If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

A to Z challenge again!

So how many of you dear readers like torture?  Seriously none of you?
Must be something wrong with me then.
I've gone and done it again.
Signed myself up for the April A to Z challenge.

A blog a day for the entire month starting with the letter A on the 1st and ending with the letter Z on the 26th.

Last year was my first year and I enjoyed it for the most part.  I wrote all my posts, "Johnny on the spot" style and there were a few day I struggled to get it done.

I'm not much of a pre-planner when it comes to writing so I'll be doing it that way again this year.

One of the reasons I was hesitant on joining this year is there is so much going on in April for me that I want to post about, such as my gardening and outdoor activities, and I didn't want to delay them a month to post about them so this year I am going to try and figure out a way to combine everything into one giant bowl of pudding.

I still have a few hours left to figure it out.
I am # 1645 on the sign up list.
Better late than never!

Hang tight,
-Bushman

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Bushman Celebrates Spring!

What a beautiful day! 
A high of 54 degrees and sunshine!  I couldn't be happier!

I planted my seeds this morning.  I started by using the old table out of my camper.  Setting it up with what I would need so everything was at my fingertips.


I poured a generous amount of seed starting soil into the tray on the left and filled my 6 cell trays right in it.  Kept all the soil in one tray.  Once filled to the appropriate depth I moved it over to the second tray and watered it.  You need moist soil for seed starting.  Then I would adjust the depth of soil in the cells per each vegetable.  Some are planted only a 1/4" deep and others a full inch. 
I put at least two seeds in every cell.  If they both germinate then I'll simply snip one with scissors later on.  After placing the seeds I cover them with more soil and water again.  Label and place in the greenhouse.
This went on for several hours.  Finally, with my back screaming from sitting in a chair so long, I was finished.

I turned on the thermostat and the lights and adjusted the heater and closed the front flap of the greenhouse.
The greenhouse is now resting comfortably at a balmy 85 degrees.  I'll adjust the temp once everything has stabilized.  I want my soil temps to be around 75 degrees.

I'm pretty happy with my set up so far.  108 plants ready to start growing.

With that finished I headed upstairs for brunch.  What do you eat at 11:30 when you haven't had breakfast?  Hash browns and eggs and then a bowl of vegetable soup!

Then I went outside and cleaned the entire backyard with the backpack blower.  I was mostly after the dog poo but it is great to blow all that air through the lawn.  Stands it back up, blows the leaves, sticks and poo out of it.
I also had a tree that I had cut down over the winter and never finished cutting it up because it got snowed in.  I worked on that a bit.  Burning up some of the small branches and cutting some more firewood out of it. 
It was a good day.  I'm happy again!
I've got some skinless, boneless chicken thighs marinating in a Hawaiian Luau marinade right now.  Soon they will hit the grill!
Bring on the summer, I'm ready!
Cheers!
-Bushman
 

Friday, March 29, 2013

Bring on the Seedlings

Hey there!
How ya doing?

Yep me too!

Just a quick update on my garden beginings.
I have constructed my seed starting greenhouse.

Moved it indoors.  Then took it apart because it wouldn't fit through the door to the computer room.
(rookie mistake)  I didn't realize the closet wall stuck out so far and so close to the door!

Seeds arrived today.  I have everything I need so far.  One more 4 ft. flourescent light would be nice.  My 4th one only has one working bulb.  I don't know what is wrong with it.  I even took it apart and looked for obvious defects.  Nothing.  I have one more 4 footer but then Momma would have to do laundry in the dark.  After my initial confiscation she now does laundry in the dim!

I'm running a heat test right now.  I have a small electric heater/fan in the greenhouse and I'm just running a few tests to see how well it stays at the correct temperature.  Soil temperature makes a huge diffrence.  For exaple:
A pepper plant seed planted in soil that is 60 degrees takes 25 days to germinate.  The same seed planted in 77 degree soil only takes 8 days to germinate. 

Once the seeds have germinated and have their first set of true leaves I can turn the heat down a bit and as they grow slowly lower the temps.

On the plus side it keeps my computer room warm as well.  Even with it wrapped in  plastic the heat transfers.



Not shown is the front piece of plastic.  I need to get in and out of this to water and shuffle plants around so I stapled a piece of plastic to the top and then rolled up a mop handle in the bottom and zip tied it.  When I want to get in I just roll up the front like a poster and lay it on top.  Simply unroll it to the floor when finished.  I have a couple binder clips on the sides to seal them up.

Tomorrow I will start the seeds.
 

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

What's on tap for Bushman's Garden?

