Saturday Gardening Thread: Baby, It's Cold Outside [Y-not and KT]

Y-not: Good afternoon, gardening morons and moronettes! Cold enough for you yet?

This. Is. Awesome.

(Performance from Neptune's Daughter. Speaking of Ricardo Montalban, does anyone remember him in Battleground? That was a classic WWII flick.)

Actually, I lie. It's quite mild in Kentucky right now. We're expecting it to hit 70 today. Obviously, I credit Global Warming.

OH, CHRISTMAS TREE

Despite the warm weather throughout much of the country, Christmas is nearly here... which can only mean one thing: Christmas trees (and holly... as we'll see from KT).

Here's a Christmas tree, Kentucky style:

I spotted the bourbon barrel tree while on a short visit to Lexington (Kentucky, NOT Massachusetts). It's located in Cheapside Park, not far from the convention center. Cheapside has an interesting history. A short distance from today's park there's an historical marker:

Historical Marker #2122 in Lexington notes the location of the Cheapside slave auction block.

During the antebellum years, Lexington was the capital of Kentucky's slave trade. Because of the city's location in the heart of the bluegrass region, where slaves were most prevalent, traders found a good market for sales. In addition, as Lexington was in the middle of the state and far from the Ohio River, it was difficult for slaves to escape. Therefore, Lexington became the focal point for the slave exchange with Cheapside Auction Block as the town's primary location for trading slaves.

Anyhoo, back to Christmas trees...

Last year we covered traditional Christmas trees and learned that firs are the type most-favored by the horde. This year, inspired by that bourbon-barrel tree, I thought we could look at some unusual Christmas trees.

A brewery in New York constructed one out of kegs:

In Melbourne, someone made one out of flip-flops:

A friend of mine tells me she's seen a similar one in the Cayman Islands.

Here are some more neat ideas for making or decorating a Christmas tree.

My cats would have a field day with this "floating" tree:

Predicted "life span": about three minutes.

Here's a neat one:

President Bush doesn't like it, though.

What cool Christmas trees have you seen?

**UPDATED: I just had to include NDH's "ugly trees" picture:

Or just go traditional.

MORE CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

Last week we shared some of our hometowns' Christmas traditions. This is not gardening-related, but a couple of days ago I learned that in parts of Kentucky there's a tradition of celebrating "Old Christmas":

Old Christmas is still a remembered tradition here in Eastern Kentucky. I don't know many other places where that is so, but here traditions are slow to die. When Dean was growing up, they received presents on Old Christmas as well as December 25th -- not as many, but otherwise just like Christmas. Furthermore, Christmas and Old Christmas each had their own traditions.

Modern Christmas in this area was not so much a religious holiday as a festivity: it was was more closely associated with alcohol than with religion. In fact, Christmas was a real boon for moonshiners, because businesses bought moonshine and passed it out to employees. On Christmas Day, the men in the house drank moonshine all day long, and expected every visitor (or at least every male visitor) to partake. Then and now, everybody shot off guns to mark the occasion. Dean says that along Mill Branch, where his grandparents lived, gun shots echoed all day long on Christmas.

One of the big Christmas traditions was to make carbide cannons, which made wonderful and very loud fireworks. Dean remembers walking past one house that had shot off so many carbide cannons that the valley was filled with smoke. You don't see carbide cannons anymore, at least to my knowledge, but I suspect the fading of that custom has more to do with the advance in underground mining technology than with anything else. In the old days, miners had carbide lights in their hardhats, so carbide was readily available. Today it is not.

Old Christmas is on January 6th. You might know it as the Feast of Epiphany.

Do any of you celebrate "Old Christmas?"

Speaking of Kentucky, we are part of Japan's Christmas celebrations. Here's why.

CHRISTMAS IS FOR THE BIRDS

A couple of weeks ago co-blogger and all-around-great-guy The Dude (aka @WoodWhisperers on Twitter) suggested we cover some backyard birding during these long winter months. We've done a little bit of this in the past here and here and here, but I love birds so I'm happy to include more bird-related content.

Here are some ideas for making a bird-friendly Christmas tree. A few more here.

BIRD-FRIENDLY TREES AND SHRUBS

I love backyard birds and enjoy learning about the bird population wherever we happen to be living. I've "lost" the striking Western Jay, but (re)gained Cardinals. Fair trade, imho.

If you're like me, you might want to try to attract birds to your backyard. Here are some ideas from All About Birds and Birds and Blooms.

I'd like to plant some fruit-bearing trees and shrubs, but Mr Y-not is hesitant because the potential mess they might make. That's certainly a consideration, but I'm hoping if we planted them near the edges of our yard, that wouldn't be such a problem.

On a related note, we have several large cedars (I think they're Eastern cedars) near out back fence line. At dusk they become a favorite roosting location for hundreds of starlings:

Boy, am I glad the cedars aren't near our house. Starlings are quite vocal!

