6/9/13
Today is Tuesday. I know that because yesterday Mark went to work after staying home to work on SundayThe days
This blog was interrupted for no apparent reason. It will be published in its entirety for no apparent reason.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
This was originally published under the blog "The Family", but I am combining the two blogs (and any subsequent bright ideas I have, except the one about Mom) under the farm blog.
The Family
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
The Kids
The Family. It has to be more than
just Mark and me, so let me introduce you to the rest of the members of
the monkey show.
In age order: Nathaniel, Ian, Jason, Jacob, Zachary, Aaron.
Nathaniel just turned 29. He is my son, the oldest of my five. He has had an interesting life so far, and maybe he'll blog it someday himself. He was married young, and has two beautiful, smart, funny, talented children. Cameron is 8 and Rebecca, who I call Reba, is 6. They live full-time with their mother and blended family, and stay with us alternate weekends, and for weeks during the summer. Nathaniel moved home in March of last year, and he has integrated well back into the family.
Ian is my stepson and he is 26. He is a great kid, very personable, and has a great future ahead of him. Ian has lived with us during the last three winters. This spring begins his fourth summer season tending bar up on Mackinac Island, and he has met some really interesting characters. But his real passion is the screen. He spent two years out in southern California, and has worked on the set of a nationally syndicated TV show. This summer he will be directing a movie in northern Michigan, which will hopefully lead to more cinematographic work in the future.
Jason is my second son. He is almost 21 and working to save money for college. He is a prolific writer in his own right, and you should look for blogs from him as soon as I put the idea into his head. He loves anime, plays Magic and YuGiOh with friends, and aspires to be a master swordsman. He hates his shop job, which I totally understand, but it gives him a reason to save and get out of there. He is funny and talented, and doesn't know his own value yet.
Jacob, my third, is 19. He will finish high school in 8 days, and has aspirations to produce indie movies someday. He draws beautiful black and white original artwork. His immediate future is up in the air and will be interesting to explore.
Zachary is 17. He is brilliant when it comes to math, smart when it comes to science, hopeless when it comes to writing, and altogether entertaining. Zachary is (very) high functioning ASD, and he is sometimes aware of how the condition affects him, and sometimes not. His story would be interesting to hear from his perspective. He is a high school junior.
Aaron is 15 and a high school sophomore. He cannot wait to drive, graduate, get a job, move out, become a professional athelete, grow up. He has had a girlfriend, lost in love, found love, tossed love aside, and believes himself to be independent of all that. Aaron is a typical teenager, at once my child and an exasperating adult wanna-be. He is the youngest of the bunch, and always feels he has to fight for his place. That may have been true when he was little, but he has come into his own, and has the potential to be truly empathetic and superior, if he can be humble long enough.
Buddy is a ten year old labrador mix. He was rescued seven years ago when we adopted him. He has run away, been found, been hit by a car (twice), recovered, gotten incredibly overweight, suffered a stroke, recovered. Through it all he is a sweet, loving pup. He is deaf now, and wanders the farm aimlessly, content. He still tries to jump for his food, which is amusing beyond belief. He still thinks he is a puppy. He will sleep on the couch only if he thinks no one is looking, even though no one yells at him for getting on the furniture.
This is the cast of characters. My personal children still have not forgiven me for moving them out of the family home during the divorce, and the move out to the country adds insult to injury. No one is very excited about farming, even going so far as to tell me they're not " working on my stupid farm". We shall see.
In age order: Nathaniel, Ian, Jason, Jacob, Zachary, Aaron.
Nathaniel just turned 29. He is my son, the oldest of my five. He has had an interesting life so far, and maybe he'll blog it someday himself. He was married young, and has two beautiful, smart, funny, talented children. Cameron is 8 and Rebecca, who I call Reba, is 6. They live full-time with their mother and blended family, and stay with us alternate weekends, and for weeks during the summer. Nathaniel moved home in March of last year, and he has integrated well back into the family.
