Whatcha Up To???

[Mr_Yan]

Had to drive to extreme north east Chicago for work today. 154 miles there and back in about 4 hrs 15 mins of just drive time. I HATE CHICAGO. No city ever needs to be that big.

My wife made a batch of my favorite cookies while I was gone. Molasses sugar cookies.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Put another batch of potatoes in the dehydrator.

Watered all the trees, flowerbeds, pots, hanging baskets & then the garden. It's been hot here the last 4 days...

Wacked a couple of more snakes & a coon (I hate them almost as much as hogs).

 

[w_r_ranch]

Made bread.

Cut the grass.

Put yesterday's potatoes in canning jars. I think we have enough now (a total 15 jars), so I'll continue doing onions.

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[Mike]

Finished putting up the new gates and had the fence finished up as well in the back yard. Hoping to get weatherproofing this weekend as well.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Burned the trash ahead of the rains.

Washed the back porch table/chairs, pool bar/umbrella & then the porch itself.

Made Salsa Molcajete to go with the enchiladas & pinto beans for this evening's supper.https://homegardeningforum.com/threads/salsa-molcajete.769/

 

[Mr_Yan]

Friday night I hilled my potatoes at my church garden and weeded some of it.

Yesterday I helped a friend re-roof one side of his garage size garden shed. When I got there there were two holes rotten through it and before I climbed on the roof I punched two more holes in it with a 2x4. We had to replace all the OSB along the top 4'. Generally this shed is a good candidate for a road flare or two.

Today I watered my church garden. Harvested my first batch of cherries from my new tree - about a cup.

 

[wolffman]

Mowed the grass for the first time after the flooding. That was a task. Sprayed 'Pramitol' around the driveway and entrance. It's supposed to keep the grass/weeds down for a year, we'll see.

Last night I saw a big snake on the patio. I went to grab a metal pipe that was nearby only to find another snake. Time to burn the house down.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Last time I had a big snake on the porch (a couple of weeks ago), there were 3 pieces left & guts all over the walls & ceiling, LOL!!! Sucker was a rat snake about 6' long...

 

[wolffman]

I know you're not supposed to kill the 'good' snakes, but I hate the slithery bastages. I was about to grab that pipe, probably screamed like a little girl. Anyway, that snake escaped into the grass before my wife brought me my pistol. They were after some baby birds in a hanging basket.

 

[w_r_ranch]

I kill all snakes, I tend to figure out if it a good /bad snake after they're dead (which is 50/50 here). If it's in on my porch or in my yard, it's dead.

 

[Mike]

@wolffman what kind of snakes where they?

I spent my Sunday afternoon staining the new fence.

 

[wolffman]

Mike, they were rat snakes. They get pretty big here, and are mean as heck. What they lack in venom, they make up for with bad attitude.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Affirmative on the rat snake's attitude...

Rattlesnakes & copperheads are numerous here, but they will pretty much leave you alone unless you mess with them. Cotton mouths (water moccasins) are also everywhere, more so when you have a tank next to your house... those suckers will actually chase you just for the sport of it.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Sanded & caulked the swim-up bar. I hope to paint it in a couple of days, weather permitting...

 

[w_r_ranch]

Cut back/cleaned up Mrs. Ranch's flowerbeds. The 'blue salvia' were getting out of hand (3.5' tall/wide), probably because of all the rain. Also installed a 10' T-post so I can tie up the 'mountain laurel' as the new growth is top heavy & I want it to have a tree form. I still need to finish, but it's just too hot to finish... at least I made a dent in it.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Made 2 loaves of mIlk bread (kind of like very soft sandwich bead) for something different...

Did the weekly shopping.

 

[wolffman]

Started working on building a lawn spray rig from an old riding mower that I don't use anymore. All the rain and missed mowings have made my property a weedy mess. Going to have to put the grass on a rigorous 'program'.

It's going to be a real redneck contraption, I'll post pics when I'm done.

 

[w_r_ranch]

I made one last year for spraying the road... I spent about $10. I'll post a picture tomorrow as well...

 

[w_r_ranch]

Spent the day shredding the front pasture, I have a few acres to finish... I just couldn't take the heat anymore.

 

[Mr_Yan]

I spent about an hour at my community garden and the weeds have gotten away from me in the last week. In that hour I cleared less than a third of it but about filled a yellow garden wagon. Most of this problem is with vining crops that are just starting to run so there is a bunch of open space. I think I have three real options to fix this.
1) spend another four hours with a hoe - I don't really have the time
2) spend $20 on roundup and nuke the bulk of it. Then I have to hand work around the plantings. I'm not a big fan of spraying and it is a one time cost of $20 never to be used again.
3) spend over $200 and buy a wheel hoe (like this one) then spend a few hours using it. But with this option I get off my butt and buy a tool I've been thinking about for a few months.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Didn't do much of anything... Mrs. Ranch said she had a taste for fajitas, so we went to town to buy the meat & then filled her Jeep up. While we were at the grocery store, we bought 6 bags of dog food & brought it to the LUCIE rescue shelter to help them out as it's been raining every weekend here so they haven't been able to hold their monthly flea market... The dogs got to eat too.

Refilled the regular bird feeders & then washed & refilled the hummingbird feeders when we got home.

Harvested 5 more cucumbers.

 

[w_r_ranch]

I made one last year for spraying the road... I spent about $10. I'll post a picture tomorrow as well...

Sorry guy's, I forgot to do this:

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1 - 1/2" Adjustable Brass Sprayhead
2 - 1/2" Adapter (Male Sprayhead to Female NPT)
3 - 1/2" Elbow (Male NPT to Female NPT)
4 - 1/2" X 18" Schedule 80 Threaded Riser
5 - 1/2" Elbow (Female NPT to Female NPT)
6 - 1/2" Elbow (Male NPT to 3/8" barb)
7 - 1/2" conduit clip (to hold it in place)
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[w_r_ranch]

Made Italian bread.

Processed onions for vacuum packing & freezing.

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[Mr_Yan]

Got up to my community garden at 6 am today and worked until 11:15 am. It's now 80% clear of weeds. I also planted more seeds and transplants:
40 feet of collard transplants
40 feet of kale seeded
60 feet of green beans ( 1 20' row each dragon tongue, red, green beans that were originally sourced from @w_r_ranch )

90 F and high humidity today, almost cloudless
Expect a low of 70 F and storms overnight

 

[w_r_ranch]

Treat the fire ants in the yard again, then sprayed the greenhouse.

Clean & refill the wasp traps.

Made salsa for tonight.

Harvested the last of the green beans & Mrs.Ranch did her magic. I also picked a tub of tomatoes (which we will can over the next couple of days).

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