A Test, A Phone Call, & Killing CPB

Had a shock this week.  We found out that we unintentionally planted a seed that in all likely hood is going to emerge mid February.  <wry grin>  Here we go again.

So, it was that shock that followed me in my mind through the week.  There was not much gardening that I did, other than some general weeding and watering in my own yard.

On Friday I got stuck in the office late due to clients needing last minute things before the 4th of July weekend.  Finally, at 6 pm I was on my way home, when my cell phone rang.  It showed a friend of mine that was going to be coming over this weekend with her family to hang out and watch the fireworks, and then Nell was going to go home with them Monday night.

When I answered the phone, it dropped the call.  I called her back.  When she answered she told me very simply that a tornado had just come through, their barn and trees were all gone…..

and the phone dropped the call again.

I could not get a hold of her again.  They live about 90 miles west of my home.  I called Patti, told her about the coming storm, and to check the weather reports.  I called David and asked if I could borrow some of his chainsaws, then started running through mental lists of what I needed to put together.

By the time the storm hit our house it was a 300 mile wide front of straight line winds.  The gust that hit us was only going about 50 mph.  A few bits of leaves and small branches gusted out and was gone.  Damage reports were just starting to come in from the western part of the state, with the news more obsessed about the state government shutting down than anything else.

By morning I had a plan together, clothes for a couple of days, 3 chainsaws, 3 full gas cans, 10 gallons of water, a case of beer, cooler, 20 pounds of ice, cell phone and a camera.  I finally thought of calling his parents.  They live only a few miles from them, and being in their 80s I thought there was a good chance they had an old style phone that is not dependent on electricity to work.  Found them in the online white pages, called, and not only did I find out everyone was ok, but she was dropping her daughter off there and I got to talk to her.  I gave her the general scoop on what I had, she told me a few more things they needed, and I was out the door.

Generally it is an hour and 45 minutes to get out there.  It took over 3 hours.The farther I drove, the worse the damage was.  Debris fields stretched to the northeast away from every farm across the fields, with larger and larger buildings destroyed, more and more trees shredded.  Fields underwater.  Crops pounded into the ground.  Tin wrapped around whatever it hit.  Electrical poles snapped.  Electrical lines strewn everywhere.

When I finally arrived at their home I just stopped out at the end of the driveway and cried for a while.  Their beautiful grove of trees was mostly gone.  The windbreak on the south side of the home no longer existed.  The stately barn which was the signature feature of the farm could not be seen at all.

I composed myself, and drove up to the home.  He had cut a path through the tree tops where they had gone over the driveway.  I got out, they walked up to the car, we hugged each other and cried together for a bit, then we got out the chainsaws and got to work.

Over the course of 2 days there were maybe 30 different people who came to help.  The dozens of trees which used to shade the yard are now all gone; cut into large logs and stacked, or simply chopped and pushed back into the old grove.  The lawn has been raked and the chickens all came home.  I wanted to help her with her garden, but she did not want me in the garden without her, and she could not bring herself to go into the garden.  Between the hail and the barn, much of it is damaged or gone and what is left will need to be babied along.  It didn’t take as long to drive home.  The roads were clear, and most of the wires and poles were back where they were supposed to be.  The debris fields are going to make harvesting the big fields difficult in the fall, and the insurance adjusters are going to be writing a lot of checks for grain bins.  Oh well.

I needed to get out to poison the CPBs if I got nothing else done in my own gardens today, and when I got home, Patti needed some time away from the kids, so I took them along, made them stay away from where I was working, got the Minnetonka and Ness gardens dusted with Sevin-5 and sprayed with Pyrethrum (as nasty of a combination as I could think of) in hopes all the beetles will find one of those two chemicals toxic, felt bad about all the things that stuff is going to kill that I love having in those gardens, and then took the kids out for ice cream.  Some of the plants were eaten down pretty far.  I hope they can grow back or those plants are not going to yield very much.At home I gave my gardens a quick once-over look.  The Sasha’s Altai tomatoes are still the most advanced in tomato production.  The earliest cluster is looking good.Tonight I will go to David’s, drop off the chainsaws and pick up Rebecca so she can come to the fireworks with us out in Waconia.

