Old Man Winter Has Arrived

Posted on November 12, 2014 by bygeorge

bird buffet . . . .

The weather forecasters weren’t joking when they warned of a “polar vortex” arriving in the northern Rocky Mountains. After 48 hours of howling winds and blowing snow, we were left with some 3-ft. drifts and plenty of misery all around. We observed Veterans Day digging out and dressing in every item of apparel we could layer on to take care of animals and daily chores. The high temperature for the day was 5 degrees above, but that felt like a heat wave compared to the low last night of -27 degrees.

working for a meal . . . .

This young buck mule deer was outside the window yesterday working on a pile of leaves and twigs I raked up and have not had a chance to burn. Foraging for enough food to keep warm is a challenge, and although I know we are not allowed to feed them, it makes you wish you could toss out a bale of hay to help them out.

the color of cold . . . .

We had some wet snow Sept. 10 and regular frost since then, but it has been a lovely extended autumn until we got slapped alongside the head with this storm. The carrots didn’t get dug and I am hopeful I can still save them. They are blanketed with a foot of snow but the temperatures are predicted to be even colder tonight. The rest of the garden is probably finished. Goodbye to my tasty spinach, kale, chard and lettuce crop. Finished canning as many tomatoes as I could stand and donated the overripe remains to the chickens and the pigs next door.

a startled starling . . . .

We were taking a late afternoon break with the news when we heard a strange rustling sound. We thought it might be snow sliding off the roof, but a quick look outside revealed no disturbance in the snow drifts surrounding the house. A quick trip to the basement turned up nothing unusual. A little later Bleu and Rosie approached the glass doors on the fireplace with great interest and Bleu jumped up on the hearth to get a closer look. A very angry, frightened starling was glaring at us as if to say “what the heck happened?” Was he seeking a little warmth atop the chimney and accidentally fell down into the fireplace?

“next you’ll want my autograph!” . . . .

The evening fire was laid and a few bad jokes flew around about what the poor bird would do if we lit it. Baaaaad jokes. To the rescue with a large plastic bag, I reasoned I could catch the bird if I opened the doors very carefully. The starling crouched behind the logs until the coast was clear and swooped out so fast I had no chance. He bounced off the ceiling, into the bay window, and made a crazy pattern of flying amok in all directions trying to find an exit. On to the kitchen, he bounced into the kitchen window so hard he fell into the sink and I had him!

you know it’s going to be a bad day when . . . .

I took my plastic bag outside, confident that I had a bird inside, and opened it to release him. Stunned, he just sat with his beak slightly opened and panting as if he had run a marathon. I stepped back inside to grab a coat, and decided I should have left him in a more protected spot to keep him from freezing before he was able to collect his wits. When I returned, he was gone. He will have some tall tales to tell about his misadventures, but he likely won’t try to keep warm in a chimney anytime soon.

stew on the menu . . . .

Winter root vegetables, cabbage, kale, leeks and Polish sausages made for a hearty stew which warmed us after fighting snow and ice all day. Now all we need is to light the fireplace (now that the starling has departed), pour a glass of red, and enjoy what the winter will bring.

Where Wild Birds Roam

Posted on November 2, 2014 by bygeorge

searching for a soulmate? . . . .

This spectacularly beautiful bird arrived in the garden and settled in on a fence post for a lengthy visit. Rosie spied it first and when I noticed her staring intently at this strange visitor, I ran for the camera. This bird, which we have tentatively identified as a prairie falcon, is exactly like one I found a week earlier.

looking at you, kid . . . .

I was relocating a sprinkler on the lawn when I discovered a bird on the ground, partially covered by the lower branches of a spruce tree. It did not move and had died fairly recently. We gathered it up and after a closer examination, we could find no trace of injury or violence that would have contributed to its death. It had obviously crawled up under the tree branches for protection and concealment, then died of some complication.

The beautiful markings under the wing span are similar to the chest area, and I regret I did not photograph the dead bird. We called the local game warden and he came to retrieve it for further testing. We already suspected that we could not keep the bird’s remains in our possession, and the warden confirmed it. He thanked us for surrendering a protected raptor and said it would likely be tested for a virus.

My speculation that the bird I photographed was a mate of the poor creature I found in the yard the previous week is as good an explanation as any. We had never seen this particular species near our home or outbuildings. It lingered for half an hour and flew off and has not been seen here again.

Tomato Wars

Posted on November 2, 2014 by bygeorge

the ripening room . . . .

Is this a bountiful crop, a mere over-abundance of tomatoes, or a disaster? Forty pounds of tomatoes have already been processed into marinara sauce, salsa and plain preserved tomatoes in quart jars. I am running out of storage room, jars, ideas, and patience.

a new batch arrives . . . .

These were picked October 19th and will need to ripen awhile, which means I have to move a load out of the “ripening room” to open up storage space. Have given sacks of tomatoes away to friends, neighbors, and relatives. When we pick one with a bite out (slugs, birds, whatever else resides in the garden) we toss them to the little flock of chickens next door. They love them and race to compete for the first bite! At this rate, we’ll have red eggs.

My first attempt mid-May with three small tomato plants met with disaster. The temperature dropped to 23 degrees and even though they were under a row cover, with a light bulb to add a little warmth, they froze. I reasoned the ground had not yet warmed enough to sustain them. We checked with local nurseries and could not find the plants we desired, so relied on a friend to pick up three plants we found in a Colorado nursery. Got those in the ground the end of May and decided to go online for six additional plants from Burpee. They arrived early June and we finished planting the rest of the garden shortly after. Who knew? Everything we planted in the garden did very well, but the tomatoes exceeded our expectations.

We were still waiting for the last batch of green tomatoes to ripen when the floor fell out and the temperature dropped to 17 the night of October 25. I forgot to plug in the light bulb (was this a conscious or unconscious decision?) and most of them were lost to the freezing nighttime temperature. We cleaned up the garden a couple of days ago except for the carrots, beets, Swiss chard, kale, spinach and lettuce, which are still producing. It seemed so wasteful to scoop all the frozen tomatoes into the trash, and my granny would be clucking at the disgrace of throwing away food! Ah well, I’m still re-learning some of the old lessons.

Next year, I think we’ll cut back from 9 plants to just 6. Who knows what will happen?

Wild Wyoming Woman

the news from Dry Creek . . .

Monthly Archives: November 2014

Old Man Winter Has Arrived

Where Wild Birds Roam

Tomato Wars