Ben and I Make a Great Team

Ben was here right at eight and I hadn't finished my breakfast.  Yesterday, I showed him how to water. He finished and I met him coming in as I was going out.  I had him water the corn and squash.  Before doing this he helped me cut over 90 feet of 9 gage wire.  We cut them into twelve inch pieces.   He held the wire over the wood vise which was twelve inches wide.   I cut them with heavy duty wire cutters.  As he was watering I was bending them into the shape which I wanted.  The picture below shows the twelve inch piece and one that is bent into the proper shape.

The twine holding the plant up is wrapped around the bow and is hooked onto the wire.  Tomato clips hold the tomato plant to the twine.  The picture shows the sky and one of the greenhouse bows.

Ben dumped the soil out of the tubes.   Later we worked in house one untangling the tomato plants.  Some of them had branches over five feet long.  I would cut the those lower branches of the main plant.  I handed them to Ben and he would pull them out.  In the picture below you can see how they are tangled.   We have about five feet to go to be able to walk from one end to the other.   Be went home about eleven and I continued until lunch time.

This afternoon I worked in several of our gardens.  Below is summer squash plants which are beginning to produce crook neck and zucchini.  I have been pruning of the lower leaves and tying the main stem to the post.  Everyday they grow two or three inches.

I planted four gourd plants.  One of them died due to squash bugs, I think.  Pictured below is what I call the pumpkin gourd.  It is shaped like a pumpkin, but about the same size of softball. Today I removed all the male blossoms from the other gourd plants hoping to get some pure seeds of this gourd.   It is over six feet tall  and is loaded with the female bud.

 The watermelons are really doing well.  There are two different watermelon plants that I am training up a small post.  The one below was a late plant and it has grown up about eighteen inches.

 The watermelon plant shown below is about three feet tall and has a small female bud on it.  It is about the size of the point of your little finger

Below is a picture of the watermelon and Topaz melons.  They were planted late in the year but are doing well now.  There are as some call them baby watermelons and baby topaz melons.

Comments and Question are welcomed.

Cursed Again, the Belhausin Car

Fred and Ann Belhasen paid us a visit yesterday.  They arrived about 1:30 and after a short visit we had lunch at Cluffs in Fillmore. The food was really good but we had quite a long wait to be served.  From left to right.  Fred, Anne, Carol, and me, Merrill.

We toured the nursery, visited some, and after supper we watched the video of Momamia.  It took quite a while to get the video to start playing.  Anne went to the car to get some things for bed. She put the key in the ignition and couldn't get it out.  The left the light on and the battery was dead.   It was late and we would charge the battery in the morning.

Fred had an appointed for some blood testing.   They had to leave by eight to make to their appointment.  We had to hurry and get things done.  I picked the cucumbers and some corn.  We put these in Anne's car.  After breakfast I hooked the battery charge to their car battery which was in the trunk.

The charger did not seem to work.  I got the direction and still could not get it to work.  I drove the car up close to their trunk.  I hooked the battery cables correctly.  There was enough boost to get the key out.  But car would not start.  the battery terminals on our car were covered and I could not get a good connection.  I then called Triple A to send someone over to start the car.  Thirty minutes went by and no help from Triple A.  I brought the truck over and hooked up the jumper cable.  Nothing.  I used my heavy duty cables.  Nothing.  I then got the wire and cleaned the truck battery' post.  Tried again and the car started.  I called Tipple A and canceled the call.

I worked most of the rest of the day in house one.  I cut rebar into six inch pieces.   I ended up with 27 pieces.  With these pieces I was able to hang one row of tomatoes.

I removed some weeds and hung this whole row of tomato plants.  I wore cotton gloves that helped me keep my hands somewhat clean.  My shirt and pants had green on them from the tomato plants.

I pruned some of the gourd plants.  They are growing branches.

I went home teaching.

Comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Carol & Doctor

Carol gets out of breath after only a walk across the room.  Yesterday, she had a cat scant and there were no blockages in her lungs.  Today she was at the clinic again.  This time it was a lung pressure test.  It was to see how much air pressure she do when blowing into the device.   Her test was normal.

When in Fillmore yesterday, I bought some white spray paint for Carol.   She wanted to paint the Halloween gourd white.  It really looks nice. 

Here it is with lights from a couple of years ago. 

This is the way the gourd looks after I had finished the carving.  There is a hole in the bottom for the lights.