It's fascinating to watch the starling "murmurations." The flocks form amazing patterns and the noise their wings make can be quite startling when they swoop down low.

If you've never witnessed this phenomenon before, here's a video:

Which plants in your yards attract winter birds?

Now, here's KT:

Hello, Horde. We had a little rain this week in the Central Valley, with snow in the mountains. Yay! There is still pretty fall foliage on some trees. The weather has been mild. Anything going on in your neck of the woods?

Tis the season to see holly

I thought that holly would be a fitting subject as we look forward to Christmas. One person who may occasionally deal professionally with roots from holly trees is very careful about the subject of a holly, jolly Christmas. Heh.

There is a lot of mythology and folklore attached to hollies, much of it related to Christmas. But did you know that holly trees were once thought to protect against lightning strikes? There is a reference to holly in Shakespeare, in As You Like It, Amiens, philosophizing on ingratitude and insincere friendship:

Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.

The curator of the Scott Arboretum at Swathmore College in Pennsylvania writes in Fine Gardening:

The mere mention of holly brings to mind conical trees with spiny leaves and red berries in winter. That image is valid, but I love evergreen hollies because they are, in fact, so much more diverse than that. They range in size from a 6-inch-tall spreading dwarf to a 70-foot-tall towering giant. Leaves may be small and spineless or large and armed. Berries can be red, orange, yellow, or black. Hollies are one of the few genera that can be grown in all 50 states.

He concentrates on evergreen hollies. "The Ilex genus contains more than 780 evergreen and 30 deciduous species of trees and shrubs native to North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia." Check out the slideshow of hollies for specimen plants, combining good foliage and great berries. He offers tips on use of hollies both as specimens and in foundation plantings.

Several hollies are naturals for hedges, screens and privacy barriers. Pruning tips are offered for these uses of holly. "The Scott Arboretum was designated an official Holly Arboretum by the Holly Society of America. Each year, we evaluate every specimen in our collection for aesthetics, winter damage, and pest and disease problems. After 15 years of evaluation, hollies appear to be relatively trouble free in Philadelphia's USDA Hardiness Zone 6 climate."

The Holly Society of America offers a photo gallery and links for information concerning planting, pests, holiday lore and more. From the University of Vermont Extension: ". . . did you know that "decking the halls with holly" is an ancient custom several thousand years old? The ancient Romans, Greeks, and Druids all decorated their homes with this plant. . . "

ENGLISH HOLLIES
English holly is grown commercially in the Northwest, where it has escaped cultivation to become invasive in some areas.

English holly grows best in areas with relatively mild winters and relatively humid air. Like most hollies, it does best in acid soil. In the West, it is recommended for parts of the Northwest, the San Francisco Bay area and Hawaii above 4,000 feet. My Sunset Western Garden Book lists 24 varieties of English holly, both male and female, with smooth or spiny leaves. There are many others. "Balkans" (from the Balkans) is the most hardy. It comes in male and female forms. Variegated English hollies come with silver edges, silver centers or gold edges. "Silver Queen" and "Golden Queen" are both male cultivars. They were named long before Bruce Jenner . . .
There is also a particularly dense male holly with twisted, fiercely spiny leaves and sterile pollen, known as the ferox, hedgehog or porcupine holly. Recommended for hedges and barriers. It comes in both green and variegated forms.

BLUE HOLLIES
Blue hollies (Ilex meserveae) were bred to extend the traditional look of English hollies further north. Most are hybrids between English holly and a cold-hardy Japanese holly. Female forms with berries are generally sold with a male counterpart for pollination. Blue Girl and Blue Boy in the same container are marketed as Berri magic. Be careful that the male plant does not outgrow the female plant. If you have a female holly with no male partner, you can graft a male branch onto it. Landscaping tips here.

Where winter winds are cold and dry, you may want to treat Blue Hollies and other broad-leafed evergreens with a plant anti-transpirant, which can also slow the drying of Christmas trees and non-fuzzy plant leaves on indoor decorations. Good to have on hand for transplanting bare root trees which have leafed out, too. You can buy anti-transpirant concentrates, generally made from a polymer diluted in water, using the Amazon thingy at AoSHQ.

Blue hollies came into being from the breeding work of Mrs. F. Leighton Meserve. China Girl and China Boy were developed a few years later. They are hybrids of Chinese Holly and the cold-tolerant Japanese holly mentioned above. They are a little hardier than other blue hollies, and more tolerant to summer heat. I denounce myself for mentioning their names.

NATIVE HOLLIES
My theme for today was actually stolen from a garden blogger who wrote about native hollies she saw while traveling in Louisiana. These included the deciduous Possumhaw, its evergreen cousin the Youpon holly and the more familiar American holly.

