Tomatoes are Planted

Well, we planted our tomatoes with the help of a friend of ours. We are quite lucky for him to show us his tomato-growing secrets. He inducted us into the Tomato-Grower's Secret Society, and we are waiting for his secrets to work their magic on our plants. It's really kind of funny, but that's what he wants us to do. He's a super guy. Some of you might remember him from our New Year's Eve Party. He was the barbecue chef. He's very knowledgeable about many different and diverse subjects. I am in awe every time I talk to him. I love to surround myself with knowledgeable people. Many of the mothers I meet are this way, and I love it!

Well, our tomatoes will be doing well to survive to the point they can produce their 200# per bush. (Oh, he also says they'll grow to 10 feet tall, and keep producing until the first frost in winter. We'll see, won't we?) Our dogs keep digging them up. I don't know how they're getting out at night, but they are. I have, for the last several mornings, gone out and replanted several of the tomato plants. I am quite upset at our dogs right now. The stinkers!! They are labs, however, and I guess they do this sort of thing. Just ask my friend bfarmmom.

I did finally get in our backordered tomato seeds. They are sprouting, and when they're big enough, I will plant them with the others. They'll probably grow pretty fast since I used extra worm tea on them. This variety is called "Costoluto" beef steak tomatoes, all the way from Italy! The other three varieties we planted are: Brandywine (red) beef steak, Black Russian (a purple heirloom), and then a hybrid "Sugary" grape tomato, just because we love to pop those cute little ones in our mouth in the fields.

The kids have helped with this process all the way through, and they are hoping they can put a little money in their pockets along the way, from selling some of the fruit of their labors. Their homeschool field trip expenses have escalated since the group started going skating every other Wednesday. Let's just say that roller-skating is their latest obsession.

All Work and no Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy

Okay, so our family works together, but we also play together. We went to the race track with our own celebrity race car driver, my husband! Well, he's still working on the celebrity bit. Ch did some racing on the dirt tracks when he was in high school. He started it up again last year. The boys always go with their dad to the race track, but B and I usually skip it. They get home very late, and it can be dirty and noisy. It's not B's thing so I usually keep her home. (I'm kind of a homebody sometimes and may not need much encouragement to hang out at home!) But the other night, B and I went with the guys. The meet at the track was not for a race, but open practice. It's gearing up for the new racing season.

Ch is very lucky to have a couple boys old enough to help him out. He's got a built-in pit crew! There are lots of other drivers near us in the pits, and they all comment on how they could use our boys for their pit crew. They're not kidding; they really are quite helpful! It's so neat to see them running around with their many duties. They know just what to do and when! This time, B got in on the action too. She had fun doing it, but we weren't there late in the night. She's more of an early bird and doesn't last late into the evening!

In these pictures, C is checking the air pressures in all the tires. If there's too much, he can take some out; if there isn't enough, he puts some in all by himself. Ch will change the pressures throughout the night as the track conditions change over time. H is taking care of the tires, only I had to take the picture off. It had a close-up of hubby's name on the trailer. All 3 kids kept very busy scraping mud off the car. Every time Ch took the car out, the car gets caked with a heavy cement-like clay mud. It covers the entire underside of the car. The kids scrape everything off they can, before it's time for Ch to take the car out again. I kept myself busy with the stop watch, taking still pictures, and also video camera taping of Ch's laps around the track. He uses the video footage to critique his performance. He's always trying to improve his technique next time out!

I have to say something else about this whole racing business. It is not always inexpensive. I am glad that my husband has learned how to be very frugal. Because of his line of work, he has built up quite a network for himself. He's always got his ear to the ground, and paying attention to deals and barter opportunities that may become available. He got this whole car for a steal. He traded the decals on the car and trailer for some dirt work he did for the decal guy. He's always at the auctions (looking for trucks for the water trucks) and you wouldn't believe the deals that you can get on all kinds of stuff. Lots of times, he'll buy something at an auction and turn around and resell it for what it's worth. Oh, and I can't forget to mention that it certainly helps that Ch is very much a handy-man. Self-generated labor is free, and easy on the pocket-book! He's even got sponsors for his racing. Businesses pay for advertisement. So, for that I am truly grateful. And for anybody that's interested, here's a shot of the engine. This is an "open-wheel modified" race car. Whatever that means.

