Spring 2017

It is the last weekend of April and Spring is at it's peak.  The photo above was taken by my handsome distance runner a couple weeks ago in Wausaukee.  It is a late Winter moon in a sunset.

This year has tried all that God blessed me with.  We were counting the weeks before the birth of our grand daughter in early May.  Then in March my dad suddenly took ill and died a day before his 87th birthday.  There will be no 4 generation photos with him.  Baby girl is in place for her first breaths and I am not travelling more than an hour from home until then.

In the Winter it is dark when I leave for work and dark when I return.  Today is Saturday and while eating breakfast I looked at the stove and was shocked by the grime on the floor in the space you can't reach with a mop.  While scrubbing that my eye was drawn to the cabinet fronts.  From there I noticed the lower door front of the fridge, but was distracted by the ketchup dried to the leg of a chair.  How does ketchup end up on the chair leg in a house of adults????    

Today's goal is prune the raspberry canes that were ignored last fall.  When I go through the kitchen I am going to close my eyes to avoid distraction.

Summer 2016: Fallow Field to Currant Field - How to Build a Deer Proof Fence

FALLOW FIELD TO CURRANT FIELD -HOW TO BUILD A DEER PROOF FENCE

This is the back portion of the lot. There is an old out building with trees growing through it.  

On the bottom of the hill is where the currant patch is going to be planted.  At this point it is sweet fern, alfalfa and wild growing things I do not recognize.

Full moon lit up the yard in early June

 Larry began the task of hand mowing the back field, one section at a time.  It took a while, but he kept at it.  By the end of the Summer he was able to use the riding mower to keep it in line.  

The most amazing thing I learned about my handsome distance runner is he has a need for speed.  Do not get in front of him when he is on his riding mower.

The two does and their fawns took advantage of the shorter grasses in the photo below.  I don't know if they sprouted new leaves, or the deer were just interested in something different.

This is the field once Larry had it where he wanted it.  

 During the week, my handsome distance runner would research how to build a fence to keep out deer.  The following photos are what can be accomplished with research, a fence pounder, a 10' ladder, basic tools and the help of a willing son-in-law to get the high stuff attached.

The photo immediately below is fence posts going into the ground using the pure determination of my handsome distance runner.

There is a stack of light colored stuff in front of the fence and on the edge of the sweet fern bed that was not cut down.  It is the carpeting we pulled from the house.  My cousin uses it in her garden to keep down the weeds.  We cut a hole in the middle of each ~ 4'X4' piece of carpeting and a slit to the edge.  This will make them easy to put in place and remove.  We will see how this works out next Summer.  Until Spring the stack will stay where it is.  

Before we cut the carpeting to size it was stored in the garage.  The mice were too eager to use it to store choke cherry pits.  I'm not going to make it easy for them to over Winter next to my currant plants.  

 6' high wire fencing was the bottom row.  By this point the storage unit from the patio had been moved to the fenced in patch. 

 This is where the second row of fencing was put up.  It took my distance runner, son-in-law and myself the day to install.

 There are two sets of gates.  1 for the lawn mower needed to keep the grasses in line and one centrally located for people to use.

 Yes, that is frost on the field.

 The 22nd of October the currant plants that had been growing in our West Allis yard were re-located to Wausaukee.  The prepared holes were bastard trenched and amended with aged manure provided by my sister's horse.  

It took me a month to prepare the 99 planting holes.  It took us 3 hours to plant the nursery stock.  

There is an abundance of the variety Red Lake, so alternate rows are Red Lake.  The other rows are started with Consort, Ben Sarek, Pink Champagne, Rovada Red (tastes the most like the currants my grandma grew) and Jonkur Van-Tets.  I took cuttings from these varieties to fill in the rows.

We took a trip to Channing in July to retrieve cuttings from the currant bush in Aunt Mary's yard.  There is a full row cuttings that I have named 'Mary Rassmussen' variety.  Now let's hope they are edible.

