Jason closes his journal... Thanks!! I love you!!

[2dream]

Peddler - nobody offers you advice because we are to busy reading your journal and stealing your ideas. LOL By the way, thanks for the wire potato frame pics. It sure made it easier for me to "borrow" that idea.

Nothing wrong with being a little crazy. It keeps everybody on their toes.

And doing your own thing is what this is all about isn't it? Getting back to some basics and taking care of our families plus, lets face it. If we all didn't love it we wouldn't be doing it.

You are doing an awsome job there. Keep posting and keep up the good work. Be sure and post pics of the ladies new home. Can't wait to see that project.

 

[modern_pioneer]

Judy Part 1....

Some one has given me a reason to talk about them today. Judy....... :/

Judy is a forty something female, thin, short, and kinda boy stock with her short hair. Judy is gay, and is pretty open about it by the way she dresses and acts. Judy lives with her Mom Lil at the bottom of the mountain in a big white farm house that lils deceased husband Ray built. Part of my nature is to be sure to judge people by who they are, not their sexual preferences. Live and let live....

Ray and lil once owned the whole valley, Rays parents owned huge amounts of property at one time. Ray, a failed dairy farmer, passed on some years ago and left 2/3 of the property to Lil, not his blood brother Paul Sr., who I have mentioned before. So as you can understand, since Rays death, there has been some bad blood between the two sides of the family. Paul Sr. owns and keeps to the top of the mountain, I own the middle, Judy now owns the bottom and some land around.

When we first moved here, both clans were friendly, but as it would go, I found more friendship at the top than I did at the bottom. Not because Judy is gay, female or has short hair, but I have more in common with Paul Sr., Carl (his son, early 50s) and Carls son, little Paul (24 y/o).

Lil and Judy have had some very tough times in the span of one year. Lils oldest boy, John, died of Aids in April 1994. Pushed out of the family by Ray, he made his way to CA where he lived his life with his also dead partner. In June of 1994, Dan, Lils youngest was killed when he hit a truck head on while riding a mini bike. Its thought he was watching his Dad, Ray, brush hogging on the oppisite hill, crossed lanes and hit a truck. Because Dan had been hit just a hundred feet or so from the barn, Judy ran down the road and tried to save Dan, her brother.

October of 1994, Ray would take his own life. Leaving Lil and his daughter Judy alone and without income. Dan, the youngest of Lils children, is the only one to have childern. His children, Braden, Shane, and Kelly have been willed the property when Judy passes.

Lil is a very bitter woman, but wasn't always. I can only imagen that 1994 was a turning point in her life, its all very sad really, I think Ray was pretty selffish to say the least.

Judy really loves those kids, and blames herself for Dans death because she couldn't save him. She got a decent job to support her and Lil.

 

[modern_pioneer]

Judy Part 2.....

Lil has turned the property over to Judy because of tax problems. Ray and Lil over the years, had sold lots of land off to pay property taxes and to keep the failing dairy farm going. The farmer who built my house/owned this property was a friend of Rays, they failed at raising beef cattle. Ray kept selling land to pay for his failing adventures. Paul Sr. and Ray were both willed half of the original 434 homestead. Paul Sr. a welder, gave Ray some 200 acres to start his dairy farm.

Paul Sr. would go into business with Ray during the last 8 years before Ray killed himself.

Judy has had a pretty tough life and you can see/feel it when you speak to her. She doesn't look at you when you talk to her, always seems to be tired and feeling down. Lil doesn't venture out at all other than on Sundays to attend church. Her health is failing and now uses a mask/tank to breath. No doubt this has again put a lot of stress on Judy.

Judy, is kinda like to different people. She seems to be more friendly when shes not around Lil, when she is around Lil, she is a bit more standoffish and cold. A few weeks ago while putting in my orchard, I was told that Lil was looking through a telescope watching what I was doing from her back porch.

Just beyond the well marked out property line, I was putting in my new Morel Mushroom garden. Judy drove up on her property side in the truck, she stopped and got out. As she was walking over, I was thinking huh???, but stopped and went over to say hello.