She worries that with wild stands of Possumhaw being removed, people planting female cultivars will no longer get berries on their bushes or trees. But Southern Living notes that there is a male pollinator, Red Escort. You can also use a male American or Yaupon holly as a pollinator.

The other native deciduous holly planted in gardens is Winterberry or Christmasberry. Both the Possumhaw and Winterberry are great for attracting songbirds. They are also useful in winter floral arrangements. The Possumhaw can grow bigger, to 25 feet. It is somewhat tolerant of rocky, alkaline or limey soil. The Winterberry is tolerant of wet, boggy soil.

Sunset notes that the Winterberry is hardy into Alaska. Their recommended cultivars include Afterglow, Winter Gold, Cacapon, Fairfax, Sunset and Winter Red. Red Sprite is a dwarf with large berries. Pollinators include Dwarf Male, Jim Dandy, Late Male and Southern Gentleman.

There is a hybrid of the Winterberry and a Japanese species called Sparkleberry Holly. Sunset notes that it is almost as hardy as Winterberry. "The hybrid is more than the sum of its parts. Once its simple leaves turn gold and drop, the shrub is a handsome tangle of gray bark blinged with big, red berries. The birds get to them eventually, but the berries should last through the winter." Cultivar recommendations at the link.

American holly grows into a pyramidal or round-headed tree, generally seen from 15 to 30 feet tall. It grows slowly into a larger tree. It is cultivated commercially in the Southeast for use in holiday decorations. It is now illegal in many states to collect it from the wild. American Holly can be grown in many western regions and is resistant to oak root fungus. Some cultivars are hardy into parts of New England. If you are interested in recommended cultivars for various regions, let me know in the comments.
Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria) is the native holly most tolerant of very alkaline soils. Sunset recommends it for most western zones, but not for the desert. It is the North American counterpart of the South American holly Yerba Mate, which Che Guevara so charmingly sucked from his gourd. Tea made from its leaves was popular with American colonists until about the time that coffee became popular. Yaupon contains more caffeine than any other North American plant. Celebrate the heritage of early America this season with some Brown Butter Maple Nutmeg Cookies and a cup of Yaupon Tea or caffeine-free American Holly tea.

The Eat the Weeds Guy has a fascinating, detailed Colonial and Native American history woven into his more practical information about Yaupon Holly. It was used as an everyday tea among southeastern tribes and colonists. Its scientific name comes from its use in a much stronger male-only ritual drink which induced vomiting. Status of the drinkers rose if they could keep the stuff down longer than their friends.

He also discusses other hollies that can be made into tea for either caffeine, antioxidant content or sometimes both. "The American Holly was a popular tea during the American Civil War. Interestingly, the American Holly and the English Holly were used to clean chimneys because of their stiff, toothy leaves." He reminds us that many (not all) holly berries are toxic. "You are not a woodland creature, so leave them alone."

His video on tea hollies includes identification and landscaping tips.

Yaupon hollies are excellent for training, shearing and topiaries. The cultivar with the most caffeine is Ilex vomitoria pendula, which he shows trained as a standard, then sheared in the form of an upside-down bowl, apparently a classic form for this plant. Other cultivars include "Nana" and "Stokes", female and male dwarfs, respectively, used like Japanese boxwood. "Will Fleming" is a tall, columnar male and "Pride of Houston" is a female shrub with profuse berry production.

The last commercial use of Yaupon Tea appears to have been in the Carolinas. "When it came to drinking Carolina Tea, the Outer Banks is thought to have been the last holdout. The tea was sold in restaurants along the Banks into the 1970s; Ocracoke Island is the last known location to have served yaupon tea.”"

HOLLIES FOR HOLLYWOOD (AND PHOENIX)
Additional hollies listed by Sunset for the more arid climates of the west include Japanese Holly, which makes a good boxwood substitute in climates too cold for boxwoods with a polished look. Okinawan holly has short spines and is tender to frost. So, Hollywood!

Chinese holly will grow even in Phoenix with some sun protection. It needs a long season to produce berries. Some cultivars will produce berries without pollination. Wilson Holly, one of the best hollies for warmer regions, is a hybrid between English holly and a species from the Canary Islands. It will also grow in the desert. It has bright red berries and can be trained as a tree, an espalier or as an informal clipped hedge.

There are more hybrid hollies than I have energy to write about here, with more cultivars being developed all the time. It looks like there is a holly for you just about anywhere you live in the USA. Hope you have a jolly Christmas this year, with or without holly.

Y-not: Thanks, KT! Now I really have the Christmas spirit.

To close things up, here's another interesting tree I saw in Lexington:

Perhaps this knitter thought she was protecting the tree from winter damage.

What's happening in YOUR gardens this week?

