Garden Seed Ordering Time

 

On a recent snowy, Sunday afternoon, surrounded by seed catalogs, my daughter-in-law, Natasha, and I planned our 2021 garden.  This is an annual event that we have done for years—a way to thumb our nose at winter and visit spring—at least for an afternoon.

 Our first task, what seed varieties did well in 2020, which was not an especially good gardening year. And then we began listing varieties to order. First, tomatoes:  The old standbys—Better Boy, and Wisconsin 55 made the new list.  But each year we try something new. Sweet Million Hybrid Tomato, doesn’t that sound like a winner?  We ordered it.  Another new tomato for us, Plum Regal Hybrid—it’s got a good name. And for an early tomato, we are trying Ultimate Opener Hybrid Tomato—57 days.

 We like snap beans, and Top Crop has been a favorite for years.  Last year we added a purple snap bean that turns green when cooked.  A favorite, especially for the grand kids.  So, Velour Purple French Bush bean made the list.  Black Beauty Zucchini Squash made the list.  So did Detroit Red Beets, Dwarf Blue Curled Vates Kale, Napoli Hybrid Carrots, and Peaches and Cream Sweet Corn, along with Sugar Snap Peas, Avalanche Snow Peas, and a blend of Looseleaf Lettuce varieties.   

Cucumbers: this year we are trying Fanfare Hybrid Cucumber, Goliath Hybrid Cucumber, and Bush Champion.  Radishes: Royal Purple made the list, so did Roxanne Hybrid.

Squash and pumpkins: Autumn Frost Hybrid Squash, Honeybaby Hybrid Squash, Table Ace Hybrid Acorn Squash, and Cargo Hybrid Pumpkin. 

 Finally, the special seeds: Tiger Eye Hybrid Sunflowers, and Mixed Zahara Zinnia, to add an extra little color to our garden.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Ordering garden seeds can lift one’s spirits on a wintery day.

UPCOMING EVENT: Sunday, February 21.

 Register now for PBS Wisconsin’s Garden & Landscape Expo (Feb. 20-21)  Natasha  Kassulke and I will be sharing “Setting the Stage for Successful gardening” from noon to 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 21.

Register Wisconsin Garden & Landscape Expo (wigardenexpo.com)

 

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To purchase Jerry’s books, including Garden Wisdom go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s. Say hello to Jana and Dave, and look at their great selection of my books, including my new ones, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.

 

 

 

 

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Snow Time Can Be Fun Time

 

With much of the upper Midwest covered by a decent coat of snow, the other day I got to thinking about what people do with snow.  There is a small group who curse it and wish it would go away—those able to do so, go to Florida or Arizona for winter.

Those of us who I consider true northerners have a different attitude. (The only time I spent a winter with no snow was when I was in the army, stationed at Fort Eustis, VA in 1956.) Today, true northerners enjoy snowmobiling along with downhill and cross-country skiing, as well as snowshoeing, or merely hiking in the winter wonderland and perhaps snapping a photo or two.

 When I was a kid on the farm, we shoveled lots of snow—paths from the house to the chicken house.  A path from the chicken house to the granary.  A path from the house to the barn, A path from the barn to the pump/milk house, and several more. A major shoveling challenge was the driveway from the country road to the pump/milk house so the milk hauler could pick up our several cans of milk each morning.

 Skiing, sledding, making snowmen, building snow forts, organizing snowball fights at the country school—these are fun snow memories. Kids today continue to have fun with snow.  The photo is of a snow fort that kids on our block in Madison built over several days.  It’s as tall as their house.  And what fun they had building it. 

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: So many memories of snow and how we enjoyed it as kids.

UPCOMING EVENT:  Sunday February, 21.

 Register now for PBS Wisconsin’s Garden & Landscape Expo (Feb. 20-21)  Natasha  Kassulke and I will be sharing “Setting the Stage for Successful gardening” from noon to 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 21.

Register Wisconsin Garden & Landscape Expo (wigardenexpo.com)

 

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS: DVDs

To purchase Jerry’s books, several them about Wisconsin rural history, go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library.  You also order Jerry’s DVDs from the Patterson Memorial Library, including Farm Story and Farm Winter With Jerry Apps.
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s. Say hello to Jana and Dave, and look at their great selection of my books, including my new ones, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.

Time to Read Some Wisconsin History

 

On these snowy, often dark and dreary days of mid-winter, it’s a good time to catch up on your reading.  How about digging a bit more into the history of Wisconsin? I pulled a few books off my shelf as a representative group.  Your librarian can help you with more.