The doe in the photos below took her time one day nudging the bottom of the fencing over the entire perimeter of the patch.  In the two weeks since, my handsome distance runner has shored up the fence and added a couple rows of barbed wire to the bend in the fence pole.

The one concern we have is the bears in the area.  Neighbors on either side of us have seen them walking along the tree line on the other side of the berry patch.  Providing a source of food for the bears is discouraged.  Bears that are used to people are dangerous to have around.  If they become a nuisance, we will have to invest in a second fence and electrify it. We will see how the bears are next summer when the larger currant bushes produce berries.

Mice, acorns and sticky traps

The house came with mice.  They do not bother the flour in the paper sack, but Phil put his fruit loop cereal in the fridge.  

My handsome distance runner researched on line how to rid the house these pests.  

There are spring traps:  The mice ate the bait off them and the springs do not snap.

There is mouse poison.  They ate the block, leaving dust where the block had been.  I've found no dead mice.

There is the sonic noise maker that is plugged into the wall.  The mice have been storing their acorn collection next to the outlet they are plugged into.

There are cotton balls infused with oil of peppermint.  The basement smelled like a peppermint patty.  Nummmmm.  The smell wore off and the mice stole the cotton balls.

There are sticky pads.  These have been catching mice.  6 last week.  The mice are smart.  They are flipping dirt onto the sticky pads so they are no longer sticky.  

Now that the weather is cooling off the mice have begun to store their acorns in the house.  Most are in the basement.  This last weekend my handsome distance runner found an acorn in his weekend duffel bag when he pulled out his underware.  Another acorn dropped to the floor when I folded an afghan.  The sticky traps have been brought to the main floor until we find the entrance these vermin have been using.   

Update: October 9, 2016

Last weekend a barrier method of the vermin repellant 'Great Stuff' was implemented from the outside of the house.  This weekend the mouse count was down to one, with NO additional activity noted.  No new acorn stashes.

Older sticky pads were removed and new ones put in place.  3 crickets were captured overnight.   

I also filled in the gap between the cellar door opening and the cellar door frame with Great Stuff.

I began removing the paneling and insulation from the basement walls.  The mice have been using the sill of the poured basement walls designed to support the steel beams of the prefab as their well insulated home.  Acorn shell, fur, pebbles and a red lego.    The rest of the basement will be stripped down to the original cement and everything left by the mice will be removed, bleached and HEPA cleaners will be set up.   

Before putting new fiber glass insulation back on the sill, all seams will be covered with more Great Stuff.  

Outside, all landscaping will be removed from right next to the house before the first snow.  

Update, October 26, 2016:

I swept out the cellar entrance, removed all the leaves and sand.  The basement and cellar entrance were and searched for mouse entrances and any holes in the rim joist and foundation were filled with vermin repelling great stuff and steel wool.  I vacuumed the spider webs from the ceiling.  

We discovered the damage the mice have done since the house was built.  

The original basement had been finished with 1970's wood paneling.  There was polystyrene sheeting between the paneling and the poured basement wall.  All was removed and any area that looked like a mouse outhouse was sprayed repeatedly with bleach. 


The rim joists were insulated with 6" thick, R19 fiber glass.  What I removed from the rim joists was infused with pebbles, acorn shells, dead and living Japanese beatles, fur, tons of excrement and a little mildew.  Nasty, nasty stuff. Maybe an R5 at best.

 The hose on the new shop vac is too short to reach the rim joists.  The canister has to be balanced on a cooler to reach.  All the plumbing runs on the West side of the basement ceiling, just a few inches from the rim joists.  Not easy to get into the loose debris on the rim joist sill. Half of that wall is done

 Dust mask on.  Safety goggles on.  Safety goggles steamed up.  Dirty, nasty, eeeuiuuuuuuiiicky.  The clothes I wore went straight into the washer.  

