Excuse me sir, what aisle is the warmth in?

Saturday April 26th
Dear Diary,
Today I am using you to start a fire.  It is still cold.  Where is warm spring?  What ever happened to Global Warming?  I just don't feel it.  Hindsight is 20/20 they say and I bet, just maybe that the name should have been changed to Global Cooling.  It seems as if we are living on the edge of a glacier.
I may just grow my garden indoors this year.
There are two kinds of temperatures I don't like.  Cold and Hot.  I know, I know, "don't want much do I?"
I mean if the folks at Moen (buy it for looks, buy it for life) can master the art of the mixing valve and maintain absolute perfect water temps then maybe we should look at hiring them to create a giant atmospheric controlling machine that would maintain a 80 degree day during the summer, 50 degrees in the fall, and 31 degrees in the winter and 70 in the spring..  It would put out the perfect amount of rainfall, sweet cooling breezes, fresh snowfall once the current stuff got ugly and with perfect weather we wouldn't have to worry about anything else.  Alright back to reality.  PS I don't have a diary.  More like diah...oh nevermind.

I have been working on the list.  It is getting shorter.  Down to one page now.
I will spend this morning painting the bathroom trim and hanging the towel rods back up.  I didn't get much time during the week to do anything other than set the nails on the trim and caulk it all.  Kaitlin had three soccer games and I worked all 5 days this week so not much was accomplished on the homefront.  No problem though as I enjoyed watching the soccer games even though the weather was terrible.

Once the bathroom is done I will move outside.  I really need to get the dead trees cut down on the property line.  My friend has set up three bee hives on the back corner of my property and the new bees are due in a week or so.  I don't want to be out cutting trees right next to the bees.  They might take offense to it!
You know that old saying,"Don't cut trees and tease the bees unless you say please".
You never heard that one?  Yeah cuz I just made it up that's why!

He will add a few more stacks to the top of these as the bees build it up and fill it with honey.  It will be great for the garden.  My own giant pollination machine!

Last weekend I also re-potted all my tomato seedlings.  They were getting pretty big.  I start them in the little 6 pack cells that you normally see them in and when they get about 4" tall I re-pot them into solo cups.  

I put a little potting soil in the bottom of the cup (after punching holes in it) and plant the tomato in the soil all the way up to its first set of true leaves.  The first two little leaves that emerge when the seed sprouts are feeder leaves.  They contain just enough food to keep the seedling going until the real leaves emerge and the process of photosynthesis can begin.  Once the real leaves are out you can pinch off the baby leaves and bury the stem right up to the leaves.  All those tiny little hairs on the stem will develop into roots and you will have a lot larger root system for your plant.
This year I have 7 different varieties of tomatoes for a total of 44 plants.

The first pic shows how tall they are and the second shows how short they are planted in the cup.  The cups are great because they are cheap and you can reuse them almost forever!

I also finished the wood splitting and stacking.  Here is the before.

It was taken this winter after I burned the entire firewood garden fence.

Here is the pile from the front yard.

In process, one of two loads

End result

Everyone needs a helper!

Don't forget to always make time for play!

and to finish a quote which inspired me this morning,

“No matter the journey, one will always face opposition, whether in the form of competitors, enemies, meddlers, saboteurs, incompetents, and the like. The simplest way to defeat them all is to accomplish what you set out to accomplish. Don’t let them divert your efforts into undesirable directions. Don’t let them convince you that compromises are advantageous or necessary.”

Excerpt From: Patrick, Sean. “Alexander the Great.” Sean Patrick. 

-Bushman

The Madness in the Fire

Chapter 7
...and the earth shall burn
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"The discovery of nuclear reactions need not bring about the destruction of mankind any more than the discovery of matches"
-Albert Einstein
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The minutes passed ever so slowly as she huddled in the corner of the living room in the old, rotting abandoned house.  Her son lay curled in a tight ball with his head in her lap.  She gently stroked his hair.  It was long and it needed to be cut.  It had been weeks since she the old pair of kitchen scissors had broke.  She made a mental note to keep an eye out for a new pair.  She laughed at the thought of how many pairs of scissors she had at home.  Who knew that they would become such an important tool in these harsh days.
Danny moved slightly, he murmured something softly and she realized she had stopped stroking his hair.  It was how she got him to sleep when he was a baby and it seemed that it still worked.

What a change their life had made.  They had been living in a safe, secure neighborhood on a quiet little street, both had maintained good jobs, Danny had attended a nice school and it seemed all was perfect.
Now they were on the move, never stopping for more than a day or two.  Living in tents or run down houses, eating whatever they could salvage or catch.