I start with THE SHADOW IN THE GLASS, a historical novel by August Derleth which is a story about Wisconsin’s first Governor, Nelson Dewey. Written in 1963. I was privileged to know Derleth, and took a novel writing class from him at one time.

WISCONSIN LORE by Robert Gard and L. G. Sorden. Early Wisconsin stories, Gard wrote several books about Wisconsin History, and I’m pleased to say, he was my writing mentor who started me writing books back in the late 1960s.

A MEMORY OF MUSKETS by Kathleen Ernst, an excellent contemporary writer, tells a tale centered at Old World Wisconsin. Kathleen has written several books—including a mystery series—all wrapped up in Wisconsin history.

WISCONSIN AGRICULTURE: A HISTORY by Jerry Apps.  The title says it all.

THE LAND REMEMBERS by Ben Logan.  A classic story of growing up on a farm in southwestern Wisconsin when small dairy farms dotted much of Wisconsin.

FARM GIRL by Beuna Coburn Carlson.  A true tale of a farm girl’s growing up experiences.

MEMORIES OF MARSHALL by Greg Peck.  Small town life at an earlier time. A long-time newspaper writer, in his retirement Greg, has turned to writing books.

CHEESE: THE MAKING OF A WISCONSIN TRADITION by Jerry Apps.  How Wisconsin found itself the leading cheese-making state in the nation.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Snow time is the right time to sit back and read a bit.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To purchase Jerry’s books, several them about Wisconsin rural history, go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s. Say hello to Jana and Dave, and look at their great selection of my books, including my new ones, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.

 

 

 

The Importance of Keeping a Journal

 

I’m not much for making New Year’s resolutions, but my resolution for 2021 is to continue to write regularly in my journal—something that I have done for many years.  I suggest writing in a journal is something everyone should do. Why?  You are writing down history, your life, and how you are living it for your children and grandchildren.  For those who might be curious, here are some of the things I write about in my journal:

 Each day I write the date, the temperature, and few comments about the weather (it’s the old farmer in me), then I write about what happened that day. It might be about family; I’m writing a lot about my grandkids these days. It might be about a major purchase, a new car or tractor, or another piece of equipment. I record the model, make, and price. (What fun it is to compare the cost of a new car in 2021 with one purchased in 1960!)

Besides recording personal history, writing in a journal can help clarify thoughts, feelings, and observations. When I have a problem or I don’t understand something, I begin writing about it. What has been murky often begins to become clear.

As for right now, writing about how COVID-19 has affected you and your family is certainly worthy of consideration.  See my book, The Old Timer Says: A Writing Journal. Here I share more about how to journal.  The book also has many blank pages ready for writing, with the occasional “Old Timer Says” to get you started.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: It’s never too late to begin keeping a journal.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To purchase The Old Timer Says: A Writing Journal, go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s. Say hello to Jana and Dave, and look at their great selection of my books, including my new ones, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.

 Looking to a Better 2021

It’s over. We can turn the calendar from 2020 to 2021.  What a year 2020 has been.  I have not seen one like it, not even close, including the years of the polio epidemic when everyone’s schedules were interrupted and fear hung in the air like a dirty black cloud.

This past year has been one of disappointment, trashed dreams, and too often tragedy as loved ones and friends came down with the dreaded COVID virus

But even in the midst of all the chaos, I learned several things, as I am sure everyone else has as well.  I’ve learned to keep going, to keep living a reasonably interesting life.  I have had to adjust. I have learned how to work virtually—I don’t like it, but I can do it.  I’ve not only become acquainted with Zoom, I have learned how to use it.

The epidemic has helped me appreciate the right now, today.  Too often my mind has me a year ahead, more than that sometimes.  There is a place for planning, but enjoying the moment is also important.

 Oh, how important my farm his been during this COVID mess.  The silence of a winter night, with stars winking and blinking everywhere.  The call of a whip-poor-will on a spring evening. Fresh produce from my garden.

And most of all, oh how I appreciate my family, knowing that they will help Ruth and me with a simple phone call. How important this is for those of us in the autumn years of our lives.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: There is much to be learned when chaos and fear are everywhere.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To learn more about Christmas in days past, see The Quiet Season. Purchase my newest books, When the White Pine Was King, and The Old Timer Says: A Writing Journal, go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s. Say hello to Jana and Dave, and look at their great selection of my books, including my new ones, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.