No, it wasn't fireworks! It was LIGHTNING! And Sunday it hit the tree in our front yard, while I was standing under the carport a mere 100 feet from it! All at once there was a giant FLASH and BOOM and the house shook and it happened so fast that I didn't realize what had happened until bark flew off the tree! My heart pounded. I was shaking. Wow.
I bought some tree wound stuff to paint on so hopefully the tree won't die. It also blew our modem, so it got replaced today.
And just a friendly little PSA reminder...stay away from trees during a thunderstorm.
I can't see the garden through the weeds. There are just too many and it is too big. I have started a "weed directly around the plants only" protocol to keep up the best we can. I also did resort to Chemical Warfare in The War Against Squash Bugs. Sevin dust.
We pickled a whopping 24 pints of peppers over the weekend.
And I am sure there is a lot more to update but I have have HAVE to get the wood floors waxed!
how scary!!
ReplyDeletethat tree is beautiful--i hope you can save it!
lol about the weeds...least you know the difference b/c a plant and weed..i'm just pulling random things out of my garden
wow, that is a LOT of peppers!!!
i'm impressed!
i find canning/jarring too intimidating at this point...maybe next year
course..i have to grow stuff first, lol
where did you find the local wheat berries?
ReplyDeletepaul's grains?
i just ordered a blender today that can grind grains to flour...so, i'm excited :)
Tb...a semi-local farm sells them. Gasper Farm www.gasperfarm.com I have yet to buy any, no way to grind them. And I am not sure I will ever get around to it. They have a drop off an hour from us. That is as local as I found. But I didn't check out the Amish community, except to ask at their general store and they didn't have any.
ReplyDeleteThat was our first time pickling. My only advice is to have a helper...my hubby was an awesome helper! We did it in two batches because I wanted to try two different recipes. We liked the second better, so I am glad we did the majority that way. They required a brine soak for 12+ hours. Delicious. And we are stocked! I have a veggie soup recipe that I make in the winter that I use a jar of peppers and juice in. It will be wonderful to have them on hand. They were water bathed though...I am still scared of the pressure canning! :) LOL Right now I have a ton of bell peppers in the dehydrator. This has been a sucky year for my tomatoes, but an awesome pepper year.
Weird about the tree - I'm glad you're okay!!
ReplyDeleteI feel better now knowing you're struggling with weeds as well. I've kept up with the main garden pretty well but the long garden is an embarrassment...everyone who drives by must thing I'm a terrible gardener. The important thing is that most things are still alive and doing well. That's all the counts anyway! :)
Hey Jennifer! I bet that was so frightening! I'm glad you and the house are ok! I finally mowed down my greenbeans. Oh Jennifer, it was so depressing to see so many weeds. You just can't keep up! I'm ABOUT ready to wage chemical warfare on the Japanese beetles....I'm trying to hand pick now. :-/
ReplyDeleteoh jen i am glad no one was hurt!oh hon such a rainy year my gardens have been a mass of weeds too. the only up side is one of the weeds is purslane and i love to use it in stirfry and salads!!big hugs to you:)
ReplyDeleteSorry this is off subject but I saw where you dried Stevia. How do you use it after you dry it? I've been told several thing to do so I thought I would ask you.
ReplyDeleteHi Susan! :) The list on my sidebar is just my goal list for this year, so I have yet to dry any. But it is growing really well! I think I am going to try (forgive me, I can't think of the name of the process!) the thing where you soak it in a base to make liquid sweetener. I'd love to hear what you are thinking of doing with it. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm taking a little time and visting some new blogs or the ones I haven't been to for a while.
ReplyDeleteI been to the midwest once and I was quite impress with your summer stroms.
We only had one thunder storm that came though here this year.
We get what is called dry lighting. Which starts some of our forest fires.
Your garden is father a long them mine. No big harvest yet
Actaul I found your blog down to earth and hollowing hills.
Stop in when you get a moment for a cup of coffee.
holy cow you are so lucky. ps...you probably have coverage under your homeowners policy for lightning dmg to a tree. There is usually a limit but the value of a tree that size will eat up your deductible. Also there may be coverage to remove the tree. I doublt that it will live. Mark your calender with the date and talk to a tree guy but it will probably weaken and die over the next year or two.
ReplyDeleteAwesome picture! I'd have jumped a foot high. LOL
ReplyDeleteI do that with the garden sometimes. Weed around each plant, then lay stuff on top of the in betweens to kill them and add organic matter to the soil. When it gets away from you, it's so hard to get it back. ;)
Great pepper harvest. Makes me wonder, I've been so busy, I haven't checked mine lately.
~Faith
Thank God you are OK. It must have been very loud and scary when it hit. I hope that the tree will survive, it is gorgeous even with the large piece of bark missing.
ReplyDeleteHoly cow! Thank goodness you weren't hurt! Geesh! Hope the tree is doing ok. Thanks for visiting my blog! :) Can't wait to delve into yours ... you meet the nicest people this way!
ReplyDelete