My father’s day present came arrived a week late, but it was well worth it.  My son-in-law, Paul constructed a raised vegetable garden for my backyard in Madison.  I know some of you are wondering why I need another vegetable garden beyond the huge one we have at the farm.  But there is something to be said for having a vegetable garden close at hand, especially when I plan to devote most of it to strawberries.  I will save one end of the structure for a couple tomato plants and maybe even a row of lettuce.  Sure nice to have fresh lettuce handy when you want it.

Now for the details.  My new raised garden is eight feet long, 14 inches high and 39 inches deep.  I bought several sacks of small rocks to line the bottom of the garden and covered these with a couple pails of sand to make for good drainage.  My dad would be shaking his head in disbelieve  if he were living and learned that I had purchased both rocks and sand—the home farm had 160 acres of them.  Then we filled the rest of the structure with topsoil.

Temporarily, I planted some bush beans, a couple hills of zucchini and a single tomato plant—to see if I can grow something yet this summer.  This fall I will set out strawberry plants.

This is another of my several garden experiments that I’ve tried over the years.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: For those of you without much space to grow vegetables, a raised garden might be the answer.  Make sure the spot you select gets several hours of sun each day.

CHECK THIS OUT:  My one day workshop: “Writing  From Your Life,” October 13, 9-4. The Clearing, Door County. For more information go to. http://theclearing.org/current/index.shtml

UPCOMING EVENTS:

June 25, Green Bay, Presentation at WACEC Conference, University of Wisconsin-Extension.

June 28, UW-River Falls. Presentation at North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture conference.

July 10, 7:00 p.m., Eagle River Public Library, Garden Wisdom.

August 5-11, The Clearing.  Writing Workshop: Writing From Your Life.

Father's Day Present

My father’s day present arrived a week late, but it was well worth it.  My son-in-law, Paul constructed a raised vegetable garden for my backyard in Madison.  I know some of you are wondering why I need another vegetable garden beyond the huge one we have at the farm.  But there is something to be said for having a vegetable garden close at hand, especially when I plan to devote most of it to strawberries.  I will save one end of the structure for a couple tomato plants and maybe even a row of lettuce.  Sure nice to have fresh lettuce handy when you want it.

Now for the details.  My new raised garden is eight feet long, 14 inches high and 39 inches deep.  I bought several sacks of small rocks to line the bottom of the garden and covered these with a couple pails of sand to make for good drainage.  My dad would be shaking his head in disbelieve if he were living and learned that I had purchased both rocks and sand—the home farm had 160 acres of them.  Then we filled the rest of the structure with topsoil.

Temporarily, I planted some bush beans, a couple hills of zucchini and a single tomato plant—to see if I can grow something yet this summer.  This fall I will set out strawberry plants.

This is another of my several garden experiments that I’ve tried over the years.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: For those of without much space to grow vegetables, a raised garden might be the answer.  Make sure the spot you select gets several hours of sun each day.

CHECK THIS OUT:  My one day workshop: “Writing  From Your Life,” October 13, 9-4. The Clearing, Door County. For more information go to. http://theclearing.org/current/index.shtml

UPCOMING EVENTS:

June 25, Green Bay, Presentation at WACEC Conference, University of Wisconsin-Extension.

June 28, UW-River Falls. Presentation at North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture conference.

July 10, 7:00 p.m., Eagle River Public Library, Garden Wisdom.

August 5-11, The Clearing.  Writing Workshop: Writing From Your Life.

A First

We were on the trail in our oak woods, Sue and Paul and grandson, Josh.  Enjoying the coolness of the deep woods and the fresh smells of a June day in the outdoors.

Sue spotted her first—a big doe standing on the trail ahead of us, in the shadows where the trail winds between our two ponds before climbing sharply to the west.

We stop and watch—and then, out of the underbrush emerges her fawn, a tiny little thing only a couple feet tall if that.  And then we saw something none of us had seen before, at least not in the wild.  The fawn began nursing, its little white tail wagging back and forth as its mother kept a wary eye in our direction.  After a couple of minutes, the doe disappeared into the thick underbrush, leaving the little one standing alone, its lunch on the move. Abruptly, the little one realizing it had been left, turned and bounded after its mother, I’m sure wondering why its lunch was interrupted.

THE OLDTIMER SAYS: You are never too old to see something new—especially in the outdoors.

CHECK THIS OUT:  My one day workshop: “Writing  From Your Life,” October 13, 9-4. The Clearing, Door County. For more information go to. http://theclearing.org/current/index.shtml

UPCOMING EVENTS:

June 20, 5:30 p.m. Alger Delta Electric Co-op annual meeting, Grace Church, Gladstone, Michigan.

June 25, Green Bay, Presentation at Wisconsin County Boards Association Meeting.

