Stones and Zinnias

Under the Ohio soil there is an endless supply of stones of all sizes. Every year when plowing, my farmer pulls out more stones and stacks them in the old watering trough. The trough is now overflowing with stones. Some of them are quite pretty, being of different colors of granite. People in Ohio use stones to put around the edges of their flower gardens. They often have 2 large stones at the entrance of their driveway. My farm is no different. Someone in the distant past put 2 large boulders at the end of my driveway. My mother planted orange daylilies around them which bloom all summer. I made a circle of stones around the mailbox post. I started this project several years ago. I have daffodils which come up in the spring and chrysanthemums which come up again in the fall. This year the stones were overgrown with grass and weeds. so I had to take my weed wacker and clear the stones in the area around that mailbox post. Then I put in another layer of daffodil bulbs which I sprinkle with cayenne pepper to keep animals from digging them up and eating them. Then I put on more soil and planted zinnias for summer. They also make a pretty picture around the mailbox with their vibrant colors. For those of you who are young and don't remember, food used to come in tin containers with a paper labels. My mother would take off the paper label and use the can as a flower vase for the kitchen table. In the summer, she would always have zinnias in the tin can. It seems a vision of summer farm life to me, so I try to keep it up. Unfortunately, zinnias are annuals not perennials, so I will have to replant them again next summer. Still, it's worth the effort to me. Now, when I look at my tin can filled with red, orange, pink, and yellow zinnias, it brings back memories of all the summers of my childhood.

P.S. I'm adding a photo of my new mail box.

Wall Street

Every year, getting Internet service on the farm is a problem. In the past, of course, I had dial-up. Then I had a prepaid plug in. This year, because family members were going to come up to the farm, I broke down and contracted to have wireless service. I named my Wi-Fi service Wall Street. When we plant corn on both sides of the drive, it's like driving between two green walls. It's also where we make money. That's why Dad called it Wall Street. It's an expense, but it was such a pleasure to have good wireless service on the farm.  At least my direct TV satellite service and my wireless service allow me to pay for only 6 months of the year because I don't live on the farm in the winter. That justifies the expense of my television and computer service.  I have extensive information on my family history including letters and journals and photographs. I am working on compiling them on a family tree program. I also spent some time in the farmhouse photographing furniture, china, etc. My mother had a ledger which noted whether they came from her family or my father's family or if she bought them. I am trying to compare the photos to her notes. So, as you can see, when I'm not working in the yard,  house or barn, I have plenty of computer work to do.

Summer

I  could tell as soon as my car passed from Kentucky, over the river, that I had arrived in Ohio. Maybe everyone recognizes their own state where they grew up. The land in Ohio looks a little more cultivated. The ditches and roadsides are filled with white Queen Anne's lace and blue chicory flowers. The crops look taller and lusher. Yards are tidy and and so are their flower gardens. When I reached the drive to my farm, I had a happy feeling as usual. Home. This summer we have corn growing on both sides of the drive. It isn't always so, because we rotated crops. But when we have the corn on both sides, growing so tall, we call the lane, Wall Street. That is, of course, because the corn is tall and looks like green walls and also because that's where we make money. That was my dad's idea, but we still use it. The mailbox was dented this year from a baseball bat, but is still usable. As I drove up the gravel lane, a cloud of dust formed behind me and coated my car. I could put down new gravel, but I think I will just let it grow into grass. It should be less dusty that way. When I pulled up to the farm door, I honked the horn 3 times. That was our family's signal that one of us was home. Even though there is no one in the house, I still like to do it. Maybe I am telling the house that I'm home. The summer weather was hot and when I opened the door, the air in the house was musty and humid. The first thing I did was open all the windows. Then I put my groceries in the refrigerator, and made up my bed. I turned on the television to catch that weather report. When you are a farmer, the weather is the most important thing on your mind. It can make or break you.

October

I wrote this blog entry last autumn. I just didn't have time to put it on my blog then. I will do this now. Here goes. The beans and corn were good this year. Now farmers are cultivating their fields. This turns up the soil, so it can absorb air and rain. The mocha fields are becoming the color of dark chocolate. The corn stubble is still golden. I've use the fireplace several times. Now I am packing up and closing the house for the winter as I will be returning to my home in Florida.