– of the cold. For a week or so anyway. I am feeling desperate for the warm to come. For just a touch of green. The promise of it makes it seem so much harder to wait. Do you remember that feeling when you were taking an exam and you were on the last two questions, that rise of anticipation – almost there – almost there! Your body starts to tingle and answering that last question is Interminable. Just the fact that you are almost done meant everything was so much harder to bear.
Waiting for the weather to break is a lot like the last few minutes of an exam. Soon, soon I can take off my hobnailed boots and walk like a real person.
I am the only person I know who LOVED taking exams – I loved the order of it. Did you? The quiet. The teacher walking up and down the rows, her gentle heels clicking in such a tireless comforting rhythm – eventually I was that teacher too – I loved the clean sheets of supplied paper and my wee bag of sharpened pencils, an eraser (in NZ we call them rubbers – for Rubbing Out – no smart arse comments please). I would place my Dads large-faced mans watch on the desk beside the pencils, and three peppermints. Upon reading the exam I would allot the appropriate time to each question depending on its value, and then begin when everything was in place, only when all was in order and I was settled and calm would I begin. I never hurried. I always passed. Everything was in place. Nothing mattered anymore. The knowledge was there or it was not. I had done the best I could. I never felt the weight or possibility of failure only the finite-ness of completion. Actually, though I will only admit it to you – I miss the learning and then the exam.
But we were talking about weather. Always with the weather. You know how cold it has been here. It is winter after all. And I cannot complain as I have had three separate summers during this winter. But the weather man said, on the pigs radio today, that there is only One more cold, cold day -this morning is FREEZing and tomorrow will be very cold then we will rise above freezing. ABOVE FREEZING! (The crowd Roared!) 
And as I was saying – Knowing that the weather man might be right and it might warm up for days at a time makes the next two cold days feel Interminable.
Good morning. Other news! Out here in the Mid West boonies the local Countys offer cut price native (to this area) trees, to try and encourage farmers like me to plant more trees. (Like we need encouragement). Usually I can only afford a couple. But this year they are offering packages of bare root trees. So this year the Fellowship Forest will be receiving 25 Black Walnuts and 25 American (Wild) Plums at a very reasonable price. These will be twigs, barely a foot long. So we will pot them up and grow them on and hopefully plant them along the fence lines and along the creek, that is really a ditch, in the fall. (Unless I can find a way to winter them over in this environment and plant them the following fall as bigger trees). Black walnuts are reported to grow 24 inches a year in this area. The wild plums are for the bees… of course. I have also ordered a peach tree for our John to replace the peach he lost in last years bad winter.
One of the most important objectives I have is saving the soil here on the prairies. Just my little patch. Trees can do this better than I can. When we save the soil, we save the birds, the air, the water, the butterflies. We save ourselves. And more and more. RE -forestation is the key. The Fellowship Forest is spreading.
They say the best time to plant a tree is yesterday. I am working on it! And if you have no-where to plant a tree let me know – I will plant one for you and attach a name tag. We already have a number of Fellowship trees growing here. Here and all around the world. Spring is coming. Not overnight! But it will come!
Have a lovely day,
Your friend on the farm,
celi
ps.. Do you remember Grace our wwoofer from Korea – she is on spring break from her university in Wisconsin and is coming to visit this weekend. Her U.S. home. I told her she has to share her room with Six chicks!! She has learnt to write LOL on her texts!
The Kitchen's Garden 
118 responses to “Last Days –”
And I am so excited that it will be 45 tomorrow – practically balmy! – which is the weather moving your way. I would live it if you would plant a black walnut tree for me. Something about the complexity is shelling the nuts always appealed to my father, and it is the tenth anniversary of his death today, which I am taking surprisingly hard, even though I have been quite at peace with this day these last few years. This post and that tree feel like a serendipitous remembrance, as I would not have thought of his penchant for black walnuts (which he always put in his brownies) without it. Thank you, miss c.
Wonderful. I will grow a tree for him. I am so glad that I can say that today for you. How did your Dad shell his? We have some big old ones out at the old farm, very tasty. The pigs make short work of them too.. c
My father was an Appalachian boy with strong hands. He used to crack them by pressing two together between his palms, and the used a nut pick to carefully extract the meat. He taught me how to crack them like that but it was tough on my hands, so he also taught me to use a hammer and hit them just right.
yes the hammer method would be mine too.. now describe Just Right? is there a good spot to hit them?
