Pond life

We have a small lake (100ft sq) at the front of the property that has been created by damming the stream as it runs down the valley. I suspect it was originally for irrigation purposes. Apart from frogs we don’t think there is anything interesting there although it had been stocked and used for fishing at some stage.

While we were visiting Turner Feed and Seed we spotted a notice saying “Fish man 10 to 11.30 Sat”. Twice a year a guy drives a tanker from Arkansas with live fish and people gather from around the Atlanta area to restock their lakes.

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We don’t have any interest in fishing but we did think it might be a good idea to introduce some fish to keep the frog population under control. It might also help to encourage the heron to keep coming around.

So we got out there early to wait with the crowd. It turned out to be a Georgia 10am but we had fun chatting while we waited. Like luck winners at the country fair, we eventually walked away with a bag of Hybrid Blue Gill Brim (Bream). There are supposed to be 100 in that bag but I think it’s closer to 50.

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To allow for some acclimatisation, I place the bag in the lake for an hour before releasing the Brim in to their new home. Lets hope  they  do well.

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What a night – two musical stars

I really enjoyed my two wheeling dirt bike days, I’ve had fantastic times hang gliding and I still get a real buzz on skis after all these years. But if I had to choose, hand on heart, the “thing” that I would not want to live without; It would be an easy choice. A no brainer. I could not imagine a world without music. Music punctuates my entire life. If there really is a meaning to life then surely music holds the key.

Music is a mathematical thing. There are patterns and cycles. One of those cycles played out for me tonight. It’s only taken 38 years.

Back in 1975 I was traveling with my, soon to be, father in law. He was crazy on Country & Western music and was always keen to introduce me to some old yodeler or other. This was hopeless, of course, as I only had ears for Hendrix, Floyd, Roxy Music etc, On this particular night, however, I had to admit that I really quite liked the female artist whose cassette he had just picked up. She had a wonderful voice ….. just a shame she was singing that C&W stuff!  Anyway, he made a copy of the tape for me and I often played it until it got eaten by the machine. For one reason or another I almost completely forgot the name and voice of Emmylou Harris for the next 20 years.

By the mid 90’s my unhealthy obsession with Q Magazine, that fueled an addiction to CD’s, re-introduced me to the work of Emmylou Harris. It was the association with U2 producer, Daniel Lanois, that tipped me over the edge. The “Wrecking Ball” album is simply divine; A cherished physical entity on the rack under the letter “H”. I have since collected three additional EH CD’s but nothing surpasses “Wrecking Ball”.

An so to the cycle close. After 38 years, Emmylou Harris has teamed up with her original collaborator, Rodney Crowell and old band members, to go out on the road and have fun with those old songs from that long ago chewed up tape. The band played in Atlanta (now last night) and were wonderful. At 66 years of age, EH still has command of a truly magical voice. As Rodney Crowell put it  –  she has the soul of a poet, the voice of an angel and she’s still hot! I couldn’t agree with him more.

As musical icing on the cake, the support act was none other than Richard Thompson. A folk/rock guitar icon and an all time favorite of mine. The last time Lynne and I saw him was in Basingstoke (UK), seven years ago. He did not disappoint. If there is a heaven, I think I might have visited tonight..

Two for the price of one
Two for the price of one

 

 

Creating a veg garden

The riding ring (oval) will make a great veg garden. It’s enclosed and, most importantly, it’s about the only flat piece of land on the property. As we don’t plan to have a horse. It makes sense to utilise the space for something useful. It could always be returned to it’s former use if required.

Right in the centre is an open sided shelter with a good roof. I plan to use one half as a chicken coop and the other half as a garden shed/store/potting area. Raised beds will provide the growing space.

I took the first steps today. We now have two raised beds built and I’m in the process of filling them from the alpaca poop compost heap. It looks really good. Just to be sure, I’ll take a sample down to the agricultural extension office to have it analysed.

First two raised beds under way
First two raised beds under way
Alpaca bean compost
Alpaca bean compost
Good organic stuff
Good organic stuff
Georgia clay left, alpaca bean compost right.
Georgia clay left, alpaca bean compost right.

 

 

 

Soil management and improvement – step 2

Good job we moved the chickens yesterday (Miss Lynne will say more). First thing this morning we had a call from the fertilizer company who wanted to deliver and spread today. Now that’s service. I only put in my order yesterday and they explained that deliveries are very weather and location dependent and that we were looking at a three week window. Anyhow, our luck was in and they wanted to deliver and spread before the rain comes in tonight. …….. and the truck was just leaving the depot.

