Taking A Rest

With the Pinterest show this week end in Atlanta I will be a bit busy so the blog is taking a rest for a few days.  By Monday there will be all sorts of things to cover especially with the help of all my reporters working on stories and pictures through out the week end.  Check back Monday!

Roxie’s Bark Park Officially Open

From our editor George:

Late yesterday afternoon after what seemed like months of work,  "Roxie's Bark Park" officially opened for business.  Attending the grand opening ceremony were Roxie, Ajax, Gia, Nyx and Shadow.  A wonderful time was had by all while the parents of the attendees watched in amusement.

"Roxie's Bark Park" was a joint construction project of George and Tim.  With over 2.5 acres of open space, this Park will allow for all neighborhood dogs a safe space for play.  A 118 fence posts were driven, nearly a thousand feet of fencing pulled, countless fence connectors used along with the construction of new gates and stairs.  The total construction cost of the project was not available at the time of this article.
    Thanks Roxie!!!!

New Life At The Farm

A couple of weeks ago I shared that there was going to be some new lives at the farm and now there is.  The light on the tool shed seems to be a popular place for birds to build nests and becomes home to a nest full of eggs.  This year there are new residents.  In the past it has been wrens building the nests and laying the eggs but this year the Carolina Chickadees have taken up residence.  There are 5 new birds in the nest and Lisa was able to get close enough and get some good pictures.  Thanks Lisa and welcome chickadees!

Creating The Bark Park

Roxie is a runner who when left off leash will always run to the neighbor’s house, which is a safe place to go, but when called she always decides to stay at the neighbors and has to be picked up by George or Lisa.  Due to this she is always on a leash or a lead.  Well, pretty soon that will be over.  An area at the farm is being fences in so Roxie will have a place to run and play off a leash or lead and not run off.  A big grassy area in front of George and Lisa’s house is being fenced in.  George, Tim and Larry ( a neighbor) have been working hard in getting the fence up.  A Bark Park is coming soon!  Look for more updates!

The LCOW Is Solar

The LCOW, Little Cabin On Wheels, is now solar.  Tim got everything installed and is ready to go.  He was able to purchase a box to install that will house the equipment for the solar panels and it looks like it belongs to the LCOW. Tim did a great job and when we hit the road we will have electricity no matter where we are...as long as the solar panels have sun to collect from.  Great job Tim!

Yup, This Happened!

So Mother Nature is making it quite clear that winter is not over yet.  Come on already!  I did see a joke on Facebook saying “Mother Nature saw your summer body and has extended winter so you can have more time to get to your summer body.”  That may be true since winter is lingering in half of the USA.  Until Spring then Summer comes along anyone feel like singing Christmas Carols?

Is It Spring?

It is difficult to know just what season it is at the farm.  It is more winter type weather than Spring.  It was cold again with freezing temperatures overnight AND it snowed!  It has been a crazy season from coming in as a lion to changing to a lamb just to turn into a loin again.  They have had snow in April before it is just unusual.  Come on Mother Nature, bring Spring back, please?

The Little Cabin On Wheels Goes Solar

Tim has started another project on The Little Cabin On Wheels (LCOW).  He is making it solar.  George replaced some solar panels for the barn and let Tim have the old ones.  Now Tim is putting them on the LCOW and making it solar.  Just in case we ever have to “gulp” boondock in it at least we will have some power.  It is a big job and Tim still has some work to do but I know he will do a great job.  Looks for more updates on the LCOW going solar.

More Manure For The Farm

Looking at the title of this blog I could make up so many better titles but won’t since this is Sunday.  With this said, use your imagination!  Tim and George helped out another neighbor today with help from another neighbor too!  They spent the day helping clean out and up their horse barn.  With all the rain and with winter in general the soil, aka horse poop, was deep and thick.  The team was able to get the grounds in and around the horse barn cleaned up and George was able to get 3 1/2 dump truck loads of horse manure and soil for the garden beds.  For being such a “stinky” job it was a win win situation for all!  Good job team!

Tractor Power

Go Lisa!  Here is her report:

Prepping Garden Beds and A Day of Learning: Today George & I spent the day prepping the garden beds for planting season. This started with George teaching Me how to drive the tractor and spread the horse manure 💩 on the beds that will be resting this year. While I had the poopy job, George tried out his new fertilizer spreader. It attaches to the Gator and made a quick job of spreading 200lbs of triple 19 fertilizer. After a lunch break, it was back to learning for Me. This time it was how to use the rototiller tractor attachment. By the end of the day, the big bed that we'll be using this year has been fertilized and rototilled. Next, we will be ordering the seeds to plant in a couple of weeks.

