana trip. She plans on visiting her grandmother during that trip.
  • I cleaned up and put away all chicken butchering stuff.
    
  • We watched 2 movies. They were Practical Magic and Sabrina.
  • Mary noticed that the white-crowned sparrows came back for the winter. These birds breed in the arctic tundra and we're on the northern reach of their wintering grounds. Here is what they look like.
    
    
• Saturday, 10/1: Big Sweet Potato Year
  
  • Mary dug sweet potatoes. She filled 3 milk crates with them. Some are gigantic. This is the best sweet potato crop we've ever grown. Last year, we harvested just enough to partially fill one crate. There are still 4 hills to dig up. Several sweet potatoes were eaten by voles, so some were tossed. When you realize we didn't get all that grew, the sweet potatoes really did well.
  • I put the pieces of the wall we took down in the chicken coop away in the rafters of the machine shed.
  • I shot 2 squirrels. They just cannot keep their paws off the pecans.
    
  • Katie landed in Bozeman, MT, today.
    

Sept. 18-24, 2022

Weather | 9/18, 0.91" rain, 64°, 85° | 9/19, 0.08" rain, 65°, 82° | 9/20, 68°, 92° | 9/21, 71°, 77° | 9/22, 53°, 67° | 9/23, 0.30" rain, 49°, 52° | 9/24, 47°, 78° |

• Sunday, 9/18: Serious Thunderstorms
  
  • We went through a thunderstorm in the early morning hours that dumped nearly an inch of rain. It's great to get the moisture.
    
  • Mary cleaned the house and hung hot peppers to dry.
  • I hunted squirrels all day. A strong south wind made it hard to spot squirrels in the pecan trees. I shot 2 squirrels, one after the other, towards evening. They munch up pecan nuts well before they're fully ripe, spitting out the nuts and wasting them.
  • We had virga (rain that doesn't hit the ground) go over us and the setting sun revealed a bright double rainbow to the east. Waves of falling moisture made it pulsate, a phenomenon we've never witnessed. It was bright all the way to the bottom color of purple.
    
  • A very bad series of thunderstorms passed by just north of us after dark. A funnel cloud was spotted northeast of us in Illinois and it took out power across the Mississippi River. Half-dollar sized hail fell in LaBelle, which is about 5 miles northwest of us. We just got a short burst of intense rain. I put a video online, but an impressive video taken of that storm was on the West Central Illinois (WCIL) Scanner Radio link on Facebook that I belong to. Here is a link to that VIDEO.
    
    
• Monday, 9/19: More Salsa, Fewer Squirrels
  
  • Mary made a third batch of salsa, putting up 14 quarts. I walked into the house toward the end of canning and spotted a partially burnt potholder on the porch. She said it wasn't one of her brighter moments. That's all I'm going to say about that!
    
  • I hunted squirrels in the morning and late afternoon, shooting two. They are extremely stubborn. I missed a shot at one, that went up the cottonwood tree north of the machine shed and sassed at me for 15 minutes. It returned and I missed, again. It came all the way down the tree and bounced off under the trees. I could hear it moving, because squirrels are as quiet as attacking elephants when they run on fallen leaves. Then, I heard it go up a tree. It returned for a third time, which was unwise. My third shot was right on.
  • Our chicks are 14 weeks old, today. Last year, we butchered at this stage. A high of 95° is predicted for tomorrow. Rain is predicted for Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. We decided we will start butchering chickens Monday night (9/26).
  • I looked up details about adjusting the Stihl trimmer carburetor. I think my throttle needs tweeking. I'll try adjusting it and see if that helps.
    
    
• Tuesday, 9/20: The Last of Salsa Making
  
  • Mary made a fourth and final batch of salsa. She finished off another 14 quarts. She's done with all canning for the season and is quite happy for it.
  • I shot at one squirrel and missed in the morning. A one-hour hunt in the evening revealed no squirrels. I believe hot temperatures kept them away.
  • On a quick drive to Quincy, I picked up what I hope is the last chick feed for this year. I saw 98° on a bank sign.
  • After returning home, we had a black border collie cross in our front yard. I lit a firecracker and it scurried away to the north.
  • Mary picked a massive bowl of strawberries in the evening.
    
