Global wandering

Here's a great article by Michael Crichton about the science behind current climate change ideas.

good weather blues

Been so busy this week, this darn good weather is keeping me out in the orchard.

There's a lovely fog bank covering our whole farm right now.

Mom's birds are enjoying the bird feeder we got from Bill Imel (Robin's dad) yesterday. We were helping him, spraying his fruit trees and got a tour of his wonderful bird house & feeder shop. Now planning on stocking some of his great woodwork at our stand this summer.

We had blueberry pancakes & bacon for breakfast. So delightful.

Wishing you each and all a relaxing, rewarding Sunday.

sunny winter Sunday

being soooo lazy. Might go spray peach tree sometimes this afternoon.

showers moving in.

got a little more apple tree pruning done before the showers moved in.

Finally a little winter comes back

Been sunny and warm with night time freezing for about a week now, so we've been working like crazy.

Showers came in around noon, very fine mist at first but real rain now.

I got some more pruning done and dad did some tractor work before it actually turned into something you could feel.

Gotta go get some equipment from farm#2, be well!

Bright sunshiney winter day

Had a slow start to the day but once it warmed up we really got going good.

I pruned on the apples, sprayed copper on the peaches and cherries and burned some debris while dad pulled up drip tape. Our good friend Ed Gramc came over and pruned in the vineyard for a while too.

The sun was bright and warm with a light breeze to keep winter in mind.

Dad and I had plenty of appetite this evening I'll tell ya. Work makes food taste good!

Hope life is filling your day with vigor and joy.

A lovely winter day

Got some good sun out today. Managed to get a few chores done. Sprayed the peach trees for peach leaf curl. Placed 2 of the 3 big seed orders. Gotta finish & place the E&R order tomorrow.

Mom & dad went to town for dad's chemo drip. He's doing about as well as can be expected.

Gotta love these days getting longer.

China has a lot of money

Upon reading this article, I was taken back to my childhood when I would listen to Alan Stang. I can almost hear him saying something about China defeating America not through warfare but through financial means.

waiting for rain

Got our first 288 tray planted with lots of different greens/ cole crops.

Will be placing our winter seed order today too.

Big storm front headed our way out of mid-pacific should bring higher temps & lots of water to southern Oregon. If snow level doesn't raise too much should pack away some good water in the hills.

Hope your having fun.

morning delights

Coming home from breakfast with my good friend Del I saw the most beautiful hawk sitting on my neighbor's fence. It had red shoulders and head with black and white barred body and tail. I'm having a heck of a time identifying it. It was so majestic & bold, quite a thrill seeing him so close. Seems like I often have a special encounter after one of our breakfast outings, last time it was a white raven.

Update: found the variety. It is, simply enough, a red shouldered hawk. They're usually found closer to the coast. Here's a pic I borrowed:

Farming season 2010

Bought my first couple packs of seed yesterday. Sooo much hard work ahead. Got to repair the clutch on the brown truck, brakes and 3rd point pump on the Massey-Ferguson tractor. Put the ends on the sprouting greenhouse, pull tomato stakes and plastic mulch, repair fences and fertilize the winter onions. Oh the list goes on and on.

This week we'll start filling 288 trays with soil for the early greens, lettuce, cabbage, etc. sprouts which can start in the basement plant room.

Mom & dad are frying some hash for breakfast in the kitchen. Sounds like they're feeling ok this morning.

Hope your day is full of promise and answered hope.

Happy 2010!

Just want to wish my friends, family & the whole world a Happy New Year.

2009 was a tough year here but we got through it ok and had a lot of laughs, lots of tears and many enriching experiences. I also noticed that there were many rainbows in southern Oregon during 2009 which is never a bad thing.

It's raining like crazy right now, about your typical Oregon day.

Have fun & take care. See ya in 2010.

not good news

Ah, what a bummer. The CT scan says dad's tumor got bigger. Up to about 3.4 cm now. Their gonna speak with his doctor next week & maybe drop the Xeloda and begin the Eloxatin drip again.

Personally I think the new swelling is from all the holiday sweets & sugar we've been eating for the last 3-4 weeks. It is his pancreas, after all.

Of course as dad always says, if it weren't for the what the doctors tell him and the chemo he'd feel great.

snow

about 1 inch on the ground & still coming down. Looks freakin' awesome, oh so glad I don't have to work in it. My toes are cold! from getting firewood.

Day after Christmas

Had a terrible lazy morning eating bad food, way too many cookies & too much fudge & peanut butter balls.

Spent the afternoon pruning grapes, helped dad work on his tool center then brought in firewood. Nose, toes & feet tingling cold makes me feel alive!

Fire's goin' great. Warming up the basement. Smell bacon cooking upstairs. Gonna do a little reading before dinner.

Have a great evening.

Hooray! Christmas Eve

Happy Yuletide greetings to everybody! Just back from a delightful trip with dad to do our last minute shopping. Breakfast at Burger King then off to Wal-Mart. Bought mom a nice sunbeam mixer to replace the one that burned out. Dad got her a snuggie at Rite-Aid to top it all off. Now I just gotta wrap a bunch of stuff. Be well!

Well Winter Wishing

Took some calms forte last night and had a good 8+ hours of sleep.

Got to visit with my niece Cass yesterday so the weekend was good. Today's a little bit heavy, dad's going in for a CT scan.

I've got to start wrapping gifts! Enjoying smooth jazz & warm tea now.

Today is winter solstice. Just about 40 minutes from now actually.

Merry Christmas each and all.

Happy holiday season morning

Decent night's sleep, foggy morning. No rain at the moment. Enjoying a warm cup of coffee, some smooth jazz and the Xmas tree again. Sparky's making little sleeping puppy noises in his bed under the heat lamp. It is a bit chilly. Hope you have a great day.

another frosty morning

16° ! Covered in frost but at least I got the defroster in the bird's water yesterday. There's a 6 inch opening where the birds can get a drink. Monday is here & now we gotta work again. Rock on.

Frozen foggy autumn morning

27° !
Gotta get the defroster put in the bird bath.

We've been pretty busy in this dry weather. Days are short & it's hard to get out in the cold mornings but we've got plenty to do pressing on us.

We brought the 3" aluminum pipes home yesterday & I pulled a muscle in my back doing it, argh! We did that as part of moving our operation back to the old farm. Decided we just don't make enough money to justify running the extra land & moving the outlet back here will dramatically diminish the labor overhead on our sales outlet. Will have to advertise more but we'll also drop a bunch of those troublesome customers who just pull off the road. Still not what I'd prefer to do but change is inevitable & better to go with it than to fight it.

The fog & frosty landscape is quite lovely this morning. Haven't got the curtains pulled yet but can see out through the gaps. Brrrr!

Wishing you warmth & comfort.