June 28, UW-River Falls. Presentation at North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture conference.

July 10, 7:00 p.m., Eagle River Public Library, Garden Wisdom.

August 5-11, The Clearing.  Writing Workshop: Writing From Your Life.

Surprise!

I was working in my lupine patch at the farm—about two acres of beautiful spring flowers that I nurture because the endangered Karner Blue butterfly requires lupines for its survival.  Periodically I go in and cut out rogue trees and brush that want to take over the open area and shade out the lupines.

I was doing this the other afternoon, while Steve was concentrating on finding a Karner Blue and taking its picture.  In among a thick patch of lupines I noticed what appeared to be a mottled wooden stick about four or five feet long and as big around as a shovel handle.  I was about to kick it—and it moved.  It was then I realized that I had nearly kicked a snake—a good sized one, too.

We haven’t seen many snakes at the farm in recent years, and then only garter snakes that seem to enjoy living in our wood pile and scaring the bejeebers out of those who help me move the wood pile each spring into the woodshed.

I got a good look at its head, and its eyes.  We have some 22 different kinds of snakes in Wisconsin and only two of them are poisonous.  The snake I saw had a round eye; the two poisonous snakes in the state have cat eyes (elliptical). Wisconsin’s poisonous snakes are the timber rattler and the swamp rattler.  See http://woodlandinfo.org/publications/UWEX/G3139.pdf for a good discussion of all of Wisconsin’s snakes, including where you can expect to find various kinds.

What kind of snake had I nearly kicked with my boot—a Fox Snake, often called a Pine Snake.  Quite a beautiful creature with its reddish-brown blotchy patches on its topside.  The Fox Snake’s favorite meal includes chipmunks, gophers, field mice, even small rabbits.  They are constrictors meaning they strike their prey, wrap their body around it and squeeze it to death.  Then they swallow it whole. 

The one I saw wanted nothing to do with me as it slithered away. I followed it to a gopher hole where it slid in, not to be seen again.  I wondered about the occupants of the gopher hole.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Thinking for yourself is hard work.  So much easier to grab onto someone else’s thinking—and then wonder why you don’t feel right.

CHECK THIS OUT:  My one day workshop: “Writing From Your Life,” October 13, 8-4. The Clearing, Door County. For more information go to. http://theclearing.org/current/index.shtml

UPCOMING EVENTS:

June 13, 6:00 p.m.  Wisconsin Public TV Major Donors Meeting, Center For Discovery, UW-Madison Campus.  Why education matters.

June 15, 1-2:00 p.m. S.E. Wisconsin Book Festival, UW-Waukesha campus, Waukesha. Garden Wisdom

June 20, 5:30 p.m. Ager Delta Electric Co-op annual meeting, Grace Church, Gladstone, Michigan. History of rural electrification. 

Rocky Mountain Gardening

What a difference a few feet of elevation can do to gardening.  Well, quite a few feet to be honest about it.

Ruth and I have just returned from a visit with our son Jeff’s family in Avon, Colorado, where Jeff, his wife Sandy and our three grandkids, Christian, Nick and Libby have a vegetable garden in their backyard. 

Before going further, some comparative information.  Our garden at Roshara is about 1,000 feet above sea level.  Jeff’s garden is about 7,500 feet.  And 6,500 feet of elevation makes all the difference.  I’ve been eating radishes for two weeks; Jeff’s radishes are just poking their heads above ground.  Our potatoes are nearly filling the rows; Jeff’s are not up.  Our peas are in pod stage and a week or so from picking.  Jeff’s are just coming up.

            Avon is having mid-spring weather: the daffodils are blooms, as are the tulips.  The lilacs are in full bloom and the thousands of acres of aspens on the mountainsides are absolu8tely splendid in their early spring many shades of green.

            On the plus side, with long days and lots of brilliant sunshine, Jeff’s garden will do well—it simply grows on a different time schedule than those of us in Wisconsin know.   Oh, just as here in the Midwest, more and residents in the mountains are growing some of their own food.  It’s the new wave of the future—really a return to a very old idea, but that’s another story.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: When you grow your own food, you know its history—from seed to your dinner plate.

CHECK THIS OUT:  My one day workshop: “Writing From Your Life,” October 13, 8-4. The Clearing, Door County. For more information go to. http://theclearing.org/current/index.shtml

UPCOMING EVENTS:

June 6, 10:30. College Week, UW-Madison Campus, Ames County Novels

June 13, 6:00 p.m.  Wisconsin Public TV Major Donors Meeting, Center For Discovery, UW-Madison Campus.  Early history of Agricultural Education in Wisconsin including farm stories.

June 15, 1-2:00 p.m. S.E. Wisconsin Book Festival, UW-Waukesha campus, Waukesha.