Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Early Spring!!!!

 

The clover and early Spring grasses are growing quickly now even though it really has stayed relatively dry the last couple of days. Truth is we have had some rain about everyday as I still am forced to dump some water out of the goat feeders almost every afternoon when I feed but it has been dry enough that I have managed to get a good bit of yard work and early garden work done as well.

In fact the garden itself is entirely ready for planting except for putting down a new layer of hay now. I fixed all the trellis and supports, removed all the old ties and basically have everything else ready. I have my first initial rounds of seedlings started and hopefully sprouting under the grow lights inside now and any day I can go out and start the potatoes and corn rows,  All I am waiting for now is the next cold front that is being predicted as coming through here by this weekend and bring a series of storms with it.

Believe me when I tell you I have fallen for April promises way too many times only to see massive rain storms come through in early May and destroy all my hard work to move things ahead too fast right now.  Truth is even early June around here is pretty iffy when it comes to storms but since I went to the solid hay ground cover I have generally been able to avoid any real damage as long as I wait until May.  The hay also stops the massive weed growth in the mud too which is another garden killer for so many people that get a good one going only to find themselves completely rained out for weeks in early May and their gardens totally over grown when they finally can get out into it. 

I certainly hope things go more back to normal for me work-wise this Summer as I have not been able to get any repairs around here done along with routine maintenance since the scandemic got into full gear. The first few months were easy but then the shortages  started and the high demand on vehicles. Even though everyone claimed there was no inventory to sell we still somehow managed to get a shipment in almost every day that of course needed immediate attention. I don't know if we are seeing a new trend this week yet as it is too soon to say but I have not seen a delivery now since Saturday which is the first time I have had so much free time in months.

Right now it seems the Super Duty factories have kicked into high gear so I been getting more than a few of them that some customer has been waiting half a year for and need them NOW. But MSRP does seem to be falling and I think enough customers balked at the new interest rates and refused the new deliveries that things are changing. Like I said I hope it falls back to more normal and manageable levels like I worked under before this scamdemic which should leave me with enough income and free time to keep up with routine maintenance as I see how this Summer pans out. 

I tell you all I am anything but certain how this is going to end and for the first time in years I truly am worried. Not for paying my bills because I really have none. We have no loans and own our property free and clear but that doesn't protect us from inflated taxes, government theft of property or high energy prices etc. While there won't be any agents showing up to repossess our land or anything like that I still hope to be able to get my barn roof repaired and have heat this next winter other than just what I am able to cut and split myself. If things come to a grinding halt we can survive for some time but that doesn't mean it will be pleasant either. 

First on the list is being sure we have enough stored food and surpluses from this Summer to survive another Winter and enough firewood to keep the small wood stove going, Only a fool would count on this next Winter being anywhere near as mild as this last one. I cannot say what is real right now as I hear so many conflicting reports and predictions but something isn't right so I urge everyone to keep that in mind.


Keep Prepping Everyone!!!



2 comments:

  1. winter has been unreally mild here but get in as much slab as you can
    maybe rent a trailer to bring in bigger haul each trip for a couple of days
    too bad son is so far away
    'off grid with doug and stacey' just built a greenhouse
    the high winds will undoubtedly get worse so any green house will have to be tied down tight'
    thinking it would be kinder to your bones as you age and a propane heater could fend off freezing in this very odd weather we are having

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    1. deb - I am making some plans to eventually be just very small here. My problems right now are that I still have a fw critters to take care of so I am trying to down size while making sure I can take care of things as they are until all the creatures are beyond my care. Drop things too soon and it causes problems so I just need to plan to remain as I am for a few more years.

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