Ian is my stepson and he is 26. He is a great kid, very personable, and has a great future ahead of him. Ian has lived with us during the last three winters. This spring begins his fourth summer season tending bar up on Mackinac Island, and he has met some really interesting characters. But his real passion is the screen. He spent two years out in southern California, and has worked on the set of a nationally syndicated TV show. This summer he will be directing a movie in northern Michigan, which will hopefully lead to more cinematographic work in the future.
Jason is my second son. He is almost 21 and working to save money for college. He is a prolific writer in his own right, and you should look for blogs from him as soon as I put the idea into his head. He loves anime, plays Magic and YuGiOh with friends, and aspires to be a master swordsman. He hates his shop job, which I totally understand, but it gives him a reason to save and get out of there. He is funny and talented, and doesn't know his own value yet.
Jacob, my third, is 19. He will finish high school in 8 days, and has aspirations to produce indie movies someday. He draws beautiful black and white original artwork. His immediate future is up in the air and will be interesting to explore.
Zachary is 17. He is brilliant when it comes to math, smart when it comes to science, hopeless when it comes to writing, and altogether entertaining. Zachary is (very) high functioning ASD, and he is sometimes aware of how the condition affects him, and sometimes not. His story would be interesting to hear from his perspective. He is a high school junior.
Aaron is 15 and a high school sophomore. He cannot wait to drive, graduate, get a job, move out, become a professional athelete, grow up. He has had a girlfriend, lost in love, found love, tossed love aside, and believes himself to be independent of all that. Aaron is a typical teenager, at once my child and an exasperating adult wanna-be. He is the youngest of the bunch, and always feels he has to fight for his place. That may have been true when he was little, but he has come into his own, and has the potential to be truly empathetic and superior, if he can be humble long enough.
Buddy is a ten year old labrador mix. He was rescued seven years ago when we adopted him. He has run away, been found, been hit by a car (twice), recovered, gotten incredibly overweight, suffered a stroke, recovered. Through it all he is a sweet, loving pup. He is deaf now, and wanders the farm aimlessly, content. He still tries to jump for his food, which is amusing beyond belief. He still thinks he is a puppy. He will sleep on the couch only if he thinks no one is looking, even though no one yells at him for getting on the furniture.
This is the cast of characters. My personal children still have not forgiven me for moving them out of the family home during the divorce, and the move out to the country adds insult to injury. No one is very excited about farming, even going so far as to tell me they're not " working on my stupid farm". We shall see.
Introduction
So this is the first blog I've
written, and I'm not sure how committed I am to this particular blog, but I want
to create several linked pages to Croteau's Corners, our home and family hobby
farm in Dryden, Michigan. The family is a blended family. My husband brings
his two stepchildren and two children, and I bring my five kids. Not all of
them live with us, but the majority do, and life is very full around our house.
Mark and I met less than two months after my divorce was finalized in 2009, and although we hit it off, we both affirmed to each other that neither was interested in a long-term, committed relationship (read marriage). Mark had been widowed for 10 years, and was done with flaky women. I was coming off an eighteen year off and on marriage. We were both looking for someone to have a drink with, play a little Buzztime trivia, and share a few laughs.
Fast forward to summer of 2011, when Mark and I, on a quick camping trip to a nearby park, decided that we really should spend the rest of our lives together. Being the traditional souls that we are, that meant...you guessed it...marriage. So in August of 2011, surrounded by loving friends and family, we were wed in a singularly spectacular outdoor wedding in Mark's sister's front yard. Spectacular for us, anyway. Stunningly simple and country-inspired, we began our new life together as husband and wife with Mason jar wineglasses, sunflower centerpieces, and a potluck buffet.
In the summer of 2012 we started house hunting, and found our dream home - a country-style ranch with a walkout on 4 1/2 rolling acres in rural Lapeer County, Michigan. Over the winter we have planned our "farm" and began decorating the house. The rest is our story.
Mark and I met less than two months after my divorce was finalized in 2009, and although we hit it off, we both affirmed to each other that neither was interested in a long-term, committed relationship (read marriage). Mark had been widowed for 10 years, and was done with flaky women. I was coming off an eighteen year off and on marriage. We were both looking for someone to have a drink with, play a little Buzztime trivia, and share a few laughs.
