Sunday, June 25, 2017

June 25 Garden Report


I suspect every garden year can be considered unusual and unexpected. This year, well I can’t remember another quite like it and I’ve been growing a garden for well over 50 years.

In our neck of woods in central Wisconsin, April and May were wet. On April 22 we planted potatoes, peas, lettuce, radishes, onions, carrots, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and sweet corn.

On Memorial Day weekend we set out tomato plants, planted zucchini, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins and more sweet corn.

Then we had a couple weeks of dry weather, no rain, and the garden struggled, and some of the vine crops did not come up.

The week of June 12 nature turned on the faucet and we had 8 ½ inches of rain, washing out some of the sweet corn, and leaving standing water on one end of the garden.

On June 16, we replanted sweet corn, squash, cucumbers and zucchini. And then it rained 4 ½ more inches before June 23.

Our sandy soil can take lots of rain, but 13 inches in less than two weeks??

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being outstanding, here is the report of the Roshara garden as of June 25, 2017: So far the only out and out failure has been the radishes. Apparently not their kind of weather.

--Potatoes-10
--Onions-10
--Lettuce-10
--Cabbage-10
--Brussels sprouts-10
--Broccoli- 9
--Carrots-8
--Tomatoes-8
--Snap beans-7
--Cucumbers-5
--Zucchini-5
--Peas-5
--Squash-5
--Pumpkins-5
--Sweet corn-3
--Radishes-0

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: It’s the mystery of gardening that keeps me in the garden.

SPECIAL NOTICE: My newest book, “Old Farm Country Cook book” (with my daughter, Sue) is just off the presses. It should be in the bookstores in a week or two. See notes below for upcoming launches of the book.

WRITER’S WORKSHOP: A few slots remain for my one-day writing workshop on writing your own story: Friday, August 18, 9-4:00 p.m. The Clearing, Door County.
Call 920-854-4088.


UPCOMING EVENTS:

Friday July 7, 7:30, Village Booksmith, Baraboo, WI

Wednesday, July 12, 7:00 p.m. Middleton Public Library. Launch of Sue’s and my new book: OLD FARM COUNTRY COOKBOOK.

Wednesday, July 26, (time to be announced) Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wisconsin launch of OLD FARM COUNTRY COOKBOOK.

Saturday, July 29, 1:00 p.m. Symco Thresheree , Symco, WI

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fundraiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs:

Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps (based on The Quiet Season book.)
Jerry Apps a Farm Story (based on Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm books.)
The Land with Jerry Apps, (based on the book Whispers and Shadows.)

Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including: Jerry’s newest nonfiction book, Never Curse the Rain, and his newest novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County. Also available are Wisconsin Agriculture: A History,
Roshara Journal (with photos by Steve Apps) and Telling Your Story—a guide book for those who want to write their own stories.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

Sunday, June 18, 2017

End Willow



We lost the end willow tree at Roshara this past week. It succumbed to the nearly eight inches of rain we had during the week and storms that knocked out our power for most of two days.

The Coombes family planted that old black willow tree in 1912, the first tree in a long row of them. The willow trees provided a windbreak from the summer storms and winter blasts for 105 years—they still do. But their leader, the first in line thus the title “end willow,” is now gone. A twisted mass of broken branches and fractured trunk.

During our early years at Roshara, our kids played in that old tree, climbed it, played games under it, saw it as a friend. For my first book, THE LAND STILL LIVES, I featured that old tree as a character in the book.

On Friday, my son, Steve—who had played in that old tree—and son-in-law Paul sawed up enough of the tree so we could use our driveway once more. (See Photo above.) But we decided to leave most of it where it fell. It seemed only fitting that in death it should remain where it had lived for more than a hundred years: protecting the farmstead, providing a place for kids to play, and leaving behind so many memories.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Remembering an old tree that has so many stories to tell.

SPECIAL NOTICE: My newest book, “Old Farm Country Cook book” (with my daughter), Sue is just off the presses. It should be in the bookstores in a week or two. See notes below for upcoming launches of the book.

WRITER’S WORKSHOP: Friday, August 18, 9-4:00 p.m. The Clearing, Door County.
Call 920-854-4088. Limited enrollment.


UPCOMING EVENTS:

Friday July 7, 7:30, Village Booksmith, Baraboo, WI

Wednesday, July 12, 7:00 p.m. Middleton Public Library. Launch of Sue’s and my new book: OLD FARM COUNTRY COOKBOOK.

Wednesday, July 26, (time to be announced) Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wisconsin launch of OLD FARM COUNTRY COOKBOOK.

Saturday, July 29, 1:00 p.m. Symco Thresheree , Symco, WI

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fundraiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs:

Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps (based on The Quiet Season book.)
Jerry Apps a Farm Story (based on Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm books.)
The Land with Jerry Apps, (based on the book Whispers and Shadows.)

Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including: Jerry’s newest nonfiction book, Never Curse the Rain, and his newest novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County. Also available are Wisconsin Agriculture: A History,
Roshara Journal (with photos by Steve Apps) and Telling Your Story—a guide book for those who want to write their own stories.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835


Sunday, June 11, 2017

What's Your Hurry?


