Jerry Apps: April 2015

Monday, April 27, 2015

Garden Planting

Garden planting day at Roshara. Clear sky. No wind. Bright sunshine. Sandhill cranes calling. Bluebirds flying in and out of nearby bluebird house.

Early crops in. Eight rows of Kennebec potatoes, one row of Red Norland potatoes. Rows are thirty-five feet long. Any kind of year, lots of potatoes. Steve and Natasha did the heavy work. They also said they are still eating potatoes from last fall. Good keepers those Kennebecs.

Two thirty-five feet long rows of yellow onions. Everyone likes onions.

Shorter rows of lettuce, radishes and carrots. A long row of peas—can’t beat the taste of home-grown peas. The best. A short row of collards. Collards did well last year—and though they take a little patience to prepare, collards greens are a wonderful vegetable. Full of healthy stuff as well.

With early planting finished, we put up the fence to keep away the turkeys and deer—our biggest problems, plus the raccoons and ground hogs—less a problem. We’ve given up on the rabbits, hoping they have enough to eat in the nearby fields, but if worse comes to worse, we use a little “Liquid Fence,” a foul smelling concoction that keeps the bunnies away from the green beans—not planted yet, and the lettuce.

Tomato plants remain indoors, in a south-facing window. About 75 plants (seven different varieties). They are doing well and will go in the ground in late May, the same time we plant the vine crops, sweet corn, green beans and other such vegetables that like warmer temps.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: We know it’s spring when the potatoes are planted.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Tuesday, April 28, 11:00 a.m. Wisconsin Public Radio, Larry Meiller Show.

Tuesday, April 28, 6:30 p.m. Black River Falls Library, Sky Line Golf Course. Stories from the land

Sunday, May 3, 1:00 p.m. Readers’ Realm Bookstore, 147 E. Montello Street, Montello, WI Whispers and Shadows.

Tuesday, May 5, 10:30. Chilton Library, Chilton, WI Whispers and Shadows.

Tuesday, May 12, 10:00 a.m. Writers Forum, with Michael Perry and John Hildebrand. Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, 316 Eau Claire St., Eau Claire, WIO (Part of Wisconsin Historical Society History Tour).

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 and Jerry Apps A Farm Story.

Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story). Also available is Jerry’s new novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County.

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, April 19, 2015

Tree Planting at Roshara

Yesterday we planted 150 trees at Roshara, 50 jack pine, 50 red pine and 50 Norway spruce. This year’s planting crew consisted of son Steve and daughter-in-law Natasha, daughter Sue and son-in-law Paul plus the Old Timer who mostly organized things, gave an unneeded lesson in tree planning techniques, and thought about tree planting in years past.

We planted the first trees at Roshara in 1966, two-thousand red pine that are now fifty feet tall. That year the kids helped as well, but not much for they were four, three and two. In 1967, we planted another two-thousand red pines, finishing four rows all the way around the farm.

Every year since, for some 49 years, we have planted trees at Roshara, sometimes as few as 10 trees. Five years ago we planted 7,500, which was the most in any one year. These days we are mostly planting where trees planted earlier years died.

Tree planting has become a spring ritual for the family. Some years the April day when we plant is sunny and pleasant, some years it is snowing and cold. But no matter, when the trees are ready to plant, we plant them. And as we do, the crew shares stories of earlier years. We marvel at how well these trees have changed the landscape of Roshara—and made the place just a bit more enjoyable.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: One is never too old to plant a tree.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Monday, April 20, Noon. Fox Valley Book Festival, UW-Fox Valley. Whispers and Shadows

Wednesday, April 22, 6:30 Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Mid-Wisconsin Launch of Whispers and Shadows. Fundraiser for the library.

Friday, April 24, 8:00 p.m. Ice Age Trail Org. Wis. Dells, Winter Green Resort. Old Farm

Tuesday, April 28, 11:00 a.m. Wisconsin Public Radio, Larry Meiller Show. Whispers and Shadows

Tuesday, April 28, 6:30 p.m. Black River Falls Library, Sky Line Golf Course. Stories from the land

Sunday, May 3, 1:00 p.m. Readers’ Realm Bookstore, 147 E. Montello Street, Montello, WI Whispers and Shadows.

Tuesday, May 5, 10:30. Chilton Library, Chilton, WI Whispers and Shadows.

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

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps A Farm Story.

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, April 12, 2015

Bluebird Houses

We put up five new blue birdhouses on Saturday, replacing those that had fallen apart, lost their roofs or otherwise had succumbed to old age. We were late. The houses should have gone up a couple weeks ago—but time and the weather didn’t allow it.

We knew we were late because a pair of bluebirds had already arrived and were scouting out the house but a few yards from the cabin’s kitchen window—put there so Ruth could enjoy their comings and goings.

About twenty bluebird houses stretch out in a long row on the south side of Roshara’s prairie; we put up the first ones about 40 years ago. Anyone who puts up bluebird houses knows that tree swallows like to nest in these houses, too. I’d guess that our row of bird houses has as many swallows as bluebirds. But that’s okay. We also like the tree swallows.

Not more than five minutes after the first house went up—son-in-law, Paul did the heavy work—a pair of tree swallows inspected it. By the time Paul had put up the last house, six or more pairs of tree swallows were swooping overhead and checking out the new digs.

Daughter, Sue said, “Look we’ve created a new ‘bird-suburbia on our prairie.’”

Quite something to watch.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Put up some bluebird houses. You’ll become an instant fan of a bunch of birds.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Tuesday, April 14, 7:00 p.m. Friends of Eau Claire Library. Eau Claire, WI. Stories from the land.

Sunday, April 19, 7:00 p.m. Lebanon Historical Society, Lebanon Community center. Stories from the land.

Monday, April 20, Noon. Fox Valley Book Festival, UW-Fox Valle, Union.. Whispers and Shadows and The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County.