Category: SA Times

We are down to three guineas and have been since last fall.  But guineas have their politics, too, and it’s a rough and tumble variety.  Apparently there are two males and one isn’t about to let the other get in on any knoodling.  They chase and chase and if male #2 stops to rest male number one pecks on him.  When it’s time to call it a night, #1 will station himself just inside the door to guinea tower and peck #2 if he tries to get it, sometimes causing Joyce difficulty when she’s trying to round up her fowl and get them in for the night.

Meanwhile, the ducks spend a lot of time at the pond and two seems to be a much more compatible number.  I wish they would eat the cattails but they will probably eat the plants we’re going to plant in the pond area.  They are supposed to arrive next week.  Joyce didn’t remember exactly what she ordered but it should be interesting.  Those dang plant and gardening catalogs will lead one astray this time of year.  About July we often wonder what the heck we were thinking when we ordered plants.

Today Joyce and I hauled some topsoil form the pile to fill up our garden boxes.  Our goal for the day was only one row and that took four trailer loads.  The tractor saved a lot of effort but it was still a lot of work.  I knew I couldn’t get all three rows done today but I figured one row would accommodate the plants Joyce ordered for the garden.  They are supposed to be here next week, along with what she ordered for the pond.

Kari got tired of the birds soiling her front porch.  I’d never seen that before but it seems they fed Elmo the cat on the front porch and it was the leftover catfood that attracted the birds.  Joyce tells me Elmo will take his meals from here on with the other porch kitties at our place.  Goody.

Thursday evening I played a round of golf with Gary Shewbert.  As cold as it was Monday through Wednesday, it was hard to imagine that it would be comfortable weather for golfing on Thursday but it was.  I hadn’t played since last fall and I enjoyed the round.  The weather was just about ideal.  It was a landmark day for Gary.  He hit a hole-in-one.  Yes, these are very short par 3 holes but we are pretty bad golfers so I figure it’s the equivalent of a decent duffer hitting a HI-1 on a regular golf course.  We didn’t even realize the ball went in.  Gary did hit the green but the shot wasn’t on line with the pin.  It hit something that made it star rolling toward the pin and I figured it might wind up close but I stopped watching it and started walking toward the green.  When we got there we could only see one ball, which was mine.  I knew Gary’s ball should be on the green so I looked in the hole and there it was.

I’ll spend a couple of days in Austin on business early this coming week.  It’s been a while since I’ve been to Austin and I’ve never spent much time there.  Should be interesting.  I hope the Norks don’t nuke as they’ve threatened to do, at least while I’m there.

Temperatures as low as the teens last weekend into the early part of this week pretty much took care of any fruit crop we might have had. We plant the fruit trees, water them, trim them and fight the insects that attack them only to have all effort wiped out in a single night or two. Oh well, one of these years conditions will be such that all the fruit trees have bumper crops and we’ll be covered up with cherries, peaches, apples, pares, apricots and plums. One thing about it, there is the possibility the freeze reduced the pollen in the air that was causing so much discomfort to those afflicted with hay fever.

Later in the week it warmed up even though the wind continued out of the north for the most part, what little wind there was, which wasn’t much. That made for several very nice days in a row, including Saturday when them girls were able to run and play with abandon. Which was good because when the Wylies arrived Friday evening and turned their three little girls who had been cooped up in the car all afternoon loose I was afraid the walls were going to buckle and the roof fall in on us.

As for me, I got the garden beds squared away and, with Chris’s help, the rest of the cattails cut down, which involved getting into the pond. We were able to wear Dad’s old galoshes to keep our dainty feet dry. Not at the same time, of course. I started out with them on but Chris wanted to try them, though his feet are smaller than mine, which are the same size as Dad’s. I was happy to let him, considering it wasn’t any fun bending over and cutting the cattails off. We finally got them cut down and sacked up, though, and I’m happy. I think my ducks will enjoy the extra space to paddle around. The cattails are by no means eradicated but I should be able to control them if I stay after them. I really don’t want to have to go through clearing them out again. Way too much work. As I’ve said, a few would be nice for aesthetics, depending on how much work it is to control them.

Monday evening when it was still too cool to work outside after work I re-racked my wine. Part of that process is tasting it and it had made a big improvement since I last racked in December. I’m encouraged. Meantime, the 2011 vintage is rounding into form. We shared a bottle with H&E when they were here and the didn’t spit it out, so again, I’m encouraged.

 

A pair of mallards were taking their ease in the pond Saturday morning when I started my work.  That’s the first we’ve seen of them and it seems early but we’re glad to have them, as always.  There’s a good chance it is the same pair that was around last spring.  They weren’t shy and stayed put even when I went into the enclosure to get a stick I needed.  There was an unauthorized cat in there as well, no doubt wishing it could get its nasty paws on one of the ducks.  The mallards finally took off when Chris and I started trimming the big elm on the south side of the enclosure.  They probably didn’t care for the noise we were making but I’m confident they will be back. Continue reading “Ducks for Easter” →

Devon and Dennis stopped by on their way home from their Colorado ski trip. It was a little chilly for a weenie roast so we made Chris grill them while we stayed all comfy inside. The kids played out side. Not too cold for them. Jill and her girls and H&E arrived the Friday before so there was lots of company on SA. Since they arrived we’ve had weather ranging from truly nasty (cold and wind) to unbeatable. The latter gave the Wylie girls a chance to get out and enjoy SA. They don’t get a lot of opportunity to get outside with lots of space to run and play in at home. They got to participate in a weenie roast and play on the tractor some. For them, SA is a great place to visit.

For me, it’s a lot of work. Saturday Chris helped run the leaves I’d raked up out of the pond after I let it partially dry up through the shredder. Once shredded I put them on the caliche mounds and will eventually cover them so they will decompose. When we finished my project I helped Chris put dirt around his patio. We used the tractor and trailer to haul several loads of caliche from the mounds to the patio. Once we had the caliche spread at the base of the patio and tamped down, we put a layer of topsoil on top of it.. Rain will cause some maintenance headaches until the grass grows over the berm but who knows when that will be.

Jill and Kari took advantage of the warm afternoon Friday to tackle the lily pool. It had been five years since the last time we cleaned it out and that really should be done every year, every other year at the most. The mini hurricane we had last summer seemed to have filled it with crud and done away with the fish. Could be that the inch and a half of rain in 15 minutes created such a run off that the fish were able to swim out of the lily pool, much to their detriment. The lilies were so over-grown they were taking up too much space and it was a real bear of a job to get them cut back. It being Friday afternoon I was reluctant to pitch in when I got off work but couldn’t just stand around and watch them do it. I changed into shorts so I could step into the pool but by the time I did so they had gotten the biggest pieces out and all I did was help them finish up. They plan to take their daughters to the pet store and let each of them get a gold fish to put in the nice clean lily pool.

Hans’ back started giving him trouble before they left Switzerland but they came anyway hoping it would get better. It didn’t and they had to cut their visit short. Poor Hans was reduced to having to be wheel chaired around the airport and on and off the airplanes. They hope to come back at Christmas if Hans’ back is OK by then.