a semi-rural, mini-homestead on 1/2 acre in Vermont's Green Mountains

Fresh Eggs, Organic Rocks, Pick-Your-Own Weeds, Foolish Pursuits!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Striped Cucumber Beetles are evil, and must be destroyed!

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:C3ZXkI8DetWoMM:http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/icm/files/images/striped-cucumber-beetle_0.jpg

Okay, I admit it....I cannot be entirely organic. :( I discovered these nasty little beetles on my squash, and did some research. Not only will they eat my squash into oblivion, they spread viral disease and bacterial wilt. I spend several evenings squishing them, but was afraid I would lose the battle. One poor little squash seemed to be their breeding ground. While most of the squash had just a few beetles, this one was swarmed. When I touched it they all dove into the ground where they breed. Out came the sevin! I doused the ground around this plant; today there are many dead bodies and no beetles in the garden that I could find! Victory!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Best of Times, Worst of Times

Life is busy, and wonderful right now! Glynn and I will be getting married in just 6 days! Everything is mostly under control, just some last minute odds and ends to do this week. It should be a fun party! Reception is at the Gale's field on the river, with pulled pork, a keg, and pot-luck! No idea how many people will be there, maybe 80 or so!
We have put in two gardens, the one that I started last year and a new one that Sky tilled up for us as a wedding present. It is in the front yard to get the sun, and is about 30x40', and STILL not big enough! We also have 4 raised beds in the backyard, 3 cold frames now, and have started constructing a hoop house. I am very excited about the hoop house and hope it will extend the growing season by a couple of months.
We put the manual pump on the well and it works great although even with a foot valve it still needs some priming. I hope not to ever have to rely on that for a water supply in the winter, it would be most unpleasant to have to be out there pumping water in a Vermont winter. But at least we can if we have to.
I owe DirectTV money so they turned off the satellite. Good. I will pay them eventually but have NO plans to have TV service again. Too expensive and we just don't watch it enough to make it worthwhile.
We haven't replaced or repaired the broken microwave yet, and I have pretty much decided not to, at least not in the near future. I miss it, but have learned to do without it.
Last week we picked 12 pounds of strawberries and have made lots of jam, the first canning I have done in years. It was fun.
That is the good stuff. The bad is the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico last month. The oil continues to gush into the ocean in vast amounts, poisoning and polluting everything it touches. It is too depressing for words. The environmental and economic fallout will be catastrophic. It is giving me nightmares during waking hours. I am glad we are taking the preparations we are but I doubt they will be sufficient. It is alot like being in a nightmare and screaming for help and no one listens...very few people I know seem to be as worried as we are at what is happening...are we crazy? Or are they? Time will tell. We certainly hope that we are wrong...but my gut says no.

Living without a fridge

http://sharonastyk.com/2010/06/17/sans-fridge/