2023 SUCKED!

Right from 1-1-23, things got off to a horrible start. We had snow – not the typical dump and gone that we usually get in the plains of Colorado. No, it dumped and kept on dumping. Then the Wicket Wind Witch of the West started putting her two cents in, and drift-ola started. Of course, she had to create the worst drifts wherever we had to drive on our property:  driveway, critter barns, trash bin sites.

I was down to my last year of payment on my car. I thought I had January, February, and then March, which would be the final. Nope! They called it all in at once in January, $900+ total. SURPRISE!

Water was backing up in the basement when we did the washing machine. Our thought was a plugged line in the house, so we rented a drain snake to no avail. Next was Del-Mar Septic Service. He came out quickly, considering they were way overbooked, but our drifts would soon aid in his overbooking. The last time we had the tank pumped, it was late summer, and the turn the big truck had to make by the barn was no problem. The drifts said no way, and the Wicked Wind Witch laughed. He didn’t just get stuck in a drift then back out – noooo – he was stuck from about 11 am until a 2^nd truck showed up after 2 pm and pulled him loose (yes, we tried digging, boards, rags, nothing would unstick the truck on its own). He finally pumped our tank while the 2^nd driver was nice and waited. I have to shout out a huge kudos to the company!! Even with all the madness that happened, they only billed us for what they originally quoted – woo hoo! We will be recommending them to all septic systems we know. Total $350.

Snow after snow after snow and not just a little, nope, it was bomb cyclone after blizzard after our most awful: a nor-easter. When the winds circle back around from the east, we ALWAYS get the worst storms. It doesn’t matter what time of year or what type of storm it is; it will be more intense and dangerous coming back from the east. This was definitely not our average start to a year.

Our drainage issue was not over. It started backing up into the basement again. BIG TIME!?! We called in our outstanding Plumber, and he realized (in only about 15 minutes) that we had a frozen line. (Side FYI: Scientists claimed that the earth’s inner core stopped rotating in 2009, and it was finally getting around to reversing. Apparently, this is a “thing” and can assist in our climate issues. WHO KNEW?!?)  He referred us to a great couple of guys with a massive steamer truck. They came out, ran a like to our septic outside tap, and shoved it up our drain pipe. Then they turned up the heat and steam blasted our line for about an hour. Their snake hose also has a little rotary cutting wheel on the end where the water comes out so they can feel when it broke everything loose. Finally, CLEAR LINE – WOO HOO! Total for Plumber and truck: $650.

Our propane service showed up. The guy came and knocked on the door (unusual). When I answered, he asked, “ Do you have heat?”  It surprised me a bit, but I answered yes. Then I asked why. He said the tank showed EMPTY. WHAT???? I usually check the guage on it a couple of times a year, especially in the late fall, but I had forgotten to do that. I also assumed we were still on the “keep full” program they offered several years ago. Apparently, the original owners sold this area to a local guy, and no one said a word. He had enough in his tank to fill us to 80%. Total $1200 (ouch again – and this was only the middle of March)

We got notice from our mortgage company that escrows had gone up again, and now we must pay an extra $150 monthly. (April)

My sister lost a crown on her tooth and had to get that fixed immediately. The total is $1000 (May now), and no, her insurance did not cover all of the expenses. This 1K was our portion.)

Our wonderful John Deere Lawn Tractor decided to pull nasties right when the rains finally ended (end of June). Then the drive belt decided to slip off right in the middle of mowing the big field – shit! The damn thing didn’t even have the decency to break, nope, it just slipped off the front drive wheel. OF COURSE, THE FRONT WHEEL – most complicated to get back on to. I tried, and tried, and tried again for all of July. I couldn’t get the damn nut to let go of the bolt. I watched several YouTube videos, which were helpful enough to make me understand what was going on but not enough to figure out how a woman of 60+ years old with six major joint surgeries and osteoarthritis could remove the stupid nut! Finally, I broke down and asked a dear friend if he had a minute and could come to take a look at it. It only took him about 10 minutes from start to finish to get that ugly little so-an-so belt back on and my beautiful JD back up and running. He did not charge (because he is a friend), but we paid in cookies for him and his family anyway. Total expenses for June were about $200 and July was about $500. The July thing was mainly because my grandson (now almost 15)was out to visit, and our food expenses always go up when he is out. This was extra because we felt it would be his last (yes, there were tears).