Link to the Archives of the Saturday Gardening Thread. **Link fixed.**

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Always loved the video of the little boy hugging the tree and crying on the day it was supposed to come down.

Posted by: Pj at December 12, 2015 03:27 PM (sjHJs)

2 Its not particularly cold out here but its not real warm either. Oregon has been very hostile to any outdoors work or gardening of any kind for a week now, with high winds, heavy rains, thunderstorms, hail, and even freezing rain. A tornado touched down in Washington state. Its just been one storm after another here.

So pretty much: chop wood and stay warm indoors.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at December 12, 2015 03:29 PM (39g3+)

3 I'm tempted to scream "RAPE!!!!" but anyone who watches that video and doesn't know who's in charge there is blind as a bat.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 12, 2015 03:31 PM (PMlgt)

4 You stomped the Army-Navy game?

Why do you hate America?

Posted by: blaster at December 12, 2015 03:32 PM (2Ocf1)

5 Love the bourbon barrel tree. But then I love bourbon barrel beer.

Posted by: HH at December 12, 2015 03:32 PM (DrCtv)

6 Starlings are birds from hell. In Rome their annual migration results in so much bird poop on the streets and sidewalks that cars and pedestrians slide on it like ice and it has to be shoveled off like snow. Here in Houston, parking your car under a tree that they decide to inhabit can result in a nasty surprise. They also have driven out many of the native birds.

I put them on the same level of disgust as squirrels.

Posted by: sasso333 at December 12, 2015 03:34 PM (pyYXJ)

7 Any musical number featuring both Ricardo Montalban and Red Skelton is pretty awesome.

Posted by: Y-not at December 12, 2015 03:36 PM (t5zYU)

8 Starlings are one of the few song bird types you can freely shoot in Oregon, even without a license. They're known to be a pestilence and vermin. Attractive vermin, and I kind of like their song but they would take over the world like blackberry vines if allowed to.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at December 12, 2015 03:37 PM (39g3+)

9 Hello, gardeners



Have to think everyone's garden is pretty much on hiatus, no?

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 03:38 PM (A7uq7)

10 I JUST HAD AN IDEA! Someone needs to do a mashup of that video with Belichick and that female referee!

Posted by: Y-not at December 12, 2015 03:38 PM (t5zYU)

11 Those Starlings resemble Republican voters chasing a squirrel.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 12, 2015 03:39 PM (PMlgt)

12 I like how holly trees look but they will really take over a yard if you do not keep them hacked back like jungle growth. And that green crud that grows on the bark stains everything it touches.

Regarding trees that attract birds, the cherry tree we had out back was 30 feet+ tall and would pull in flocks of birds. I woke up to a horde of cedar waxwings ten feet from my bedroom window one day. Their song is not very impressive on its own but a flock can be very pretty. Gorgeous birds, too.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at December 12, 2015 03:40 PM (39g3+)

13 Well, I get to the bottom of the post and there's no comments. I coulda been a contender if I hadn't stopped to read all that. Such a loss.

Old Christmas is on January 6th. You might know it as the Feast of Epiphany. Do any of you celebrate "Old Christmas?"

My native family didn't have any such celebration, but my Catholic in-law family, well, Catholics are very big on loading the calendar up with holidays, I found out.

My late, sainted mother-in-law used to always bake an Epiphany cake. In it, she would put a ring. The one who got the slice with the ring in it would get... a dollar when I knew her (Milady says, it varied, not that much when they were kids), but much more than that, the thrill and honor.

A tradition we carry on.

My late cousin's daughter's birthday is that day, so at our house it's extra partyish.

BTW, Epiphany traditionally celebrates the arrival of the three wise guys.

Posted by: mindful webworker - jolly holly days at December 12, 2015 03:42 PM (ATv6t)

14 Starlings are one of the few song bird types you can
freely shoot in Oregon, even without a license. They're known to be a
pestilence and vermin. Attractive vermin, and I kind of like their song
but they would take over the world like blackberry vines if allowed to.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor

They wouldn't be so bad except their crap is like concrete when it gets on the car.

Posted by: Bruce at December 12, 2015 03:46 PM (8ikIW)

15 Hello, gardeners



Have to think everyone's garden is pretty much on hiatus, no?

***

No. Absolutely not. I've been posting at Twitter for a couple of weeks now the bizarre thing happening here in NE Florida. We had just two days of chilly weather a few weeks back before hitting the 70s again and everything in sight rose from its hibernation. The Crepe Myrtles, the Japanese Plum, Ligustrum... everything has new growth. The Oleander is blooming like crazy, as is my Almond Tree.

Yesterday I arrived home before dark and was able to see that the Banana Tree is producing fruit again. In December!

