Author: Jeanne at No Rhyme or Reason Farm

September – And the Walls came Tumbling Down

Jeanne at No Rhyme or Reason Farm Chester County, Homestead, Renovations, Uncategorized

After all our renovations, the last thing we want is for walls to come tumbling down.  But, there was one wall that was really annoying me.  It was a cinder block wall on the southeast corner of the spring house ruins.  It wasn’t so bad during the summer, covered in vines and weeds; but once we started clearing the meadow and cutting/shredding more of the ubiquitous brambles and briars – the wall started to stick out like a sore thumb.

 I’d been eyeing that wall since we first looked at this house.  The cinder blocks were a blot on the landscape and an impediment to the natural flow of the spring.  Chris took a sledge hammer to it.  I’d like to say it tumbled into individual cinder blocks with one hard hit.  That’s not exactly how it happened.  Over the course of a couple of days, armed with a metal wedge and the sledge, he chipped away, chipped away, chipped away.  Good practice if he ever needs to chip his way out of jail!  Some cinder blocks broke into pieces, others stayed whole.  We used the broken pieces for fill; the whole ones are up in the “bone yard” where we keep odds and ends of things we’ve found on the property (old metal fence posts, old bricks, etc.), just in case we ever need a cinder block or two.

 Once the cinder blocks were out of the way, we found old pieces of galvanized metal that may have been the roof of the spring house at one time.  That was another project to dig them out.  With the cinder block wall and the galvanized metal gone, the spring now flows more directly into the stream rather than making a boggy mess.  Now we’re left with the next step of the project — hauling out all the rocks that have collapsed into the inside of the spring house.  We’ll pile them up to the side and wait for that day when we can rebuild the spring house to its original beauty.  I found a picture of what I want it to look like…someday.

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The spring house ruins — with the cement block wall. What’s it there for anyway?
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We started knocking it down — at least it’s progress.
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A pile of cement blocks to be sent to the “bone yard” in case we ever need cement blocks.
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How I want the spring house to look some day… when I win the lottery.

August – Organization

Jeanne at No Rhyme or Reason Farm Chester County, Homestead, Renovations, Uncategorized

I love organization.  Everything should be in its place.

The one place we had not organized was the basement.  The basement is damp and dark and has spiders and things.  It’s not a place I’m apt to “hang out” in order to spend time organizing.

Holiday decorations, luggage, and other stuff we didn’t need in the house were deposited there when we moved in last October.  While most things were in storage bins, some things were still in cardboard moving boxes.  We put 2” x 4” boards on the floor to keep the boxes dry – but it was an unorganized mess.  Ugh.

With the rain we’ve had, everything kept getting damp.  We didn’t realize how damp until two weeks ago when we opened the basement to retrieve our luggage.  It had grown mold.  It got hosed off, scrubbed with soap and disinfected with sunshine – and it was still disgusting, so we bought new luggage that will now be stored in the attic.

But, we still had a moldy basement.  We bought shelf brackets, hardware and a dehumidifier and spent two days in the dark, dingy, damp dungeon – cleaning out cobwebs, building shelves and throwing out moldy stuff.  The dehumidifier tank holds 90 pints of water.  Chris empties it twice a day.  The basement floor is the driest it’s been since we found this place.  It must be sucking up water from the springhouse because it just keeps filling up, and we keep dumping it down the drain.

Finally, it feels cool and dry, the shelves are in place and it’s organized!  But I still don’t like the spiders.

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From piled up stuff,
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And things shoved on shelves —
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To this organized shelf of extra paint,
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And shelves of canned goods and kitchen supplies;
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And neat shelves of holiday decorations! It’s organized.

 

August – Carrots

Jeanne at No Rhyme or Reason Farm Chester County, Farm, Garden, Homestead, Uncategorized

I wasn’t sure how the garden would do this first year.  We had obstacles to overcome – rocks, stones and gravel – to begin with, questionable soil, and then pesky rabbits.

But those little seed packets seem to have overcome the odds and continue to amaze me.  I planted two kinds of carrots – typical orange Nantes carrots and a specialty pack I picked up somewhere of “rainbow” carrots in a variety of colors – purple, yellow and white.  Despite all the impediments in the soil, the carrots have grown fairly large, and mostly straight.

