Rain, Rain Go Away...

Rain, rain go away...come again another day!  After the past several days of rain I am ready to have some sun.  I know we need the rain and it has really greened up around here.  The pastures are a really pretty green and the leaves on the trees are that really pretty spring green right now.  The later blooming trees are starting to show it blossoms but the rain has been heavy and came with colder temperatures.  The higher elevations are getting snow but we all know it won't last long.  Anyway, this week end is suppose to be warm and sunny and the sun it breaking through the rain clouds today.  Rain, rain go away...come again another day!

The Wood Pile Is Gone

For almost a year there has been a large pile of limbs and branches from trees cut and or collected around the farm.  For some reason every time Tim and George tried to burn them there were several branches and limbs that just would not burn.  They tried everything and then burn season was over for a while so they had to wait.  Well in getting rid of the plum trees that were affected by black knot they needed to be burned.  What better place to burn them but on a pile of branches that also need to get burned.  Tim worked and worked trying to start the pile on fire.  Short of using a blow torch he finally built a small campfire and finally the pile burned and very quickly.  By the time George pulled the first black knot infested plum tree up from the orchard the pile was nearly gone but there were some nice coals that allowed the three infested to trees burn also.  Mission accomplished... the pile is gone!

Getting Rid Of Black Knot

As George was getting the Orchard ready for planting season he noticed on the plum trees that there were black knots.  Black knot is a form of fungus that develops on some fruit trees, plums, cherries, apricots and peach trees, and if caught early can be pruned.  It normally develops in the early Spring right after the trees flower but in some cases you won't notice it until later.  This is what has happened to three plums trees in the orchard.  It was actually noticed last year and the trees were so far gone that  George cut the three trees down so the black knot would not spread to the surrounding trees.  Black knot hurts the trees by not allowing the fruit to develop.  George cut down the three trees, dragged them from the orchard and Tim helped in burning them getting rid of the black knot for good.  Great jog George and Tim and so long black knot!

Broccoli Apple Salad

I made a delicious salad, in my opinion, for last Saturday's BBQ.  It was a Broccoli Apple salad that I had gotten the recipe from Facebook and it was good.  It did take some time to put it together but it was worth the work.  It isn't the cheapest salad to throw together but the ingredients in it mixed together does make it tasty and the apples stay fresh and don't turn brown.  For you next BBQ or luncheon give this a try.  
Ingredients:
4 cups fresh broccoli florets (1 bag or 2 medium heads)
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup diced red onion
2 large apples, finely chopped ( I used Gala apples)
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Creamy dressing ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise (or lite mayo - I used miracle whip)
1/2 cup greek yogurt (or low fat)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl combine broccoli, carrots, red onion, apples, pecans and dried cranberries.
2. To make the dressing: whisk together mayonnaise, greek yogurt, lemon jucie, sugar, salt and pepper.
3. Add the dressing to the salad and toss to coat.  Chill until ready to serve.
If you make this let me know what you think!

The Fence Is Decorated

The fence around the "MASH" sign at the farm has been decorated from time to time and last fall it looked great with the fall then followed by the Christmas decorations.  Since the beginning of the new year it has not been decorated until now.  I wanted to decorate the fence with Easter stuff but since it is only two weeks away I decided to decorate for Spring.  I went to the Dollar Tree and purchased everything for the fence.  Lisa and I decorated it Saturday morning and I think it turned out great.  It is cheery, festive and welcoming.  The nice thing is the decorations, except the butterflies and frog,  can stay up During the summer if we choose to do so..  Thanks Lisa for helping me get it all decorated.

A Nice Night With The Days

We had a great time yesterday catching up with the Days.  Russ and Ann Day came to visit us at the farm yesterday.  We have been friends and singing together for several years.  We all attended Orange Park United  Methodist Church together and went on the Adult choir Germany trip together.  Russ and Ann are wonderful people and we are so lucky to have them as friends.  They moved to the Atlanta area in 2004 but we have kept in contact through visits to Florida and Facebook.  Russ is a terrific Bass and can play several instruments and is still singing and playing.  He even has his own Dixieland band.  Ann is also quite a musician and plays several instruments herself.  They did have some bad luck last fall.  They lost their condo to the Gatlinburg fire but they are rebuilding and will continue to visit here in the area which will give us a chance to get together more often.  Thanks for visiting the farm Russ and Ann.  It was great to see you again!

Parrottsville Police Near The Farm

We saw some very unusual things yesterday while returning from our Costco run.  Tim, George, Lisa and I drove into Knoxville to shop at Costco and as we were driving onto Smelcer road we saw two Cocke County police vehicles parked on the side of the road.  This is weird because the police never are on this road.  In the past two plus years we have never seen a police car on this road.  Well of course that got our minds going but then everything was escalated when we drove past the known "drug house" and there was lots of activity going on.  We continued to drive and then the weirdest thing of all happened when we turned on Quail Way, our semi private road, and saw two people we have never seen before walking down the road.  Our road is so off the beaten path that even delivery drivers are afraid to drive it.  Anyway, that was just the icing on the cake that got us all a little suspicious that weird things were happening near the farm.  Of the three incidents we only have solved one of them.  The couple walking on our road were neighbors from way down the road.  Phew!  We still don't know if there was drug activity or a drug bust at the drug house we just know that the police was involved and we will have to wait until after the week end is over.  The next Newport Plain Talk, our local paper, won't be published until then.  Excitement on, or at least near, the farm!