the rain (snow) has ended for now.

What started out yesterday as a mad rush to cover the little seedlings outside due to snow fall turned into a non-issue as the weather that blew in blew out almost as fast. By last night the water accumulation has pretty well dried out. And my ittle darlin seedlings are just fine. Radishes carrots and even more greens are coming up rather nicely in the beds.
his weekend will be spent in the garden and in the garage. I need to place the homemade ollas and also add and mix some more compost and mulch into the new beds.
In he garage I need to start the motorcycle and get it ready for summer use. As well as repair the bike trailer from the little incident a few weeks back.

a fellow bloggers take on the census

check this out
Oh, is my blood ever boiling right now! I just got a letter in the mail informing me that my address has been "chosen" to participate in the American Community Survey! Yay Rah! My compliance is "required by law". Oh yah? You show me what law????

Where does it say that I must SUBMIT to telling the Census Bureau how long I have owned my home? How many acres of land I own? How much money I make? Which fuel do I use the most of to heat my home? How many separate rooms are in this home??? How many are bedrooms??? What was your last months utility bill for electric? What are all your sources of income, including other incomes?? What was the total income for the enitre household last year??? What was last months gas bill?? WTF? I was just going to put the number of people that reside here on it and send it back but then, the more I thought about it, the more pissed off I became. I am so unbelievely angry right now. Here we are, just struggling to make it back and forth to a job that doesn't pay enough to pay our bills, keep our heads above water with the tax hikes, utility rate hikes, the unGodly cost of fuel to get to work and the prices of everything else that has tripled over the past 18 months, not to mention us making it thru 9 months of unemployment with ZERO state or government help and the Census Bureau thinks it should threaten me to pilfer private information from me? Here's my line, it drawn.


SHOW ME THE LAW WHERE IT SAYS I MUST PROVIDE PRIVATE INFORMATION ABOUT MYSELF, MY FAMILY AND MY HOME TO THE GOVERNMENT. SHOW ME WHERE IT SAYS I AM REQUIRED TO DO ANY MORE THAN BE ENUMERATED EVERY 10 YEARS.

Until I see that law, in writing, the Census Bureau can kiss my Constitution and my ass too while they're at it.

Tuesday evening

CAme home from work and worked in the garden for an hour or two. Then decided to grill some salmon and some chicken on the BBQ for dinner. yum yum

another new bed for Mrs T

Well. just a i thought I was done prepping for the summer season, God brought me some railroad ties and timbers so Mrs T and I decided (Mrs T more than me) that a whole patch for the ZUchs and squash would be a necessary endeavor. SO we laid out the patch and I dug it out. I will modify the soil with compost and coffee grinds and away we will go.

I have also begun cleaning out some milk cartons/ 2 lite soda bottles to be used as homemade ollas. Again one experiment leads to another in garden science.

Sunday morning garden work

working on setting up a new bed for the summer with "found" ties and also a pic of the new garden hat. Thanx to WallieWorld

all my rowdy friends seem to be

selling out.
MAkin money off the survivalist bandwagon.. First good old Jack and now MD..HAving to stop publishing his blog for a while so he can finish his book.. Then there is good old Rawles, consistently sellin us out. Waiting for his infomercial. My god where does it end. Designer coveralls, form fitting fatigues, etc.
Trash has lived and breathed this every day and still holds down a day job , a side biz and still tries at least to get a few posts a week out.

the rain has ended ... for now

And boy did my garden get a nice greening up.. Pics later.
On another note I took a walk over to Wallie this morning and after coming back my daughter said she heard water in the bathroom.. Oh OH. SO dad went out and checked the water heater closet and yup sir there was a spritzer.. Its been almost a year since our last one so its not too bad.
Being the prepper I am I was able to grab a new connector out of my back supply and grabbed a wrench and PVC cutter out of the tool box and have it replaced and water flowing again within 30 minutes.
Afterward grabbed a cuppla black bean, rice and cheese burritos with rooster sauce and coffee before I sat my ars down here.
yumyum..

a new resource for us

check them out

Friday news for a rainy day....

And they wonder why Trash does what he does.....


WHolesale prices rise in MArch as food costs jump

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wholesale prices rose more than expected last month as food prices surged by the most in 26 years. But excluding food and energy, prices were nearly flat.

The Labor Department said the Producer Price Index rose by 0.7 percent in March, compared to analysts' forecasts of a 0.4 percent rise. A rise in gas prices also helped push up the index.
Still, there was little sign of budding inflation in the report. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, wholesale prices rose by 0.1 percent, matching analysts' expectations.

Food prices jumped by 2.4 percent in March, the most since January 1984. Vegetable prices soared by more than 49 percent, the most in 15 years. A cold snap wiped out much of Florida's tomato and other vegetable crops at the beginning of this year......

