Saturday in Bristow: Getting Ready for Garden!

A little one-on-one!

This is what Dad will be doing...every Wednesday.

Dad playing some basketball now that he has officially restored in home court advantage! His mom bought him that backboard for his birthday....

Lauren=Straight Baller

Here we are...looking a little sweaty, windblown, and well, Joshua is a little sun-burned.

My Dad...in his element at his Farm!

Cutting up fallen tree branches for next year's firewood...You would not believe that this is effectively our third pass through the yard, picking up fallen timber after the ice storm. I have never seen so many branches and sticks in my life! We are so blessed that nothing hit the farm house. Frankly, it is a bit of a miracle...

Mom hauls away another load of approximately 4,000 pine cones that fell in our front yard following the ice storm. We did a final pick-up today so that we can prepare our yard for the riding lawnmower. Can you see the grass begining to turn green in the background?

Putting the garden mud in test tubes for soil testing...Today, I have a visual soil assessment for you: Red....Clay....Hard as a rock.

Now, take a look at the color of this mud....which color matches on the soil test diagram directly to the right? Pink? Sky Blue? Yes, the test instructions were....well, clear as mud.

We purchased a soil test kit to determine what we need to add to our soil to nourish our vegetables and herbs. Joshua mixed the soil with water to sit overnight before testing. Notice the John Deere T-Shirt...

This is the third round of seeds we have started indoors. Joshua and I planted these Tuesday after work. We are anxiously awaiting more peppers (all varieties), corn, okra, radishes, peas, brocolli, eggplant, beets, and giant yellow cucumber!

A shot of the original seedlings taken today...

Another picture of the original seedlings from today!

This is a shot of our original seedlings from last week. When you see the updated picture above, you can really see the growth!

Garden Plowed! Now, after some tilling, fertilizer, manure, weeding, and water, we could be the proud parents of 3 bell peppers!

Gardner's Enemy No. 1: Nasty, Vile Birds!

This past Saturday, Joshua and I had the garden area officially plowed in anticipation of moving our seedlings from the indoor greenhouse (a/k/a our utility/mud room) to the outdoor garden. The following morning, I heard Joshua yell something about a “crow” in “his garden.” I looked out our window and spotted the same nasty, vile birds you see pecking at the armadillo carcasses on the side of the road. Before I could process what he said, he darted down the hallway in his brown bathrobe and out the back door…with the shotgun. It happened so fast…something about a bird and the garden, then a man with bedhead standing in his bathrobe and flip-flops firing a shotgun from his backyard due south. It was classic. Much like the coyote “extermination” previously discussed on this blog, Joshua did not hit anything, but he has taken great satisfaction in the fact that the “crows” had not returned to peck through his fresh mud. He keeps saying, “Oh, they will be back,” but when that happens, I have a feeling my husband will be waiting.

This situation is somewhat funnier if you have heard about the savage bird attack recently perpetrated against my mother’s herb seedlings. When we purchased our seeds, I agreed to start the vegetables, and Mom agreed to start the herbs. Throughout the entire process, Mom’s herbs have been a little slow and not quite as exciting as the vegetables, and she was beginning to get a little discouraged. I even revealed my secret gardening tip: I sing “Here Comes the Sun” to the seedlings every morning before I turn the grow light on and water them. What can I say? My plants like The Beatles. Last week, Mom decided that perhaps her seedlings needed some real sunlight, and she put the herb sprouts outside on a warm day. When she and Dad went to check on them, they discovered, you guessed it, nasty, vile birds pecking away our seedlings. It was apparently a massacre of epic proportion…Mom conducted a complete replant this week!

So, for this week, the Gardner’s Enemy No. 1 goes to….Nasty, Vile, Ugly, Non-Colorful, Dirty, Carcass-Pecking, Oily, Loud, and Utterly Obnoxious Birds.

Sunday was a Farm Day!

That's a million dollar smile right there. Money, baby. Seriously, though, my parents are precious....

At first, I thought this picture was really adorable, but after looking at it, it's slightly inappropriate. Donna! Shame, Mother!

My parents....with some attitude. I like it. Emily, I think this is pretty classic!

Joshua decided that he wanted to smoke a chicken for dinner, but then he and Dad left to work on the fence, leaving Mom and I in charge of the smoking. Dad told us to "open the hatch and put more wood in when it stops smoking." So, we did that....about every fifteen minutes or so. Apparently, that option may have been a bit excessive because the chicken was black. It still tasted pretty good. After a long day of work on the Farm, we had some blackened chicken and talked cows!