  • We watched 2 movies. The first was the 2017 movie, Darkest Hour, and the second was the 2010 movie, The King's Speech.
    
    
• Wednesday, 9/21: Quiet Day
  
  • After so many days of canning, Mary tried to take a break. She managed an hour of cross stitching. Mary also made flour tortillas and fajitas for our midday meal.
  • I tried to adjust the accelerator cable on the Stihl trimmer. It didn't make any difference. After viewing how-to videos on adjusting its carburetor, I changed the settings. It works a little better, but its still not perfect.
  • I checked the pecan trees 3-4 times throughout the day without seeing squirrels.
  • I mowed the Bass Pond Trail where I mowed about a week ago, then weedwhacked and mowed beyond that point. I mowed with a bag and filled the trailer connected to the 8N Ford tractor with grass clippings, then dumped the clippings around the big maple tree in the north yard. Quite a few deer tracks were in the deep grass clippings I put down last week.
  • Rain clouds showed on the radar, so Mary did all of the chores, early, while I was mowing the trail.
    
  • While at the maple, I heard a squirrel and walked over to the pecan trees, slapped my hands, and sure enough, a squirrel hopped from tree top to tree top as I said, "I see you!" I went in to see when Mary wanted to feed chickens, which we did, next. Then, I grabbed the .22 rifle. There was the squirrel, again. I shot, missed, and sent the squirrel packing. I'm sure it will be back tomorrow morning.
  • We ate a watermelon as a late-night snack. These Sweet Dakota Rose watermelons are small, but taste great. Mary says she's going to freeze several, soon.
    
    
• Thursday, 9/22: Readying for Butchering Chickens
  
  • I plinked away at a couple squirrels, but never got any.
  • A quick check of the killing cone we use to butcher chickens showed it was smashed under a rotten railroad tie post that fell down. Another railroad tie post is still standing next to the rotten one, so I'll install a new killing cone on the standing post.
  • I cleaned out compost left in the 2020 compost bin used on the garden this year and filled two plastic garbage cans in the machine shed with several wheelbarrow loads of good compost. I wired a piece of sheet metal on the open side of the bin to fully enclose it.
  • I mowed most of the trail to the killing cone, bagged the clippings, and put them in the empty compost bin. An organic cushion needs to be in place prior to butchering chickens.
  • Mary cut up 8 watermelons and froze 11 quarts.
    
  • She also picked hazelnuts, comfrey, and hot peppers. Mary checked the pumpkins and squash. They need to ripen longer in the garden. She also washed a load of laundry.
  • On our nighttime dog walk, we heard something barking in the field southwest of us. It seemed as though it got closer. It stopped once I shined a flashlight in its direction. Online investigations concluded we heard a raccoon. We never knew that they actually barked, but they do if angry. Here's what it sounds like.
    
    
• Friday, 9/23: Rainy Day
  
  • Rain fell for most of the day. It was cool enough that I wore a coat while outside.
    
  • Wet and wind fails to hinder squirrels. I perched on a chair just inside the east end of the machine shed, out of the rain, and kept an eye out for squirrels. I got 2 of them and missed at shooting a couple others. There wasn't too much else to do on a rainy day.
    
  • Mary hung more hot peppers to dry. She also worked on a cross stitch project.
    
  • We had a wonderful meal of barbecued pork loin, yellow potatoes, and watermelon for dinner.
  • Since it's cool and officially autumn, we brought out the brown Betty teapot and had 2 rounds of loose leaf tea while reading in the evening.
    
    
• Saturday, 9/24: Mom Progressing Nicely
  • Mom texted about her progress since getting her hip replaced. She's moved from a walker to a cane, and sometimes no cane while walking inside. She's performing several exercises daily. Her therapist asks that she get outside and walk a block or two, daily. Swelling and bruising is diminishing. She has a follow-up doctor's visit on Monday.
    
