We seem to have a lot in common! I just told Rich we might have to make a special trip to see you.
It's been hard for me to learn to live with the dirt (I used to be a neat-freak, and I guess I still am, or it wouldn't bug me so much). But I'm trying. At least no one can accuse me of having a "too-sterile" house! ROFL!
When (when!) we come visit, I'll bring you my cheddar recipe. It's kind of an eclectic conglomeration of several other recipes, but man, oh, man, does it make a tasty cheese! I'll bring one of the actual cheeses, too.
I know I need to do something about protecting my garden, but it comes down to finances (always...). What I would LIKE is to have a couple of big hoophouses, 16' x 50' that have at the very least, some kind of floating row cover or shadecloth material on them. Something permeable, anyway. Solid greenhouse plastic would likely cook everything in them. In the meantime, I'm going to try putting stakes down the centers of the beds, and (I'm still working on this part) somehow attaching some row cover material to the tops and then figure out a way to secure it at the bottom. We can see a storm coming in plenty of time to get out there and put the covers up in the direction it's likely to hail from.
There's a good windbreak all the way around the garden, so wind isn't USUALLY a problem, but sometimes I do have stuff laid down just from wind. Here's a picture of my pathetic attempt last summer. I worked SO hard on that garden, got an early start inside with most of the plants, and weeded and mulched every spare minute I had, and I still lost almost all of it. I did get a handful of tomatoes and actually 2 squash, and a few little peppers, but that was about it, aside from the lettuce and cabbage. So I guess it wasn't a total loss, but it sure was a lot of work for a very little return. Such is gardening.
That was shortly after the flood waters receded. But my lettuce (and cabbage) was whiz-bang!
And all my beautiful squash that was later destroyed by hail...
And see, there WERE a few peas that survived the flood! In there among all those turnips. But the hail got them, too.
(Sorry, I got a little carried away by garden pictures, but you'll forgive me because all I've seen since November 6th has been white. I ache for green!)
As for the rabbits and the deer, we've found a couple of Great Pyrenees dogs (sisters) that a very nice lady I know in Mississippi is giving us, but we have to go get them, or figure out a way to get them a ride up here. We have a bad fox problem (they decimated my chickens and guineas last summer), and mainly want them for that, but I figured they'd also keep the deer and rabbits at bay as well. At least that's what I'm hoping. They're smart girls and usually only have to be shown something once, so maybe if I hysterically run after a rabbit, cussing up a blue streak, they'll get the idea that the bunnies need to go live somewhere else. And keeping the foxes out would certainly free up a lot of my time. You wouldn't believe how many hours Rich and I spent last summer on "fox patrol," and we still never got one. We called the State Trapper finally and he caught 2 of the juveniles in traps, and one got hit by a car on the road, but we never did get the parents. They're whelping another litter as we speak...
Well, there I go, rambling on again. I've got things to do and daylight's a-wastin'! LOL!
I can't wait to meet you, too!
~Lannie