Digging the carrots out has been a bit of a challenge; the soil just doesn’t seem to want to release them.  I thought a good tug would be sufficient, but it has taken a variety of digging tools to pry them loose.

Then they need scrubbing and peeling; but if you peel a purple carrot – you get an orange carrot.  That’s just not fair.  I wanted purple all the way through to add color to my soups and stews.  So I scrubbed them extra hard and left the peels on.  Then there is the chopping and blanching and chilling in a cold water bath and drying and then freezing on a cookie sheet.

The “girls” ate well — they loved the peels, and eventually – I ended up with two big bags of frozen carrots – a gallon of orange and a gallon of colorful ones.  Now I need a cold fall day to make a big pot of vegetable soup.

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Our rainbow carrots.
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The problem is, when you peel the red carrots, they are just orange underneath. That’s not fair.
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Blanched and ready to freeze.
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Peels and scraps for the girls.
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They’re happy!

August – Birds of a Feather…

Jeanne at No Rhyme or Reason Farm Bird Watching, Chester County, Farm, Homestead, Uncategorized

So the saying goes, that Birds of a Feather Flock Together.  I’m not sure exactly what that means in relation to our bird feeder.  There are a lot of birds flocking there, and squirrels – which aren’t birds at all, but apparently, think they are.

Chris takes good care of the birds – the feeders are always full and the bird bath always has fresh water.  We’ve been rewarded by a growing number and variety of birds that frequent our front yard.  Whether it’s coffee in the morning or a drink in the late afternoon – we sit in the rocking chairs on the front porch and watch the rotation of birds.

There is the constant fluttering of cardinals, blue jays, nut hatches, wrens, sparrows and gold finches, sometimes interspersed with red-bellied woodpeckers and downy woodpeckers and an occasional blue bird.  The hummingbird feeder in the back yard gets an infrequent visitor – but at least we know there are hummingbirds around.  And flying overhead are hawks, black birds and sometimes turkey vultures.  The other day we had something new and ran for the bird book – maybe some sort of an Oriole.

It’s a great place for bird watching; apparently there is a lot of flocking going on.

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We have a colorful front yard. Red Cardinals.
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Blue Birds.
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And bright yellow goldfinches.
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Turkey Vultures.
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Red bellied woodpeckers — who actually have a red head, and I have yet to see their bellies, so I don’t know…
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And a “flock” of squirrels who are determined to get into the squirrel proof bird feeder.
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And these two — who clearly don’t belong at the bird feeder.

August – Meet Riley

Jeanne at No Rhyme or Reason Farm Chester County, Farm, Homestead, Renovations

About this time last year, we had to have our cat put to sleep.  She was old, wasn’t managing the move from our previous home to our interim stop at the Homewood Suites, and wasn’t going to live long enough to make it to the farm.  So with a heavy heart – I took her to the vet.  My daughter and granddaughter went with me for moral support.

The whole event, though sad, was done in a very compassionate way.  We stayed with Shadow while they gave her the shot and she peacefully passed away.  Arianna wanted to stay with Shadow for the process, but at five years old, I wasn’t sure what she really understood – and what she didn’t.  Once Shadow was “asleep,” Arianna announced it was time to go – so we did.

Now, a year later, they have a cat that needs a barn – and we have a barn that needs a cat.  Before bringing Riley to the farm, she needed to have her shots up-dated, and that has brought about a barrage of questions from the now six-year old Arianna.

Upon hearing that Riley was going to need shots, she’s been full of angst about how, exactly, does the vet know the difference between an “alive” shot and a “dead” shot, because she wouldn’t want Riley to go in for the shots to keep her alive, only to end up with the wrong shot.  She apparently has given it considerable thought because we had a lengthy conversation about the alternative ways they could keep the shots separate.  I suggested she ask the vet when they took Riley for her “well shots,” and she did.  Apparently the “dead” shots are under lock and key, the others are in the refrigerator.  That’s all she needed to know.