The GMC sensor went out. Then headlight bulb (s-we replace both at the same time). We had to use a mechanic for the sensor, so that was another $200+. Oh, and monsoons kicked in late August (WTF!?!). Sure, I didn’t have to do much watering this year, but I can’t get the weeds under control either. On August 21, we hit 100 degrees – OUCH. It’s not normal for out here either. It never ceases to amaze me that we can get tons of snow and rain, but the slightest winds during or after it will equal dry plants – go figure!

My sister’s job had a significant cutback in hours due to a lack of sales. That gave us 3-day weekends to get some bigger projects done together, but it also cost us about $100 per week loss. This went on for over a month.

 I went in for my annual physical, and they called and said they found something in my blood draw. I needed to return to the hospital ASAP for a 2^nd draw (YES, PANIC SETS IN). They also decided to do a bone density scan simultaneously – great. I’m glad I got my COVID shot because I came down with that right after the scan (blame it on the hospital – haha), but it was not as bad as the first time I had it in February 2020—good news: both tests came back ok. I was low on potassium, but that was my fault. I have had issues with that since my surgeries in 2014 and have been taking supplements. I ran out about two weeks before the blood draw, which caused a follow-up. Total loss this month, about $500.

Another lousy storm with HUGE hail came through. It took out the greenhouse door window (that was a bummer, but ok since the 2018 tornado took the roof and we have not had money to replace it yet) and then punched two considerable holes in our big gray shed roof. REALLY?!? It couldn’t have just hit the side of the barn and bounced – no – it had to punch holes in the roof the size of softballs. There is too much going on to get up there and fix it, so there is no idea of the cost of the damages yet. It’s just going to have to wait until spring 2024. The GMC went back into the shop one more time. This time, she won’t stay running, and if you are driving and stop (like to get gas), she won’t start back up again. WE FINALLY GOT A BREAK (November now), it was a faulty sensor (they initially replaced it several months ago), and it was all covered under warranty – WOO HOO!!! Oh, wait, I spoke too soon. During that last hail storm, the GMC windshield got a big smack on it – spider shoots immediately (just lucky it didn’t break through)…  Oh well, there goes another $500+.

Overall, we ended the year with massive expenses and massive depression. 2023 SUCKED!

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UGH! IS IT JUST ME?

For the first time since we moved here (2000), we did not start any seeds.

I know.  I know.  Say it isn’t so, but it is.  I don’t know if it is the weather (been just nuts), the scary state of the world (nut-bag in Russia), or my age (just say no), but something is really off whack this year.  If you follow my blog(s), you may have noticed that this is my first post FOR THE YEAR – SHOCKER!!  I did not even realize this until I titled this post.  I keep all of them because I am a writer at heart.  These are my stories of me, and I was dumbfounded to see that this was my first of the year – what is wrong with me?

I think I have to blame it on the weather (or climate) because I have not seen any of our spring flowers yet, and it is almost May.  The leaf buds on the lilacs and honeysuckle are just now showing up – so not normal!  I did get a minor reprieve last weekend when I heard all the frogs singing in our pond.  Their music did bring on a brief moment of spring excitement.

I almost forgot; I simply went to burn some of our trash in our burn barrel and accidentally set our south field on fire.  Our fantastic local volunteer Firemen were all over it, and there was (thank God) NO WIND!  My sister and I were looking at that field now and were impressed at how green it was.  So I think I got a bit of a boost seeing that even that dried-out field can come back to life. 

We decided to just go with seeds right in the ground this year.  The drought, the fires in our state, the crappy air (mainly smoke from all the fires and the dry dirt flying in the winds), and the battles over water have convinced us to cut way back this year on our gardens.  I will keep cleaning them up and tending when needed, but the water is the biggest fear.  I want to keep our trees going (fruit and others), and I want to start some new herbs in the herb garden, but watering this year is tough.  We have our own well (a bit of good news), but we are also very conservative in its use. 

