Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

[CedarLane]

Not irresponsible, but It is dangerous to other motorists to leave a deer in the middle of the road, not to mention all the car parts someone else had to remove off the road.

I understand about picking up the car parts.

They should have at least reported it.

As I said, around here, the police may not show up (at least not for a long time. (My husband has hit more deer than he can count, and the police rarely come out unless he specifically requests it for some reason. He doesn't even report all his deer hits to the insurance company unless they cause serious damage. Car insurance can be really expensive here. Moved 15 miles and insurance went up again....)
Edited to add: He can and will move a deer out of the roadway if necessary. If I hit a deer, I know that I would be unable to move it....

 

[Callender Girl]

I just realized this morning (in the wee hours when I am definitely NOT sleeping) that I haven't been on this thread for a while. I'm glad to see you missed me, Jim and Lisa! Or, at least you were aware of my absence . Thanks!

I have been taking advantage of the unseasonable weather to do lots of outdoor stuff -- all the things I always say I will get done before cold weather and snow set in, but never do.

I have a list of 10 projects I wanted to complete before winter, and 8 of them are now done! I had installed metal roofing (just used cheap Menards sheets, not the heavy duty stuff) on two small coops earlier this fall but was having issues with the third, larger one. This week, I figured out how to attach sheets to the goose house.

I've also hauled buckets of goat poop to the garden as fertilizer, picked up more dog poop than I ever imagined came out of my dogs and think I've figured out how to block a hole under the garage door where mice chewed up the rubber seal.

A wonderful handyman repaired my bay window so wind doesn't whip into the dining room anymore, and after he was already paid, David volunteered to repair my snow blower and change the oil so I don't have to hand shovel the driveway this winter. Now that I am prepared, I expect there won't be much snow -- and that's fine with me!

All the while, I have been battling whatever weird virus I picked up when I went back home the first week of November. After three weeks of endless, painful coughing (it was bad enough that my ribs hurt when I coughed -- or breathed!), I went to the doctor. Tested negative for COVID, strep and the flu. So, as many across the country are learning, unless you are hospitalized, you probably won't get a specific diagnosis. It's just "a virus."

I was prescribed prednisone, but I did some research. I had used that with some of my dogs and knew there would be side effects. Since prednisone doesn't "cure" a virus, it just masks some symptoms, I didn't take it. Instead, I drank lots of turmeric and ginger tea, ate as healthy as I possibly could and rested (when I wasn't coughing myself awake). Aside from my left ribs, I feel pretty good right now.

And I too wonder what became of Anjanette.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Nice to hear from you Barb. Sorry you have been sick. I picked up some unknown virus this past week too. Seems everything is a hodgepodge of symptoms. I got to remember what throwing up felt like. I would not take prednisone either unless there is no other choice. It is a steroid. My tea of choice is green tea. I drink tons of it. I swear it helps to flush out viruses.

I too am trying to keep up with the poop pick up here. Every time the snow melts I get at it. With 7 dogs it can become a mess quickly come spring, so the more I get up on this end of it the better.

 

[Callender Girl]

I drink Constant Comment green tea daily. I just thought I'd step up my game and add the turmeric ginger as well as Traditional Medicinals Organic Throat Coat Lemon Echinacea tea.

Sorry about you throwing up. I was coughing so hard that I had a couple of episodes of that, too. Hope you start feeling better soon -- although I felt as if I would NEVER feel well again.

 

[jvls1942]

Barb !! Glad to see you back.. I hope you both get over the yuckies soon. Annie had a bad cough a couple of weeks ago. it lasted about a week.. I had only a slight touch of it. I coughed only a few times a day. for about two days.
My kraut is 11 days old. Yesteday I thought I could smell it. so I checked it. It had about a half inch of moldy crud on top. I scooped off about an inch of the top layer. mixed up a cup of brine. poured it in and it went out of sight. mixed up another cup and this time the liquid covered the kraut about an inch deep.
Then I did some research and it told me to do just what I did, How about that !! I will have to keep a closer watch on it from now on.
I guess I was lucky when I had my Maremmas. They always went way across the field to drop their presents. never had a mess in the yard..
The geese, on the other hand, had a hard time missing the concrete step in front of the door.

 

[Callender Girl]

Until my geese decided to begin relieving themselves on the concrete slab in front of the front steps. I had no idea goose poop would destroy enamel exterior paint.

Good intuition on the kraut, Jim! And, it's great that you and Annie didn't get this hangs-on-forever crud. Hang in there, Lisa. You will eventually get well again.

As the weather is getting closer to normal December temps, I am spending less time outdoors. That means I am running out of excuses for doing indoor tasks. I need to purge so much stuff that I used to use, love, wear, take care of, etc.

It reminds me of the old truism about how to cook a frog -- don't put it in a pot of boiling water, just gradually raise the temperature so it doesn't notice it's getting cooked. My clutter has been slowly increasing until I'm pretty sure it's about to boil over!

 

[jvls1942]

So true Barb, so true.
When we got our first apartment, it was unfurnished. we had no furniture. we ate our first meals off of a cardboard box and sat on the floor..
Now I look around me and wonder,, where did all this stuff come from ???
Why are there only two of us in this four bedroom house ?
Which items are really necessary for our comfort and survival ?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'm back to feeling normal again Barb. Thank you. I could use more sun. I'm going to have to pull out my full spectrum light.

I've been getting rid of clutter for a few years. A little here, a little there. It's a long slow process, but it's best done slowly so I'm sure I'm ready to part with the stuff.

 

[Callender Girl]

Lisa, I loved your things-to-do in Wisconsin. I believe Iowans also indulge in those.

I hope Wisconsin weather is as good as mine has been! Yesterday, in the 50-degree afternoon, I dragged the ladder out of the garage and washed the glass in my bay window. I don't ever remember a December so warm that I even considered window washing. Some of the perennials in the yard are starting to green up again!

A friend asked me this week how many books I have. Counting, I realized I should get rid of some. My enthusiasm for the project didn't last long; as I chose books to get rid of, I would read a page or two and change my mind. Sigh. That's how much of my decluttering goes.

Biggest excitement of the week: My wretched, evil rooster's feathered feet were covered in blood. Despite knowing he always wants to kill me, I scooped him up and discovered he had nearly ripped off a spur. I'm used to my Faverolles tearing off toenails, so I pretty well knew how to deal with the injury. He is now back to his normal, spiteful self.

Second biggest "thrill" of the week: My trusty, old low-tech cell phone finally bit the dust. The folks at the Verizon store were great and didn't try to oversell me some fancy, dancy phone that I didn't want or need (which has happened to me before). I was able to get a replacement phone for $100 that does everything I need for it to do. But, it's DIFFERENT than my old phone. Since I don't do well with technology in general, any change makes me uncomfortable, even when it's a change for the better.

While it's still warm, I need to haul some more goat "fertilizer" over to the veggie garden. And, install the new vents on the Taj Ma-Coop before the real December arrives.