  • Mary froze 21 quarts of watermelon, which finishes them off. She kept out 4 watermelons that we'll eat in the near future. Including a few quarts from last year, we have 50 quarts of watermelon in the freezer.
    
  • She also scythed down tall grass near the compost bins and put the hay in the newly emptied bin, filling it to 18 inches from the top, as a way to add an organic sponge to it.
    
  • I finished mowing the trail to the killing cone that we use for butchering chickens. Near the end of that trail and right in the middle is an old walnut stump that sticks up about 2 inches. I put reflective trail marker tacks on it so we see it in the dark with a light and don't stumble over it.
    
  • A quick check revealed we no longer have large pieces of aluminum flashing to make a new killing cone, so I removed the old one and patched it up with small pieces of flashing and aluminum tape. I grabbed Mary to determine the best height for installation, since she holds each chicken in the cone, then installed the killing cone on the old railroad tie post.
    
  • I shot at squirrels through the day, but missed. They're tricksy little tree rats!
    

Sept. 11-17, 2022

Weather | 9/11, 1.93" rain overnight, 55°, 73° | 9/12, 53°, 74° | 9/13, 47°, 77° | 9/14, 51°, 85° | 9/15, 59°, 83° | 9/16, 59°, 84° | 9/17, 0.16" rain, 68°, 80° |

• Sunday, 9/11: Salsa Day...La Dia de la Salsa
  
  • We were surprised at the rain gauge, this morning. We knew it rained through the night. I was up at 5 a.m. for a tinkle and rain dripped off the roof, then. But we didn't realize it rained just under 2 inches. There was hardly any standing water, due to several weeks of dryness. The overnight rain was very welcomed.
    
  • Today was Salsa Day, Round 1. Mary canned 14 quarts and 1 pint of salsa. A sip from a spoon told us it tastes wonderful.
  • I mowed part of the trail to Bass Pond. I bagged the grass and dumped clippings into the trailer on the tractor. This time, I put the trailer hitch on the ball at the front of the tractor. It allows me to push the trailer down the trail in front of the tractor, making it easier to dump into the trailer. I used the grass clippings to mulch the 2 maple trees planted in the north yard.
  • Once the trail swung east from the north yard, it was filled with tall tickseed flowers, or Cereopsis tripteris (see photo, below). I took the photo before I had to mow them all down for the trail. This trail goes to 3 deer hunting locations in November.
    
  • Mary did most of the evening chores, since I was mowing the trail.
  • Bill texted that watching the Minnesota Vikings is fun. "The new offense is crazy," he said. They beat the Packers 23-7 for the first game of the season.
    
  • Katie called after dark. She flew from Hawaii to Anchorage, yesterday. She said Anchorage is pretty in fall colors. Katie goes to Venetie, AK on Wednesday. She's there on-and-off through the winter until February heading up Phase 2 of work on the school. It involves a new sprinkler system that didn't get approved by the school district until August. Katie was off tonight to Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience.
    
  • Mary and I enjoyed a bottle of delicious 2021 blackberry wine. After decanting it in the glass pitcher I got from Salvation Army, we drank it chilled, with ice. It's extremely tasty, with a blackberry essence. Mary said the tannin of the blackberry is tasted on the back of the tongue. "It's like an expensive grape wine," Mary said, "but we know better." This tastes like dessert in a glass.

  

  Tall tickseed flowers in the Bass Pond Trail.

• Monday, 9/12: Slumgullion & Purple Paint
  
  • Mom texted this morning that after Karen arrived on Thursday, they've harvested items from Mom's garden and gathered a walker, cane, and shower chair in preparation for Mom's hip surgery that starts tomorrow morning. She'll be kept overnight at the Glendive Medical Center, then released on Wednesday afternoon. Mom said they start therapy right away.
    
