On 11/20/2014 7:59 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:
George Shirley wrote:
On 11/19/2014 8:30 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
We've had temps as low as 8° F here ... I was out by the garden
today bringing in some firewood , and noticed the bok choi , spinach
, and lettuce all still have green leaves - as do the strawberries .
Everything else is deader'n hail , but those four really surprised
me . I've been involved in a discussion on chisel
plow/cultivators in another group - if I build something there will
be more space under cultivation next year ... buying this little
yard/garden tractor is altering my life - for the better if you ask
my back ! That wood I brought in today was dragged on a "sled" by
the tractor instead of hauled in the wheelbarrow or on the furniture
dolly .
See, you're already in the "homesteader" mode Terry. When I was in my
twenties I used to farm nearly ten acres plus a full time job and run
a side business to boot.

Had cow and calf, pigs, chickens, rabbits, goats, etc. Now I live on a
6500 square foot lot with a large house on it and have three raised
bed gardens totaling 32 running foot and a lot of "stuff" planted
along the board fence. Much easier to care for, less stress on a
75-year old body, and gives me more time to nap with the dawg and
play with the great grandkids.

It got down to about 32F the other night and then warmed up again.
There is a microclimate here in Houston, TX area, mostly caused by
nearly six million people living here. Sometimes I wish I was still
on my old ten acre place in the countryside, just for the peace and
quiet.
George

I TOLD my wife I was born a hundred fifty years too late ... or early .
We're not getting into hooved livestock - yet - but might one day . The
peace and quiet is one thing we like here , when we hear a gunshot we figger
Bubba shot a deer , not that Demetriolarius shot his girl friend Lakatricia
...

That's one of the joys of living outside a city or town. I had my gun
shop on a side road along one side of the ten acres. Used to sight in
weapons on an old dead tree exactly one hundred yards from the shop. Had
a rest built into a window. Worked for years until someone decided to
buy the woods downrange and open a nursery. Had to drive five miles to
the club range then. Was nothing to hear gun shots both day and night
out in the wilderness. At night we figured it was raccoon hunters,
daytime it was squirrels or deer. Days of glory back then, working two
jobs and then farming and ranching. Thank goodness for a couple of good
kids and a lovely wife, none of whom thought work was below them. Still
good kids in their early fifties and hard workers and still a lovely,
hard working wife.