After a long hot summer, when very little was accomplished except picking tomatoes, (which seemed to be the only thing that enjoyed the heat) we are moving forward on improvements to the house and property. Wish I could say we were enjoying painting and decorating, but basics such as new electrical wiring and plumbing must be undertaken first. Not pretty things to spend money on, but very necessary if we are going to bring this property into this century!
First step was to replace the power transformer. The current one is made of Bakelite which places it back to about 1920 when this house was built and that was the new "plastic". That upgrade racked up a price tag of $3,000. But it gets better. I have hired an electrician, who is also a neighbor, and his team has been the nicest crew. They are taking the work in stages to assist with our expenses and keep them busy between larger jobs. We decided to bring the power into the first pole on the property and then run it all underground from there. Wiring a house, two out buildings, and a barn will look much nicer without the spiderweb wiring overhead and hopefully prevent breakage in the winters when the ice can snap the lines. They all talk in amps and other such energy lingo, but I can tell you we look like we are powering up for a Walmart! A 200 amp service to the house and 100 amp to each of the other buildings required rather large metal box contraptions hanging on a large post. Looks like I will need to plant a few strategically placed bushes to obscure them a bit.
They started lighting up the basement with a total of 13 florescent fixtures. Wow! What a difference that made in the dungeon. Now we can actually see the spider webs before running into them. The shop vac has been getting a workout trying to eliminate all the critters and dirt down there and it is getting better. This step will also make it so much easier for all the future work needed when installing a heating/air system and replacing plumping and basement windows.
We will receive delivery of a second chest freezer this week and place both in the basement with proper wiring. It's been dicey running our current one upstairs on an ungrounded socket with extension cord. When we get a larger garden going next spring and hopefully start raising some chickens, I'm sure we can keep them loaded with farm fresh food.
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| Mma Zarella & Sir Loin |
This summer, we had two temporary four legged guests staying with us. A young future farmer neighbor has helped us keep the field mowed and in return we turned our field over to two of his cows as everyone was suffering with lack of field growth during the drought. We named the bull Sir Loin and the cow Mma Zarella. The Sir Loin was Jessica's humor and the Mma Zarella is a joke about Mozzarella cheese. "Mma" is an African term for Mrs or Miss and a tip of the hat to one of my favorite authors, Alexander McCall Smith who has written a wonderful series of books about the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency in Botswana, Africa. They did a fine job on keeping the field trimmed and recycling it right back to the ground. They were very gentle and got quite comfortable allowing us to hand feed them when we had goodies to clean out of the garden. It is very interesting to watch a cow eat a cantaloupe and suck up discarded tomatoes off the ground. Did I mention that simple things become quite entertaining in the country? Lizelle loved them but found out that they are quite slobbery. They have returned home and are missed, but we learned that Mma Zarella should be having a calf next month, so we will keep you posted.
Okay, it is time to explain the "Murder of Crows Farm" name to you all. First obvious reference is the fact that Jim and I have reached that wonderful age in life where we could be fondly considered "old crows". Secondly, I enjoy decorating in a rustic sort of country decor where crows and such fit in nicely. Thirdly, the term "murder of crows" is a more poetic term for the collective name for a group or flock of crows. Last, but not least, Jim and I thought it was a nice tongue-in-cheek salute to our former careers as Crime Scene Investigators. Incidentally, a movie of the same name starring Cuba Gooding Jr is an interesting watch. When we post our sign, it should keep the neighbors guessing!
Summer 2013
Well, I see I started this particular post one year ago!!! Guess I got bogged down with other obligations and have sorely dropped the ball on keeping all of you informed. The winter was mild but long as we are pretty cooped up in this house. Spring finally arrived on the calendar, but it was definitely a wet one. We had a very rainy May and all the crops were very late getting planted as no one could work in all the mud. I was getting so depressed as I could hardly wait to get out there and have a new area plowed to start a much larger garden. In the meantime, I moved the raised beds where my herbs had grown last year to higher ground. I have determined that the lower ground adjacent to the south side of the barn has a seep or spring under it and would make a better location for a future pond. Boxes and herbs are all settled in closer to the house and back door to the kitchen which is very handy. The herbs are thriving in this location.
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| Flooded fields |
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| Rainbow after another rain storm |
Last year's tomato garden location was quickly weeded and planted while we waited for the mud to subside. Finally by mid June, I hired the owner of Camp Point Seed Co to tear up 1/3 of our front lawn with a tractor and plow giving me approximately a 20' x 25' of growing space. That should keep me busy this summer. So far it contains more heirloom tomatoes, potatoes (red, white, and sweet). bell peppers (red, orange, and yellow), and lots of basil, to go with all of the tomatoes, of course. Beans did not do well, yet. I think I soaked them too long before getting them in the ground. I still have time to get some more things planted, so I will try again.
Lizelle, who is now 3 1/2 years old, is turning out to be quite the farm girl. She loves digging in the dirt and making mud. The plants and bugs fascinate her. Jim and I build her a Tee Pee in the garden from saplings that we cut from a neighbors woods. I'm trying to get Morning Glories to grow on it so that it is a shady play area for her.
We are making friends and connections. More cows are in the field with another calf arriving shortly. Jessica and I are selling goodies at the local farmer's market. The wiring job continues. So, as you can imagine, we are keeping busy. I'll end here tonight with a promise of getting more updates out in another week or so. I know that you all can hardly wait!
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