Hey guess what?
I think I'm finally shaking the winter blues!
I am 6-7 weeks away from planting my garden.  It's time to get back to my own roots.  Starting my garden from seed in  the house!

This year will be my first in the new house.  I have had success on other occasions and this year I hope to have the very best.

My seeds have been purchased and according to tracking info will be here Friday.
So Friday is my goal.
I have some friends who are willing to cough up some cash for plants for their gardens.  It takes a bit of cash to get things going.  This helps a lot and they get great plants!  So on tap for Friday's planting are the following vegetables:

Brandy Wine
Probably the most famous heirloom tomato, the Brandywine traces its origin to the late 1800's, but was popularized in the 1980's. Plants bear large, 1+ pound fruits that ripen to a pinkish red. The fruits are renowned for their lush and rich flavor with much sweetness and a light acid overtone.
Brandywine Tomato Seeds - Solanum lycopersicum
Marianna's Peace Tomato
Reputed to be one of the best tasting and most expensive in the world.  Fruits well over a pound with lush red colors and rich flavors.
Marianna's Peace Tomato Seeds - Solanum lycopersicum
Mortgage Lifter
I have grown these before and have had fruits up to 3 lbs.  Meaty and rich flavors.
More of a pink than red tomato
Mortgage Lifter Tomato Seeds - Solanum lycopersicum
Pineapple Tomato
Bright yellow ripening tomato, often with red stripes. Beefsteak-style, fruits can weigh up to two pounds! Excellent mild flavor, few seeds, meaty flesh, fruits on a heavy bearing plant.

Roma
The classic paste tomato. Several inch fruits are meaty, with few seeds and are perfect for sauces.
Roma Tomato Seeds - Solanum lycopersicum
Beefsteak
The classic huge tomato, the Beefsteak bears large fruits that weigh 1-2 pounds. Classic flavor, meaty flesh and big fruits!
Starburst Tomato Seeds - Solanum lycopersicum

For my pepper selection  have chosen:

Ancho Chile
An improved version of the popular Ancho pepper. Originally from Mexico, fruits are classically used in mole and chile rellenos. Fruits can grow to 6" long, with a blocky, somewhat cone-shaped appearance.  I will be making my own chile powder with this as the main ingredient.
Ancho 101 Pepper Seeds - Capsicum annuum
Bahamian Pepper
From the Bahamas comes this prolific, slender hot pepper. The pointed fruits are borne in clusters, appearing like groups of fingers. Fruits grow up to 2 1/2" long and have a hot flavor, registering up to 100,000 SHU. Bushy growth and colorful fruits could make this variety attractive as an ornamental as well.  This guy will be dried and also pickled.  I will smoke some for chipoltes and also use this to make pepper water.
Bahamian Pepper Seeds - Capsicum annuum

Jalapeno
Medium sized green pepper, the most popular in the United States for eating and cooking. Mild flavor, 2000-5000 Scoville. Eaten raw or cooked, the jalapeno is an important ingredient in numerous dishes. When dried, it is known as chipotle.
One of my most versatile peppers.  I like to let them turn red, smoke them, dehydrate them and they are the best chipoltes ever.  Great for that smoky spice in chile.  Also my favorite for pickling with asparagus.
Jalapeno Pepper Seeds - Capsicum annuum
Banana Pepper
A fun sweet pepper that looks a lot like the Yellow Hungarian Wax, but without the spice. The peppers grow about 6" with a bright waxy color that will ripen to red. Use like any sweet pepper or bell pepper.  Anoither great pickler for me as well as a salsa ingredient.
Sweet Banana Pepper Seeds - Capsicum annuum
Keystone Bell
A large bell pepper and a great variety for classic bell pepper taste. Bears large fruits up to 5", with a blocky shape. Usually eaten while green, fruits have a sweet flavor and crunchy texture.
Keystone Giant Pepper Seeds - Capsicum annuum

Yolo Wonder Bell
Yolo Wonder bears similar, though larger fruits. Huge, blocky fruits grow to several inches, having thick flesh with a crunchy texture and a classic bell pepper flavor. Fruits can be used at the green or red stage.
Yolo Wonder Pepper Seeds - Capsicum annuum

California Wonder Bell
The classic bell pepper.  Available in all colors!
Orange Sun Pepper Seeds - Capsicum annuum

Straight 8 Cucumber
An extremely popular slicing cucumber with uniform 8" long, 2 1/2" thick fruits. Minimal seeds compared with other types and has delicious, crispy flesh
Straight Eight Cucumber Seeds - Cucumis sativus