More New Pets

Our family's pet population is exploding. We just got 2000 new pets. What are they, you ask? Why, worms, of course! Working worms. They're composting our way to a better blueberry field, hopefully healthier, happier, bug-free plants! We are having serious discussions about whether we should go organic or not. Organic is healthier, yes, but will it result in good fruit? I've always admired organic produce, but have heard it's very hard to do successfully. So, we got the Can-O-Worms composting condo and we're trying it out. Here are pictures of us setting it up. It comes from Australia, of all places!! (They are light-years ahead of us here in the states for their "green" philosophy and practices.) The starter bedding the condo comes with is dried up coconut fiber. You have to add a LOT of water to get the small hard brick to expand sufficiently.

This picture of B with the worm cracks me up. She thinks that she needs to personally touch every single one and tell them each how much we love them. Then I remember that I had a fascination with worms when I was just 4 or 5 yrs. old. I can remember digging worms up in our garden when I was very small. They were my "friends".

Laying Down Irrigation & Picking Blossoms

We've got to get the field ready for the baby blueberry bushes. So, the irrigation must go in! We're working on it almost every day after C gets home from work, until it's finished. We're also picking blossoms nearly every day because that's how fast they grow! Not to mention the weeds... Here, B is doing her part picking them with me. She is SO good at it too. She will pick blossoms for a couple hours with me before she politely asks for a "little break". She likes to put them all in her bucket so she can see how many she's picked. She must be visual like me.

While B and I pick blossoms, the guys dig irrigation trenches. H moves the tractor for C when he's ready for the move. C keeps busy with the shovel, hacking through tree roots. (See the string that runs along the trench? It's to keep the trench going relatively straight because it's so long.) I didn't get pictures of us laying pipe and electric cord in the trench then covering it over. The electric is required because we have an automatic irrigation timer, and also an electric well to pump the water from the ground. B and I were able to help with setting pipe and lines in the trenches.

I am so thankful we have these family projects to work on together. It keeps us involved with each other. C also believes in the value of a strong work ethic. He's been known to say that, "the family that works together stays together." We're also hoping that by keeping our kids busy, they won't have time to get into trouble as they enter their teenage years. I think it also gives them a sense of value as they see how much they can contribute to the family, and to society in general.

Family Business

My husband is a welder by trade and started learning at an early age. He started welding at the age of 5 for his dad around his dad's family business. Our sons are following suit. H eagerly picked up the welding torch at 5 yrs. old and with his Dad's help struck an arc. At the time he made quite a lot of "chicken scratch" on scrap steel, but that's what it takes to get a feel for the welder and the protective gear.

My husband tacked this mulch bucket together to hold it in place, but H welded the rest of it up entirely. It took him much of the day to finish, but he kept plugging away at it. C said he did a pretty good job of it, too. Our younger son is not quite as anxious to learn the trade. When he was 5, he said he would start learning at 6 yrs. old. When he turned 6, he said he would try at 7. He's 8 now, and he's tried it out a bit, but he prefers to let his older brother handle the torch while he watches over his shoulder through the welding hood to see how it's done.

How to Remove a Tree

I guess that's a pretty dumb title for this blog post. You don't want to know how to remove a tree stump, do you? Really I want to talk about how much fun this tree removal was. The whole family got involved, yes, even me!! I promise, I did more than just snap pictures of it! Anyway....

