Friday, May 10, 2024
First Mow & Mother's Day
Sunday, May 5, 2024
Friday's Fire and Today's Plantings
The weather was dry and the winds were low for the first time on a weekend night in some time, so Friday evening I had my first official fire of the year. It had been a busy day and evening, so after grilling out brats for dinner and having a few drinks I was able to spend a few hours by the fire. It was a relaxing time, including a call with my Mom, so I hung out there until about 10 p.m. before coming in for the night. I look forward to more relaxing evenings like this coming up.
Today we went to the garden center early and got a few seeds and seedlings along with a nice hanging pot for by the front door. That might be it for this year but for we still have to get something to put in the pot at the bottom of the steps out front. I can post a pic of the front later when that happens, but as for the back yard the purple puffballs along the porch are now in bloom and what is left of the lilac bush is in peak form right now. I am seeing some new growth from the old lilac that I had to cut due to the new fence, so hopefully that back side of the bush will be able to fill out well in the next few years.
For the tree stump area I had moved part of a hosta from the north corner (out of picture, left) yesterday where it was right by the fence to the south corner by the firewood where that hosta had been dug out for the yard leveling and fence installation, plus a small piece that fell off I transplanted in front of the stump. The only other work done is adding some good dirt, wildflower seeds, then more dirt on top of the old stump and the area in front of it. It's too rotten now to put potted plants on it so we'll try to grow plants in it, but, we'll see what the critters have to say about that, too.
In the gardens we have much more planted today, but it's always an adventure with all the critters so we'll have see what happens as the summer goes on. Starting at the top left we have garlic, planted last fall, and today Kate planted a row of radishes in front with chives on either side. Top right is four jalapeno plants, caged, with leaf lettuce on the left and dill and cilantro on the right. Bottom right is the raspberries, while bottom left now has sage and basil, caged, among the few remaining strawberry plants.
Soon it will be time to plant sunflower seeds. I'm thinking of fencing in the corner with the day lilies where I grew the one last year and trying to grow several in that area this year. I may try to plant some in other areas, too, but they will have to be protected, probably caged, for quite some time until they get big enough. All we can do is try, and as long as we look at whatever we get as a bonus then we'll come out ahead.
I've still not mowed, though I did use the strimmer in many areas again today, but probably within the week I'll have to give in and begin the ritual. We've also begun spraying, pulling and digging out all the weeds, another summer ritual.
Our temperatures for the foreseeable forecast appear to be right around where windows open will be questionable, day to day. We have the heat turned off right now so conserving house warmth will be the priority. Still, this is a good time of year and things are looking good. Cheers, everyone.
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Springing
Yesterday was a beautiful day; sunny, breezy, warm and the second day of the year with windows wide open. Clouds started moving in about the time I took these pictures, and it's overcast and rainy today. The grass is now green almost everywhere, but while I've used the strimmer around the edges I have yet to mow. Many trees have leaves opening, others still just buds. Flower beds are filling in nicely but, as usual, the tree stump area needs some work - especially since the new fence.
In the gardens we have garlic coming up in one and raspberries in another. There's still some strawberry plants in one but like growing tomatoes we've given up due to the critters. And there is one empty that we'll just have to see what happens when we get plants and seeds.
I'm still waiting to have the first real fire pit of the year. Rain, wind and cold have kept me inside so far.
And the cats liked the warmth and open windows of the porch, as Basil demonstrates here.
Things are looking up, I think. At least weather-wise.
Saturday, April 13, 2024
More New Fence
The fence installers left me two pickets from the back fence that they removed in the corner and replaced with new, plus 8 new pickets. This gave me an idea to build a small section of fence behind the compost bin. I discussed with neighbor Jane first and asked if I could zip-tie the section to her fence and she was real nice about it. So, this morning I went and got 2 more fence pickets and 3 cedar 1x3's and this afternoon I put it together and installed it with my wife's help.
If you look close in the picture below you can see a hammock a couple yards over, and it's by a fire pit. They often have fires when I do and is within sight, so a small section of fence will block that view from our firepit.