It's very cool to see flowers and fresh green shoots and sprigs so late in the year, but I worry for how it will effect the Spring blossoms.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 12, 2015 03:47 PM (PMlgt)

16 Growing up we had a huge holly tree, god I hated that thing, nothing worse on bare feet. But both of the beekeepers who wanted to over winter bees here asked about holly trees, the bees love them. We have hundreds but none nearly as large as my grandpa's farm (which is where I grew up).

Posted by: traye at December 12, 2015 03:47 PM (StSl7)

17 Epiphany is the day before Orthodox Christmas this year. Sounds sort of serious, with fasting and all. Went to part of an Orthodox Easter service once. There was a Polish woman in our group, and she could understand Old Church Slavonic. A very interesting experience.

http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/orthodox-christmas-day

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 03:49 PM (qahv/)

18 My wife and I happened on Neptune's Daughter a few weeks ago on TCM. We both enjoyed the hell out of it, and I have to say, I had no idea Esther Williams was so good looking. Rowrrrrr. She ended up married to Fernando Lamas, who thought You Look Mahvelous.

As to hollies, another one that I like isn't a true holly at all. Mahonia, or grape holly, does an excellent imitation, and is easy to grow. I'm growing a volunteer that sprouted from another volunteer in the woods back of my house.

Posted by: pep at December 12, 2015 03:49 PM (LAe3v)

19 Oh, yeah: Baby it's warm outside here in NE OK, too. 70° now, and days ahead in the 50s-60s, but cold nights return next week, sayeth the forecast.

In the "Joys of Rural Life" department, two items:

When clouds of starlings roost around here, I prefer to show my appreciation for them by setting off some pop bottle rockets in their direction.

Our "gardening" today consisted of continuing to drive the truck around and gather up the tree debris from the past two storms. Took a big load of limbs and twigs, and all our burnable trash, added that to the already heaped up pile, and had a nice little fire. Sue me, global warmists and climate chaotics!

Posted by: mindful webworker - jolly holly days at December 12, 2015 03:51 PM (ATv6t)

20 So if starlings were a political movement, they'd be Occupy Wall Street?

Posted by: Bruce Boehner at December 12, 2015 03:51 PM (8Qx8I)

21 You can get hollies without spines, Traye.

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 03:52 PM (qahv/)

22 Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 12, 2015 03:47 PM

If I hadn't cut my thumb and screwed up my gardening from that point on, I could have kept right on going with summer veggies. We've had two light frosts.

Nieds, are your bananas the little ones, just bigger than a thumb? We had a tree in south Florida and I loved those things.

Posted by: traye at December 12, 2015 03:52 PM (StSl7)

23 We have stuff blooming out of season here, too, NDH. Roses, rosemary, ornamental pears and a stone fruit rootstock. It is a little worrisome in the case of fruit trees.

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 03:53 PM (qahv/)

24 She was covering the tree's twig and berries.

Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at December 12, 2015 03:54 PM (Xo1Rt)

25 Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 03:52

All mine are wild American and far away from the house, so they're alright.

Posted by: traye at December 12, 2015 03:55 PM (StSl7)

26 I was working a bunch of teenagers down on the the nature trails this morning when a huge flock of robins swept in, the first I've seen this winter. There are a lot of invasive ligustrums (disgustrums) there and the robins love the berries.

My female yaupon has a good berry crop, but it doesn't have a mockingbird attached to it yet (MY berries!!!) Maybe that comes later in the season when there's less other stuff to eat.

Posted by: stace at December 12, 2015 03:55 PM (CoX6k)

27 Obama is trying to bring in hundreds of starling "refugees" into our tree. Eff off, jug ears, and let me enjoy my yaupon berries in peace.

Posted by: Cedar Waxwing at December 12, 2015 03:56 PM (8Qx8I)

28 One year in SoCal, I bought a pink azalea bush in a pot and used it as a Christmas tree. Put a few white lights on it, left it out during the day and brought it in when I got home from work.

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 03:57 PM (qahv/)

29 Just saying hello and thanks for the content to Y-not and KT.

As usual, very edifying and interesting.

Posted by: Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest at December 12, 2015 03:57 PM (LWu6U)

30 I think Yaupon Tea sounds a lot better than Ilex vomitoria tea.

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 03:59 PM (qahv/)

31
Ricardo Montalban played Roderigues in "Battleground." Rather violently strangles a Kraut. Very intense movie for it's day and one that Louis B. Mayer did not like but that his head of production Dore Schary championed.

That's fer dang sure . . .

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at December 12, 2015 04:00 PM (uRmWf)

32 I like the flip flop tree. I used to hang up stockings by the fireplace and hope there'd be real human feet inside, the next day.

Posted by: Quentin Tarantino at December 12, 2015 04:00 PM (8Qx8I)

33 "I've been posting at Twitter for a couple of weeks now the bizarre thing happening here in NE Florida. "


We've had one very mild freeze here in N Tex so far. Just enough to make the trees start turning and dropping.