  • Today, Mary turned tomatoes, onions, and green bell peppers into slumgullion. She uses it for spaghetti sauce and as a base for macaroni casserole. Mary canned 13 quarts of it.
  • Thursday, 9/15, is the start of archery deer hunting season, so I repainted trees and fence posts with purple paint along the west and part of the north sides of our property. I ran out of paint, or I would have finished the north side. In Missouri, purple paint means no trespassing and no hunting. I haven't purple painted property boundaries on the west and north property edges since spring of last year, nor the east property line since fall of 2019. 
  • The owner of the land west of us has a deer stand right on the property line and just beyond our west field. Rich, who is SW of our property, has 3 deer stands just a few feet from our property line. Gee whiz, talk about getting close! I feel like rolling into those places with a tractor and a chainsaw and cutting up firewood while they're trying to hunt. It's just common sense to give a neighbor's property line a little space. 
  • The folks north of us cut trees and bushes that were covering the fence. Green leaves on the cut trees indicates the chainsaw work took place recently. I suspect in years past, deer hid behind trees and bushes along that fence. I spotted a trail camera that has an antenna sitting on a fence post and aimed to the north, into their property. I suppose it's there to monitor deer walking by in their cow pasture. There's a deer stand next to a pond just north of there, so I suspect that a deer cam with an antenna enables a hunter at that deer stand to watch the trail cam on a cell phone.
  • When I got home, I was really hungry, so we ate a ripe muskmelon from the garden. It was heavenly!
  • Mary checked hazelnuts and picked about 1/3 of a bucket. She said more need picking.
  • Katie sent several photos and videos from the Van Gogh experience she visited last night. Full length paintings filled the walls and even the floor and changed, and swirled, to the accompaniment of music. It was obviously an interesting experience.
    
    
• Tuesday, 9/13: Cutting Hay, Purple Painting & Mom's New Hip
  
  • Mary sharpened up her scythe and cut tall grass in the front lawn, along the near garden, and in the middle of the far garden. With expected higher temperatures, she will let this hay dry, then store it in the second grain bin for hay to use in the chicken coop through the upcoming year. Swinging a scythe takes a bit of effort, so she took a big break to freeze 4 quarts of muskmelon.
  • I purple painted most of the south edge of our 160-acre property, all of the east edge and the rest of the north side. All that's left is the south side of our property, from our lane, along the gravel road, to the southwest corner of our property.
  • While painting the south side of our property near the southeast corner, I took photos of sawtooth sunflowers that were well over my head (see photos, below).
  • Right after taking those photos, Karen called. Mom went through surgery just fine and got a new hip. The doctor told Karen that cartilage was gone and the joint was starting to deform. Later tonight, Mom texted me that she had a new hip. She was up walking this afternoon and expects to go home tomorrow. 
    
  • Back along our property lines, we have a couple places on the northern stretch of the east fence where trees fell and smashed the wires. Fortunately, property to the east is just woods without any cattle. That entire east fence needs replacing.
  • Right before I got to the northeast corner of our property, a turkey flew from above me across Wood Duck Pond. I crawled through the fence into the neighbor's pasture and spotted a couple dozen turkeys running in the grass, heading for the woods. They didn't like my looks.
    
  • I scared a wood duck off Wood Duck Pond. That's why we gave it that name. Wood ducks live there. It's also full of bull frogs. As I walked along it, hundreds of bull frogs made an "eeping" sound as they skittered from the shore into the water.
    
  • I was wrong about the neighbors to the north. They are replacing that fence. I found new strands of barb wire from Wood Duck Pond going west. I walked by another trail camera with 3 different antennae on it. About where I ended purple painting yesterday sat a Bobcat skid steer with a bucket sitting next to it. They're obviously using it to grub out trees and brush that they're cutting away from the fence. Since we've lived here, that fence was badly in need of repair. Maybe there are new property owners to the north. They're doing a good job.
  • Mary picked a large bowl of strawberries. Cooler weather gives them a better chance to develop. I fixed waffles. It's a good thing we had strawberries. I was so hungry that I forgot to put baking powder or salt into the waffle batter. All I put in was flour, ground flax, and water! They were rather flat. But, the strawberries made them taste great.

Sawtooth sunflowers (Helianthus grosseserratus).

Honey bees love these very tall flowers.