If I recall correctly, he taught me to hit them on the seam on the side, not on the top or bottom.
very good, I shall give it a crack late this summer (pun intended!) .. c
We need more tree planters on the prairies.
I live in the woods – no place to plant a tree, though I’d love to have a little orchard. What planting zone are you in? Can you grow persimmon? They are lovely fruit and the trees are easy to grow.
We are zone 5.. I will look them up – Diospyros virginiana (American persimmon) .. Look what i found – what do you think?
American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) is native to the eastern United States and is higher in nutrients like vitamin C, calcium, iron and potassium than the Japanese Persimmon. Its fruit is traditionally eaten in a special steamed pudding in the Midwest and sometimes its timber is used as a substitute for ebony (e.g. in instruments). The American persimmon fruit is proven to be valuable food source for white tail deer, because the fruit ripens late into the year and will hang on the tree much throughout the winter months.
Hmm.. I will research further.. c
I love, love the American persiomns and have used them in different recipes for years…. persimmon bread, pudding , chutney, smoothies, and more. They keep for weeks because they have to ripen after you pick them.
I am going to see if i can buy some over here.. maybe a couple to start, I wonder if they need two for cross pollination.. need to check that
There are lots of native American persimmon trees around here – they pop up from seed-filled deer poop. They are that easy to grow. The fruit is softer and sweeter than the Asian variety, and you really want to wait till they are ripe enough to fall off the tree before you eat them. Very tannic when unripe. The trees don’t seem to mind occasional coppicing because there is a tree on the side of the road that gets mowed down to about 2 ft every few years and it still bears fruit.
I made a mistake😁 I use the Hachiya ( AKA Japanese persimmon) and I don’t think that they are same as the American persimmon.
Hey, jmcheney, I grew up in Skyland and Hendersonville 🙂
Two bad words in one paragraph for me today – School and exams. I hated them both with a passion. Long story. Very long story. Not for today when we have hope of better weather. Yesterday was lovely, so long as you stayed on the sunny side of the street, turn a corner and it was a horse of a different colour! Trees are important and I am glad you have the opportunity to get so many this year.
and you are such a lovely writer.. hoping your sun is a trend and it begins to warm up the cold corners for you.. c
Our sun arrived yesterday ( we asked for overnight delivery) ! I hope it comes soon for you!
We have sun too! wonderful.. figid but sunny. Everything feels better in the sun.
The waiting sometimes is horrible. Time seems to go by slower than molasses in freezing temperatures. We are in a mode of waiting right now with our pup Gracie. She will be 10 next Wednesday, but she will always be my beagle puppy…. She has pancreatitis, quite sever pancreatitis too. Her kidneys are not doing well at all either. So we wait while the vet gives her IV’s. We wait to see if she will eat the chicken water (not really broth since it was boneless skinless chicken breast and water)…. We wait to see if she will eat a grain or two of rice…. It feels as if we are waiting for her to tell us she is tired and in pain and not happy, but she keeps telling us she wants to try….
These animals that come into our care become such a part of our lives….
Oh Pat, it is the hardest wait.. dear old dog.. Our thoughts are with you .. no easy way through it either..many of us in The Fellowship know this feeling.. all my love c
We had a beagle many years ago, our first ‘child’ really…very fond memories there, but the day we decided to let him go still is difficult to remember. My thoughts to you…
A sick pet is so very stressful.causes such anxiety. You can’t think of anything else. I find myself practically wringing my hands looking at my cat in this case, checking the litter box. Cecilia was kind enough to plant a tree for him last year. He’s doing okay, but he is at least 17. I know that pancreatitis is the most awful thing to deal with. My heart goes out to you, PatR.
His tree is doing ok too, right outside my bedroom window!
Thank you all for the support. I have had a beagle in my home since 1990. Doc Holiday lived 15 wonderful years, and in May 2005 we adopted 6 week old George Burns and Gracie Allen. 1/2 brother and sister. George has been the picture of great health from day one, but poor little Gracie has had bone issues and poor health her whole life. Her momma was not yet 2 when she had her so I think that lack of age impacted her health. George’s mom was 5 and her 3rd litter. Breeding is very important isn’t it….
My brother planted trees on the dirt roads of our village in Germany. He planted pear, apple and plum trees , the dark purple kind that is used in Zwetschenkuchen , his favorite cake. My mom used to bake it for him all the time.
In NZ they have started planting apple trees in the streets, encouraging kids to grab a few on their way to school. Your brother did well..