It is too late for our regular early cold crops (broccoli, cabbage, etc.), but I can put in some root crops that we can, dehydrate, or freeze.  Our pantry is pretty full of veggies.  We purchased half of beef from our friendly local natural grower, so we have a freezer full of that.  We will be helping our other friendly local natural grower butcher their chickens later this year, which will take up another part of our 2^nd freezer.  I have been trying to buy extras of things like flour, sugar, and salt, but the price of everything has gone nuts this year.  (Don’t get me started on the gas!)

Our final decision is to grow less, use less water, use more of what we already have (duh – we store it for a rainy-day situation, and this is one of those days.), relax and remember what mom used to say:

This too shall pass.

Dang, don’t ya just hate it when mom is right!  I’m pretty sure she is up in heaven yelling “I told you so” at us right now.  And life goes on.

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LOST MEMORIES FOUND.

I love remembering things from my childhood.  The best ones are the rare ones that a unique smell, sight, or sound recalls.  This cart is just a prop for a local business, but it is exactly like one we had as kids with our horses:

We had a black and white spotted Welsh pony named Dolly.  She was a brat.  It was obvious that she had been abused by people somewhere in her life, but now she was with us, and ALL of our critters were spoiled rotten (even the ones we would eventually eat – eek-haha!).  Well-fed.  Plenty of pasture room to roam.  Beautiful barn for housing everyone from the harsh Wisconsin winters (we were not far from Lake Michigan, and the winter winds off the lake are brutal).  We worked all summer long to store enough food for our critters, ourselves, and some friends and relatives.  We had some new neighbors move into the small home across the road, and they had three young boys – about our age.

Once we got to know them, they realized that we played like boys even though we were girls.  Mud was a blast.  Getting into stuff we were not supposed to was classic.  Then there were our horses which was an instant draw for all kids. 

The folks splurged on a 2-wheeled little cart (just like the pic above) for us to try to train Dolly to pull.  Keep in mind, most of our training was self-taught.  They got us a good harness, taught us the basics, and then we had at it.  When the boys next door found out, they could not wait to get up on it.

Jeffie (the youngest of the three boys) ran up to the cart all excited and was not paying attention to what he was grabbing ahold of to try to get up.  He placed his hand on the wheel instead of the seat, then pony leached forward (because she was a brat – remember?); his hand slipped in between the spokes and got caught on the edge of the seat, thus breaking his arm.

We ran him back home at once, and his folks took him to the doctor.  He came home with a cast that had to stay on most of the summer.  It never slowed down his wanting to get on the wagon, ride a horse, or just play with us. 

The best part of remembering this story now is that no attorneys, lawsuits, courts, or any of the nowadays B.S. usually happens.  It was just kids playing, and it was an ACCIDENT!  Yes, accidents really did happen back then.  Apparently, there is no such thing as an accident anymore?!?  Our parents even offered to pay the doctor bill, but the neighbors would not hear of it – “they were just being kids.”, was their reply. 

Isn’t it funny, the things you thought were long forgotten, then a simple something like seeing a cart can bring them all back? 

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When Did I Move Back to Wisconsin?

Colorado weather can be very different than most places.  We never know what is coming over the mountains or which way it is going to flow.  I have built up a pretty good sense of when to plant our starts and when to put in seeds, but not this year. It’s been a mess in more ways than one.

I am used to wet Marches, wild weather ups-and-downs in April, and then “get-it-in” Mays.  This year has been snow, winds, wet and wet, and WET.  I swear I am back in Wisconsin, and I didn’t know I was planning on a move? 

IT’S GREEN!

Yes, Colorado does get green in the spring, but it is usually the fields, gardens, and lawns that get irrigation that the green appears.  This year I am hard-pressed to find a non-green spot.  We are supposed to be a higher altitude, arid, and much drier area – WHAT HAPPENED?  I blame it on climate change since that has been messing up tons of places over the last several years. It’s either that or Mother Nature is really pissed off at us now.  Even our poor crop farmers have had a hell of a time just trying to plant their typical fields.  Everything is mud!  FYI, tractors and mud do NOT mix.