• Wednesday, 9/14: Mom is Home After Hip Replacement
  
  • Mom did a bunch of physical therapy at the Glendive Medical Center this morning after yesterday's hip replacement surgery and was released later. She had strong pain once she got home, thinking she might have overdone it with morning exercises at the hospital. She has pain medication to take. Karen said the incision is only 4 inches and the doctor does robotic surgery, which is supposed to be less destructive.
    
  • I finished purple painting by doing the piece from the end of our driveway to our southwest property corner. In the 45 minutes it took me to paint it, seven semi tanker loads of dairy cow liquid sewage went by on the gravel road. The drivers rolled by doing about 45 mph, kicking up an amazing amount of dust. I think the dairy is chisel plowing the cow sewage into a field southwest of us.
    
  • Today, Mary spread hay that she dropped yesterday in the far garden.
    
  • She also vacuumed spiders in our house.
  • Mary picked a half a bucket of hazelnuts.
  • I checked the green apples on the skinny apple tree south of the house. They aren't ripe, yet. Some of these apples have a slight pink tinge on top.
  • I cleaned the bathroom.
  • The winter greens started sprouting.
  • Katie flew to Venetie, AK, today.
    
    
• Thursday, 9/15: Archery Hunting Starts & Piccalilli Making
  
  • Today is the start of archery hunting season for both turkey and deer. At 9 a.m., I heard Rich, our neighbor to the southwest of us, drive his pickup pulling a trailer with a 4-wheeler on it while going back home on the gravel road. That trailer rattles on the gravel. He needs the 4-wheeler to drive about 50 yards into the woods. No wonder he had a heart attack while in his 50s. I'm sure there are several human monkeys hanging out in trees with their expensive archery outfits and hunting clothing, today. With temperatures in the 80s, it's too hot to be field dressing deer. I'll wait for cooler temps in November.
    
  • Mary turned the hay she dropped a few days ago, to allow it to dry further.
    
  • Today was an all-day episode of making piccalilli for Mary. It's also known as green tomato relish made from green tomatoes, cabbage, onions, hot and green peppers, vinegar, and several spices. It started with Mary picking 65 green tomatoes, 10 jalapeño peppers, and 5 bell peppers. Using the food processor, she ground up cabbage, with Plato's help. That crazy dog loves vegetables and gobbles up cabbage! She also ground the other stuff, cooked it up, added salt, let it sit, then spooned off liquid. Because it sits for several hours, she canned it after dark, resulting in 14 pints.
  • I did little things through the day, because my left elbow's tendon is hurting. I removed downed weed and saplings cut from a few days ago, and tossed them in the woods. I moved bricks that once held down cover over winter green tubs, and moved mulch out of the wagon to the large maple tree planted in the north yard. I also watered strawberries and winter greens.
  • Mom said she still hurts from her hip surgery.
    
  • Katie sent the photo (see below) of autumn colors along the Yukon River.

  

  Photo of Yukon River while Katie flew to Venetie, AK.

• Friday, 9/16: Mowing & Hay Storage
  
  • I mowed the grass around the Esopus and Grimes apple trees, collecting the grass and putting some under the Empire apple tree, and back under the Esopus tree. I was going to mow more of the trail to Bass Pond, but approaching weather curtailed that plan.
    
  • After eating a midday meal and wasting time online, Mary checked weather radar and said, "I've got to go!" A storm was closely approaching, so we quickly picked up the hay she had drying in a couple places and moved it with wheelbarrows to inside the second grain bin. It was some of the fastest hay pickup and storage we've ever accomplished. Later, it sprinkled just a little bit, but not enough to get anything very wet.
    
  • Karen said that therapy went well for Mom and that they have exercises for Mom to do at home.
    
    
• Saturday, 9/17: Bad Western Alaska Storm
  
  • Mary made a second batch of salsa for the season and canned 15 quarts.
    
  • I hunted squirrels for most of the day. I shot 4 of them. Their front paws and mouths are dark brown, from husking pecan nuts.
    
  • We had a Cooper's hawk land on the power pole just southeast of the house. I jumped outside and chased it away.
    