That's it for right now.  That should keep me busy for a spell.  I'm happy to be doing something productive again.
This year should be a great year (weather permitting).  I put up 56 quarts of vegetables last year.  This year I'm shooting for over a 100.  I will be purchasing a pressure canner for all of our green beans and corn.  I have a new addition called pepper water which I will be bottling as well.  More chipoltes and smoked peppers as I'm almost out already.  Dehydrating and grinding my own chile powders.
Of course with the addition of the pressure canner I can make more salsa without the addition of all the vinegar taste I had to use before.  Dried and chopped herbs galore as well.  Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Oregano, Dill for starts.
I will post pictures Friday or saturday morning of my set up.  I am building a mini green house on my omputer room!
Ciao!
-Bushman

Friday, March 22, 2013

Nothing

Another 50 hour week has passed me by.
Winter still keeps it's grip upon the land.
I'm still fat and grey.
I've joined a garden chat forum on the web. 
Getting ready for spring should it ever arrive.
Other than that.....nothing.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

400 Posts!

Wow!  About all I can say.  I have hit 400 posts.  To me a milestone.  To others, a year.
I took a moment to read through some of my early posts.  A lot of joy and sorrow filled pages.

Some posts have me laughing out loud and others I will not read.


I wish it could be more celebratory.  In the end it doesn't matter.  It's just what runs through my head.

This winter finds me cold.  In and out.  Searching for warmth and walking by when I find it.
It needs to end.  I am out of patience.
My first post took place on September 27th 2009.
I found this one during that first winter.
I have found this post, (something very similiar) every winter since.  Seasonal depression is what the shrinks would call it.  I call it misery.
Happy 400!

 Winter Blues



 

A Dream Awakening

I awoke from a dream in which I was at a high school friends house, chatting leisurely and playing cards while drinking coffee.  It was a short dream.  I didn't recognize any of his other friends.  Weird how that can happen.  My mind just creates these dream"seconds" and puts them in the dream or are these people that I have seen before but have forgotten?
There must be a correlation somehow.
I wonder if they receive a salary for their acting? 

In the dream as i entered the room I did take my shoes off, well actually they were my work boots.  I stood at the door mat wiping them over and over again while I scanned the room for evidence of footwear.  All I noticed were socks on the people in the room.  Their shoes were all piled at the door.  None of them were work boots.  They were nice shoes.
I removed mine.
Even in my dream my sub-sub conscious noted the shoes and directly related them to a status symbol.
I asked the friend what had transpired after high school. 
He had went to college and graduated and had a good job, though I don't remember what he told me.  I can remember shoes from the dream but not what his profession was.  I'm guessing it didn't matter the dream wasn't about his profession.
It seemed as if the dream took hours and also seconds at the same time. 
I awoke and lay there thinking.  What was that all about? 
The more I thought the more confused I became.

Is this what I expected my life to turn out like?
I love my wife and step children.  I wouldn't trade that.
I just wonder sometimes.  I never pictured myself working where I do.  Doing that type of work.
It's an honest living but by no means is it what I want to do.

Is it OK to just take the safe route?  The tried and tested.  Work, eat sleep for 50 years and then just eat and sleep for the remaining?  I've been working for about 24 years now.  I figure I have at least another 20 to go.  I won't even go into the whole social security thing, It won't be there when I need it.  All the money I've paid in over the years will be long gone. 
It just doesn't seem practical to live all these years working your ass off for what?  To pay the bills?  To drive a car or truck that essentially just gets you to work and back.  The circle of life is just that!  Round and round you go where you stop no one knows.  Bull!  I know where you stop! 
As you lay there on your death bed.  Your final thoughts, " why was I the only one in the room with work boots?"

The days slip by so fast now. 
Grey hair replaces the sleek black.
The fast black.

I feel anxious.
Always in a hurry
I'm halfway to the finish line
and only steps from the start.

From wake till sleep
a blur, a robotic dance
mindless, numbing

You awake one day
and your hands are gnarled
Your strong back
won't stay straight

The shine in your eyes
is lost to the haze
hiding, you hope

To see the light
is one thing
To hold it and feel it's warmth
is another

Do you posses the strength?
Is the will there?
Do you fight for dreams?




 

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Spring ahead to the garden! Hurry!

Spring ahead fall behind.  Been listening to that nonsense for many years now. 
I love the spring ahead.  The whole waking up an hour early thing can be tough though.  Now I have to wake up at 3:30 am.
How many of you do that whole count the hour thing. 
You get home from work and your like well it's normally 3:30 but it really is 4:30 or is it 5:30?
I do this for everything. 
Then I try to rationalize with my dogs about why they are being fed at the wrong time.  They don't really care but I find I must explain it to them mostly because it helps me to figure it out. 