And every other direction is our house and the sides of 3 garages with just one open space that by chance had that neighbor standing there when I took the picture below.
I'm satisfied. This is about as private as we want right now. In an hour or so I'm going to go out and have the first fire of the year. Then about an hour after that I'm going to watch a live Megadeth concert from Buenos Aires, Argentina, as I sit by the fire. It's been a beautiful day out and should be a nice evening. Cheers, everyone.
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
New Fence II
Sunday, April 7, 2024
Final Fence Prep
The last thing to do before having the fence installed was to move the firewood, and we dumped it to the ground this afternoon.
We put down a tarp with cardboard on top of it to try and prevent any of it tearing up the soft sod, and we just pushed it over. It fell neater than I expected, so it was just a matter of moving the rack and bringing up the ends of the tarp where we could and covering the whole thing with other tarps, using some logs to hold it all in place. Then just a quick rake of the lot line and we appear to be ready for the fence installation (tomorrow, as noted in the comments of the last post). The rain should be mostly over for today, but we may get a little more overnight then a better day tomorrow for the installation, though I expect it to still be pretty muddy.Now, my back has been an issue for the last few weeks, and this prep for the new fence hasn't helped any. I don't have much time off at my new job but I'd like to be here when the fence is installed, so I think I will call in tomorrow for my back so I can be here to oversee and answer any questions they may have - and I do remember they had several questions when they did the back fence a few years ago. It may be stretching the truth just a little bit to call in, but it's not a complete lie and I will feel much better being here to supervise everything.
Google calendar just now reminded me that tomorrow is my 15th blogday, too. I'm hoping for a smooth fence installation and a better back for my blogday, please!
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Fence Delay
Saturday, March 30, 2024
Yesterday And Today II - More Fence Prep
Preparation of the property line for the new fence had stalled since the last post, very much due to weather and my back. Yesterday I got the call, they want to install it on Wednesday and I thought we'd be ready so Wednesday it is. As previously planned, new neighbor removed his fence and took most of the dirt away yesterday.
And when I got home this afternoon I grabbed a bucket for a few plants and roots and the garden rake. I shaped the area as I thought would best bring the yards together, bringing a pile of extra dirt to the middle. New neighbor came out and took that pile away. He also took away the timbers that held back the dirt for another project of his. He was making this easy on me. We did some more spreading and evening and were both satisfied with the result.
I'm going to call it ready for the new fence, except for the firewood. That will happen Tuesday evening.
Friday, March 22, 2024
Yesterday And Today
Yesterday I completed getting the bulk of the plant matter out of the strip of the stump area by the fence, 4 five-gallon buckets full. My back is definitely tight and sore, but I've had it lots worse. I asked the new neighbors if they needed any free dirt, and they said yes so hopefully they can take most if not all of it for us. Below is what it looked like when I got done yesterday.
And here it is this afternoon, after several inches of wet snow from about midnight until noon today.
Tomorrow should melt most of the snow that is left, but our weather looks to be pretty wet until the middle of next week. While this does hamper the preparation for the fence installation, besides agreeing to take away at least some of the dirt the new neighbor also let me know of plans to remove their fence soon, as well. Hopefully things fall into place in the next week or two, but again, I won't let the fence be installed until we're ready. I do look forward to that first fire after having the new fence installed and everything else - mostly the firewood - back in order.
But, March will be March, after all. I forgot to say it last post, but Happy Spring Equinox, everyone.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Baking and Fence
Last Wednesday I signed the papers and put down a deposit for the fence to be put in on the East side of the back yard. At the time, he said they were scheduling about a month out, but on Friday I got a phone message saying our fence would be installed the next Thursday. I don't think so. We have a lot of work to do on the fence line before that can happen, and it won't be done by then.