I love how my husband is not afraid of hard physical labor. He actually craves it, I think. I just wish I could keep up with him a little better than I do. He is also one to expect the boys (in particular, since they are older than B) to help out with whatever family project presents itself at any given time. Most recently, it was removal of this Florida "cherry" tree since it was right in the way of our future blueberry field. (C is from PA, and he said this cherry tree is NOT really cherry.) It had to come down, and down it came! The stump was not as easy, and he had to dig it out with the back hoe attachment on the tractor. H helped him move the tractor around, while hubby did the back hoe digging. It took quite a while to remove. Even after the stump was out, it still required lots of manual digging by shovel to get the roots out. The boys spent a couple hours digging by hand with their shovels. B and I helped remove the roots to the brush pile, and then B got busy with a shovel as well! It was so cute to see her getting in there with her brothers. It's good to see her growing up as well, and she does not want to be out done (most times, anyway.)

Our Friday

Friday did not go as planned. We were supposed to be done with the boys' room yesterday. The carpet was going in and we were to start moving the boys things in there. They were supposed to sleep in their twin beds for the first time last night! But it didn't happen. We missed the Happy Birthday Jesus party (with our local homeschool group) because we had to wait all day for the carpet guys to come. That's 2 park days we've missed in a row because of this construction project. They didn't come until late in the afternoon, so we missed the party for nothing. Then when they did come, we found out they measured wrong, and we didn't have enough carpet to finish the room like we thought. We were under the impression that we had enough carpet left from the rest of the house. I had to order more carpet to finish it, only to find that the prices are quite a lot more now, because I won't have a volume discount. Their room is turning out a lot more expensive than we thought it would be. It had to be right before Christmas, too! As it stands, it will be at least another week before the carpet will be available, maybe longer.

So, this will serve to help us learn a little more patience. Patience is a good thing. Goodness knows I need all that I can get as it does not come naturally to me.

Lots of Stuff Going on This Week

We're finally getting the boys' bedroom finished, which means that we will get them out of the school room and B's room very soon. I can't wait to get this place whipped into shape a little better. But it's been a crazy week with finishing the framing out of the closets, and getting drywall put up, mudded, and textured. The drywall installers were done 2 days later than scheduled, so we missed park day with the homeschool group. Today we started painting. The walls are all done. It's just the doors and trim that need painted now. After that, C can start working on the cedar wood slat ceiling. It will match the ceiling that is in the main area of the house. Then, carpet and the boys can move in!

Hubby also started another major project his weekend. I have to tell you, we have a friend who does a lot of work remodeling and doing custom carpentry work in restaurants. He sometimes gets stuff the restaurants get rid of when they remodel, but it's perfectly good, even fabulous material. He is outfitting us with almost everything we need for a complete bar on our back porch. We are by no means drinkers of booze, so it's not that kind of bar. But it will be a nice spot for entertaining guests, a place to eat when we're outside, etc. Here is a picture of the bar in it's unfinished state. (The gentleman in the picture is not my hubby, but our friend G that is outfitting us with the materials for the project. He's helping C construct it all since that's what he does for a living. He does excellent work.)

While all this construction was going on, C said he had something for me to look at in the bed of his truck. He also said that when I got done looking, he needed me to make some phone calls for him. Here is what I found in his truck. A neighbor of ours found these 2 coyotes on the road. They were freshly killed by a car. I had to call around and find a taxidermist who could mount them for C. He and our business partner want mounts for our Georgia cabin. (It's another business venture of ours as it will be available for vacation rentals in a few months when it's ready. I told you my hubby has his hands in several major projects all at the same time. I sometimes get dizzy just trying to keep everything straight!) So, I drove the coyotes over to the taxidermist's and he will start on them in a few weeks. We may also have him preserve the rattlesnake (see old post) for us as that would be another mount for the cabin. It looks like he does good work. He had quite a few specimens in his showroom including a bobcat, rattlesnake, otter, fox and also a coyote.

Today, after working all day on our projects, C took us to our friend G's lake for a ride on our airboat. Only trouble is, we haven't had it out for quite a while and the gas was old so it wasn't running well. The kids and I didn't get to ride at all, but we'll try again later when the gas has been flushed out and replaced with fresh. In this picture, hubby C is driving while G is trying to figure out what is wrong with the engine. Notice how the boat is plowing water. It wouldn't get up on plane. While we waited to see if we would get to ride, though, the kids entertained themselves in various ways. I entertained myself taking pictures of my kids.