Monday, January 7, 2019

THE WEEKEND WAS GOOD



Its was a beautiful weekend.  Not a cloud in the sky and nice and cool.  


Unfortunately it was SO wet.  Standing water everywhere.  This is the natural run of excess water, across the front yard and down the edge of the driveway toward the road.


But it was standing in many places.  This is where we usually park, closer to the front of the house and it was standing with water.  I had to park further mac (that's the car in the corner).  

Needless to say, no real yard work I could do.  I need to edge and I am hoping to mow at some point (to take down some dormant weeds) before it all comes roaring back in the Spring but it looks like I'll have to wait another couple of weeks.


Here are the citrus trees.  They are doing great on the porch.  These are the lemon and lime, the orange is just out of the camera shot.  All three green and leafy.  No hard freezes (knock on wood!) so they are fine.  An upcoming project will be to build the three additional raised beds behind the house so these can be placed with the other eight fruit trees this Spring.

I did some weeding in the raised beds and got the corner brackets and deck screws out and ready for building.  All we'll need now is the wood for the sides. 


Worked a bit in the garden as well.  Pulled random weeds that were popping up.  Didn't need to water for sure since we had four inches of rain.  Napa cabbage is growing well and getting larger and "tighter" in the center but still looks like we are a ways off from cabbages.  SO weird.  As long as they are green and growing I guess no need to worry just yet.  They are a Winter crop and we still have a couple more months of Winter weather potential before it starts getting warm for Spring.


Garlic is growing nicely.  Both beds look like this.  Should be a bumper crop next Spring/early Summer.


And speaking of the fruit trees, look at this!  This is one of the peach trees.  I gave up on it late in the Summer.  Stopped watering.  Stopped taking care of it.  I even put on the list of things to get this Spring "replacement peach tree".

I went out there this weekend and it is COVERED in blossoms!  Not sure what to do.  Obviously it is growing and doing its thing but they are everywhere on the tree.  I guess I will have to pinch them off but it was pretty amazing to see.  None of the other trees are blooming yet, so I guess you could call this one a "late bloomer"?  Haha!


Remember a couple of weeks ago I found $5 turkeys at the store?  2nd Man stayed in town to roast the two we got.  We oiled it up, inside and out, put our seasoning blend on it (also inside and out), placed it on a rack to elevate it a bit, and then roasted at 375 degrees for 2 hours and 15 minutes.


At the end of that time, he turned the oven off and left it in for another 15 minutes, then took it out to rest.  So a total time in the oven of 2 1/2 hours (just the last 15 minutes with the oven off).  It came out golden and perfect.


2nd Man cut it up and we ate some and bagged up the rest for the freezer.   This was a Butterball "fresh turkey" and we dare say it was the best we've ever had.  So juicy and tender.  I don't know if it's how we cooked it or the brand or what but we'll definitely look for this next Thanksgiving for sure.


Wanted to share these cute little painted wooden blocks that I found for 2nd Man (they were his Christmas stocking gifts).  He loved them, even though I get to decorate with them, ha. 

Hope you had a great weekend!

10 comments:

  1. Glad you had a nice day, even if you couldn't do the work you wanted/needed to do. Your tree that is blooming is a progressive tree, I think, rather than a late bloomer!

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  2. Fairly successful weekend, what a surprise with the fruit tree. Please cut off the green tape and replace a few with soft ties (strips of old t shirt ) in figure 8 fairly loose.
    The tape can ringbark as it tightens with growth of trunk.The cloth strips will rot away before they get tight and after they are needed.
    Such a shame you both couldn't spend the weekend there before the cold gets really bad.
    Enjoy your fabulous turkey ☺

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the tape has now been removed. I left it on to keep it upright for a bit as it got established but then because I thought the tree was dead I ignored it. But yep, it's gone now.

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  3. I didn’t get a much rain as you did but it was still mushy in the yard. But just being outside, in the sun, in January, was wonderful. Glad that you had a good day at the Farm.
    Wow, what a great surprise with your peach tree. “Life finds a way.”
    Delicious looking turkey! Lots of good meals coming from that great bargain.
    Those farm-themed blocks are so perfect for the Farm.

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    Replies
    1. And now we got even more rain. It'll be awhile before it dries out. And yes, life finds a way, always, ha. Good turkey meals coming periodically!

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  4. We have puddles of water, too, but we almost always have puddles. Your turkeys look delicious. Now I wish I had a turkey to roast.

    Love,
    Janie

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    Replies
    1. Turkey is good randomly throughout the year isn't it?

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  5. Sounds like all and all you had a pretty good day; clear skies, birds singing, fruit tree in bloom, some weeding don and away for all the city noise & traffic. I say that was a great day at the farm and then coming home to the great smells of a turkey cooking. Couldn't ask for much better.

    Love them wooden blocks and what a great stocking gift.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A good day at the farm out of the city is ALWAYS good. And there is no mistaking the smell of turkey cooking, ha. I be the neighbors were like "is that TURKEY??" LOL!

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