Fast forward to summer of 2011, when Mark and I, on a quick camping trip to a nearby park, decided that we really should spend the rest of our lives together. Being the traditional souls that we are, that meant...you guessed it...marriage. So in August of 2011, surrounded by loving friends and family, we were wed in a singularly spectacular outdoor wedding in Mark's sister's front yard. Spectacular for us, anyway. Stunningly simple and country-inspired, we began our new life together as husband and wife with Mason jar wineglasses, sunflower centerpieces, and a potluck buffet.
In the summer of 2012 we started house hunting, and found our dream home - a country-style ranch with a walkout on 4 1/2 rolling acres in rural Lapeer County, Michigan. Over the winter we have planned our "farm" and began decorating the house. The rest is our story.
The Garden
The posts are in, the fencing attached (thank you honey), the plants in the ground.
Where is summer?
One of the Tiger's Baseball announcers asked Saturday, "Will we ever see 80 degrees again?"
The answer is, "Not in the next ten days."
And the real problem is, the nights are cool, too. If we were maintaining a nice, even 65-75 degrees, I wouldn't worry. But the truth is, the ground just isn't warming up and sustaining the kind of temperatures plants need to grow and seeds need to germinate.
Where is summer?
One of the Tiger's Baseball announcers asked Saturday, "Will we ever see 80 degrees again?"
The answer is, "Not in the next ten days."
And the real problem is, the nights are cool, too. If we were maintaining a nice, even 65-75 degrees, I wouldn't worry. But the truth is, the ground just isn't warming up and sustaining the kind of temperatures plants need to grow and seeds need to germinate.
Percentage of Normal Vegetable Seedlings
Produced at Different Temperatures* **
Produced at Different Temperatures* **
Numbers in ( ) are the days to seedling emergence. Number in
red = optimal daytime soil temperature for maximum production in the shortest
time.
* The above data was taken from a report published in the mid-1980's. Author, affiliation, and publisher are not known.
There is some variation, but soil temperature in the 65-86 degree range is best for all seeds to grow, and we're not seeing those temperatures consistently right now. Seeds take longer to germinate, and fewer plants result at the 50-70 degree temperatures we have been experiencing.
What does this mean?
I dunno.
I am just anxious for my garden to begin showing some signs of life, or my transplants to perk up, but nothing seems to have happened in the last week. And the forecast for the next ten days is not hopeful, either. I can't stand the thought of another "summer that wasn't" like we had a few years back. Yuck. Even if we had some sun, the temperatures would aggregate over time, but we're not even getting that. Meanwhile, I am worrying every time that I water the garden that I am cooling the soil down and encouraging further heat loss through evaporation.
That said, the boys dug in and spent a good chunk of last weekend helping out. Jacob, Zachary, and Aaron dug holes and rows, we mulched and planted, and got in most of the plants and seeds. There are 24 Celebrity tomatoes, 24 San Marano plum tomatoes, eight green peppers, eight cucumbers, eight eggplant, four each cabbage and cauliflower, three rows of peas, four rows of beans, and five rows of corn. The next week Mark planted four hills of pumpkins further down the hill. I still need to get in two cherry tomato plants and nine sweet potato. I just have run out of space inside the garden, and I'm worried that wherever else I put them the deer will find and eat them. Oh yeah, and the four herbs I got to start and herb garden; those need to go in, too.
So the waiting game continues. How long will it tak the seeds to germinate? If the weather keeps up with neither heat (from wind) nor sun, it could be an iffy proposition that crops wii come in at all. And while I am an awfully small proposition on this "farm", I hope it is not indicative of all farms in the area, because there is going to be a serious food expense incfrease come fall if the harvest is compromised.
I know myself. I am easily discouraged. I will have an even harder time sarting next year if this year is not at least marginally successful. On the other hand, if I have a bad year out the gate and success forever after, that could be a good thing.