It had started slowly.  Danny was born a few years after the first power plant went down.  The stories spread about the poisoning of the oceans and at the time it didn't seem as if that one plant would have much effect on the ecosystem of the ocean.  Life went on as normal until the second one went down.  This one was wiped out by a hurricane.  Still it didn't seem that bad.  Local fish kills and quarantines.  By this time however, the radiation at the first plant had begun to unleash its power upon the people that were in the area and they began to die at an alarming rate.  Yet it still did not affect her or her family.  It was in another country and although she felt bad for them it was their problem not hers.  Wasn't much she could do anyways.
When the third one went down a few months after the second the world began to get nervous.  The third one was triggered by another tsunami just like the first.  The affected countries began to beg for help from the U.S. as the cost of containment and cleanup began to reach the billions.  Officials in Washington DC declined, the cost of carrying the worlds troubles was taking its toll on home soil and the good 'ol US of A just couldn't keep it up.  This infuriated many throughout the world.  Those who thought it was the responsibility of the greatest country in the world to pay for everything.
The door opened for an entire new class of terrorism.  Revenge based attacks.  Out of the 104 operating nuclear plants in the U.S. 23 of the largest were attacked.  Most by hijacked aircraft that were flown into the structure just like the Twin Towers of 911.  These attacks were much easier because they used smaller planes that were locally hangered. Some used guerilla tactics and simply over ran the security at the plants and then planted demolition charges at precise locations.  It was simple, quick and easy.  It didn't take much to knock out a nuclear power plant.  They were bombs just waiting to go off if you could just light the right fuse.  Later on the remaining plants, abandoned at some point or another, melted as their automated cooling systems went offline.

This force the power companies to produce more coal based power and they just couldn't keep up.  The populations affected by the attacks began to slowly migrate to other areas of the country.  Ghost towns began to pop up everywhere.  This led to more unemployment, crime and poverty.  The government was forced to hand out more and more money to those displaced.  They took their time, neglected a good portion of those people and it was politics as usual.  This turned out to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Many activists and hardcore private militia types began small scale attacks on local power companies.  Setting explosives in the coal fired power plants and knocking them offline.  Then sending demands to the government which asked for  payment, jobs and housing for those affected by the nuke plant terrorism.
The government initially began paying these claims which turned out to be the worst decision ever because it opened the door for every Tom, Dick and Harry to start blowing up the local power companies, which they did.
It wasn't long before the country was in chaos.  Martial law was put into effect.  Curfews were set.  Anybody caught outside after 10pm was shot on site.  No questions asked.  You were an assumed terrorist.  With the chaos at hand the government began calling all its troops home to deal with homeland security issues.  This in turn led to a worldwide free for all.  Russia began to reclaim all of its prior territories such as Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Armenia, Georgia, Latvia and the list went on.  China began bolstering it's forces as if on the brink of war and North Korea invaded South Korea almost immediately after US troops left and within a month had gained control of the entire southern peninsula.  Without the aid of the US the United Nations had shut down.  Effectively endangering the entire world.

As more and more lawlessness spread people began to abandon urban areas.  The crime rate was so high that 2 out of every 10 people were mugged, raped or beaten.  It just wasn't safe to live in the city.  Entire metropolis's began to shut down.  The first to go were the ones that were oceanside.  With the world in turmoil the shipping industry fell flat.  No longer was it safe to travel the worlds oceans and with the demise of the shipping jobs many port based cities collapsed rapidly.  Unable to maintain the unemployment and police the crime.

They had left after she had been attacked.  In a normal world not filled with chaos and death she would have taken the bus to and from work.  The bus would stop at Danny's school and together they would walk the three blocks home.  In this new world the transit system was no longer operational, she no longer had a job and she had to walk to pick Danny up.
In broad daylight two men grabbed her off the sidewalk, drug her down an alleyway and beat and raped her behind a stinking garbage container.  They stole what little she had and left her in a heap on the cold concrete.  Eventually she gathered herself up, there were no police around to help anymore, limped to the school and retrieved Danny and headed home where she cleaned up as best she could.  Danny was too young to know any better but when Jimmy got home from work she told him she was mugged.  She did not tell him about the rape.  He was infuriated but knew there was nothing that could be done.  It was then he decided to leave.

Three months later here they were in an abandoned city.  90 days was all it took. The country and the world had simply fell apart.  60% of the country was now without power, China and Russia had declared war on each other and it quickly went to a nuclear disaster.  Most of the entire Eastern world lay in a radioactive cloud of dust.  The middle east was quickly going up in flames too as the muslim world laid waste to Israel and systematically began eradicating the Jews reminiscent of World War II Nazi Germany.  Then they began to war with each other.  What little exportation of oil was happening ceased entirely.  The European power houses began to feel the pinch as they quickly lost power and oil and soon began crossing each other's borders in search of natural resources.  It wasn't long before the tanks rolled out and soon the entire European land mass was at war.  It seemed as if the floodwaters were rising and there was no Ark this time.
Everything and everybody was sick and dying.  The entire world had just fell off the brink and was hurtling into a new age.  The age of death and fire.

