Trying to take care of my little piece of the planet
Not quite done with mowing, but it’s raining so no way to wrap it up. Instead, I’m turning to another item on the to-do list, tackle the remaining trees downed in our ‘recent unpleasantness‘ a couple of months back. I confess that the logistics of untangling the multiple trees, the largest only about eighteen inches [...]
Posted on September 29th, 2012 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Energy | 1 Comment »
Chickens are fun to watch (if you have the time) because they are very curious creatures, especially the youngsters. I shot this short piece of edited video last evening at sunset. We had introduced four new Isa Brown pullets, about eight weeks old into the flock, by placing them in the coop the night before. [...]
Posted on April 26th, 2012 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Meat, Eggs, etc. | No Comments »
Yeah, I know. Cultural overload to channel Kirk and Kangaroo in the same sentence, but it fits the bill. All crazy on the western front. Work is insanely busy, spring is a month early. We have two new ‘rescue’ dogs, and my wife is squeezing ten years worth of out-of-town travel into six months. So, [...]
Posted on April 16th, 2012 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Gardening | 4 Comments »
Our little flock is down to six hens (Delawares and Jersey Giants), so it’s time to ramp back up. Thanks to a local business, Pittsboro Feed, who offers a variety of baby poultry during weekends in the spring, we have added four Hamburg pullets, and four Barred Plymouth Rock pullets. For a break from my [...]
Posted on March 26th, 2012 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Meat, Eggs, etc. | 1 Comment »
Crazy warm late winter here in central NC. It resulted in our fruit trees making it through without a late hard frost whackin’ the blossoms, as often happens. Below is a bit of video of the variety of pollinators busy on one of the plum trees. That clip merges in to another, showing what is [...]
Posted on March 20th, 2012 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Gardening, Nature Diary | 4 Comments »
OK, I took a vacation day. To make some progress on a project that needs finishing since spring seems to be happening on her own accelerated schedule this year. In this case, it’s my 25 year-old brush mower, that is no longer in production. Plus nobody stocks or makes parts for it. I have kept [...]
Posted on March 1st, 2012 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Projects | No Comments »
My wife returned yesterday from several days in St. Petersburg, Florida, doing what she loves most in the world. She won her class at the 2012 NOOD Regatta (National Offshore One Design). A photo of one of the other boats just like hers, taken during Sunday’s race is seen below. Yeah, almost TOO much fun. [...]
Posted on February 21st, 2012 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Leisure Projects | 2 Comments »
Yesterday, was the first full day with a fire in the woodstove, with the floor filled with re-located houseplants and the chairs full of cats, both seeking respite from the chilly wind. The counter was also filled with a premature pepper harvest, since there’s no good way to convince these cold-sensitive plants not to call [...]
Posted on October 30th, 2011 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Gardening, Rants and Musings | 2 Comments »
For years we’ve (thanks to my wife) managed to grow our own greens into the early winter, using some wire hoops over our raised beds. But it’s really difficult to cover and uncover each day, when you leave home before sunrise and get home after sunset. So we’re usually successful into early winter, but then [...]
Posted on October 23rd, 2011 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Gardening, Rants and Musings | 4 Comments »
For 99.99% of you: “Absolutely nothing to see here; keep moving….for God’s sake keep moving.” But for the other 0.01%, here we go: Items found at the scene of the crime are seen below. Here’s the deal. This blog was originally conceived as a DIY (do it yourself) for the SIY* crowd. (screw it yourself*) [...]
Posted on August 3rd, 2011 by jack-of-all-thumbs
Filed under: Rainwater Collection | 6 Comments »