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My Designs ~ Green Living ~ Alternative Energy

Hey After Two Weeks I Have a Garden Growing April 5, 2009 10:49:07 We have had two weeks of cold wet weather with a few sunny days. When the sun shines it is warm but we just have not had that much of it. It is supposed to rain again today and maybe a small chance of some snow tonight. It snowed a few inches last weekend and melted right away............................. Read More White, White, White and I Wish It Was Green March 29, 2009 09:45:11 It rained almost all day yesterday with the temperature at one point about 40 degrees. It was not a big downpour but just a steady rain. Then sometime during the night it changed to snow and we awoke to this. ............................ Read More First Vegetable Garden Planting 2009 March 25, 2009 08:57:53 I finally planted some seeds and onion sets on Sunday evening, March 22nd, 2009. I say finally because I probably could have planted several days earlier and I made myself wait. The ground is not very warm and the forecast was for rain which can turn into a real mess with the seed rotting in the ground or the ground getting beat down so hard on the seed it cannot make it through when it germinates. So, it is risky to plant ahead of a rain any time of year. That is at least in my garden, because in some spots the ground can get hard on top when it dries, and especially the smaller seeds cannot push through the crust. Then if it turns off cold and rainy the seed will most likely not germinate very well and it will rot in the ground. I had that happen to some crops last year............................. Read More March 1st Pruning Apple Trees on a Cold Sunny Day March 4, 2009 10:09:32 We have two apple trees. I kick myself for not planting more fruit trees over the years. I think it is one of the best things I could have done so think about it folks. If you are going to be where you are for a while, plant some fruit trees. In addition, plant some nut trees. Maybe some hickory nuts or pecans but, they take longer to get anything back in the way of food. About 20 years ago I went back in the timber and dug up a couple of oak trees, a sugar maple, and what I thought was a shagbark hickory tree and planted them in our yard. All of the trees have done well but to my disappointment the shagbark does not seem to be what I thought it was. At least it is not a shagbark hickory. It may be a regualr hickory but so far it has produced nothing except shade and taken in some CO2 from the air............................. Read More Shut the Lights Off on March 28, 2009 February 22, 2009 10:14:06 I am continually turning off light switches in our house. It seems odd, because it is just the two of us here these days. But, it really bothers me to see lights on when they do not need to be. Someone in the household, and I will not say who, is very bad about not turning lights off before exiting a room. I read recently about a building being constructed that would turn the lights off automatically after you leave a room. What really burns my butt is all the lights left on in cities. And sometime when you are out diving at night notice the car dealer lots. They are illuminated like a baseball diamond in a night game. The problem is it is not just for nine innings but all night long............................. Read More A February Break in Winter Weather February 10, 2009 12:25:26 It was about 58 degrees when I got up this morning and it has been sunny all day with light winds. It is too nice to find excuses to sit inside so out we go to start some longer term projects. As is so often the case when I have a goal in mind it seems I have to begin with several steps that are in preparation and not actually working on the actual job I want to do. In this case, the goal is to expand my garden, have a place to plant some grape vines, and possibly plant about a hundred asparagus plants. In order to actually do the expansion and then the planting I will have to build a new fence around the newly cultivated area because it is currently used for pasture for horses. We could have three more horses come on the place this spring............................. Read More Riding the Roller Coaster Weather Machine February 5, 2009 10:22:00 It has been cold all week. After a nice warm weekend it got cold again and has stayed cold all week. We had a low of about 5 degrees Tuesday night. Yesterday was nice and sunny but it never got particularly warm. Today the wind is blowing about 20 mph right out of the south which sounds warm but the temp so far is about 28 degrees so it is miserable outside. The warm ups are nice but getting there is the hard part. When the wind is out of the south the front of the house is really cold and hard to heat. We just do not have anything to break the wind from that direction............................. Read More Winter Snow Makes Everything A LIttle More Difficult January 28, 2009 10:31:27 It has snowed twice in the last three days. Not a lot. Just about 3 inches total. Needless to say, I was not excited. I do not have a good wood supply in because I was too busy doing other stuff last week and got caught by surprise. I guess the lack of snow so far had made me complacent. So now we will have to deal with the snow while trying to bring some wood in............................. Read More For A Garden Brimming with Beneficial Life January 23, 2009 09:56:07 I cannot say enough about the catalog we received a while back from a company called Gardens Alive. We have ordered stuff from the company before, items like beneficial insects to help control flies in and around the horse barn. I think sometime in the past I must have look through their catalog but this time I was especially impressed............................. Read More January 2009 is What Else? Cutting Firewood January 20, 2009 11:56:56 I heat our house by burning wood. We have done this for the past 33 years and I do not intend to stop anytime soon. It is work but it is satisfying. The wood comes from the farm on which we live or else from neighbors farms who happen to also be relatives on my wife's side of the family. Above is the field I will cross to get back to the woods. At this time of year it is essential the ground is frozen. The temperature today is about 20 degrees. Even at that temperature the bright sun can begin to thaw the surface after several hours............................. Read More

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