This past week I began reading a book by Carl Honore, an Italian born author. His book: IN PRAISE OF SLOWNESS: CHALLENGING THE CULT OF SPEED got me thinking. Why are we in such a hurry? Driving faster, having ever-faster performing computers, writing quick little notes on Twitter or on Email. Rushing from here to there, as my late father would say, “Like chickens with our heads cut off.”

Honore wrote, “But now the time has come to challenge our obsession with doing everything more quickly. Speed is not always the best policy. Evolution works on the principle of survival of the fittest, not the fastest.”

As an octogenarian (I still have trouble spelling the word to say nothing about living with the designation), the aging process has forced me to slow down. To walk more slowly, to alas, think more slowly, to do almost everything more slowly.

A cheery note on this warm June Sunday morning. What I am doing because of necessity appears to be the right thing for everyone to do. Slow down. Take your time.

Hiking in my woodlot at Roshara, where the wild Geraniums grow (see photo above) is one way for me to do it.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: What’s your hurry?

SPECIAL NOTICE: My newest book, “Old Farm Country Cook book” (with my daughter, Sue) is just off the presses. It should be in the bookstores in a week or two. See notes below for upcoming launches of the book.

WRITER’S WORKSHOP: Friday, August 18, 9-4:00 p.m. The Clearing, Door County.
Call 920-854-4088. Limited enrollment.


UPCOMING EVENTS:

Friday July 7, 7:30, Village Booksmith, Baraboo, WI

Wednesday, July 12, 7:00 p.m. Middleton Public Library. Launch of Sue’s and my new book: OLD FARM COUNTRY COOKBOOK.

Wednesday, July 26, (time to be announced) Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wisconsin launch of OLD FARM COUNTRY COOKBOOK.

Saturday, July 29, 1:00 p.m. Symco Thresheree , Symco, WI

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fundraiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs:

Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps (based on The Quiet Season book.)
Jerry Apps a Farm Story (based on Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm books.)
The Land with Jerry Apps, (based on the book Whispers and Shadows.)

Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including: Jerry’s newest nonfiction book, Never Curse the Rain, and his newest novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County. Also available are Wisconsin Agriculture: A History,
Roshara Journal (with photos by Steve Apps) and Telling Your Story—a guide book for those who want to write their own stories.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835









Sunday, June 04, 2017

Karner Blue Butterflies


Photo by Steve Apps

The Karner Blue Butterfly, no larger than a man’s thumbnail, is one of our most beautiful butterflies. And it is an endangered species. Without some careful loving care of their environment these little butterflies are on their way to becoming extinct.

We have Karner Blues at Roshara. Our farm is located in a band that stretches across central Wisconsin where the wild lupines grow—and where the Karner Blue Butterfly is found.

Usually the Karner Blue butterfly has two hatches a year. In April the first caterpillars hatch from eggs laid the previous year. Here is the catch. These little caterpillars feed only on lupine leaves. About mid-May, the Karner Blue caterpillar turns into a little cocoon-like chrysalis. And from this chrysalis emerges the adult butterfly by the end of May and into early June.

The adult butterflies mate, lay eggs in June on or near lupine plants, and hatch in a week or so with a new crop of caterpillars. And within about three weeks, by July, we see the summer’s second generation of Karner Blues. These adults lay eggs, which will not hatch until the following year.

Lupines like full sunshine, so to keep our lupine patch alive and well—and the population of our Karner Blue Butterflies growing, we are constantly removing brush and volunteer trees. Lupines thrive on sandy acidic soil. We have not planted a single lupine seed. We bought our farm 50 years ago and I noticed a small patch of the plants at that time. Today we have about three acres of lupines and each year the patch grows larger.

The Karner Blue Butterfly adult will feed on the nectar of several flowering plants. But, alas, the Karner Blue caterpillar only feeds on Lupine leaves. So—no Lupines, no Karner Blues.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Sometimes the littlest of the nature’s creatures can be the most beautiful—and too often the most vulnerable.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Friday July 7, 7:30, Village Booksmith, Baraboo, WI

Wednesday, July 12, 7:00 p.m. Middleton Public Library. Launch of Sue’s and my new book: OLD FARM COUNTRY COOKBOOK.

Wednesday, July 26, (time to be announced) Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wisconsin launch of OLD FARM COUNTRY COOKBOOK.

Saturday, July 29, 1:00 p.m. Symco Thresheree , Symco, WI

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fundraiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs:

Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps (based on The Quiet Season book.)
Jerry Apps a Farm Story (based on Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm books.)
The Land with Jerry Apps, (based on the book Whispers and Shadows.)

Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including: Jerry’s newest nonfiction book, Never Curse the Rain, and his newest novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County. Also available are Wisconsin Agriculture: A History,
Roshara Journal (with photos by Steve Apps) and Telling Your Story—a guide book for those who want to write their own stories.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835









The Karner Blue Butterfly, no larger than a man’s thumbnail, is one of our most beautiful butterflies. And it is an endangered species. Without some careful loving care of their environment these little butterflies are on their way to becoming extinct.