On Sunday morning I took the chain saw to the lilac bush, which is now half the size, if not less. The firewood I plan on dumping to the ground the day before the fence will get installed, then afterward put the rack where it will go and restack the wood. Seems easier than moving and restacking the wood twice. And we're going to have to dig up about 3 feet of the stump area all along the fence line to get a gradual decline to the neighbor's yard, to where the ground level should be if it had not been built up around the tree that was there. Only then the fence can go in.It's going to take a lot of work, but it will get done. I got a start on it this afternoon only to find out the city drop off site is still on winter hours until April, which means they're open only during my work hours. We can put the plant matter into the compost bin if needed, and hopefully we will find neighbors that need the dirt or else it will sit in the garage until I can get rid of it. Another problem is the weather. We'll be cold for the rest of the month with some snow expected. I'm hoping to work on it a little at a time to save my back.
The fence company knows I don't want it installed this week, and we discussed the first week of April. I probably won't get an exact date until it gets closer, but I will not let them install it until I'm satisfied we are ready.
Sunday, March 10, 2024
All That, And Cheese Pennies
I've not yet had a fire this spring, but I'm sure it will happen in the next few weeks. There have been crocus coming up in the lawn for at least a week now. (I always want to type 'krokus' because of the band!) The new neighbors really opened up the other side of their back yard for access to trim the black walnut trees, which look real good now. It's been 3.5 years since we had the back fence replaced and we've considered putting a matching fence on that side ever since, and now's the time. There will be much more on that coming soon.
Yesterday I perused King Arthur's website for a quick and easy recipe for something I could make with what was in the house and I came across this recipe for Cheese Pennies. Today, I decided to make them as a distraction from the Badger game, which they were not favored and did lose. It was interesting getting the dough to come together, but with a bit of water it got there. Everything was pretty easy and was done in a short amount of time. They taste like one of the name brand cheesy cracker snacks but have a home made texture. I got 69 crackers and the recipe says about 80, so I may have sliced some a bit thick. Overall, a fun experiment and a tasty, cheesy snack. Good to try but not sure if I'll ever make it again.And finally, before I forget to post these, I came across a recent PBS video of a show about Madison. I found it interesting and noticed they did one about Dodgeville last year. They're almost a half hour long, so only for the interested. Links to the Madison and Dodgeville PBS videos are under those words.
I'm looking forward to spring, a big fence project, and more backyard privacy. Among other things, of course.
Thursday, February 29, 2024
Leap Day & Mom
Happy Leap Day, everyone. Not really a holiday, just novel in that it only comes about every 4 years, usually. (Century years must be divisible by 400 to have this extra day.)
Today would have been a normal workday for me but I took it off as my Mom returned from Alabama yesterday afternoon. After work I gathered my stuff, plus some snacks since she had no food in the house after being gone a couple months, and headed to the airport to pick her up. Everything went smooth and quick and soon we were on our way to Dodgeville. We got dinner and stayed up to watch ToYoube videos and talk. The next morning I did a couple small things that needed to be done, but everything was pretty much in order since she hadn't been around. She ordered groceries for delivery and we had a lazy morning before I left mid-day after they had been delivered.
It's been 10 years since my wife and I visited her down there. She shares the rental with a sister now and many other family and friends have done the same visit. And going back to the same place every year she's made friends with other snowbirds from various other places. All in all, she enjoys her time down there and I'm glad she gets to do it.Every time I go down to Dodgeville for a night I seem to forget one thing, this time it was the two baguettes I was going to take to her. Bugger. For some reason I still don't have bread flour again yet but I will soon so hopefully I'll have even better ones for her next time.
And, of course, the cats didn't seem to miss me one bit.
Monday, February 19, 2024
February T-A-T Follow-Ups
It appears our new neighbors moved in late last week, ready or not. There's still workers over there every day and as I write now, but not yesterday so I'm thinking they just wanted one quiet day to settle in a bit - but who knows? I reckon that's about 6 grand off their total bill for the renovation, but I won't ask them details (though I'm curious!).
My wife fell ill on Sunday and still doesn't feel good today. I hope she feels better a lot quicker than it took for me. And even my two weeks followed by lingering sniffles seems to pale to what they have across the pond - Get well soon BW, Delcatto and Sue!