Why can't we just add 15 minutes a week for a month and call it good?

I finished my painting of the upstairs.  The 2 bedrooms and bathroom are still just plain white.  I do want to paint the bathroom but that will wait for now.  I need a new color for it and it's not in the budget.  The upstairs paint was purchased last year but these things take time.  I never rush into a project that takes a lot of concentration.  I have to want to do it to make it look good.  If I rush just to get it done it usually sucks!  All I had left to do was paint the trim and doors in the hallway anyhow.
Set the trim nails, caulk, tape and paint.  It looks good.  I would post pics but taking pics of the interior never works out well and you usually can't see the colors anyways.

After that I had to restock my interior wood supply.  I like to keep almost a weeks worth of wood inside.  I don't like bringing it in during the week. 

Then I popped a top and sat here.  Not much going on really.  Snow is melting and my yard is becoming a quagmire (giggity).
I think wood cutting season has almost ended.  A rough estimate of my remaining wood supply has me at about 10 full cord or 30 face cord.  (1 cord =3 face cord, 1 face cord is a stack 8 feet long and 4 feet high and 16 inches wide)

To think I will be planting the garden in a mere two months!  Can't wait.  Last year I planted early and had to cover the plants up to protect them from a late frost.  This year I have something new planned. 
I have been collecting oak boards from work.  They are roughly 3 feet long, 10 inches wide and 1 inch thick.  I will be making new planting boxes with these and filling them up with about 7 inches of topsoil, lay down weed fabric and then three inches of mulch.
Each bed will contain a water supply and a drip tube.  They will be connected to a main water supply and I hope to have that on a timer system.  The water drippers will deliver water only to the roots of the plants and there will be no loss due to evaporation and no overhead watering.  (bad for your plants)  It will also be buried under the ground and under the mulch so you will never see it!

Each planting bed will have hoops on it and a retractable cover for the hoops.  This will protect the seeedlings from the early season temperature dangers as well as harsh sun.
The coup de grace is everything will be weedless this year. (except for the corn)  I will be planting grass in between all the boxes.  I simply push mow in between them.  I have a new to me mower in the shed that has a nice mulching kit so it won't spray grass clippings everywhere.
There is a lot of work in prepping the garden but once it's done you just sit back and enjoy!

I want to build a trellis and a garden gate as well.  Plant it with morning glories and clematis.
Maybe this will be the year I build my garden gazeebo too.

That's all I have for now!
 

A long winter's repost!

I don't have much today.  I was reading through old blogs and found this one from Feb. 2011.
Seems as though this time every year is difficult for me.

Click Here for Repost!



 

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Somebody Please Shoot Me!

Well it's March already.  March is kind of a crappy month.  We are all anxious for warm weather and March is loaded with weird weather.  So far this March has just been plain cold.
I woke up this morning and for two weeks in a row I don't feel like cutting wood.  I should but I'm not going to.  So what else can I do?

Get a jump on spring cleaning.
I finished painting the kitchen today and scrubbed everything from top to bottom.  It took about 6 hours.  That's just the kitchen!  Ugh.  Gonna be a long spring.

Back to the reason I don't feel like cutting wood- there is something in my back, just above my right hip that doesn't feel right.  It's got me a little worried.  Normally things hurt and then they go away but this one has been with me for months now.  usually I just grit my teeth and push on. 
It's how I was raised.  "I ain't got time to bleed", to copy the famous qoute from the movie Predator.

Then to top it off this week at work I hurt my shoulder.  I think I just overworked the tendons but still it got me thinking.  I can't afford to go off on a surgery vacation.  Damn it sure blows getting old!
That is why I'm not cutting wood.

Not much else going on.  Thinking about gardening, camping and warm weather.
Sure makes me irritable being cooped up staring at all that white.
Our last snow storm dumped 4-5 inches of super saturated wet snow in the driveway.

I couldn't shovel it and risk injuring my injuries!  Now it's frozen.  What a mess!

I've been trying to sell some firewood at the end of my driveway.  I have a big stack that is 4 foot long and 3 foot tall for $15 but no one is biting.  The guy down the road is selling wood too and his is $15 and less wood and mine is better.  I can tell just by looking at it that his is still a bit green.

It's almost a competition now.  I don't like losing.  Also I need beer money!

That's all I have for now.  Stuck in the winter doldrums.

This is why God made beer.  How else do you get through this white hell?