Since our greenhouse lost its cover from the tornado, the plots have been susceptible to the weather, and right now, it’s a forest.  We even have a ground cover base under all our plots, but the grasses and weeds have gotten too much rain support to slow down.  Now the wonderful world of weather is telling us to expect close to 90degrees this Saturday.  SATURDAY?  With 80s in between.  Great.  Put some majorly intense sun and heat onto those already crazy weeds and grasses, and it will be time to dig out mazes to find the plots.

Oh, and part of my job during all this moisture was to figure out where all the leaks are in our buildings, then try to plug them – hahaha.  It was easy to see where it was leaking, but not so easy to find a dry day to get out (or on top) and fix them.  Now that we will have drier weather, I have become a hurry up and get it done Lady.  Sure.  Two fake knees, 1-1/2 fake shoulders, one fake foot, ½ an index finger, and osteoarthritis up the wazoo – YOU GO GIRL!  Not!  If anyone tries to tell me that my joints don’t feel the changes in the weather, I will pop them in the nose. 

This old body got used to the dry, arid, comfortability of our beautiful Colorado.  Now every step I take and every move I make has a corresponding snap, crackle, or pop to it.  Oh, and let’s not discuss the getting down and trying to get back up again situation (yes, my dear friends who have seen me do this in action, you may laugh hysterically now), shall we.

So Wisconsin, you can have your floody spring back.  I want my dryer Colorado and I am not willing to compromise!

I am leaving you in this post with a perfect picture that my cousin sent me.  It totally sums up this spring for me:

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WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US?

I just opened another email about food, and I have had it!  Why are all of these beautiful dishes designed for master cooks?  Shaved asparagus salad – really?!

I love asparagus but NEVER thought of shaving it. I didn’t know it was that hairy.  Are they just talking about a trim or remove the entire beard – and where is it?

Seriously, who has the time, techniques, and of course, tools to make all this stuff?  If I can’t put it all together in one bowl and in less than thirty minutes, it ain’t gonna happen!

I don’t mind cooking or baking; I just don’t like to spend a ton of time on it.  My sister, on the other hand, finds it her perfect hobby.  Now, I don’t envy her or her hobby; but why am I always the taste tester?  No wonder I can’t lose any weight.  I will do great all week, and then she turns into a bake-a-holic on the weekend, and all I just lost comes back to visit – grr!

I love Martha Stewart’s stuff, and I know that once-upon-a-time in her life, she was a fabulous cook.  That is how she became who she is and KUDOS to her for it.  I, however, do not have that passion.  I am thrilled with myself when I can make pizza pockets with my sandwich maker:

• layout already made bread,
• fill it with something,
• put the top piece on,
• close the lid and ta-da, sandwich!

That is my gourmet cooking ability.  I like to make homemade fudge and angel food candy at Christmas.  I also have an excellent recipe for homemade granola, and ratatouille and that is about it.  Everything else better be a mix, can, or noodle dish, or it won’t get done.  I have begone experimenting with slow cookers and insta-pots.  So far, so good.  I like the idea of just throwing it all into one pot, turn it on, and let it go.  No muss, no fuss!

So, here’s to the not-so-great cooks out there that agree with me.  I love to eat. I just hate to mess with it.  Oh, and my most favorite way to get my food is fresh from our gardens.  Nothing better than pulling a fresh tomato or cuc right from the vine and munching – yum!

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I CUT HER LOOSE – LOOK OUT!

This last weekend I finally cut my sister loose and let her play in the dirt.  There are two big things in her life that bring her great joy:

1. Playing in the kitchen because she has a passion for cooking.  
2. Playing in the dirt, in this case it is starting seeds. 

I brought all the grow lights, heat pads, and various other seed starting items up from the shed.  It took her about two days to get “her” areas set up.  Yes, they are “her” areas as it is her job to do the starts.  My task now is to design all the plot areas on our little farm and what will go in where.