Weather has been colder, at and below freezing, but we saw the forecast and now it will become warmer again, and very much like spring again. But there's still time for winter to return.
I made crostini last night from one of the baguettes I made two weeks ago, pictured in the last post. Those were made from bread flour, and I finally saw the bigger bubbles in the crumb that I've been lacking with this recipe. I might try an all-purpose/bread flour 50/50 split next time and see if I get close to this. Baking baguette has become an ever-evolving experiment for me by now, and very enjoyable.I baked both the new and old baguette recipes again on Friday night and Saturday morning, respectively. I forgot the diastatic malt powder when I made the new recipe and while still good bread you do notice what that DMP does for the taste and crustiness. No issues with major splitting this time, though a little deflation in the transfer process. I'm warming to the couche but ordered a new one as the light cloth towel I'm using now still sticks a bit after proofing no matter how much I've tried to embed the flour. Also a transfer peel since I don't have a good equivalent, so that's two more new baking related gadgets for me coming soon.
And I won absolutely nothing on the Super Bowl this year. Easy come, easy go.
Above is last week's baguette, and I'll put the new and old after the break in that order.
Saturday, February 10, 2024
February This-And-Thats
I've been feeling much better this week but for continuing sniffles, since being sick the prior two weeks. It's just been going around as I've heard of several others being sick. It's no fun, especially since I was barely sick for several years due to changes that came with the pandemic, like masks and working from home. I'm around so much more people now than I have been in a long time.
New neighbors, late neighbor Dave's daughter and son-in-law, are still not moved in. The house was supposed to be done December 15, they told me, and they had to be out of where they lived January 31, so not sure where they're living now. At least they are getting $100 off the bill for every day past December 15, but I'm sure they'd rather it just get finished. In the early days late in summer and fall there was work being done maybe one day a week. Now, for the last several weeks there's work being done weekdays, weekends, holidays, and sometimes late into the night. Further exterior work will have to wait, they said, whether for weather or financial reasons I'm not sure. We've been thinking of putting a fence on that side like our back fence, and they may want to remove theirs before then if they want the metal posts covered with wood on their side of it, like the fence in the back. We'll talk to them again sometime after they finally move in, I'm sure.
The weather has been mild, kind of like March at the end of January/beginning of February and continuing. Early last week we again had morning fog on several days, including freezing fog in areas. Was like nothing I'd ever seen. Driving through one of the little squalls is a almost a whiteout of tiny snowflakes, with everything getting frosted in white with them. Otherwise, the snow has been melting so just a small mound here and there where it was deepest. And we had thunderstorms the other night, including a few tornadoes just south of here - the first February tornadoes in Wisconsin in recorded history. It feels like spring though the calendar says otherwise. I guess we'll find out if February will start acting like winter again or not. And anything could always happen in March.I came across a website that provides (for free) background noises, and you can customize and combine to make one to your liking. Noises Online is under those blue words, if interested.The last time I made baguette I used bread flour instead of AP and proofed them in the couche. I seemed to get bigger bubbles in the crumb but proofing them in a floured cloth makes the skin less flexible to expand when baking, thus they tend to split on me, so far. But I like mixing it up and trying new techniques. In fact, I'm even starting to reconsider getting a sourdough culture that I'll have to feed and keep alive in the fridge. Ugh! Anyway, they always are good bread no matter and I look forward to my next stab at it, probably next weekend.
Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday. I do plan on watching the game, but only to try and catch a glimpse of Taylor Swift! Just kidding. I don't really care who wins, but I do like to see Patrick Mahomes whine so I may root for the 49ers. Mostly, I just hope it's a good game - and that my number$ hit!
Sunday, January 28, 2024
Weather, Sickness and Livestreams
That's enough of a weather report, I think. Wisconsin can have more extremes in weather than many other areas, many times seemingly without rhyme or reason, so can be interesting to note.