The soil analysis recommended lime at a rate of 2.5 tons per acre so I was very relieved to find a company that would deliver and spread. The other fertilizer needs a more delicate application though and I’ll have to spread that myself. The driver did a masterful job getting his truck around our relatively small paddocks.

That's the way to do it.
That’s the way to do it.
Lime down
Lime down
I have to do this myself
I have to do this myself

 

 

 

A new arrival

We had a surprise visit from our friends Patrick, Claudia and Catlin this afternoon. They brought with them a very special house warming present.

His name, we have decided, is Roger. Roger the Rooster. The ladies of the hen house have already begun clucking.

We think he’s gorgeous. Lets hope we still think so tomorrow morning!!

That's right ladies ...... I am handsome.
That’s right ladies …… I am handsome.
Hello ladies. My name's Rooster, Roger the Rooster.
Hello ladies. My name’s Rooster, Roger the Rooster.

 

This is not supposed to happen

Up early as always to feed the critters. I know it’s been cold but this is not supposed to happen down south. I thought we had left the white stuff back in New York.

Ok, it’s not going to hang around or make life difficult but still …… !

Snow on the shelter roof
Snow on the shelter roof
Georgia snow on the windshield
Georgia snow on the windshield

Soil report

The university have come back with our soil report and recommendation. There is a large amount of lime to be spread! (click on pic to enlarge)

Soil report
Soil report

Soil management and improvement – step 1

The soil around here presents a number of problems. It’s an acidic red clay that needs plenty of lime to promote healthy pasture. The clay soil absorbs rain fall slowly and given that we have hardly any flat areas, water run-off and subsequent soil erosion is an issue. The best solution is to promote the growth of a healthy and vigorous pasture. This will provide feed for the alpacas and conserve the landscape.

Soil plugs for testing
Soil plugs for testing

The majority of our pasture has only been established in the last few years after clearance of the forest. It is a “work in progress”. Step 1, for me, is to get the soil tested to see how much lime I will have to spread this spring. So out I went, taking plugs from various parts of the pasture. The local agricultural college runs a test lab. I’ve told them what I want to grow and they will come back to me with their recommendations in a few days. This is going to be an interesting project.

Heavy Georgia Rain

Well we escaped the snow storms but it seems we have other weather related issues to consider.

I was giving the dogs their second run of the morning when the air was filled with the eery sound of tornado warning sirens wailing from at least three different locations in the neighborhood. A quick check on the local TV channel showed the Doppler radar and current dangers. Well we were lucky. The worse conditions passed a few miles to the north of us but there was an awful lot of rain in a couple of hours.

New York and Back

Back in November, when we were getting crazy quotes for moving us south, I had a fit of Meldrewesque pique and declared that I would “do it myself”. Well it’s been an adventure and I’ve had to rely on the goodwill and hard work of friends. It has certainly not been the easiest option.

I pulled the first U-Haul trailer down through a snow storm the day after Christmas. One of us had to be on site to feed the alpacas. Having set up Miss Lynne’s working environment, she traveled down to join me, Cagney and Lacey, five alpacas, six hens and three barn cats. It was great to be together again.

In the middle of January, having checked the weather forecast, I decided to return to New York to collect our remaining belongings. The girls came along for the ride starting out at 4.30am and we were back in Pine Bush by 8pm. They were so excited to race around their old territory. It wasn’t hard to get to sleep that night.

Next morning started with a call to the oil company to get a delivery that day. We have to keep the property heated at a maintenance level to avoid burst pipes and to avoid that musty smell an empty house can quickly gain. The early morning tv forecast snow for the next day and the oil truck would not be able to get up the drive. Thankfully, things worked out and the delivery was made.

It was Tuesday and I planned to collect the U-Haul truck early on Saturday morning and be ready to leave Sunday lunch time. Doing it yourself is just not possible when it comes to moving furniture and appliances. I needed to find help to load the big stuff. I also needed to disconnect the prop- shaft on the old truck to tow it behind the U-Haul. Then there was the snow and would I be able to get the U-Haul up the driveway. I have to say that I was concerned.