My brother is good guy. Here is a description of the plums , they make a jam that is to die for. Zwetschge
The zwetschge is a fruit-bearing tree, or its fruit. It is a subspecies of the plum Prunus domestica. The freestone fruit is similar to, but distinct from, the clingstone damson and is especially popular in Central Europe. Wikipedia
It might be cold Celi, but it’s beautiful! 🙂 Good luck with the trees, I’ll try and plant one here for a representative of the fellowship on Spanish land 😉
What an excellent idea, i remember the pictures you showed us from your back door, you have lovely garden!.. c
Thanks! 🙂
I have one black walnut tree, it is lovely. It is also one the trees the Big-Horned Owls love to sit in. At night, around mid-night, when I take my walk, I look up into the Black Walnut tree and see the lovely owl(s) hooting down to me. Although, the owls nest in the cottonwoods, they seem to hunt from the Black Walnut and the Weeping Willow.
Like you I’m starved for spring.
Linda ♪♫❤
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
https://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/sherlock-boomer
Thank you very much, Celi, for planting a black walnut tree for me & next to yours! The leaves fall early in the September sun & come spinning down to make you stop & think, Fall! Then the green hulls come plunking down. After you run the hulls off with your wheels you have to let the nuts dry for a month or so–till around Thanksgiving. Inside, so the squirrels don’t snitch them.
Then the cracking (which I never did) with a hammer, I’d say. Pat W: It is pouring rain in Asheville here today & it won’t snow next week. I checked the 10 day forecast on intellicast.com & it’s going to be great knitting weather here For You! Short & Sweet Writers: I lived in Horse Shoe, Henderson Co., for 10 years & my son graduated from Hendersonville High. If you did too, Mr. Orr has a fb page where he posts fun HHS memorabilia!
Cheers everyone for getting through the joys & sorrows & spring planning during these very last days of winter. Judith in Asheville
I love this comment Judith.. it feels to me today that the Lounge Of Comments is a breathing joyous caring force. Wonderful. Have a gorgeous day.
Thank you again, Celi. Through the magic of the internet, Your wonderful blog has come into our hearts & created this special fellowship of people all over the world, who care about animals, the food we eat, our environment, the beauty of the earth, hard work, well…you know…so much more. Everything, Life. Look! here comes
Grace, back again on spring break & her roomies are– against all odds– baby chicks! We’re all in Your thrall, … er….breathing joyous caring force! Judith in Asheville
wonderful and Full of wonder.
I went to East Henderson. Though I knew a bunch of kids at HHS.
I am Short and Sweet – for some reason the comment box defaults to my business details instead of personal. Sorry about that.
We are supposed to have a l lovely weekend. I plan to soak up every ounce of sun I can. Even though we’re all sick of winter, the snow on the farmy sure looks beautiful. 🙂
Trees, trees, trees. I couldn’t live without them. Living in the city or the desert would choke the life out of me. So glad you’re getting more of them. I would love a greater variety of trees here on my little place, but we only have about 3 inches of topsoil before hitting solid limestone. We’ve actually rented a jackhammer to plant trees. Only the Live Oaks do well to break through the stone.
On the subject of Black Walnut toxicity. There is more to it and it might be worth looking in to. Just take care in where you plant them. 🙂 http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1148.html
The warm highlights of light contrast with the stark cold landscape is beautiful… but I can imagine waiting for a glimmer of warm weather. Time is so elastic. I liked school and didn’t mind exams, what is done is done but I hated long slow afternoons stuck a classroom and would gaze out the window anticipating being set free… all which extended over the rest of my life.
How wonderful Gracie has a US home, and is coming to visit 🙂
Hello! I’m a lurker on your sight. I read it almost everyday and enjoy it very much but I’ve never posted until today. I just wanted to caution you on black walnut trees. Black walnut trees are toxic to some other plants and the hulls can be toxic to horses and dogs. It may not bother things around your farm depending on where you plant them. You may want to do a little research before planting them. Don’t plant them near apple trees or gardens. Below are a couple of links on this topic.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/can-black-walnuts-poison-animals-84606.html
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/can-fruit-trees-grow-next-black-walnuts-58099.html
Thank you so much Melody for popping to make sure. I do have quite a few black walnuts both here and at the old farm and they seem to do well. Johns great grandfather planted quite a few. These ones will be planted outside of the pastures as both shade and nut trees for the pigs. We have never had any trouble with the dogs though.. c