Now Riley has taken up residence on the farm.  Chris built “cat stairs” so she can get from the storage side of the barn where her bowl of food is — to the outside, by way of the run-in shed side of the barn and she’s on the prowl to keep the mice away.  She’s happy, we’re happy – and Arianna is happy that Riley only got the “alive” shot.

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Riley in the barn where she sleeps on top of the hay.
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Riley perched on top of a fence post under the roof of the barn, trying to keep out of the rain while surveying the pasture.

August – ABSOLUTELY No Rhyme or Reason

Jeanne at No Rhyme or Reason Farm Chester County, Farm, Homestead

We have just a little farm – and along with that has come a variety of “accessories” needed to help maintain the farm – a small John Deere tractor, a chain saw, a chipper/shredder, a snow blower – the normal, everyday variety of “guy toys” that require gas and someone strong enough to yank the cord to get things going.  Power tools.  I get it.

But now we’ve moved into a new realm.  A pick-up truck — a big 4-door, silver, Silverado, with a back seat.  The truck is nearly as big as the farm itself and just barely squeaks into the garage.  Apparently this became a necessity to haul hay for the two horses that reside in our pasture.  Mind you, our hay provider is barely five miles away and is more than happy to deliver a truck load for barely more than $19.  It takes a LOT of $19.00 hay deliveries to equate to the price of a new pick-up truck.  In fact, I think it would be about 2,315 hay delivery charges!

So, now we have a farm truck.  To me, a farm truck should look beat up and muddy.  It’s a badge of honor; it shows how hard the truck has worked.  This truck looks like it just stepped out of the beauty salon – everything is picture perfect, not a blemish, not a scratch.  I can only imagine how long that will last, and how upset Chris will be with the first ding, the first scratch in the bed liner or a spill in the extended cab.

But it fits right in – there is ABSOLUTELY No Rhyme or Reason for this truck – other than it’s a guy thing.  So why not, it’s No Rhyme or Reason Farm.

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Here he comes home in the “lumbering giant” that barely fits between our tree-lined driveway.
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It’s big.
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It does fit into the garage (thanks Forest Ridge Builders for building such a BIG garage!).

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But here’s some sticker shock.

July — What lurks on the farm?

Jeanne at No Rhyme or Reason Farm Chester County, Farm, Homestead

We’ve been clearing land.  We could clear land until the day we die and we’ll never clear it all.  It’s hard work, but it feels productive at the end of the day when you step back and see the progress.

The problem is, there is a lot to contend with as we bushwhack our way through the brambles, briars, vines and spindly trees.  The first problem is the thorns.  They rip up our arms and legs.  I look like I was in a fight with a cat – and the cat won.  The second problem is poison ivy.  As careful as I am, if I even look at the stuff, it sends out feelers and attacks me.  The third problem is ticks.  They crawl on the grass, they fall out of the trees, and they carry Lyme Disease.  The fourth problem is “things.”   “Things” like a box turtle, a weird frog – and a SNAKE.

Chris was running the trimmer into the tall brambles, oblivious to my screaming, running, and flailing of arms.  I climbed up the back of him like I was climbing a tree.  I wrapped myself around his shoulders and my legs around his waist – because I wasn’t leaving my feet within striking distance of that SNAKE.  He looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

I explained there was a SNAKE, a huge, long snake with BIG yellow stripes and it was looking right at me.  And it looked hungry!  I pointed out the direction it was headed.

“Where?” he asked, looking for a huge, long snake with big yellow stripes.

“Right there,” I insisted.

“It’s just a little garter snake,” he said, unimpressed, but I noticed he started pushing around in the brambles with a long handled rake after that.

I went to Home Depot and bought one of those Tyvek outfits.  They’re cute.  They’re a white, one-piece jump suit intended to be worn when you are painting.  The problem is, they only come in extra large, so I lopped off the bottom of the legs and the extra long arms (that didn’t fix the problem that the crotch came to about my knees).  I donned my new attire, tucked the pant legs inside of tall white socks, and figured this would solve problems one through four (above).