That said, natives are still going.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 04:01 PM (HFK+4)

34 Do you think CaliGirl will tune in today? Supermarket celery has been excellent. Cauliflower is almost $5.00 a head.

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 04:01 PM (qahv/)

35
When I lived in SF/Berkeley there was a lot of holly, roses, and lemon trees. So, Christmas smelled great.

In LA, we have Poinsettia trees. They are fairly large woody trees with the red flower leaves on the end of each branch. I had never seen anything like it before.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at December 12, 2015 04:01 PM (iQIUe)

36 When I was growing up in Tucson, someone convinced me to make a Christmas "tree" out of a tumbleweed. Found a huge one, spray painted it with that fake snow stuff so it was white, and attempted to decorate it. All without gloves.

Kids, don't try this at home. I was so scratched up it wasn't funny. Well, at least to me, as others seem to have gotten quite a chuckle out of my suffering....

Posted by: HH at December 12, 2015 04:01 PM (DrCtv)

37 Another idea for a novel Christmas tree for a scifi/fantasy fan: a Dalek wearing a witches' hat.

Posted by: Bruce Boehner at December 12, 2015 04:02 PM (8Qx8I)

38 Thanks for continuing this garden thread tradition. Yous guys keep coming up with interesting and seasonal topics.

I have mostly a prepper attitude to most things horticulture. I have been less than religious about spraying grapes and fruit trees, so have little fruit. But I could put them into production for the next year at any time after the apocalypse begins, or zombies start appearing.

The last of my now dried jalepenos are still on the kitchen counter, adding spice to many dishes. And volunteer purple top turnips are available in random patches, for which I've acquired a taste. Anywhere I scrape up some bare dirt, they come up volunteer, from when I had a large area seeded with them for the deer, three years ago.

Scraping has been common, since a 74 mph storm "harvested" many large trees for me last spring, and many had to be pushed out of the fields. One of those bandsaw woodmills will turn trunks into lumber, tops into firewood. Still have to assemble the mill, it's on the list. Fighting the invasive bush honeysuckle is the other part of that forestry project. My acres of woods and grasses is my "garden", and I'm looking to make it more colorful. It might take a lifetime, but it keeps me out of trouble.

cheerio good folks ... and Merry Christmas

Posted by: Illiniwek at December 12, 2015 04:04 PM (26Yu7)

39 Well, it's 27 deg. F here. Going to be cold for a week or more.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 04:05 PM (mUa7N)

40 See the global warming deal is already working, the planet is cooling already.

Posted by: Monsieur Mew Mew at December 12, 2015 04:05 PM (0LHZx)

41 Speaking of weather, ya'll seen the storm that's about to hit Alaska?

Yikes!

Posted by: HH at December 12, 2015 04:07 PM (DrCtv)

42
64 degrees in Hymietown. A record, I think.

Just watched that clip from "Battleground" and had a bit of a moment. Lest we forget the Bulge 71 years ago.

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at December 12, 2015 04:07 PM (uRmWf)

43 Fantastic post you two! Just finished trimming our tree.

Posted by: Clarney at December 12, 2015 04:07 PM (dgO4h)

44 My auxiliary Christmas tree is a punched tin one from Mexico, about 3 or 4 ft high, with colored glass in the larger holes, so when you plug it in it all lights up. I've thought about having it as the only tree since it's so easy, but I'm too attached to all the old ornaments I have that need to go on a full size tree.

Posted by: stace at December 12, 2015 04:08 PM (CoX6k)

45 When Ricardo Montalban passed away there was a brief mention of it in National Review. It seems that Mr. Montalban was quite the conservative guy and had been an NR subscriber for many years.

The more you know...

Posted by: OregonMuse at December 12, 2015 04:08 PM (z6YGb)

46
How many years did God dump on Job?

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at December 12, 2015 04:08 PM (iQIUe)

47 Nieds, are your bananas the little ones, just bigger than a thumb? We had a tree in south Florida and I loved those things.

****

About 3-4 inches long and a bit tough. I'm in a rental and thought it was just an ornamental until it spit out a bunch this Summer. The hard part is keeping the squirrels out of them.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 12, 2015 04:08 PM (PMlgt)

48 Doesn't Montalban hide under a jeep when he's wounded, and by the time his buddies get back to help him he's died? Or is that a different movie?

Posted by: Weirddave at December 12, 2015 04:09 PM (N8hFs)

49 "Nieds, are your bananas the little ones, just bigger than a thumb?"

That's kind of a personal question, isn't it?!