  • Mom texted that she's getting better each day and getting around with a walker. She said that Hank, Mom's boyfriend, showed up to take in events at the Circle Town & Country Day. Karen drove Mom's car downtown and parked it so Mom could watch the parade. Hank then took Mom and Karen to lunch. They had dessert at the senior center. "I did quite a bit of walking," Mom said. She also wrote that her leg is swollen some, but hurts less.
  • I followed online about the flooding during a bad storm that hit Alaska's west coast. Ellen Napoleon, an old UAF college friend, who grew up in Hooper Bay, but now lives in Scammon Bay, said she overnighted at the school, where she works, in case things turned bad overnight. There was flooding, but her home is fine. She's concerned for friends and relatives in Hooper Bay, where flooding was bad enough to move a house off its foundations. Another hard-hit town is Golovin, near Nome, on the Seward Penninsula. DeAnn Lincoln Gardner, another UAF friend, now lives in Fairbanks, but grew up in Golovin. Houses not on the hill were flooded and moved off foundations in Golovin.
    
  • Mary and I enjoyed a bottle of pumpkin wine, in celebration of the halfway point of making salsa. Pumpkin wine is really wonderful in a glass with ice.
    

Sept. 4-10, 2022

Weather | 9/4, 65°, 77° | 9/5, 63°, 75° | 9/6, 58°, 77° | 9/7, 57°, 82° | 9/8, 57°, 84° | 9/9, 53°, 84° | 9/10, 54°, 84° |

• Sunday, 9/4: Jalapeño Wine, Monopoly & a Movie
  
  • Mary picked over 30 ears of corn, a muskmelon, and over 70 jalapeño peppers.
  • Bill and I started a 6.5-gallon batch of jalapeño wine. He chopped up 3.75 pounds of black raisins while I cut up just over 5 pounds of peppers (see photo, below). I ran the chopped peppers through the food processor, then we filled a nylon mesh bag with peppers and raisins, alternating between the two as we poured items into the bag. This year's peppers were both red and green. Combine red and green chopped peppers and the juice coming out of the bottom of the bag looked brown/green, resembling a sample from the neighboring dairy's cow poop pond. But, it smelled nice. We added 5.75 gallons of water, 4 7/8 teaspoons of yeast nutrient, 9 3/4 teaspoons of acid blend, 1.2 grams of potassium metabisulfite (a better form of Campden tablet for sterilizing wine must, because it contains potassium, instead of sodium), and 10 pounds of sugar for a specific gravity of 1.075 (sugar content should increase to a specific gravity of about 1.085 after soaking raisins for a day). I set it in the pantry to sit overnight.
  • We played Monopoly. Bill won. He owned both utilities, 3 of the 4 railroads, and hotels on the cheapest property on the board. There were no monopolies on all other properties. This was the first time we've ever seen the bank go bankrupt (see photo, below). Bill ended the game with $13,156. He had most all of the money. We had a great time.
  • We watched the 2006 movie, Stranger than Fiction, that Bill selected.

Bill, the mad raisin chopper, with his pig-sticker,
and me, chopping jalapeño peppers.

Empty bank (top) & Bill's big wad of cash.

• Monday, 9/5: Labor Day
  
  • I added 3.25 teaspoons of pectic enzyme to the jalapeño wine and created a starter of Red Star Premier Blanc yeast early in the day. Before bed, the specific gravity checked out at 1.083, which is close enough to 1.085, so I didn't add any sugar. The pH is 3.5, which is perfect, so no additional acid is needed. I pitched the yeast into the brew bucket and it started fizzing soon after that. Almost 2 gallons of tap water went into this batch, because I ran out of spring water. Usually, I don't use tap water, due to chlorine in that water, but we haven't smelled chlorine in the water for several months. Chlorine kills yeast in homebrewing. The fact that the yeast started off without a hitch confirms the lack of chlorine in our tap water. I looked up last year's jalapeño wine brewing and this yeast is very fast acting.
  • Bill left around 3 p.m., after eating a chicken dinner that Mary worked up.
  • Mary and I were tired. It was cloudy all day, so we elected not to water the gardens.
    