For the second time that day, Chris looked at me like I’d lost my mind, tried to hide his laughter and said I looked like I escaped from a mental institution.

I guess that’s what working on the farm will do to you.

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A cute box turtle
The frog -- hopping away
A weird frog, hopping away…
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And a snake skin! I didn’t get a picture of the real snake, I was too busy running away!

 

 

And MORE Bats!

Jeanne at No Rhyme or Reason Farm Chester County, Garden, Homestead, Uncategorized

What is it with zucchini?  If you miss one day in the garden, those sweet little miniature zucchinis that are smaller than the blossom still hanging on to the end of them suddenly turn into monster-sized zucchini baseball bats.

I prefer the zucchini somewhere in between the two – a little bigger than just two bites, but not so big that they are six inches in diameter, full of seeds and the length of my arm.  When they get that big, there is nothing else to do with them except…bake zucchini bread!

I love zucchini bread, but I’m not sure why it’s called bread because it probably has more sugar and fat than most cakes!  It’s an unhealthy mess, with a scant two cups of grated zucchini to add beautiful flecks of green – just so I can pretend it is healthy.  A bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream is green too – and probably more healthy than zucchini bread.

But given the over abundance from the garden, what’s a person to do?

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One day’s haul from the farm — 5 eggs, cucumbers, peppers, shallots, potatoes, yellow squash, a few small zucchini — and a couple of baseball bat-sized zucchini because I turned my back on them for ONE day.
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Yummy!

BATS! And I’m not talkin’ baseball…

Jeanne at No Rhyme or Reason Farm Bats, Chester County, Homestead

I do love the fact that the farm has a variety of wildlife.  We love watching the deer wander through and stop for drink by the stream.  The rabbits are a bit frisky right now, chasing each other and playing some version of leap frog in the back yard.  The birds start chirping early in the morning and have alleviated any need for an alarm clock.  It’s a lively place.

A little too lively.

About two weeks ago, I noticed some “clutter” on our front porch.  For a moment, I thought maybe it looked like droppings, but it seemed an unlikely place for a rodent, adjacent to our front door.  I looked up into the rafters, and there was nothing there – so I swept it away.  The next day there was more, and then more.

When my daughter arrived for dinner one night, I showed her our new curiosity.  “Bats,” she proclaimed.

BATS!  Nesting between the roof of the porch and the exterior (thank goodness) wall of the house.  Mind you, they’d have to get through 18 inches of stone to get INTO the house, but still, between the porch roof and the exterior of the house is just too close for comfort.

I used to like sitting on the front porch.

I’ve asked Chris to seal that space with “Great Stuff” or barbed wire or whatever it takes to keep them out of there.  He thinks it’s cool that we have bats and is happy to sit on a mosquito free porch.  I’d rather have mosquitoes.

We’ve compromised.  I’ll get a bat house that we can mount on a tree on some part of the farm that I NEVER visit, and this winter, when the bats are gone – he’ll seal up that space so that they can’t return there.

In the meantime, I’m only sitting on the porch in a hoodie sweatshirt and long pants.

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An inviting front door…not where I want to find bats!
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Nesting up between the porch roof and the side of the house.
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And leaving this mess every morning to welcome anyone who dares to venture onto our porch.

July — The Bone Collector

Jeanne at No Rhyme or Reason Farm Chester County, Homestead, Uncategorized

We found the skull of some sort of animal – probably a fox, a while ago.  And we’ve dug up an assortment of soup bones, cow bones and “who knows what” bones as we’ve been clearing the property.  I know there are bones around, yet it’s always a bit startling to be raking leaves and uncover bones.  In the front meadow alone I’ve found two such “burial grounds” for whatever they may have been.

It has happened often enough that Chris’ friend Len provided the proper attire for clearing our property of bones — a “Bone Collector” shirt.  Now I hand him his shirt and a shovel and tell him I’ve found more…

Here is the most recent find.

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An Assortment of bones
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Couldn’t have been that big of an animal, maybe 30 inches long — ribs, back bone, etc. — scattered across the ground. I guess finding the bones is better than finding a dead animal!
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A box of bones — what’s a bone collector to do with all these bones?