Helping Out Our Neighbors And Friends

This blog is from another editor George:

Helping out our Neighbors and Friends

Tim and I spend a better part of the morning Wednesday helping out Janet (sister of our neighbor) trim back her LONG driveway of encroaching and low  hanging branches.   She has a Class A motor home that she is about to take to Vermont in a few weeks and with Spring fast approaching,   (no...spring isn't here yet....remember? It just snowed a few days ago) the leaves on those branches weigh the branches  down and then scratch her RV roof and sides.
      After a few hours....as Tim said....” a tractor trailer could go up that driveway now."
       Our next "Neighbors and Friends Project" starts today.......
   
Thanks George!  I guess we will have to wait on his next report to see what the next project is.

More Planting And Mulching At The Farm

After some nasty weather more planting and mulching was going on at the farm.  This is Lisa’s story:

 Another day of planting & mulching! George & I planted the remainder of the bushes on the hill.  We ended up with 4 bushes that couldn't be planted on the hill due to rock so we planted them in the Mash sign area. George then finished mulching the cul de sac, the Mash sign area and the triangle with the irises. Now he down to mulching the remainder of the hill.

Check out the pictures of what has been down.  Also I got some bad news.  We were hoping that the freezes we had would kill off the gnats but no such luck.  According to Lisa, they are back.

Snow In April?

Yes, snow in April.  Now remeember most of the month of February was 70 degrees and above.  Crazy weather this year in Tennessee.  It began snowing Saturday night but by Sunday morning is had melted.  It was still a nasty day with clouds, cold temperatures and wind.  While Ti,m George & Lisa had to endure the nasty weather at the farm I did have to stay warm here is Florida.  The temperature did not get above 61 degrees.  Sorry guys - stay warm!

New Life AtThe Farm

Since it is Spring again it means there will be lots of new babies and we have our first batch of wren eggs.  The nest was built, once again, on top of one of the outdoor lights on the tool shed.  Lisa was able to get up close and get a peek into the nest and found 5 eggs in the nest.  In a few weeks, there will be babies!

Plant, Mulch, Plant, Mulch

What do you do with 12 pallets of mulch and a bunch of plants?  You plant and mulch!  This blog is in partnership with Lisa:

Last night Travis & I  made a trip to Seiverville to buy 12 more Purpleleaf Sand Cherry bushes. George was up before the crack of dawn on another buying trip. He came back with 46 more from Greeneville, Kingsport, Johnson City and Elizabethton. After a break to enjoy ribs with Tim and Travis at Top Choice BBQ (our favorite BBQ place),  George & I went back to planting. We planted 39 bushes and even started laying some mulch. With rain and potential snow over the next two days, the rest will need to wait.

That is a lot of plants!  I guess Winter is not over yet in Tennessee with the forecast of snow.  Darn, I am not there and yes, there is a big smile on my face!

Delivery Dsy

It was a delivery day at the farm yesterday.  It was also a what else could happen delivery day.  George had 12 pallets of mulch and 2 pallets of stone delivered yesterday.  The semi truck that was delivering the ipalkets could not make it up the hill so the pallets had to be forklifted up the hill.  Remember we have a steep hill.  Well the fork lift found it a bit challenging and three pallets fell apart and the product went everywhere.  George had to get his truck to get those broken pallets of stuff up to the staging area.  There was a lot of unnecessary work done by George and Tim and needless to say they were exhausted after the “delivery” was completed.  Luckily there is a big enough area down by Cheryl’s barn so the truck could turn around.  It was a delivery day!

Getting Plants

George and Tim spent the day buying plants for the hill between George & Lisa’s house and our RV.  When George dug out the hill to make his driveway bigger he created a ledge that he apparently wants to have plants on.  At first they got a few plants but George has a bigger vision and wants the entire hill planted.  Check out the pics courtesy of Lisa.

What’s Going On At The Farm?

What’g going On at the farm?  I have no idea as I have been gone for two weeks and will be not be back for a few more.  So, I will be calling on my reporters to help with blog and keep us all posted as to what is going on at the farm.  Look for an update soon!  Until then see what is happening while I am gone from the farm at my other blog Travels With Ruth: travelswithruth-ruth.blogspot.com.
This is my last day in San Diego and I and I fly to Jacksonville, FL tomorrow!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating with family and friends.  We are having a get together with neighbors and friends today.  Hope it is a good one for all and the Easter bunny brings you all something good!