She looked down at Danny, a tear slipped down her cheek.  Jimmy was off checking on the bridge crossing and he should have been back by now.  She was getting nervous. She gently repositioned Danny's head off the swell in her mid section.  She had known for awhile but Jimmy was not aware.  She had been hiding it.  It wasn't his.  She didn't know how to tell him.  He had believed her when she told him she was only mugged not raped in the alley.

I don't Have Time to Have Time!

What a pleasant morning it has been.  Coffee, a book, a little internet browsing and peace and quiet.
Then I decided I had better make a list of things that need to be done around here so I can get the ball rolling.  Our last minute rush of winter chores has been stalemated for a bit now.  I confess I lose interest in things real fast.  My wife says it's ADD.  I call it slow multi-tasking.  If I have many projects to choose from then once I grow bored with one I simply move to another.  So on and so forth and eventually I return to the original project.  However this time I may have overdone it a bit.  Now that the weather is in the air I have to add the outdoor projects to the indoor projects list  Spring is in the air and before long the grass will be growing.  After making the list I was already tired.  Damn how did so many things pile up on me?

On a brighter note we added some new furnishings to the house.  A new living room ensemble and finally after many years of agitated and painful sleep... a new bed.  I haven't slept so good in a long, long time.  We picked up a memory foam mattress and it is wonderful.  The living room is half furnished right now while we wait for the remaining pieces to get shipped in.  Gone is the microfiber sectional couch that was worn and lumpy.  Now we are equipped with a new leather sofa, love seat, tables and lamps.  Well almost.  Still waiting on the loveseat and lamps.  In the mean time I have moved most of the old furniture into the garage until I finish the downstairs where it can be re-purposed.  Then I'll have to find a place for the futon that is sitting in the den.  Couldn't pass up the deal we were offered.  We had looked last year but it didn't fit in the budget but after our tax return and some of momma's hard work at her second job and some intense budgeting we pulled the trigger.

The downstairs bathroom remodel still needs a few things.  I have one set of shelves installed over the commode.  I found some budget shelves for under $2 each at the big box store.  They didn't have finished edges so we picked up some decorative moulding and I will use my brad nailer to attach it to the face of the shelves and paint it white.  A few more corner shelves and it will be done!

So you want to see the list do you?

OK

Finish moving table and hutch downstairs

Caulk and paint trim in stairwell

Paint upstairs bathroom

Caulk and paint trim in downstairs den and hall

Paint trim in downstairs bath

Finish shelves in downstairs bath

Touch up grout under door in downstairs bath

Seal grout in downstairs bath

Finish brick behind wood stove in den

Re-pot tomato seedlings

Mulch and de-winterize chicken coop yard

Finish cleaning yard (front and sides)

split and stack remaining wood

Split and stack new wood pile in front yard

Repair garden fence

Cut down dead trees on back property line

Clean up ice storm debris on south side

Burn all the brush collected from ice storm

De-winterize lawn tractor/change oil

Roll lawn

Repair gutters on back of garage (ice storm/terrible winter)

Install all the mini hoop houses in garden

Catch that damn mole that is terrorizing my yard

Change oil in truck

Fix or sell daughters old car

Prep snowmobile for summer storage

There is probably more that I am forgetting but that should keep me busy for a few days.

I'd much rather sit here and sip coffee and work on my book but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

I almost forgot (see I told you)  that wood pile in the front yard?  Yeah that is where I got stuck last Friday.  I had left in the morning to go pick up a load of free firewood from a lady that had a giant sugar maple cut down and was giving away the wood.  When I showed up it started raining and it didn't quit so I loaded in the rain and on the way home I had a blowout on the trailer so I had to change the tire, in the rain, and when I got home I tried to drive up to the wood pile and only made it about 25 feet off the driveway before the truck and trailer sank into the lawn.  I had to unload all of the wood in the front yard to lighten the load.  Then when I unhooked the trailer and turned it to pull it out of the way of the truck the trailer tire sank into the yard and I couldn't budge it.  I had to get the floor jack out, jack up the trailer and put boards under the tires and then pull it out of the way.  Then I had to do the same with the truck.  The wheels were buried about half way.  Once everything was unstuck I spent some time filling in the ruts and tamping the lawn back down.  All this in the pouring rain.  So that is why there is a pile of wood in the front yard that needs to be taken care of and you can also add lawn repair to the list!