Posted by: Y-not at December 12, 2015 04:09 PM (t5zYU)

50 We have a Holly bush in the front yard. It almost died last Winter, so no berries on it this year.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 04:11 PM (mUa7N)

51 Speaking of Christmas trees, I put up the ugly trees at the office. I'm putting up the trees at home this weekend.

http://bit.ly/1lWK2Wy

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 12, 2015 04:11 PM (PMlgt)

52 I am here KT, I thought about you when I was watching the storm over your area. My husband told me cailiflower is $45.00 a box. Celery is still 40. Cilantro 20. Romaine 35.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 04:12 PM (BHl9S)

53 So...much..content. My head is spinning.

Posted by: Tilikum Killer Assault Whale at December 12, 2015 04:12 PM (hVdx9)

54 Here is a photo of the weeping Yaupon trained like an upside-down bowl, if you're not up for the video. I think it looks like it belongs in Disney World or somewhere.

http://tinyurl.com/jcgfxcr

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 04:12 PM (qahv/)

55
Which plants in your yards attract winter birds?

Everything above the cars.

Posted by: Ed Anger at December 12, 2015 04:12 PM (RcpcZ)

56 >>51 Speaking of Christmas trees, I put up the ugly trees at the office.


Terrific! Post updated.

Posted by: Y-not at December 12, 2015 04:13 PM (t5zYU)

57 "Doesn't Montalban hide under a jeep when he's wounded, and by the time his buddies get back to help him he's died? Or is that a different movie?"


"Battlefield" I believe.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 04:13 PM (4auik)

58 Bruce With a Wang! at December 12, 2015 04:01 PM

I used to have a tall poinsettia in a side yard in SoCal. They don't color up if there is a streetlight nearby. Long hours of darkness trigger blooming.

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 04:14 PM (qahv/)

59 Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 04:12 PM (qahv/)

Looks like it's walking.

Posted by: HH at December 12, 2015 04:14 PM (DrCtv)

60 Obama should commission the EPA to do a children's Christmas cartoon about how global warming destroys Santa's workshop by melting the ice beneath it.

Santa and the elves would weep because they'd be unable to make presents for aIl the good little boys and girls, especially those who live in third world countries. Santa and Mrs. Claus could be depicted as a black/latina lesbian couple.

Posted by: Bruce Boehner at December 12, 2015 04:15 PM (8Qx8I)

61 Illiniwek, how many acres you working on?

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 04:15 PM (4auik)

62
We have a Holly bush in the front yard. It almost died last Winter, so no berries on it this year.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 04:11 PM (mUa7N)

And unless it's a female you'll never have them.

Posted by: Ed Anger at December 12, 2015 04:15 PM (RcpcZ)

63 I put out some seeds for the birds. Bird variety is not great. Some Junkos, sparrows, House finches a few Asian Doves and that's about it. Oh, I forgot about the bastard Flickers.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 04:15 PM (mUa7N)

64 We made the mistake of planting a barberry a decade ago. The birds like the berries, so we keep getting volunteers in random places.

I transplanted once. Whenever the wife makes noise about digging it up, I ask "Why do you hate the birds?"

Posted by: fluffy at December 12, 2015 04:16 PM (AfsKp)

65 "had a nice little fire. Sue me, global warmists and climate chaotics!"

trees are "carbon neutral" ... so burning them is the same as if they rot (slow burn). But since CO2 increase is actually greening up the world, and a little warmer is good, the carbon credit thingy should really be going in reverse. The productive people that burn fuel also produce CO2, and should get a credit. Send the warmists a bill, you've done your part.

Posted by: Illiniwek at December 12, 2015 04:16 PM (26Yu7)

66 This is the first year I can remember where the celery market has been over 5 dollars around thanksgiving. The grocery stores go on ad before the Holliday. They agree on (just an example) Safeway 10 truckloads @ 8 dollars. If the actual market is 50 they still pay 8. If the market falls to 4. They threaten to pull their business, and want a adjustment.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 04:17 PM (BHl9S)

67 Illiniwek at December 12, 2015 04:04 PM

Very informative report. I have some volunteer purple-stemmed turnips coming up. I think a Scarlet Queen Hybrid went to seed.

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 04:17 PM (qahv/)

68
Why would trees and plants prefer to bloom at night or after long hours of darkness?

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at December 12, 2015 04:17 PM (iQIUe)

69
Poor Ricardo would get popped by today's SJWs for that song.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at December 12, 2015 04:18 PM (iQIUe)

70 I have holly trees in my backyard. I hate walking barefoot back there. I don't know what kind they are.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 04:19 PM (BHl9S)

71 And unless it's a female you'll never have them.
Posted by: Ed Anger at December 12, 2015 04:15 PM (RcpcZ)

It has produced berries before, so must be the right sex. No sex change operation that I know of.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 04:19 PM (mUa7N)

72 Actually it's been warm here in NW Wi.

Nice thread.,thank you.

