I told El Jefe I had to get pics before I managed to hit a deer with it, since that is what I've done with our last two vehicles, within a short time of acquiring them. The deer have it in for me. The feeling is mutual.
Due to the acreage I have to mow (and the paths down to the river), and the driveway that will need plowing, and the wood that needs hauling, we now own a Cub Cadet. It has all kinds of cool features like the cast iron driveshaft, blah, blah, blah that make it really sturdy. It has cruise control. It has... a cup holder (?). I had so much fun driving it around the property last night (oh, yeah, it has headlights, too), that I decided it must be illegal, immoral, or fattening. Then I realized, that was probably the cupholder.
Actually, since everything greened up here Saturday, and we realized that we may actually need to mow before the middle of May, that we should get the tractor now (also that whole "same as cash" financing thing helped - I'm not happy about monthly payments, but we're about to finish up a $300+ monthly payment in May, and this one is half that, so it actually fits in the budget, even if it annoys me). And we do need the tractor.
In other pleasant news, we've been sitting on the balcony every morning to watch the sun rise and listen to the birds sing it up. I noticed this morning that two of the fruit trees have blossomed. This is pretty but it is NOT good. We're not going to get any fruit if we get any real frost. And it usually snows here in mid-April, so I may be hanging at the Ag School Fruit Sale again in the fall. I couldn't tell you which fruit trees they were without climbing down and trekking there to look at the bark. (I don't know what is planted where from the view from the house yet). There seems to be apple, cherry, and "unidentifiable to me" which might be pear. I would guess the cherry would blossom first, but I could be wrong. I would love to have some cherries to dry for cherry pork roast, and some cherries to make jam (my second favorite in the world next to rhubarb). We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, I've had to open the doors on the hoop house because it was at least 90 degrees in there. I'm going to plant some (old) seeds there today, and just hope for the best, because I can't stand not playing in the dirt in this weather. I figure since they are two and three year old seeds from cold-weather crops, I'm not out anything except time if they don't sprout, and I might get some return for my labor... and really, I just need a couple hours to play/recharge after homeschool is done. Which is where I'm off to now - to do botany experiments we couldn't do when we lived in the apt and the weather was bad...
Sounds lovely! I would love a cherry tree- we have apple, peach and pear. Maybe I'll put one in. Do you make jam from the rhubarb? I'm always looking for ways to use mine.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could get a peach to survive here! Supposedly there is a variety that will... someday maybe I'll find one.
ReplyDeleteI make jam from the rhubarb (my dad loves it, too - plain rhubarb jam with NO other fruit added), and also chutney, which is great in the crockpot with pork roast or chops (or just on the chops at the table if you like to cook them in the oven. And lots of rhubarb crumble, since it's easier to make that gluten-free, than it is to make a g-free pie crust. I also have a few other weird rhubarb recipes I've been meaning to try - rhubarb slush for one. And we've had rhubarb fruit rollups - but not for a long time - I guess I should dig that one out and see if the kids like it. I'll be glad when I get my rhubarb planted here at the new place. Right now I have to buy it.
Xa Lynn