The only place left for the mice to hide is under the basement steps.  I set up a sticky trap, pushed a few poison blocks through the crack in the rise, and there is now one less mouse in the basement. The Japanese beatle population has been significantly reduced with the help of a broom and a shop vac. 

When all is finally cleaned up, the rim joists will be re-insulated with pink board (R10) surrounded by a bead of great stuff to provide a vapor barrier.  But not this week. 

How we spent our Summer

Hi to my readers of less than half a dozen.  

We purchased a house with land in May to grow the currant business.  The house is already set up for aging with everything on one level and grab bars where they need to be.  The price was within out budget.  The mechanicals solid.  Some worn.  Some new.  All good things.  

What we did this Summer:

MOVED
PLASTERED
PRIMED
PAINTED
VACUUMED
SWEPT MOUSE DROPPINGS
WASHED
MOWED
RIPPED UP CARPETING
STAINED
LAID HARDWOOD

PRUNED
GLUED
DISMANTLED
TRIED ALL MOUSE REMOVAL SYSTEMS (STICKY BOARDS WORK BEST)
REMOVED SNAKES
PLANTED
REMOVED INTERCOM
WATCHED DEER

WATCHED TURKEY
CHECKED FOR TICKS
SWEPT SAND
CUT DOWN TWO TREES

PICKED CHOKE CHERRIES--------------  stories to follow


 

2016 - THE YEAR OF ONES

Hi all.

It has happened.  I am now recognized as the favorite aunt.  No doubt it is said to all the aunts out of my earshot.  The photos below will demonstrate how intentional I have been to grab the title of 'FAVORITE AUNT'.

This year has been a year of ones.  One life well lived that ended in February was celebrated.  One high school graduation celebration.  One tech school graduation celebration.  One 4 year college graduation.  One wedding to celebrate in July.  One new baby to celebrate in September.  In October will be one 90th birthday celebration.  All ones.  It is a year that celebrates all the seasons of life.

But, I digress.  To earn the title of 'favorite aunt' a tradition has been established, that I am surprised to discover a much anticipated tradition by at least one recipient.  Gifts of warmth are now provided in a progression.

High school graduation comes with a quill-o of fleece on one side and something wind resistant on the other in the high school colors.  It will tolerate anything a dorm can throw at it and will stuff into a pillow to transport in a trunk during the winter for break down safety.


The first post High School degree earns a blanket patched from deconstructed sweatshirts on one side and fleece on the other.  It is in tech school or college colors and I am diligent making sure at least one of the sweatshirts used has the school logo.  That is not always possible, so occasionally I do have to fully use the zig-zag stitch on my sewing machine to patch and embroider the school logo.  This is the warmest blanket, and justly so because it is the one that will get a person through the salad days of their adult life when a sturdy and warm blanket is like hug when one is needed.
 

     The first wedding is a traditional patch work tied blanket.

 

The first baby is a blanket of whimsy.  It is a small blanket well constructed for use and a washer and dryer, but with love and creativity that babies bring out.

Christmas 2015 Cookies: Ethnic German

This Summer I began investigating ways to use plums and currants in foods.  This lead me to Eastern European recipes and the plum dumplings of my Bohemian great grandparents.  

Nurnberger Elisenlebkuchen

 The Bohemian cooking overlaps Polish and German cooking.  All 3 have a plum dumpling recipe.  More investigation.  I came across a book titled German Baking Today by Dr. Oetker.  The photos were inspiring.  There is a whole chapter on Christmas baking.  How could I let that go un-addressed?  

   Zimtsterne

 A small challenge.  The original book had been translated into English by a Britain.  Ingredients are measured in weight, not the volume common in US recipes.  That did not deter me one bit.  Luckily my daughter came by the day I did most of the baking and helped out, a lot.  


