Words for Wednesday

noTTafarmers have an affinity for cottonwood trees; there are several huge specimens around the acreage in varying stages of life. They continue to whisper to us as we go about the business of yard work and tending the garden. Be sure to listen during your next visit.

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!

Garden Gets Goin'

The vegetables were finally planted on May 22 - just in time for our first heat wave of the summer. This year, we are looking forward to eating and sharing:  red bell peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, green beans, and rhubarb. Plus, we'll have decorative gourds and Indian corn for autumn decorating.

Scott added a bag of top soil to each of the four raised beds to replenish some of the volume lost over the last two years. This will be our third year of gardening!

We planted one bed with three rows of Triomphe de Farcy beans (aka skinny green beans). The gourd seeds were planted outside the east wall of the fence. Scott is hoping they climb the fence like they did last year. (I still need to get out there and get the Indian corn seeds planted.)

The beds were ready to go and awaiting our helpers (Carl & Marita.)  

Speaking of helpers...you just can't complete a task at noTTafarm without some help from a cat! Bibbers checked out the newly-planted tomatoes while Wilson patrolled the east fenceline. There are 8 total plants; 4 cherry and 4 standard size. I am anxious for my first BLT of the season!

Wilson checks on Dad and gets a bonus head-pat. Teamwork! 

Planting the gourd seeds.

By Memorial Day Weekend, the beans had sprouted. This shot was taken May 28 on day two of our 100-degree heatwave.

Marita decided to try broccoli this year instead of eggplant, a move I whole-heartedly agreed with! We've got six healthy plants, soaking up the sun. Yummy!

Stay Tuned for More Garden Progress!

Girl Power

The month of May has been quite spectacular for the noTTafarm family, particularly for the girls. We have celebrated the births of two baby girls, a Masters degree and a new business opportunity.

Our Niece, Chelsie . . . 

 . . . has been selected as one of five finalists in a contest sponsored by Cozad (Nebr.) Economic Development and could soon be the proprietor of a new shop. The winner of the contest gets free rent in a downtown building and all sorts of professional assistance to get the first year of the business up and running. This photo is a still from a video describing her business idea that she produced and submitted. A final presentation will occur in a couple of weeks. I hope I soon get to post that "Sweet Water Outfitters" is open for business!

Our Niece, Karli . . .

. . . graduated on May 5 with a Masters degree in accounting from the University of South Dakota. She accepted a position with Lutz and moved lock, stock and kitties to Lincoln, Nebr. the day after graduation. Her new employer is giving her the summer to study for the CPA exam and will then start working in September. And on top of all this success, she and David are getting married in October!

Our Great Niece, Kree Julene . . .

. . . was born on May 16 at 4:44 pm, weighing 6 lbs., 14 oz. and measuring 20 inches long. She is the perfect little replica of big sister, Kitra. Her middle name was created by combining the names of Tyler's grandmother (my mommy) Jolene and Monica's grandmother, Judith. A wonderful tribute!

 Our Great Niece, Charlee Samantha . . . 

. . . was born on May 19 at 11:50 am, weighing 7 lbs., 4 oz. and measuring 21 inches long. She is going to have a great life as the youngest of four girls (and as the cousin of baby Kree!) Big sisters (from L to R in this picture) are Bailee, Allie and Maggie. Nick and Brooke picked the name Charlee to reflect generations of Wards named "Charles." We can't wait to see these six little girls in action!

Congratulations, Girls!

Won't You Be Our Neighbor?

Have we got a deal for you.

Actually, it's not our deal to offer but we do hope something good happens when our neighbors to the south sell their 22-acre pasture. It's been recently listed for sale and the realtor's description suggests that the land could be divided into multiple home sites. We are holding out hope that a single buyer will come forward to build their own dream acreage, maybe with a sweet horse or herd of mini donkeys. A suburban development including streets and all the associated traffic would definitely take some of the charm out of our quiet country living. So, if you know someone nice that wants to build in the beautiful rolling hills north of the metro, be sure to pass along this info. Or don't. We're not in any hurry. 😉

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!

"Some" Assembly Required

The first tool purchase of the new season has been made. Scott decided it would be a good idea to have a fertilizer/seed spreader to pull behind the mower. It would make spreading fertilizer much easier than walking a standard spreader around our multi-acre yard. He did his research and placed an order through Northern Tool. A few days later, assembly began. 

The Agri-Fab spreader has a 175-pound capacity (which is great) but it was delivered in a big box of loose parts. Scott sorted all of the nuts and bolts on the garage floor and carefully followed the 15-page assembly manual.

Assembly was a slow and steady process. 

The spreader also has a row of spiked wheels to aerate as it gets pulled along.

This is one of the diagrams included in the assembly manual. You can see why it took over 5 hours to assemble! Scott spent one entire Sunday, sitting on the driveway, putting this thing together. Once it was all together, he discovered that the hitch would not align with the back of the mower.

It took Scott another afternoon to hewn an adapter that would help the tongue of the spreader line up with the back of the mower. Luckily, he has a stash of steel in the barn. He found an appropriate piece, cut it to the right size and shape, grind off the sharp edges, drill bolt holes in the mower deck and the steel, add two coats of spray paint, and then bolt the whole thing together. Perfection in fabrication and utilization!

He was finally able to hook it up and spread 4 big bags of weed-and-feed around the property.

After all that work, it was a relief to have it operating correctly. Our yard should be dandelion free and lush and green. Get ready to run around barefooted! 

Check out this short video clip of the spreader in action! Good job, Scotty!

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!

Spring's First Flowers

Don't you just love the first blossoms of Spring? We are lucky to have a beautiful crab apple tree in the east yard that puts on a great show.

It's just too bad that the blossoms are so short-lived. We should invest in more flowering trees so we can enjoy bigger bursts of color each Spring.

Even the wild plum bushes along the driveway are briefly beautiful. Happily, it won't be too much longer and I'll be able to share photos of peonies, poppies and other blooming posies.

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!

Finally - a Sunny Spring Saturday

It was late April by the time the weekend coincided with warm weather. Naturally, we chose to celebrate the beauty of Spring by working in the yard.

To reduce stress on the mower, we raked the pinecones and needles in the south yard. Literally tons of pinecones had fallen over the fall and winter.

We scooped them all up and put them on a tarp in the back of the trailer. (Of course, we had to get the Ranger and trailer out; it wouldn't be a fun noTTafarm work day without them!)

Full trailer = proof of work produced 

One of the neat things about pinecones is how fast they burn. 

Wilson has been so happy to welcome warm weather back to noTTafarm. He's back to his usual full-day-outside schedule and patrols the yard regularly.

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!

Draft Dodger

Spring took its time getting to the Omaha area this year so we tried to break up our TV-watching time by doing tasks inside the house. One gloomy day, Scott chose to add some insulation to the tippy-toppy peak of the great room ceiling. It's one of those tasks that he wanted to do for years but just needed the incentive of feeling cold air streaming above his head to kick him into gear.

This pipe insulation was just the ticket to fill the gap along the peak. 

The big extension ladder was called in for the job. I was in charge of watching from below, poised to dial 9-1-1, if needed.

Remember way back when, when we stained all of those boards out in the yard to get them ready for installation? I miss those good ol' days (sometimes.)  

The task was short in duration but gave Scott piece of mind. Hopefully, we will keep a bit warmer next winter.

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!