    
• Tuesday, 9/6: Corn, Watermelons, Cider, & Wines
  
  • Every time we go into the chicken coop, we see bald-faced hornets. They don't bother us. They buzz around, hunting flies. Every once in awhile, a hornet will grab a fly, rest a bit, and eat it. They must have a nest nearby and use the coop as happy hunting grounds.
    
  • Mary picked the rest of the corn (see photo, below), 2 muskmelons, and 16 watermelons (see photo, below). She checked 1 watermelon in the morning and determined that most of the watermelons are ripe. 
  • Mary processed and froze corn, 2 muskmelons she picked the last couple days, and a watermelon.
  • I checked the jalapeño wine and the specific gravity is 1.079. It's fizzing nicely, putting a nice aroma into the house.
    
  • The apple cider had nearly an inch of fines at the bottom of the carboy, so I racked it into two 1-gallon jugs, a 750-ml wine bottle, and a 330-ml beer bottle. Mary and I tasted it. The cider is really tart and filled with residue...so much so that the apple taste is barely there. I think it will take a long time to clear the cider. The specific gravity is at 1.003.
  • Again, the apple wine had excess residue at the bottom, so I also racked it into a 3-gallon carboy. The must is also quite cloudy. It tastes better than the apple cider. It's still early on both of these items. The apple wine's specific gravity is 0.997. I didn't add any potassium metabisulfite, since I overdid it on this sanitizing agent when I sliced ground up the apples.
    
  • Mary watered gardens and did most of the chores. Today's garden produce gathering knocked corn and watermelons off the list of garden plants requiring watering...YAHOO!!!
    
  • Mary heard a mockingbird in our yard while she was picking corn.

Corn, cooling after boiling, ready for packaging.

A wheelbarrow full of watermelons.

• Wednesday, 9/7: Lots and Lots of Tomatoes
  
  • A check of the jalapeño wine showed a specific gravity of 1.036. It's fizzing with great gusto. Racking it into a carboy will probably happen tomorrow morning.
    
  • Mary and I picked 4.5 buckets of tomatoes. Mary picked the large ones and I picked cherry tomatoes. Then, Mary processed 6.5 buckets (2 buckets from tomatoes picked in the past), and put 12.5 gallons in the freezer. Pictured below are some of the tomatoes that ripened inside after they were picked partially green. We just need 1.5 gallons in the freezer to have all that we want for the following year.
  • While Mary slogged away with tomatoes, I watered all gardens and picked strawberries. Nestled in the mud next to the water hydrant in the yard was Leroy, the big leopard frog. He said he was friends with Jeremiah, who was a bullfrog. Leroy said the song is wrong. Jeremiah doesn't drink wine. Hoyt Axton was drunk when he wrote the song. Okay, my mind wondered a bit. Fantasies are nice when you're hauling water to garden plants.
  • In a fruit growing Facebook group I belong to, someone posted a photo of apples that look exactly like those from a tree we've been calling the big Liberty apple tree and asked what variety they are. Someone else suggested that they are Empire apples. I looked it up and I'm pretty sure that's the kind of apple tree we have. An all-purpose apple, it's a cross between a Delicious and a McIntosh apple developed by Cornell University in 1947 and released to the public in 1966. It's resistant to fire blight. So, now we finally know!
    

  

  Just a few of the tomatoes that Mary cut up and froze.

• Thursday, 9/8: Racking Jalapeño Wine & Shopping Trip
  
  • The jalapeño wine's specific gravity was 1.005, five points beyond when it should be racked into a carboy. Oh well. It will be okay. It gained volume. Instead of 6.5-gallons, I now have 7.25 gallons. I racked the wine in a 6.5-gallon carboy and a partially-filled gallon jug. This wine generated its own heat. Yesterday, its temperature was 80°. Today, it was at 78°. It also has a robust yeast population. After racking this wine, the CO2 gas release was amazing (see video, below). We think this year's jalapeño peppers are more potent. Fumes from the open brew bucket irritated my throat as I moved the wine must into carboys. It ought to be an interesting batch. We'll know in a couple months.
  • Karen flew from Atlanta to Glendive, MT, then Mom picked her up and drove her to Circle to visit Mom, today. Karen's visit is roughly to the end of this month.
    