     Spritzgeback (mit Eigelb)

You will note from the photos that I managed to seize the chocolate.  The other thing that cannot be seen in the photos is many of the cookies use nut meal as a primary ingredient.  In US baking, nuts are often used as an addition for texture or interest.  This was a new experience, baking with nut dough.  On the plus side, it can be kneaded and will not get tough.




        NuBprinten

The bulk of the cookies were baked Thanksgiving weekend and stored in plastic containers on the 3 season porch.  Since then Larry has baked his chex mix and batches of Hershey kiss cookies.  Wednesday night we brought out the spreadsheet, Green Bay Packer bags, labels, re-sale Christmas plates and plastic wrap.  In a few hours all was packaged up with the exception of 3 piles of goodies.  We are 3 bags short.  This weeks trip to Woodmans solved that shortfall.  Everything is ready for Christmas celebrations. 


Vanillekipferl

 If you are a recipient of one of the plates of German Christmas cookies, there is a photo key throughout this blog.  Be aware that my cookies do not bear much resemblance to the professional photos in the book.  I am still trying to figure out how a cookie designed to be made with an impression puffs up so much in the oven.  The impressions just look lumpy.  


Spekulatius

My favorite cookie of all the ones I baked does not even warrant a book photo.  Pfefferkuchenplatzchen translate to Ginger Nuts.  Who'd u thunk they are a really good gingerbread man recipe?  

Phefferkuchenplatzchen

                                                       

Growing my berry business

  

Growing my berry business has been interesting.  2015 has been a learning experience from directions not anticipated.  Let's start in the beginning.

I planted a raspberry patch with red and black raspberries and pink and red currants when we bought our home in 1987.  It was for household use.  The top photo started as 3 currant plants that I ignored and neglected.  Last month I finally pruned out the old and diseased stems.  The patch now looks like a toddler who's older sibling gave him a haircut.  Like hair, it will grow back.

We bought a weekend house in Crystal Falls Michigan in late 2011.  The next spring I planted a variety of ribes (gooseberries and currants) in the yard.  More plants were ordered and shipped to Upper Michigan from Jung's Nursery in 2013.  The photo of the neat row of plants above was taken the Summer of 2014.  It is fenced in because in Crystal Falls the deer will try anything.  

The original object was to see if they would grow in the U.P.  The plants are a little shorter than the ones in SE Wisconsin, but with the exception of Hikomani (sp) they did well. Both Hikomani gooseberry plants died.

In 2013 I discovered there were still raspberries and currants in my freezer from 2010.  Our use did not match production.  I went looking for a CSA to join.  Instead Lisa, who sells organic meat at the West Allis Farmers' Market offered to sublet space in her booth to me on an as needed basis.  My berry business slowly started off.

This was the third year of selling pink and red currants and black and red raspberries from my West Allis yard.  This is also first year I had pink, red and black currants to sell from the Crystal Falls yard. PLUS, my sister volunteered the harvest of red currants from her yard.  AND... it was a full production year from the Italian plum tree.  I finally made money at the farmers' market.  Instead of one Saturday, my fruit was present for 3 Saturdays.

South East Wisconsin has a sizable population of immigrants from Eastern Europe.  Currants and gooseberries are available in Eastern Europe like blueberries are here.  The question asked often was availability of black currants.  This was the first year I could say yes as they were ripening in the Crystal Falls yard.  Two weeks later I had black currants, red currants and raspberries for sale.  A woman walked up to the display of black currants, made an offer I could not refuse and happily went home with my remaining black currant stock.  Lesson learned.

I will stop here with a side note about the taste of currants.  There is a tartness to red currants.  The pink currants are a bit sweeter.  Both can be eaten fresh.  Black currants have a muskiness to them that is a definite acquired taste.

The third week I sold at the Farmers' Market was because the plum tree was remarkably fruitful.  I froze and gave away ~ 2 bushels of Italian plums.  Then I took the remaining 4 bushels to sell at the farmers market along with a plum kuchen baked from an on line recipe to sample.  An hour later I packed up my table and went home.  Plums sold and kuchen devoured.