Just hoping and praying for some warmer weather, and soon, so that the plants get a good start.
| Crops | 32ºF | 41ºF | 50ºF | 59ºF | 68ºF | 77ºF | 86ºF | 95ºF | 104ºF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asparagus | 0 | 0 | 61(53) | 80(24) | 88(15) | 95(10) | 79(12) | 37(19) | 0 |
| Beans, lima | 0 | 0 | 1 | 52(31) | 82(18) | 90(7) | 88(7) | 2 | 0 |
| Beans, snap | 0 | 0 | 1 | 97(16) | 90(11) | 97(8) | 47(6) | 39(6) | 0 |
| Beets | 0 | 53(42) | 72(17) | 88(10) | 90(6) | 97(5) | 89(5) | 35(5) | 0 |
| Cabbage | 0 | 27 | 78(15) | 93(9) | 0(6) | 99(5) | 0(4) | 0 | 0 |
| Carrots | 0 | 48(51) | 93(17) | 95(10) | 96(7) | 96(6) | 95(6) | 74(9) | 0 |
| Cauliflower | 0 | 0 | 58(20) | 60(10) | 0(6) | 63(5) | 45(5) | 0 | 0 |
| Celery | 0 | 72(41) | 70(16) | 40(12) | 97(7) | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cucumber | 0 | 0 | 0 | 95(13) | 99(6) | 99(4) | 99(3) | 99(3) | 49 |
| Eggplant | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21(13) | 53(8) | 60(5) | 0 | 0 |
| Lettuce | 98(49) | 98(15) | 98(7) | 99(4) | 99(3) | 99(2) | 12(3) | 0 | 0 |
| Muskmelon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38(8) | 94(4) | 90(3) | 0 | 0 |
| Okra | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74(27) | 89(17) | 92(13) | 88(7) | 85(6) | 35(7) |
| Onions | 90(136) | 98(31) | 98(13) | 98(7) | 99(5) | 97(4) | 91(4) | 73(13) | 2 |
| Parsley | 0 | 0 | 63(29) | 0(17) | 69(14) | 64(13) | 50(12) | 0 | 0 |
| Parsnips | 82(172) | 87(57) | 79(27) | 85(19) | 89(14) | 77(15) | 51(32) | 1 | 0 |
| Peas | 0 | 89(36) | 94(14) | 93(9) | 93(8) | 94(6) | 86(6) | 0 | 0 |
| Peppers | 0 | 0 | 1 | 70(25) | 96(13) | 98(8) | 95(8) | 70(9) | 0 |
| Radish | 0 | 42(29) | 76(11) | 97(6) | 95(4) | 97(4) | 95(3) | 0 | 0 |
| Spinach | 83(63) | 96(23) | 91(12) | 82(7) | 52(6) | 28(5) | 32(6) | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet Corn | 0 | 0 | 47(22) | 97(12) | 97(7) | 98(4) | 91(4) | 88(3) | 10 |
| Tomatoes | 0 | 0 | 82(43) | 98(14) | 98(8) | 97(6) | 83(6) | 46(9) | 0 |
| Turnips | 1 | 14 | 79(5) | 98(3) | 99(2) | 100(1) | 99(1) | 99(1) | 88(3) |
| Watermelon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 94(12) | 90(5) | 92(4) | 96(3) | 0 |
* The above data was taken from a report published in the mid-1980's. Author, affiliation, and publisher are not known.
There is some variation, but soil temperature in the 65-86 degree range is best for all seeds to grow, and we're not seeing those temperatures consistently right now. Seeds take longer to germinate, and fewer plants result at the 50-70 degree temperatures we have been experiencing. What does this mean?
I dunno.
I am just anxious for my garden to begin showing some signs of life, or my transplants to perk up, but nothing seems to have happened in the last week. And the forecast for the next ten days is not hopeful, either. I can't stand the thought of another "summer that wasn't" like we had a few years back. Yuck. Even if we had some sun, the temperatures would aggregate over time, but we're not even getting that. Meanwhile, I am worrying every time that I water the garden that I am cooling the soil down and encouraging further heat loss through evaporation.
I know myself. I am easily discouraged. I will have an even harder time sarting next year if this year is not at least marginally successful. On the other hand, if I have a bad year out the gate and success forever after, that could be a good thing.
Just hoping and praying for some warmer weather, and soon, so that the plants get a good start.
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