Also, last Sunday I started to feel like I was fighting a cold so I stayed in, started taking my supplements and just relaxed. Didn't matter one bit. Monday and Tuesday I felt like I was hit by a truck with head and body aches and lethargy, staying home from work and sleeping a whole lot. (I tested for Covid and it was negative.) While I got a little more energy back on Tuesday it was only temporary as the virus had settled deeply into my sinuses where it still resides now. And no matter what cold medicine I've tried it barely helps, but that always seems to be the case for me. I want to say I feel slightly better today, but really this whole week has been just absolutely miserable for me. Today will be more of the same - rest and relaxation and hoping this virus clears soon.
At least today I will have some entertainment. At the end of November I signed up for a yearly pass on Veeps, a popular livestreaming site. I paid $60 (a half-price Black Friday deal), which is about what I spent on livestreams on that site last year but now I'll have access to all of their shows so will be more likely to watch shows that I was hesitant to spend money on before.
At almost 2 this afternoon on Veeps is Bad Omens with opening act Poppy, airing live from Germany (7 hours ahead of us) on their current European tour. I'm a big Poppy fan and while I don't know much about Bad Omens I do like the song they did together, V.A.N., released just a couple days ago. Interestingly, it was written entirely by the singer of Bad Omens but it is not a duet with Poppy handling all of the vocals. A good song and fits right in with Poppy's catalog, though. I'm sure they'll share the stage at some point to perform the song together.
Later today there is still playoff football on TV so that will be the rest of my day, then back to work tomorrow - hopefully feeling much better.
Sunday, January 14, 2024
New Baguette
Back to baguette: I also like the amount of dough this new recipe makes. The classic recipe would yield 3 baguettes close to 300 grams so I had to make an effort to keep them short enough for the baking tray, while this new recipe is closer to 230 grams each so I can shape them as I want and still have the traditional pointy ends while easily fitting them on the 15 inch tray.
In some ways, the first batch is more what I'm looking for and the second I may have just thought about it too much though they still turned out very good. I think this recipe is a keeper and I look forward to making it the best I can, as I did with the classic recipe.
Saturday, January 13, 2024
WFW Part 4 - Final
I woke up at 3 a.m. this morning so looked out and saw it snowing, though less accumulation than before. The snow petered out by 9 this morning, so about 9:30 we went out to clean it up again. This time was 2-3 inches, depending where you looked, so I'm going to say we got a generous 12 inches from this storm. I'll have to try and catch the news to hear the official amount since I still haven't found a good source on the internet. Our official amount is taken at the airport, about a mile north of here, but we had high winds also so there was some blowing and drifting, so results may vary.
It cleaned up well enough again, I'll put more pics after the break. The solar lights are still poking up but there is the gnome on the stump, now just a slight bulge in the snow.
Friday, January 12, 2024
WFW Part 3
WFW Part 2
About a half an hour ago, just before I cleared snow for the first time. There was about 5 inches so far, about 7 hours in and over 12 hours to go yet. I'll have to clear at least once more today, maybe twice, then again in the morning. But we'll see.
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Winter Freakin' Wonderland
Tomorrow is due to snow all day long for a total of 8-13 more inches. Local school districts already announced closures or virtual-only classes, just like they did on Monday afternoon. My work goes by the Madison school district, so we will have our second snow day this week tomorrow. It's nice to at least have the time off to deal with all that snow and not worry about driving anywhere (even the state police are saying to stay off the roads tomorrow), but we either have to use a vacation day or take it unpaid. As I'm starting over in a new job I don't have much vacation time so I'm taking these days unpaid.
Then, to top it all off, on Sunday we begin a stretch of very cold temperatures with highs Sunday and Monday right around 0ºF (about -18ºC) and staying in the single digits for at least a week.
Sure, we've seen these kinds of snows and temperatures before, but that doesn't make it any easier. I'll try to post another pic on Saturday. My guess is the fire pit and outlines of anything else in the back yard will be pretty much totally obscured. I should have brought in the gnome and solar lights last weekend. Oh well...
For Tuesday's snow day I made homemade cinnamon rolls.