Rule # 5

-Bushman


 

Friday, March 1, 2013

My First Earthquake!

It was an oddball lunch time at work the other day.  Of course being a bunch of guys in a shop we got to talking about sex and women.  ( we were already done talking about beer and sports)
One thing led to another and I asked the guys," have I ever told you the story of my first ever earthquake?"  They all shook their heads and so it began..........

The year was 1998.  Or perhaps it was 1999.  I don't quite remember although that song from Prince was super hot at the time.  Also ice cold Rocky mountain Coors Light was dirt cheap and I was single.  (single means 48% of your paycheck is allotted for such commissaries)

I had moved out to the Golden State of California.  Not named Golden because of the great gold rush and those 49ers like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice but because of the rolling golden hills which I had the pleasure of driving through many times. 
I was fresh out of a relationship (engaged) of about 8 years.  Dumbfounded, dispirited, heartbroke and cash broke I headed west into the great unknown.  Well not quite unknown.  You see my brother had settled there.  After 4 years in the Navy and quite tired of being called semen seaman he set roots in a small town named Forest Ranch.  Named for the forests and well......the ranch, I guess.
I believe the population in F.R. was around 200.  Although I only seen 12 of them.  Don't know where the other 188 went to.  Roswell perhaps?

My brothers little home was a cute little A-frame nestled on 10 acres I think it was.  We were situated about 20 minutes "up" the mountain.  Elevation- 2800 feet.  The road was a two lane highway that twisted and turned it's way up into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada's.  It was beautiful.  I miss it to this day.  We all worked down in the valley in a town called Chico.  (Presumably named after a Mexican boy)  Roughly an hour north of Sacramento 

I recall asking my brother on my arrival about earthquakes.  California is known for it's earthquakes and being an astute, drunken twenty something lad I thought it was best to know the what, where's why-fors and wither-tos of the all famous earthquakes.

Sadly he announced that Chico didn't really get earthquakes and Forest Ranch being up in the foothills at such an elevation was most likely to never see one.
I was a bit saddened but my grief was soon overcome by knowing that I didn't have to buy an earthquake helmet and those anti-vibration shoes I had seen on Amazon.

I settled into life in the golden state quite nicely.  Life was pretty mellow.  I loved the great outdoors and when you live in the mountains there is plenty of outdoors.  Anyway I'm getting off topic.
I awoke one weekend morning.  It was early, the sun was just beginning to shine down on our little patch of heaven.  (I had taken to calling it mine because I had been living with my brother and his wife for almost a year)  The horses were nickering in the pasture and I could hear our little clutch of chickens scratching around on the deck outside.  Frick and Frack, our little pygmy goats were engaged in eating the 2x4s that made up their little hut.  I smiled and made a pot of coffee.  I knew the smell would soon have everyone awake and we would begin yet another glorious day amidst our mountain compound.
The coffee was hot and the mug warmed my hands as I carried it to the couch.  I sat down, nestled deep into the overstuffed pillows and gazed out the window.  I did not turn the TV on.  I despise TV in the early mornings.  I like to watch nature wake up.  It is my thinking time.

I was lost in my thoughts when the couch began to vibrate.  The walls shook just ever slightly then a small jingle from the kitchen.  You had to sit very still in order to feel it and hear it.  It was very subtle. 
I couldn't believe it!  My first earthquake.  It lasted only moments and was gone.  My brother was wrong.  You could feel earthquakes up here.  I didn't know what to do.  I wanted to run upstairs and wake everyone but I knew they wouldn't have felt such a slight tremor. 
I waited with great anticipation for the rest of my household to awaken.  I couldn't wait to tell them the good news.

It was only a few minutes later when I heard footsteps coming down the steps.  The quake ( I had taken to calling it a quake, instead of earthquake, now that I wasn't a rookie anymore) must have woke them.

My brother plodded down the last step and took one look at me and asked, "what's up with you?"
"Did you feel it?", I asked.
"Feel what?", he cocked one eyebrow and looked at me kinda funny.
"The earthquake!", I stammered.

It was the then he let out a huge laugh.  He laughed until tears ran down his face.  I stood there waiting impatiently for him to confirm my geologic experience.
After a minute or two he finally catches his breath and says.........................

"We were upstairs having morning sex!  This old A-frame house isn't built that good and the house shakes every time we do it!"

What follows after that is unimportant now. 
I just remember that one brief instant where I had encountered natures fury and survived. 

Sort of!

My only solace is that I can still tease my brother about the shortest earthquake in California history!

Cheers and remember that bed gives off a lot more noise than you think!