Has been an interesting weekend.  Everything works out, just seldom as you have planned.

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11 Responses to A Test, A Phone Call, & Killing CPB

  1. Diane says:

    Congratulations on the new one!

    (I just found your blog through T-ville and subbed up. Love it, especially that you’re growing most of your own food! That is no small feat.)

    • Tom says:

      welcome to our lives.

    • Sahnika says:

      Our 3 rock barred are four years old and have setoppd laying. Do I harvest them and eat them, is there a place for old chickens?We’d like to get some new chicks but know these old ladies won’t be to welcoming.What do others do with their old non-laying hens

    • Tom says:

      old chickens? they are food. You eat them. Generally, they are considered soup or stew chickens as they are a bit tough, but they taste fine. If you dont want to deal with plucking them, just skin them. after killing them.

    • Joe says:

      We were told if we just had a bunch of random cknihecs and didn’t name them we wouldn’t think of them as pets. Well it was too late we brought home seven one was named Random.We had to take two back they ended up being roosters. Dr Von No Name and Scarlet (Scar) we get to see them every day and I am still attached.The others Two Toes, Random, Racer, Tracker and Trillion are so entertaining. They are teens and know their names. They come running very morning to see us. It’s like living in a fish bowel they look in our bedroom window and watch us. They stare in the sliding glass door when we entertain. I love being a back yard chicken mom.

    • Sasan says:

      Raising bayrackd chickensRaising chickens in your own bayrackd is becoming downright trendy. As the Washington Post noted , In cities across the United States, raising bayrackd poultry has suddenly become as chic as growing your own vegetables. It’s all part of the back-to-the-land movement whose proponents want to save on grocery bills, take control of their food supply and reduce the carbon footprint of industrial agriculture. Some of the bonuses of raising your own chickens include having free, fresh, organic eggs plus they serve as a chemical-free form of pest control for your yard. And hey getting a rooster? You won’t need an alarm clock anymore.Is it legal?If you’re considering raising chickens, the first thing is to check out the laws in your city, town or county. Fortunately, this is as easy as visiting your local municipal site . There may be various ordinances not just whether or not you can keep chickens, but how many you can have, how many roosters you can keep, how big your yard needs to be, etc.Chickens onlineThere are multiple sites dedicated to the pursuit of eggs and feathers and clucking creatures. Here are some we liked that feature both information and community:And, for good measure, here are a few more sources of information:GD Star Ratingloading…

  2. Thanks for the info, very useful

  3. Just bookmarked you!!

    • Victor says:

      We tried to select debers that would better be able to handle our colder Pennsylvania winters so that’s the first step find climate appropriate (preferably heritage) debers. I only used a heat lamp on a handful of nights when it dropped below zero, and I am not totally sure that was necessary. We reused some greenhouse plastic and wrapped it around the wooden coop to make sure there were no drafts (but still kept ventilation open at the top of the coop), and that seems to help. They huddle together and stay warm. Some people put the coop up against an existing garage or home to help block winter winds, too. Most vets don’t know how to deal with chickens. The key is to raise chickens with healthy immune systems. Rodale.com columnist Jean Nick, aka the Nickel Pincher, taught me to give the chickens raw goat milk at a young age to build their immune systems. I also make sure they have fresh pasture by moving them every two weeks to fresh grass, supplement with Molly’s Herbals Immune Boost tincture, and add a little Bragg’s vinegar to their water. They are super healthy! If one does get sick, you just separate them (maybe in a dog crate) and treat accordingly. Gail Damerow also write a Chicken Health Handbook that’s a nice reference, and there are many herbal remedies online. Hope this helps! -Leah

    • Eriko says:

      My parents live down the setert from this lovely home. What’s so amazing is it’s inside the city, but there is enough green space around to give it this pastoral feel. It’s right next to some soccer fields – you can kind of see the goals in the background of the third photo – making it feel even more expansive (and peaceful as long as no one’s practicing 🙂