If you think about it I got shafted in this deal.  All her job is done in the house and in just 2 places:

• Her porch (it is hers because that is where she can smoke and contemplate life issues).
• Her kitchen (yes, I can cook in there too, but it is mostly just warming stuff for me).

I am better with the computer than she is, so I created some charts.  The first is centered around seed starting and maintaining the starts until transplant time – this is Spring.  The second I labeled Summer.  This will be my turn to track things.  It will have when and where I put in the transplants.  It will also have all my direct sowing information. 

This will be the first year in many, many years that we actually have some kind of handle on our gardens.  Too many disasters have stretched out too long for us to properly concentrate on the gardens.  The only bummer is that my body is only a fraction of what it was 10+ years ago.  Simple things like getting down on the ground (my favorite place to work on plots) and getting back up again take enormous effort.  Fake knee and shoulder joints, massive surgeries for my major joints, and replacement parts add to my dismay.  You would think they could come up with something like the Bionic Woman for replacement parts by now?

Yes youngsters, that was a real TV series, and yes oldsters, I watched it.

What a wonder it would be if I could just pull weeds stronger, faster.  I could pull my garden carts without major issues.  Best of all, I could get down on the ground and back up again, without looking like a Flamingo on ice (not a pretty sight but very funny to watch – oh, and don’t get me laughing or I will NEVER get up!).

My major task over the last 20 years is to make life easier and not harder.  So why does life want to throw a wrench into my ideas every time I turn around?  She is so wicked that way.  Wish me luck on my endeavors this year.  Maybe we will finally have a great fall harvest.  I will let you know how it goes.

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I HAVE TO TIE MY SISTER DOWN.

She is only allowed to be hands-free when she goes to work or is in the kitchen.  Our seed orders are coming in, and I gave her a new “toy” this year, a seed planning, planting guide.  My BIG mistake!

Dirt is in our souls.  We grew up on a farm and will (hopefully) die on a farm.  With that said, we both share particular duties on our little patch of heaven.  She is in charge of the “starting,” and I am in charge of the transplanting and keep it running.

We go through the same mess every year.  She gets the garden bug way too early, and then I am last minute slamming things in wherever I can find the room, so they don’t die.  She gets them started far too early, and we have flowers appearing before the last frost is done.  If I don’t get them in somewhere (fast), we could lose them.  This year I have decided to tie her down to get-our-ducks-in-a-row!

She has specific orders NOT to start any seeds until our new cheat-sheet guidelines say so.  (Got it free from a fellow blogger/grower here in Colorado.)  Even though they were developed by a “foothillser,” and we are plains people, it is all Colorado.  Mountains would be very different, but the foothills are close enough. 

According to the charts, she should not be starting anything until the end of February.  Then, the only ones to start at that time are the long-term veggies.  The rest is not to be started until mid-March, and it is killing her!

I told her that she could play with her seed starter, soil mix to her heart’s content.  But she must leave the seeds in their packets!  At least the new charts are keeping her busy.  She has to list all the packets and the standard info on them.  Oh, and she also has to have them sorted by category, as well as alphabetical.  Hee hee, I can be mean when I want to.

In the meantime, I am mapping out all of our plots and planting spaces.  I am also revamping our backyard double plots into a mini-greenhouse.  I want to move our starts out there when they start getting into the hardening-off stages.  The side walls will be rollups, so I won’t have to move anything, just open the sides and let in the sun, air, and whatever.  I will try to remember to get pics as I go to share here.

I think my plan will work as long as she does not start setting seeds in the middle of the night (yes, we do wake up at all hours of the night – it’s the age curse).  I check her fingernails when I get up to make sure she isn’t trying to sneak a seed or two in.  Sisters?!?

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OUT ALREADY?

I realize that everything last year was off whack, but I thought I could count on somethings remaining normal.  Nope.

Our seed catalogs usually start showing up around October or November.  I understand that anything that had to do with the mail was going to be late.  What I was not expecting was for our catalogs to already be out of seeds?

How can this be?  We just started getting the catalogs in late December.  I assumed that most other garden lovers were also going to have delays.  Apparently, there are a bunch of sneaky-snakes out there that didn’t wait for their catalogs; they just went right to their favorite websites and ordered ahead – grr!

