I Should be Fired

I Should be Fired

I am terrible at writing these days.

I figure it is time I wrote something to let

others know we are still alive and kicking here in Wyoming.

There are many things to share that I have

failed to post.  I think I will start with our current 

project and work backwards.

I share this because it was a big event in 

our lives, really a shocker.

Back on July 27th a storm rolled into our little valley

but from a direction that was not ususal.

Our grandson Bryce was here visiting and working

for the summer and was here at home with me.

The wind hit us so hard I thought it was a tornado.

Oh my goodness.

Once it stopped, which was fast and hard ( just 10 seconds if that).

We went out to see what was going on.  I had noticed my swing

was knocked over and was sure things had been moved around

under the carport. 

Before.

 

Boy  was I shocked when I  opened the shop

door saw this.

 A huge gaping hole in the shop roof, 

door standing open (when it had been closed) and 

a log from the carport inside the shop.

 Next we went out to the carport.  

Here is what we found.

Gone, and not a sign of the carport except 

bits and pieces and yes my truck was there and

badly damaged.

 Those logs are about 12 inches across

and landed on the truck.

There were 2 of those big trusses, but only one remained.

Where did all the rest of the wood, the other truss and 

all that tin go?  There was no evidence of

it to be found in the yard.

It was not a tornado, but straight line wind that pack

one heck of a punch.  

All of that carport was carried over the top of the house

and dropped about 100 feet behind the house and over the 

next 1/4 mile straight back.  Huge beams twisted and torn.

Our insurance company did a good job of helping us

get things fixed.  The new carport is in progress,

truck is fixed (so pretty again), and other small damages

are also being taken care of.

That was our excitement  for the year, and it 

certainly was enough.

More things to share, progress on the quilting studio.

Tire wall progress.

May you be blessed.

Today in Wyoming

This morning we woke up to 3 inches of heavy wet snow. Large snow flakes flying all about.
So I thought I get a few pictures to share (and for proof), since the south is having 90 degree weather today. LOL.





































Need a little more wood for the stove.


















Plants cozy in the greenhouse with the snow piling up outside. Here it is stuck in the chicken wire that will support my tomatoes later on.









































Thought this was a fun picture



















Love this one and how the snow is piling up on this, which holds my gazing ball.























As of this posting the snow has stopped, the sun is brighter, so the clouds have thinned. Soon it will be melting off and all the pretty clean white will give way to icky sticky mud. Icicles are forming along the roof line.

Spring in Wyoming, you just never know what you will get. They say if you don't like the weather, just wait 15 minutes.

3 day of SNOW!!!!

It has been snowing for 3 days now. Though be it very light to light. Everyone is getting cabin fever.

We had a break in the weather (as seen below) for about 2 hours yesterday. Everything is so pretty and the blue sky so welcoming. I love the blue of the sky, or of water or jeans...but that is about it for most blue.........well except sapphire in jewelry or glass of any kind (no blue walls for me, tried that once....nope).....now I digress.
















Here is what cabin fever looks like for the dog and cat. Now mind you these two have lived in this family for 7 years together, but until about a month ago they hardly had the time of day for each other. Now they have taken to sleeping together (really a wise idea in 0 degree weather). LOL. The cat (Me Moew) is not allowed outside right now, there have been mountain lion tracks about town again. He was jumping up to the window in the door this morning, I think we will have to keep a close eye on him, he really wants out to go do what ever it is he does (and usually comes home with an injury of some kind).




















I finally got my Christmas tree down. When you cut um fresh they last a long time, this one still is not losing needles, but the time has come. So I put him out in the yard so we can still enjoy him and now with a bit of snow. This is the only tree we have in our yard.....ya, pretty sad, but hopefully this spring we will get to put a few in...all depends on the water situation.



















A few pictures of the "garden" with its winter coat on.















The tire..........awaiting a spring planting of lettuce.















And another look at the beautiful blue sky during our brief break yesterday and the lovely sunshine. As of this writing it is still snowing, this is a really slow moving storm, usually it blows in and back out within a few hours if not minutes. Well that is it for now, God's Blessing to you.

Straw bale Potato Harvest

Back in March I told you about experimenting with growing potatoes in straw bales. If you do a google search you will find numerous sites about strawbale gardening.

To begin, we placed two bales side by side and Kirk made the 4 inch board frames for the top. Next, I made indentations in the top of the bale for each seed, I did not add soil but you could and I will next time. Cover the seed with about 4 inches of potting soil or well composted compost or good garden loam, and water in. I put the wire on because we have deer and my puppy wanted to dig in the soil.



Taken in July.











Here are the bales on the 30th of September. I watered everyday, it was a very hot, dry summer and potatoes are mainly water soooooooooooo. After about 3 months the bales began to sink in the center as it decomposed and I started seeing potatoes, at which time I added more soil and some fertilizer. Adding soil through out the year to make sure the potatoes stayed covered.















The day finally came to find out what was happening inside the bale. We cut the strings and began to dig through. I had no idea how many would be in there, but it was easy to find them. The center of the bale was yucky, but did not smell at all.















Our harvest from 3 seeds potatoes of red and russet potatoes. It weighted about 10 lbs, so I'd say that was a far return. Now I have never had fresh from the ground potatoes before, these are so, so crisp. For dinner, I took the two largest (which were as big as my hand) and did baked potatoes and they were SWEET. We will be doing this again next year. Not only did we get awesome potatoes, but.....................................














We got wonderful material for the compost pile and for the new garden beds that we asembled last weekend.














Here are the new beds, to the right down the driveway is the house, over behind where Kirk is standing is where the bales were. To make these beds, Kirk dug out about 2 feet of the dirt, then brought in some good soil and put it in the hole, then we ringed it with RR ties, one high. Next we added more soil, some wood shavings and the composted hay and covered that with some more soil. If all goes well, we will have some good soil for next year.















As you can see I have alot of work to do in this area, and it will all come in time. We have decided to add on to the house we have now instead of building on this upper area, so now I have the flat space I have been wanting to make some gardens.

With Friday's forecast saying snow, I'd say that will have to wait until next spring.

Until next time.................greenhouse update and future site of house remodel.

Garden Update & a Wyoming sunset

August's garden: Things are finally growing, we are getting a few veggies. It has been a disappointing gardening year to say the least. I have struggled under a learning curve for sure.















The garden in July.
(click for a larger view)

I don't want to bore you but this sunset was amazing, out of 20+ pictures I will spare you with only 4. Enjoy!

Rain......yes RAIN

I wanted to publicly thank the Lord for the rain He sent to us yesterday. We had a cool comfortable, cloudy and rainy day. What a wonderful relief. Today is still cool, but the sun is shining, things are drying out again. This is my kind of weather.........though I have no plans on painting my house.......

BTW, hummies do not mind the rain at all, they (now 4) had a grand time around the feeder.

Until later.

Wyoming Weather

If you don't like the weather in Wyoming just wait 15 minutes.......it was a warm day, clouds a brewin..........a sound in the distance the wind began stirrin.....grab any loose things from the porch and head inside, bring in the dogs and cat, close the shop door....just in time for the wind to start swirlin. The weather vain is spinnin as the wind comes from the north, then the east, then the west and the the south, whippin up dirt in all directions. Here is what I saw out of my living room window, from the upper pad of our place, any wonder things are always dusty.















And down the valley, more a comin. Dirt kickin up all over the place. 15 minutes later, all is clear and calm.