"Excluding food and energy".... It's interesting how they always try to make things look more rosy by "excluding food and energy". You know, your two biggest expenses besides "conventional" shelter. All part of the smoke and mirror routine they use to keep the sheeple in their daze. And they do stay dazed, because they fail to remember two summers ago, $4 gasoline, and the price increases that accompanied that "little spike" (which, by the way, never went back down). They fail to recognize the fact that "Gorebal Warming" froze a lot of produce in Florida. They're clueless as to how there is no longer a grain stockpile in this country. Don't confuse them too much by telling them the grocery store will be empty after three days of no trucks rolling in. No no no.... Nothing bad happens, this is America! Right.... Enjoy paying 49% more for veggies oh wooly ones.

Friday fodder

Well its been raining off and on here for most of the night. It got a tad chilly last night so I brought the tomatoes in and covered the beds JIC. The cisterns are filling up nicely with this free resource of water. Hopefully with the nutrient rich drench we are getting I will be able to get more stuff in the ground this weekend.

rain rain i love you

After a beginning to a dry spring we finally got some spring showers last night. What a joy. I always prefer rain water to hose stuff. Anyhow I got some radishes (French Breakfast and sweet red), snow peas and more lettuce and chard in the ground on Tuesday. SO this will give them a good start.

garden Tuesday

Using the words of advice from one of my readers I am planting some extra seeds in recycled pods and pots in order to sell a few pots to underscore the costs. If they sell great is they dont then more for the garden. Planted some chard, 2 types of radishes and some more lettuce.. All from saved seeds from last years crop along with some new "finds"

experiment in wild flora

Last year I attempted an experiment whereby I transplanted some wild plants from their natural habitat and placed them in like soil in the yard to see if they would readjust and flourish. Have a look at what they are doing this spring. One year later.

garden update pics

taters experiment

chive and thyme coming back

the collard greens from under the makeshift hothouse

HUMP daY AT THE 'STEAD

got up early this morning to the sounds of the birds in the trees chirping. This causes the birds in the house to sing. And boy did they. So I made coffee, had a smoke or 2 and went out and filled the feeders and water. I checked on my seedlings and gave them a talking too and some love. So far a good morning.

Where did the weekend go?

It seems like just yesterday it was Friday afternoon. Now this morning its Monday. Well thats springtime at the homestead. I worked in the beds this weekend as well as started some more seedlings in flats. Taking some advice from a fellow blogger I may even have some extra to seedlings to sell later on this spring. Heirloom black eyed peas, green beans, and giant zuchs to name a few.
I also worked on old reliable dumpie bike this weekend as well as lubed up the trailer for the hauling I usually do this time of year. All of those unwanted goodies that I can refurbish, reuse and if all else fails resell.
As for the Sunday morning dumpie run I picked up several mangos, lettuce, some grapefruit, and some cabernet and pinot noir gourmet cheese wedges out behind the SAfieway dumpie. I guess the yuppi-files aint buying cheese chunks at $10 a chunk.. But for free I will indulge in such gourmet delicacies.
LAst night we bbqd some boneless country beef ribs and salad.. A good ending to a nice weekend. I may be tired but its a good kind.

Friday....

The garden is calling me.. Trash needs to work in the yard and on on stuff around the 'stead. ALl the while drinking a few beers and enjoying the sun..
Alas.
On the road I am a going.

the week is almost over.

Thursday afternoon and the beer man is calling. I made a few extra bucks today so the beer is my payment. Anyhow checked on the garden yesterday and all has survived the snow and the melt , So we should be ok to plant and work some more this weekend.
We shall see.

Pallettes are your friend

I saw this article this morning.. Excellent collection of possibilities of pallets. Enjoy.
Anyhow it Wed morning and its snowing. Not a heavy snow but snow in April. Gotta love the spring.

Spring rain.

Woke up this morning to the pitter patter of the spring sprinkles. What a pleasant sound to wake up to. That and the birds chirping.. Good water for my little seedlings and of course free water for my cisterns. Raion water is so much better for the plants than the chlorinated, purified crap that comes from the city.

Easter Sunday work

spinach i planted last weekend already sprouting under the small coldframe

snow peas planted in the pots and cold framed with plastic

This is my first coldframe with lettuce, collards and spinach planted underneath.
All in all a good Sunsay. Ended with a BBQ of pork chops, salad and coke

Happy Easter

Hope yours is as fun as ours. I went to Wallie this morning and got all of this stuff plus more from the clearance racks for under $10. Wonderful and frugal

its the weekend again....

Where did the week go.. It seems like just yesterday it was Sunday in the garden.. NOw the week is over.
Some of the chive seeds and little spinach seeds that I planted last Sunday are starting to pop up under the plastic warmers in the yard. goodie goodie.. I doused them a bit yesterday with some water to keep the soil moist and covered them up again.
Another thing, the 2 experimental beds I started last spring with transplants of wild flowers that I confiscated from a nearby wilderness area are starting to show some life.. Maybe natural plants are sustainable.. DUH. We shall see.
Anyhow I got a busy weekend in the yard in order to provide the Trash family the sustained life they deserve.