I had better get busy!

-Bushman

Springing Into a New Beginning

Spring is here, the snow has almost departed completely.  A few piles remain steadfast but their existence is futile.  My backyard is almost entirely clear.  The wretched winter has left the yard war torn and in shambles.  The ice storm has littered the ground with every shape and size stick or branch possible and in one case an entire limb.  The grass has been pummeled by the thick slabs of packed snow which over winter formed a mini glacier across my one acre.  Frequent galavanting on the snowmobile hardened it even more.
But alas it has released its grip.  Soon the cleanup will begin.
The one thing about spring that I don't like is how soft the ground is.  The dogs, if let be, will run around and tear chunks of sod up with every step so there is no chasing the ball or frisbee.  Poor Remmi has been hounding me every minute.  His expression is priceless. "Please Papa just throw the ball ONE time, just once Papa!"

Planting is just a mere 6 or 7 weeks away and I have already started my seeds indoors.  I made a quick and simple little starting house in the downstairs den.  I chose this location because it is the same room with the woodstove.  Keeps them nice and warm.  I started them Sunday night.  I used mostly leftover seeds from what I purchased last year and a few from new seed packets this year.  Currently I have 72 cells which I have planted seeds in.  Almost half of them have already germinated.  Tomatoes mostly.  That is a new record for me.  Thursday morning I noticed them before I went to work.  Not even 4 full days after sowing!

I will not be doing as many vegetable starts as I did last year.  I have enough planted to cover my garden, a backup for everything I do plant in my garden and then a few leftover that I can pick and choose from when selecting so I get the healthiest plants.  Whatever is leftover I will most likely give to my friends who have helped me or loaned me things in the past year.  Not too many people borrow things from me but I am an avid borrower so it's nice to give back a little.  Last year I grew a lot of plants and sold them to offset the cost of my new garden, the seeds, soil etc..  This year the costs of gardening will be minimal and I can give them away.  Money is nice but the feeling you get from giving is way better than the feeling you get from getting!

I throw a blanket over the whole thing to hold the heat and also have a heating pad under the tray.  The dome keeps the moisture in while the seeds germinate.  Now that some have germinated and others have not I need to remove the new seedlings and place them on the first shelf without a dome otherwise they will dampen off and die.  Once the rest germinate then the domes will be used for the next round of germination which will be a couple flats of flowers.

I have a digital thermometer placed on the soil.  Many seeds need warm soil to germinate as in the case of peppers.  75-80 degrees.  The heating pad helps with that.

If you compare the two pics you will notice that I have elevated the original flat off of the heat pad.  After a day or so I noticed that the soil temps were too high sitting directly on the heat pad so I inverted an empty flat and placed that on the pad and then the vegetable flat on top of that.  The empty, upside down flat now acts as an air insulated warmer for the upper flat.  The pad heats the air in between instead of the soil directly.  This picture has the temp reading 81 degrees on top of the soil.  Almost perfect.  Once the seedlings grow a little more I will drop the heat down to 70-75.

I also did something a bit different this year with my seed starting mix.  Last year I used a straight seed starting mix which has virtually no nutrients whatsoever.  I found last year that the seedlings struggled a bit while trying to establish in the seed starting medium.  Traditionally the starting mix is only used to start the seeds and get them to their first set of real leaves.  Then you are supposed to transplant them to a larger container with better soil.  I found that the seedlings just weren't strong enough to transplant as suggested so I had to coax them along in the sterile seed starting mix until I felt they were strong enough to survive transplant.  It was frustrating and I was a bit concerned on their survivability at all.

So this year I decided to use a pre-fertilized potting mix and a seed starting medium.  What I did  was take a bag of potting mix, the one that says 'will feed for up to 3 months' on the side and I filled my trays with it.  I wet them down and then pressed the soil with my finger to remove air pockets.  Then I dropped my seeds on top of that and then covered them with 1/4" to 1/2" of the seed starting mix.  I needed the seed mix to let the seeds germinate in the right environment with all the air, light and heat that the seed starting mix allows the seed to receive.  However once the seed germinates and begins sending out roots it will hit that potting soil blend and have all the nutrients it needs to promote a healthy growth.  Soon after I will be able to transplant into a larger container with all potting soil.  I hope it works.

I did pick up a few new tomato blends this year.  The peppers I kept the same as last year as they were such a beautiful crop.  Best peppers I have ever grown!  here is a pic to prove it!

Here are the flowers I will be growing again.  Zinnias.  Last year they were so awesome.  I did save a lot of the seeds from the heads of these flowers and I scattered them around the property last fall.  It will be amazing if they come up this year.  I hope so!

Earth laughs in flowers-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy sunshine,

-Bushman