South East Wisconsin must be the northern edge of plum growing.  The fruit needs a warm spell of 3 - 4 days to pollinate and set fruit.  This year there was both.  Larry and I successfully spent the summer thinning out the fruit to keep the mildew away and the branches from splitting.

Before the currants ripened I began looking for a small acreage in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to expand my currant growing kingdom.  In 2017 I will acquire my 4th week of paid vacation from my job.  I thought, it was possible to have the beginnings of a berry farm coming into full production at the same time that 4th week kicked in.  Then I could do farmers markets in West Allis and Iron Mountain and maybe some U-Pick-It.

This was a new experience.  Farming was never on my to-do list.  Information and resources were needed.  I contacted the Michigan state representatives requesting guidance on setting up a berry farm.  That was such a good idea!!!  I was put in touch with the Michigan department of Agriculture.  Via email and phone calls I met  Michael Bryan. He is to date the most knowledgeable person I know concerning ribes.  I've provided his contact information below.

Michael Bryan
Plant Industry Specialist
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development 

bryanm@michigan.gov

Desk: 517-284-5648
Mobile: 517-449-9435 

He also gave me news I had not anticipated.  Currants are not welcome in Michigan.  White Pine Blister Rust is a disease that spends part of its life in currants before going on to infect White Pines.  The US government tried to eradicate the plants in the beginning of the 20th century.  In the 1960s they gave up and it is left up to the state to regulate the growing of currants.  Lest you think I am being irresponsible, the majority of White Pine Blister Rust is being transfered by the indigenous wild currants.  The red currant Rondom and the black currant varieties I was growing were going to require a permit in Michigan.  The rest of the red and pink currant varieties were not allowed to be grown or transported in Michigan.  In the conversation I asked him if the world would end if the berries were not moved until spring.  The currants were allowed a verbal reprieve.

The state of Wisconsin does not regulate currants.

When the plants went dormant in October, Larry and I dug them up and moved them to West Allis.  All the plants fit in two mailing envelopes ~ 12" wide X 48" tall when originally planted.  The 18 plants we brought back from Crystal Falls filled the back of the 4 X 6 trailer.  It seems a miracle what can happen in 3 - 4 growing seasons.  It will be a miracle if the plants don't die of shock when they break dormancy in the spring.  The UP soil is very sandy.  The soil in SE Wisconsin is dark clay.

Crystal Falls Michigan is ~ 10 miles from the Wisconsin / Michigan border.  No biggie.  So we went looking for land in Florence County Wisconsin.  We found lake property, hugh hunting camps, small hunting camps, commercial property.  Nothing within our budget.  Nothing that did not need to be logged before we could use it.

Larry suggested we sell the house in Crystal Falls, Michigan and buy another house in Wisconsin that has a little acreage.  We now have an accepted offer on a house in northern Wisconsin. It is also an hour closer to our home in West Allis. 

The house in Crystal Falls has been on the market since late September.  No buyers, yet.  The timing may be off when the house is finally sold, so we've rented storage units near the house we offered to buy.  It is easier to move the household goods to a storage unit on the main highway for the winter.  The house we would like to buy is a cottage tucked away in the middle of 4 acres along a romantic snow covered gravel driveway.  I think snowbound may probably more descriptive later this winter.  The thing about Winter is, it goes away on its own in April or May...   It is also necessary to grow ribes.  Those in the South cannot grow currants because it does not get cold enough in the winter.  

Meanwhile the 18 ribes have been transplanted to the yard in West Allis.   Add to that the 40 + currants I am trying to propagate with stem cuttings and the 6 currant bushes thinned out of the original patch...... I am toying with the idea of having the 60 X 110' yard rezoned as agricultural.

There are those stories that filter through families that surface from time to time.  When our lives are mentioned going forward, it will come with the story of how we sold a house to buy a berry farm.