It's been a good couple of days. Yesterday started out rather frustrating though. I woke up to 3-4 inches of snow on top of nasty slick mud. I was supposed to meet someone up near Post Falls and talk about the possible adoption of one of my Trainer's Incentive Program horses (which I'll be picking up in April). But with the snow and a severe wind that came up (we have drifting problems on the highways here) I decided to stay home.
Later in the day it was beautiful and sunny, and the highways were clear, so I drove up to Spokane for the Mustang Club meeting. It was a great drive. I saw lots of deer and a bald eagle. I got a NASTY mocha at the coffee shop in Plummer though. I don't recommend their Mexican Something-or-Other. I was looking forward to a nice spicy mocha. It had an absolutely disgusting flavor added, and I couldn't put my finger on it for a while, then I figured it out. It tasted like willow bark tea, which is medicinal. Not something you'd drink for enjoyment. I know they can make good coffee there, so don't avoid the place completely if you happen to be passing through. Just don't order that.
We talked about Mustang Days a lot at the meeting. More people there this time. It was a lot of fun.
I stayed up at my mom's in Spokane last night. This morning we got up and joined the Arbor Day Foundation. It's just $10 to join and they send you 10 blue spruce trees! I'm planning on planting a wind break this year so I thought that was a great deal. They cost $2 each at the University of Idaho Nursery. I also ordered some hazelnut shrubs, and they're sending me 2 free forsythias and 2 free red maples. I'm not sure what to do with the maples. They're toxic to horses. My mom also ordered a fruit tree to plant at my place, but neither of us can remember what she ordered.
After that we went to Costco and Home Depot and I came home with 5 fruit trees and 6 blueberries. So that's a total of 35 trees and bushes to plant! I am excited. I'm going to try to talk John into joining Arbor Day as well, and then I'll have 45 total. And several years from now we'll have lots of fruits, berries, and nuts to harvest.
We also bought stuff to start tomatoes and pepper plants inside, but I just looked up our estimated last frost and it's not until mid-June! So it's too early to start anything. Bummer.
Well, I'm sorry I babbled on about growing things rather than horsey things. But I'm really excited. I only planted one tree last year. So I'll make up for it this year. I'm really hoping that between eating raw local honey every day and the new steroid inhaler I got, my allergies will lay off a bit and I'll have energy to keep up with all the work this spring. Cross your fingers for me.
It's that time of year! The Costco here has had fruit trees with different types of say, apples grafted onto the same tree. Not sure if they have any left though. Someday, I will have property where I can plant fruit trees! (I live at my grandma's house, not that she wouldn't want fruit trees, just not sure how long I'll be here).
ReplyDeleteI just spent an hour brushing Cody and I am still spitting hair out of my mouth it seems, hehe. Are your ponies shedding a lot?
That sucks about allergies :( There have been days when I have been sent home from work I have sneezed so bad and nothing I'd take would work (or it would just make me so out of it I was useless anyway). Have you ever tried Zyrtec? I saw it at Costco last summer and figured I'd try it. It seems to have worked fairly well, the really bad sneezy days seemed fewer at least.
Do you have a website with info about your Mustang Days?
How do you join the Arbor Day Foundation and where do you get your trees?? Sign me UP!!
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous!!! That is awesome,I can't wait to see all your wonderful bounty.
ReplyDeleteFroglander,
ReplyDeleteWe got one of those funny grafted trees. I was kind of against it, because it seems like they wouldn't be as hardy or they might break, but John wanted one. It has 4 different kinds of cherries. My horses are shedding too, but not in clouds just yet. It's still pretty cold here at night. I used Zyrtec last year, and it helped but it made me sleepy, so I'm back on Claritin now. When I don't take it during grass season I want to die, I itch so bad. The asthma is still a problem though so I'm hoping this other stuff will help this year.
Linda,
Go to www.arborday.org and join, and they send you the trees. They're just little ones, but they'll grow. You can choose different kinds. I was really tempted by the birch trees.
Della,
Well, it'll be a long wait, but we'll have lots to share!
We have one of those grafted cherry trees too. We don't get too many off of any of it. The birds do though. I was heavy with cherries last summer. Our little apple tree does well though. Can't remember what kind it is but the apples are crisp and tart.
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