Bob links us to the outside world again
Bob links us to the outside world again

I did wake up to about 5″ of snow on Wednesday morning but I had lots to do inside. First good news came from Gil who emailed to say he’d be around later to help carry the big stuff out to the garage. Shortly after lunch, Bob the snow plough man, cleared the driveway. Bob and his family have been in Pine Bush forever so I asked him if he could recommend somebody strong to help with my Saturday loading. We chatted about my plans and concerns. I didn’t realise how important that conversation would turn out to be. By the time I turned in, it was Thursday and 90% of the heavy stuff was in the garage and the kitchen was filling with boxes.

Boxes filling the kitchen
Boxes filling the kitchen

Thursday I was up very early and spent all day filling boxes. So many that I ran out and had to go fetch more. I lost count of the boxes labeled “sewing room”. The place was beginning to look like a warehouse but there was lots more to do.

After another early start with packing on Friday and a bit of good news from realtor Wayne, his eldest and a mate would help with loading. I thought that I’d better attempt to disconnect the Dodge prop-shaft. The snow had pretty much melted so getting under the old beast wasn’t too bad. I had taken the advanced precaution of spraying the four bolts with a penetrating fluid but I quickly realised that I didn’t have the right spanner to release them. So off to town I went to see what I could find. Not much was the answer but armed with the best I could find, I was ready to give it a go. Just as I was about to get under, Bob turned up. He’d thought about our conversation and had realised that I might have problems getting the old bolts loose. He came prepared with an impact wrench and the job was done in a few mins. Things were looking up even more when Bob announced that he and his wife Jean would come around and help with the loading too. Not only that, but he’s also give me a ride to pick up the U-Haul truck first thing. What a star!

Bob wouldn't stand still long enough to get a photo
Bob wouldn’t stand still long enough to get a photo

Bob arrived at 7.55am on Saturday morning to take me to the U-Haul office and we arrived back with the truck before 9.30. After that it was a blur. The two youngsters were bringing out the boxes and Bob and I were cramming every little space with something. Meanwhile jean was inside packing up the kitchen. By the time we lost daylight we were left with some very tricky packing left to do. Still, all the big stuff was on board so I could now manage on my own. Not that Bob was going to let that happen,

Jean gets to work on the kitchen staples
Jean gets to work on the kitchen staples

Having slept on the problem, I worked out a way to create an “upper level” shelf. It worked a treat and with Bobs continued help we completed the loading. OK, just the old truck to secure on the tow dolly. Only problem was that the truck would not start. The battery was flat. I have a set of jump leads but they were somewhere deep in the U-Haul. Bob to the rescue again! With the Dodge secured I was pretty much ready to roll. Just a few final thing to sort out around the house and I’d be off. Well those last few things turned out to be something of a comedy, perhaps a farce. The two most time consuming were having to go into town for batteries to the heating thermostat and then unloading the cabin area of the U-Haul to search for my glasses. They had somehow come off the top of my head and where laying, in the darkness, in the driveway. Poor Cagney and Lacey. They had to witness such a “Victor” moment. The upshot was that we didn’t get away until 10.30pm.

All loaded and ready to roll
All loaded and ready to roll

Once on the road, all our problems, like the miles, drifted away in the rear view mirrors. The girls settled into their cramped accommodation and were as good as gold. At 2am I pulled over in a rest stop and had a surprisingly good 4hrs sleep before hitting the highway again at a relentless 55. Sunrise was lovely and the Shenandoah Valley quite a spectacle due to recent snowfall. I have done this trip so many times now that I don’t need a map or gps. Just for a change I took the northern route through Knoxville and Chattanooga. I was back in the house at 11pm.

Pennsylvanian sunrise from I-81
Pennsylvanian sunrise from I-81
Scotland PA that is.
Scotland PA that is.
From the bottom end of the Shenandoah Valley
From the bottom end of the Shenandoah Valley

One of our Atlanta friends, Patrick, had kindly volunteered to help unload and place the heavy items. It took us all day. Finally that just left me the job of cleaning the U-Haul and getting it back to the depot. A happy end to a U-Haul adventure.

There is still the task of retrieving the Big Dodge truck and a few bits and pieces left behind. One more long drive to go!

I totally under estimated the effort involved in this little exercise. Yes, it all went well and we did save money. However, it was stressful and would have been a disaster if not for the enormous help of a few very good friends. I am hugely in your debt. Thank you all.