What is with garden planners?  Holy crap!  There are hundreds of them out there on the internet and material world. 

• Some are free to sign up for their email. 
• Some cost minimal.
• Some go as far as making them a whole book.

I currently have five different ones that I have saved, bought, downloaded, and/or created.  One of my first goals this new 2021 year is to get something that actually works – AND HELPS – me.  The last 6-10 years have had one terrible omen after another.  I refuse to listen to them anymore.  This year WILL be a winner in our gardens, and I will figure out how.  Come hell or high-water or tornado!

On a side note, I just realized that the movie “I Robot” is supposed to be what the year 2035 looks like.  This is now less than 15 years away.  Between that and the film “Runaway”, I have decided that there will NEVER be robots tending my gardens.  At least not while I am still alive.

Happy Gardening!

(Many thanks to some very talented – and funny – cartoonists!)

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UNBELIEVABLE! REALLY?

The very first day of the brand new year, and we get a fox!  Damn! 

We just got a new batch of chickens from a dear friend for my sister’s birthday. It’s the first time we have had a flock in the last five years.  Things just seemed to be one issue after another, so there was never time to spend on a new batch-o-birds. 

They came over on 12/27/20 with twelve birds, eleven hens, and a rooster. It’s a beautiful colorful mix of babes.  Just to hear them clucking around, and the rooster crowing again filled us with hope for the new year. 

Usually, when you have any newbie animals, it takes time for them to acclimate before providing anything; but these girls were up for the change and gave us our first two fresh eggs the very first day.  Woohoo – an excellent sign for a new year, right?  Wrong.

This morning at 4 a.m., my sister hears the rooster going nuts in the barn.  She grabs a flashlight, throws on her slippers (note, we still have some snow on the ground), and runs out there to find our rooster dismembered.  Proof positive of a fox in the henhouse.  JERK!  We have not even had them a full week.

AND IT’S THE VERY FIRST DAY OF A NEW YEAR – REALLY?!?

I just finished a nice post on my other blog (https://lifelessonslived.com/ ) about how I will simplify things this year to get more done, and then this happens.  We spend a month shearing and prepping our chicken coup in hopes of finally getting newbies in 2021. 

• New wire.
• New roofing.
• New bedding.
• Clean up and fixed all nesting boxes.
• Shearing up any/all holes, gaps, or possible access spots.

All this, and yet the fox won.   I was not even sure we still had them near us since we have not had anything for them to pick-off in years?

We are farmer/gardeners at heart; it’s how we grew up.  We believe in live and let live, and everything happens for a reason – HOWEVER – this one’s got me baffled.  Why us?  Why the first day of a new year?  Why in less than a week?

I never believed in trapping before, and it would be hard with all our barn cats, but I am seriously debating it now!  The monsters have tons of rabbits, pigeons, prairie dogs, and rats around here to get food – STAY AWAY FROM OUR CHICKENS.

Happy New Year to us; we get to spend the day figuring out how the beastie got in and shear it up before it (they?) comes back again. 

Oh, Happy New Year to us!

(Time to call in the Winchester boys for help!)

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THAT FEELING OF FALL.

This post is just short and sweet.  This picture truly says fall to me:

Image by Larisa Koshkina from Pixabay

Not necessarily Halloween, but you get the feeling it’s close.  Pixabay.com has been a great source of inspiration for me over the last several years.  They send things to my email that they think I might appreciate and this one hit the nail on the head.  They even do it free, mostly.  Some creators expect payment before you can download, but most you can, as they call it, buying the creator a cup of coffee.  In other words, you can donate to their efforts, but you don’t have to, and the download is free.  This one was a freebie, but I did donate a dollar toward a cup of coffee.

I use a lot of these Pixabay pics in my writings.  I can usually find exactly what my writing mood is in there.  No, I am not affiliated or receive any type of payment for this share.  I just love sharing stuff that is either free or fun, in this case both.  I hope you take a moment to go visit them and view all the great stuff.  If, for nothing else, to get a good feeling in these trying times.  Enjoy!

 

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