With a smile from ear to ear, she walked over and greeted me. She started to note all the nice changes I have been doing on my land. She asked what I was doing and I explained about all the things changes I had made. I invited her over to have a stroll with me. Because we were at the shroom patch, I showed her the spore media I had bought to seed in the patch.

I than took her over to the nut orchard in the making, I explained why you couldn't plant nut trees and fruit trees together. We than ventured over to the current bushes, from there we went down to the grapes/raspberries/blackberries area. As we headed to the fruit orchard past my garden, she noted that nobody had farmed the land since 1994, thats when I learned alot about Judys life.

As she went on, finished her story, she said her and Lil have been watching me work the soil in my garden and all the changes I have been making. She went on to say the reason she planted corn last year was because she missed how the farm looked when she was a child. Now that answered a long standing question I had. *** why would anybody plant fields of corn and not harvest them???***

Judy noted my vigor reminded Lil of her son Dan, who was a young man that was in the middle of saving the farm upon his death. Her eyes got watery, and she looked away, I just put my hand on her shoulder and rubbed her. No doubt the pain was showing from 1994. We talked for a few moments later, and than I walked her back to her truck.

That evening, while making my watering rounds, I saw Judy loading the manure spreader by hand. She had left my place and went and brush hogged those fields of corn. I had to finish my watering and watched Judy spreading the manure over the bottom field. I went in for dinner and noted to Danielle about our conversation and that I wanted to use my front end loader on my tractor to help Judy load the spreader.

Judy has three horses now, so I drove down to help her. She came back out of the field and welcomed my help. We got on with it and spread all the manure she had.

Yesterday, while I was hunting rocks in the garden, I noticed Judy was plowing a section of her yard up. What it looks like to me is that she is putting in a garden this year.

I will go out on the edge and say that I think my vigor has inspired her again to work her land.

No doubt if they had a garden, Lil would be able to do something besides sit in the house all day and stare at four walls. I think it is a healthy thing for them to do, not just for good eats, but maybe lift their own spirits. I know when I am working in my garden, I get a sense of self and harvesting food for my famliy gives me a personal sense of really taking care of them from my own soul. Sounds funny doesn't it???

Good for Judy!!!!!

 

[big brown horse]

This could easily be made into a movie! INTENSE! That poor family. You are certainly a good man. I can't imagine living a life filled with such tragedy.

 

[TanksHill]

Gardening is good for ones soul. Being outside in the fresh air and sunshine and then reaping the rewards is the most amazing gift. You know exactly what I am talking about and now you are helping give this to gift someone else. The family will benefit from your good nature. Not to mention the new friendship you have built. You should be proud of yourself.


On a side note, could you tell me why you can't plant nuts and fruit together? And how close is to close?? g

 

[lorihadams]

Wow Jay, sounds like times have been tough for all of them. It's good that you are inspiring them to get up and moving. She planted a field of corn and didn't harvest it? Man, that is madness! All that work planting and she just let it go. I understand why, trust me, I am watching everything my great grandparents worked for be demolished and turned into "an upperclass gated community". They are going to tear down the main house in the next week or so, this weekend we are supposed to go into the house to salvage what we want.

It's great that you are helping them out, not everyone would reach out to folks that have suffered so much.

 

[lorihadams]

Oh, and I forgot to say how big your chicks have gotten! I couldn't believe it when I saw the picture. Man, they sure do grow fast! How big of a coop are you going to build? You know chickens are like potato chips, once you start.....

 

[modern_pioneer]

G, nut trees produce a chemical called juglone, not to be confused with nucin. Some say there the same, but they aren't.

Juglone is produced in the trees roots and released into the surrounding soil. This chemical is a natural defense/survival of the fittest for the tree. It doesn't allow surrounding trees to grow under it or their roots systems invade their patch of earth. Also it doesn't allow seedlings other than its own to grow.

Now, if grown around fruit trees the effect of the Juglone is the tree would not produce any fruit. It will make the fruit tree sterile and my even kill the tree if planted to close. Cone producing trees such as pines are not affected by Juglone.

This info. is take from books I have read, and noted by Brett Markham on page 99 of his book, Mini Farming For Self Sufficiency.

 

[lorihadams]

I knew black walnut trees would do that but all nut trees do it too?

 

[big brown horse]

Good to know.