steelnut

I want nice weather so that I can go out and play in the dirt

I want nice weather so that I can go out and play in the dirt

I want nice weather so that I can go out and play in the dirt

I want nice weather so that I can go out and play in the dirt

A year ago today we lost this beautiful young lady.
 
I miss my friend.

So sweet!

Drive up over Clearfield mountain. You can see tons of ferns from the road. I don't think that there is a particular type of fern that you fry up although I suppose some are better than others.  I have the interrupted ferns in my garden and they are just about a foot high now and haven't opened out yet. Watch for ants. Fiddleheads always seem to be full of them.
I'd love to see a morel. Been picking mushrooms for many years and have never seen a morel.

I've read that they're plentiful in the New England states and Canada. But, I know that I read something somewhere a few years ago that they can be found in PA, it may have been on this forum. We've been pigging out on leeks, son brought us a five gallon bucket three weeks ago and another one on Mom's day, we love them! 

My last post was areas for finding morels
.

I've looked and looked and have never been able to find any.
I too would love to try them!

These are on the menu for next weekend.
 
Grilled Meatloaf Burgers
 
These burgers mimic the flavor of meatloaf but cook in far less time.
Serves 4
 
You can substitute equal parts ground beef and ground pork for the meatloaf mix.
Ingredients
 
1 1/2 pounds meatloaf mix
1 large egg
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
4 hamburger buns
 
Instructions
 
1. Combine meatloaf mix, egg, Worcestershire, thyme,

I'd say leave them alone. Daylilies usually take care of themselves. If the leaves are just yellow they may not be dead but just haven't developed cholophyl
yet. If they were under snow or mulch they could be experiencing chlorosis. This will clear up. If the leaves are dead they will wilt and disappear.
Why take the chance on cutting back living leaves when it isn't necessary? I just went out to look at mine and the deer have eaten them all
down to the ground so I couldn't say what the tips looked like.

Yep, I have some buds left, but with this cold stretch coming, we'll see what happens....

Yep, I have some buds left, but with this cold stretch coming, we'll see what happens....

Funny, I always find that daffs are sturdier than crocus. We are getting more cold weather, which is a shame as the spring bulbs were the nicer this year than they have been in a long time.

Its darn hard to freeze a flowering spring bulb. They have a sort of "antifreeze" in their cells. The tulips are usually blooming late enough to avoid the spring snows but the crocus often get hit. My daffs are rarely frozen.  I have daffs, scilla, grape hyacinths, crocus, primroses and hellebore blooming now. All were under he snow and all were fine when it melted. When a flower or plant freezes the cell walls rupture and there is no coming back for the frozen. By the way,  I highly recommend the scilla. They are a "minor bulb" but have a major impact if you want to naturalize bulbs.
 
Why one type of tulip bulb escapes the appetite of critters and another doesn't is a mystery. I suspect that some of the bulbs produce something that makes them unpalatable just as some people are not bitten by mosquitos.  It's the same with plants. It is hard to tell what's going to get eaten although some of that is just deer with plant specific appetites.  I just don't think that tulips are worth planting unless you are critter free. The deer eat off the flowers if the bulbs manage to escape. I've even tried growing those tiny specimen tulips and they only lasted a few years. They were growing among the scilla so it would have been a very meticulous squirrel to have picked them out. 
 
Beware! The daffodils on the walkway are not growing wild and we shoot to kill.

Your frozen daffodils may perk back up on a warmer day.  I've thought they were frozen but unless they look waterlogged and transparent they may not be dead, just protecting their cells till it's warmer.
 
There are different kinds of tulips, species which are the originals and hybrids which have been crossed for colors, height, season and anything else they have think is a selling point.  Species tulips seem to be hardier.

My brother owns a house and lives in Maryland. He says he has to pay for the rain that falls on his roof. Or the disposal of the rain. Or for the fact that his roof interferes with the natural fall of the rain. Or something...
They charge him by the square feet of his roof. This is in addition to property taxes. It has to do with rain. My eyes glossed over when he was explaining it.
I don't understand it but he's never lied to me before.
 
Sounds like Maryland has a different agenda.

Maryland couple chooses Clearfield County for cattle farm, livestock reproduction services

By Jeff Corcino jcorcino@theprogressnews.com
 


Mar 20, 2016
 
 


 
 
 






 







 



 

Photo by Jeff Corcino


Andrea and Bryan Loar, formerly of Maryland, recently moved to the Curwensville area to operate their own farm.




 






 









 
 
 
 
 



Maryland natives Bryan and Andrea Loar have recently moved to the Curwensville area to operate their own farm.

Agriculture Technician Bob Edwards of the Clearfield County Conservation District said it is extremely rare for farmers from out of state to move to Clearfield County.

The Loars formerly operated a 165-acre beef cattle and hay farm in Thurmont, Md.

Not many!! Only dirt most people play with is on Farmville.
 
I grew up playing in the dirt, mud, horse/cow pastures, & swimming in the "sulfer" creek.

Me too! And having a tomato that tastes like a tomato.

There is actually a beneficial biotic exchange when you touch clean living soil so it explains why people love playing in the "dirt"!  Clean soil isn't dirt but regardless of the term used, it does touch the soul.

I'm so looking forward to playing in the dirt!

I'm so looking forward to playing in the dirt!

It's another growing season. I didn't order seeds this year so have spent the last two weeks visiting 5 or 6 different stores to get seeds. I'll be planting different varieties this year. Some of the ones I usually order aren't available in stores. I have noticed over the past few years that the variety of broccoli and cauliflower that I've planted for years are not doing as well. I think that we have had some climate change as peppers, which never grew at all, are doing better. The cold weather crops that used to flourish are not doing as well.
So what are we all planting this year? Got a tomato called Bloody Butcher. Liked the name! I also saved cucumber seed from last year. It was open pollinated and I thought I'd see how that worked. I've never saved cucumber seed before but these did well. I'm not sure what they were but I have it here somewhere.