  • We're out of chick feed, so Mary and I drove the pickup to Quincy for a shopping trip. Besides chick and dog food, we got 12 fire bricks to replace the cracked ones in our woodstove, 2 cans of high-temperature spray paint for the stove, a box of 30-30 bullets (an item which is in very low supply in stores), 2 rugs, 2 movies, and an acrylic painting book from the Salvation Army, tulle fabric for covering tubs of winter green plants, and some food items. At Menards, we got to laughing at the Halloween lawn ornament display. One was a 6-foot tall werewolf that growled with flashing eyes when it detected movement. I thought it would be great at chasing squirrels and woodpeckers out of apple trees. Another, a ghoul, showed a red chest, moved about, and showed off red, hot eyes. Each was ONLY about $350. I'll stick with my water cannon and firecrackers...they're cheaper!
  • In the middle of shopping, Mary looked at her phone and discovered Queen Elizabeth II died, today.
    
  • After chores, which didn't include garden watering, we ate nachos and watched one of the movies we bought today, Frozen. I suppose we're the last people on planet earth to watch this movie. We liked it.
  High CO2 release after racking jalapeño wine.
  
  

• Friday, 9/9: Bartlett Pears are Picked
  
  • Mary picked half a bucket of hot peppers. She also froze 7 quarts of muskmelon.
  • I cleaned two 5-gallon carboys that I filled with water and OxyClean and left to soak 10 days earlier. A pebbly residue formed in the bottom of one carboy. I had to scrub it out with a washcloth pushed into the carboy's narrow opening and manipulated by the end of my long spoon. I did it outside, where I could use a high pressure setting at the end of a garden hose. Obviously, one day is enough of an OxyClean soak.
  • Mary and I picked just over 30 Bartlett pears. We only tossed a handful. I'm surprised we got as many as we did, because it wasn't a good pear year. I think several days of rain didn't let bees pollinate the blossoms, resulting in low fruit development. The same result is on the Kieffer pear tree. Those pears aren't ready to pick.
    
  • I used the long-handled nippers and cleaned giant ragweed and maple saplings away from the south end and the entrance to the chicken run. I also trimmed back ragweed and persimmon saplings along the trail from the water hydrant to the far garden. The ragweed plants lean over, brush against your arms, leaving pollen that itches until you wash it off.
  • I cleaned branches and leaves of three of the persimmon saplings that I cut down. We then used them to poke chicks in the butt when herding them into the coop at bedtime. The chicks sometimes hide in weeds I left along fences when it's bedtime. These sticks are perfect for encouraging chicks to move into the coop.
    
  • Mary and I watered gardens. At the end, Mary picked the last of the corn. We cooked it up and included it with our supper. It was really great.
    
    
• Saturday, 9/10: Planting Winter Greens
  
  • After wrapping the 31 pears that we picked yesterday in newspaper, I stored them in a set of drawers in the upstairs landing and left the drawer partially open.
    
  • Mary threaded hot peppers on sturdy thread and hung them to dry.
  • She also made a huge batch of minestrone soup, which took about 2 hours.
    
  • I weeded the 6 tubs used for winter greens. Since saving soil is important, I carefully removed soil from the weeds' roots, which took time. I collected a small bowl of kale leaves, which went into the minestrone soup.
    
  • I planted winter green seeds, watered them, and covered them with old tulle cloth to keep out birds, squirrels, and mice. Varieties planted included Astro Arugula, Rainbow Lacinato Kale, Winterbor Kale, Fun Jen Chinese Cabbage, Red Tinged Winter Lettuce, and Tundra Spinach.
    
  • Mary picked 11 watermelons and 2 muskmelons. We're flooded with watermelon!
    
  • Late in the night, rain started falling. After letting dogs out for their nightly outing, I checked the rain gauge. Over an inch fell at that point.