Monday, April 23, 2012

A week ago we had two below freezing frosts. I was worried about our sweet corn. We had planted it in four rounds about 2-3 weeks apart. The first batch was over my knee; the last was just poking above the ground. Two mornings in a row we had lows of 29°F. We had some browning, but didn’t lose any. Surprisingly, some of our broccoli (we’ve been eating off it since Easter) and early peas showed frost damage.


We’ve been eating lettuce from the garden and some peas-the peas should really come in starting this week. Radishes have been more plentiful than we can consume, but the pigs love both the greens and the radishes. Swiss Chard should be ready to start harvesting in a week or so, as will some rutabagas.

Poison Ivy itch is not gone, but is getting better. My method of relieving the itch was to take a cold shower every time it got out of hand. Night time was the worst, with me sometimes taking as many as 3 quick showers between 2 AM and 6 AM.

We had our (sort of) annual square dance on Saturday. We roasted a 120 pound hog on our homemade grill, putting it on at about 6:30 AM Saturday morning. We ate lunch at half past noon and then danced until milking time. Local folks, families from our parish, and old friends from Columbia all came out. I think we all had a great time. Of course the long-line Virginia Reel was the highlight for many. It is a real family day. Lots of interest in watching the boys milk the cows at the end of the day. Plenty of pork left over in the freezer for more feasting to come.

We’ve finished planting the first half of the peanut field. We do have another section to plow and plant, but it has gone so much more quickly and smoothly this year so far.

Once again, with all these happenings, God has blessed us much more than we could have imagined.

Oremus pro invicem!



1 comment:

kkollwitz said...

"a cold shower every time it got out of hand."

I am truly surprised. All my life I have put the itching limbs under the hottest water I can stand.