Mashed potatoes...yummy.

When Grandad had his garden at the Farm, he rigged a hose watering system complete with a faucet from the catfish pond (about 300-400 feet from the pond). He buried the hose to keep it from getting cut by the tractor blade. We decided to try to find the faucet on Sunday. It was a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack....

The boys found it! Of course, the water is coming down the hose to the garden from the pond. Looks like we are going to need a water pump to restart the water system...

Marking the path of the hose down the hill with stakes, still trying to find the faucet!

Action shot

Look at Mom with the rake! She is such a legitimate farm girl!

Frank has his son-in-law doing the heavy lifting in this one!

Happy 33rd Wedding Anniversary to the Allisons!

Tonight, Joshua and I took his precious parents, Chuck and Janelle Allison, out for dinner at the Coachlight Restaurant in Bristow, Oklahoma to celebrate their 33rd wedding anniversary. It was their first official visit to the Farm! We had a wonderful time! When we arrived back at the Farm after dinner, I suggested we take some pictures, you know, memorialize our celebration for the Bristow Blog. Joshua had been telling me just this week that he wished we had more pictures of his family. I volunteered to play photographer, and well, just look at the series of photos. First, Exhibit A (above), you will notice that Janelle has her eyes half-closed and both of boys are trying to prop themselves up so that they will each appear taller than the other in the picture. Classic.

Next, you will notice that both of the boys look quite handsome...but, clearly, Janelle has both of her eyes closed. For those of you unfamiliar with Janelle's standard photo poise, her eyes are closed in almost every family photo...including their wedding picture.

Now, my frustration is building. Janelle and Joshua look fabulous, both with eyes wide open. And Chuck, well, very funny. Very funny indeed.

I made the mistake of showing them the previous photograph before taking this one. Another keeper.

Ok everybody, let's get serious. One more. Janelle, seriously.

We tried another angle. Same result.

Janelle is yelling at me to just take the picture....I'm afraid of Janelle.

This is the last one, all semi-smiling with eyes wide open. Maybe even a little bug-eyed? But, after the previous picture, I was too scared to take another.

Happy Anniversary Allisons! We Love You!

More pictures from "Norman Getaway"

This ridiculous gold-plated Statue of Liberty replica was in front of a law office directly across the street from the Cleveland County Courthouse. We loved it! You stay classy, Norman!

Dad has decided that he wants to visit and get a picture of every county courthouse in the State of Oklahoma. So, on our Norman Getaway, we had to visit the Cleveland County Courthouse for a photo op...

Trying to get kicked out of the OU Museum of Natural Science...

This buffalo statute was not quite as impressive as the Sapulpa one...if you know what I mean.

Norman Getaway!

A few weeks ago, Mom, Dad, Joshua, and I went to Norman to visit my little sister, Emily. We went to the OU Museum of Natural Science and enjoyed an OU Women's Basketball game. The next day, we had a great breakfast at Sunnyside Up, and after Emily headed out for a baby shower, the rest of us went to the Omni-Plex to see the exhibit featuring human cadavers called: Our Body-The Universe Within. The exhibit was fascinating albeit a little strange, and I certainly do not know how any person could see that exhibit and question intelligent design. We had a wonderful trip, and I certainly enjoyed spending time with my precious family!

More cell phone pictures from "Creek County Castle"

Domed entryway...

Living area....

This appears to be the bathroom area. I seem to recall the remnants of an old bathtub being here when I was a little girl.

Castle Turret...

Window frames possibly for stained glass...

Arched Doorways Throughout...

Creek County Castle

Across Oklahoma State Highway 48 from the Farm, an abandoned castle sits literally just behind the tree line. My cousins and I used to explore the site when I was a little girl, and I am still fascinated by it. According to my grandfather, a man began building his wife the castle, but she passed away before he completed it. After her death, he presumably never finished what was undoubtedly an ambitious and very romantic gesture. I have asked one of my clients who is a bit of a Bristow historian about the castle, and she remembered it quite vividly. I am going to do a little research on the site. I would certainly love to learn more about this modern-day knight in shining armor!

Getting Ready for Cows!

Joshua fixed the flag pole so Old Glory will fly over the Farm!

Walking the fence line is a lot of steps when your legs are 2.5 inches long!

Grass is too tall to see the dachshund bounding behind him...

Making his way through ice storm debris and tree damage...

Walking the fence line...Can you see the dachund in the grass on the right?

All the ponds on the property are full and the dikes appear secure...

Walking to the pond on Mom & Dad's acreage...

Checking for signs of life at the Catfish Pond.....