We have Karner Blues at Roshara. Our farm is located in a band that stretches across central Wisconsin where the wild lupines grow—and where the Karner Blue Butterfly is found.

Usually the Karner Blue butterfly has two hatches a year. In April the first caterpillars hatch from eggs laid the previous year. Here is the catch. These little caterpillars feed only on lupine leaves. About mid-May, the Karner Blue caterpillar turns into a little cocoon-like chrysalis. And from this chrysalis emerges the adult butterfly by the end of May and into early June.

The adult butterflies mate, lay eggs in June on or near lupine plants, and hatch in a week or so with a new crop of caterpillars. And within about three weeks, by July, we see the summer’s second generation of Karner Blues. These adults lay eggs, which will not hatch until the following year.

Lupines like full sunshine, so to keep our lupine patch alive and well—and the population of our Karner Blue Butterflies growing, we are constantly removing brush and volunteer trees. Lupines thrive on sandy acidic soil. We have not planted a single lupine seed. We bought our farm 50 years ago and I noticed a small patch of the plants at that time. Today we have about three acres of lupines and each year the patch grows larger.

The Karner Blue Butterfly adult will feed on the nectar of several flowering plants. But, alas, the Karner Blue caterpillar only feeds on Lupine leaves. So—no Lupines, no Karner Blues.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Sometimes the littlest of the nature’s creatures can be the most beautiful—and too often the most vulnerable.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Friday July 7, 7:30, Village Booksmith, Baraboo, WI

Wednesday, July 12, 7:00 p.m. Middleton Public Library. Launch of Sue’s and my new book: OLD FARM COUNTRY COOKBOOK.

Wednesday, July 26, (time to be announced) Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wisconsin launch of OLD FARM COUNTRY COOKBOOK.

Saturday, July 29, 1:00 p.m. Symco Thresheree , Symco, WI

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fundraiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs:

Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps (based on The Quiet Season book.)
Jerry Apps a Farm Story (based on Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm books.)
The Land with Jerry Apps, (based on the book Whispers and Shadows.)

Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including: Jerry’s newest nonfiction book, Never Curse the Rain, and his newest novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County. Also available are Wisconsin Agriculture: A History,
Roshara Journal (with photos by Steve Apps) and Telling Your Story—a guide book for those who want to write their own stories.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835


Th
Photo by Steve Apps

The Karner Blue Butterfly, no larger than a man’s thumbnail, is one of our most beautiful butterflies. And it is an endangered species. Without some careful loving care of their environment these little butterflies are on their way to becoming extinct.

We have Karner Blues at Roshara. Our farm is located in a band that stretches across central Wisconsin where the wild lupines grow—and where the Karner Blue Butterfly is found.

Usually the Karner Blue butterfly has two hatches a year. In April the first caterpillars hatch from eggs laid the previous year. Here is the catch. These little caterpillars feed only on lupine leaves. About mid-May, the Karner Blue caterpillar turns into a little cocoon-like chrysalis. And from this chrysalis emerges the adult butterfly by the end of May and into early June.

The adult butterflies mate, lay eggs in June on or near lupine plants, and hatch in a week or so with a new crop of caterpillars. And within about three weeks, by July, we see the summer’s second generation of Karner Blues. These adults lay eggs, which will not hatch until the following year.

Lupines like full sunshine, so to keep our lupine patch alive and well—and the population of our Karner Blue Butterflies growing, we are constantly removing brush and volunteer trees. Lupines thrive on sandy acidic soil. We have not planted a single lupine seed. We bought our farm 50 years ago and I noticed a small patch of the plants at that time. Today we have about three acres of lupines and each year the patch grows larger.



The Karner Blue Butterfly adult will feed on the nectar of several flowering plants. But, alas, the Karner Blue caterpillar only feeds on Lupine leaves. So—no Lupines, no Karner Blues.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Sometimes the littlest of the nature’s creatures can be the most beautiful—and too often the most vulnerable.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Friday July 7, 7:30, Village Booksmith, Baraboo, WI

Wednesday, July 12, 7:00 p.m. Middleton Public Library. Launch of Sue’s and my new book: OLD FARM COUNTRY COOKBOOK.

Wednesday, July 26, (time to be announced) Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wisconsin launch of OLD FARM COUNTRY COOKBOOK.

Saturday, July 29, 1:00 p.m. Symco Thresheree , Symco, WI

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fundraiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs:

Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps (based on The Quiet Season book.)
Jerry Apps a Farm Story (based on Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm books.)
The Land with Jerry Apps, (based on the book Whispers and Shadows.)

Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including: Jerry’s newest nonfiction book, Never Curse the Rain, and his newest novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County. Also available are Wisconsin Agriculture: A History,
Roshara Journal (with photos by Steve Apps) and Telling Your Story—a guide book for those who want to write their own stories.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835