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian, he's just a crazy Italian who drove a red sports car at December 12, 2015 04:19 PM (voOPb)

73 Anyone have bittersweets? Damn nasty to control...but the birds!

Posted by: Clarney at December 12, 2015 04:20 PM (dgO4h)

74 Ricardo I bought about 150 acres of the old family farm where I spent weekends as a kid, and my mom and all her siblings were born here. About 100 of that is grass and woods, hills and creek. It's my old playground, now I have bigger toys. Still kinda sad to see so many giant trees down ... everyone's woods are a mess. Circle of life ...

Posted by: Illiniwek at December 12, 2015 04:21 PM (26Yu7)

75 TD ARMY!!!!

Posted by: SMFH at December 12, 2015 04:22 PM (zyIlW)

76
Sorry, I skipped the Holly rich content before commenting.

I worked on Yaupon Beach years ago. The black drink made by the aborigines was a big part of the Southeast Ceremonial Complex.

Posted by: Ed Anger at December 12, 2015 04:22 PM (RcpcZ)

77 Snowing here now. Glad I don't have to go anywhere.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 04:24 PM (mUa7N)

78 Traye, I thought you might like to see my brabanter chickens.
http://tinypic.com/r/2hmkcgm/9

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 04:25 PM (BHl9S)

79 Thanks for the produce reports, CaliGirl. I remember a report of harvesting celery by helicopter in the Salinas Valley last El Nino.

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 04:25 PM (qahv/)

80 I love that song "Baby, it's cold outside" or as college students would call it - "The official Winter Holiday song of Rape."



It's a beautiful day in my corner of Canada - 50 degrees Fahrenheit. I went for a 3.5 hour run to a town on the lake and finished running every street there and the park, stopped at the edge of the lake for a few minutes, looked out at the lake as the guys fished and then headed home.




I didn't see many houses decorated outside for Christmas because Ontario's energy prices are through the roof. There's one house with a TON of stuff out front that doesn't look too bad, although it's a bit overwhelming.

Posted by: Stateless Infidel at December 12, 2015 04:26 PM (AC0lD)

81 "TD ARMY!!!!"

Wrong thread little lady.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 04:26 PM (evyBv)

82 Terrific! Post updated.

***

heh. Once I put up the tree at home, I'll send you pics. I think it's going to be a doozie.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 12, 2015 04:26 PM (PMlgt)

83 NDH, we have an "ugly tree" kinda lilke your green one. Threatens to tip over sometimes. Gift from a kid, so have to leave it up.

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 04:27 PM (qahv/)

84 just a note...those "flipflops" on the Aussie Christmas tree are referred to as
"thongs" - and, yes, you can wear your thongs to work in Aus!

Posted by: geezer der mensch at December 12, 2015 04:28 PM (DE31Y)

85 BTW, the tree on the left has multi-colored fiber optic lighting. It's a thing of beauty as the changes in color wash over it.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 12, 2015 04:28 PM (PMlgt)

86 Watch Live Stream:
Army vs. Navy Football Game:

http://commoncts.blogspot.com/2015/12/army-vs-navy-live-stream.html

Posted by: Steve at December 12, 2015 04:29 PM (eVV8Z)

87 My favorite Montalban movie is "Mystery Street"
It's a 1950 version of Quince, M.E. or CSI

http://tinyurl.com/pn7ty97

Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at December 12, 2015 04:30 PM (FkBIv)

88 NDH, we have an "ugly tree" kinda lilke your green one. Threatens to tip over sometimes. Gift from a kid, so have to leave it up.

****

It's fun to have an ugly tree. I spent wads of cash and too many hours putting up the perfect tree each year and, in the process, ruined the experience for both me and my daughter. No more. Now I'm just having fun with it.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 12, 2015 04:30 PM (PMlgt)

89 KT
We had problems yesterday. The fields are so wet the tractor pulling the harvesting machine took out an entire row of that 45 dollar cauliflower. We need the water. 2 wells are dry.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 04:31 PM (BHl9S)

90 Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015

Very pretty. How many different kinds do you have?

Posted by: traye at December 12, 2015 04:31 PM (StSl7)

91 Bruce With a Wang! at December 12, 2015 04:17 PM

Poinsettias are tropical, very tender, and are programmed to bloom in winter. Maybe it has something to do with rainfall patterns where they come from.

If you keep one indoors in colder climates, you have to put it in a dark closet if you use lights in the house in the evening.

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 04:32 PM (qahv/)

92 CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 04:25 PM (BHl9S)

Very colorful. Chickens are neat. Had Banties around as a kid.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 04:34 PM (mUa7N)

93 If you keep one [poinsettia] indoors in colder climates, you have to put it in a dark closet if you use lights in the house in the evening.
Posted by: KT
---
And don't forget: they's bad for teh kittehs

Posted by: Bruce Boehner at December 12, 2015 04:34 PM (8Qx8I)

94 I just identified a bird that has been frequenting one of our feeders - a White Breasted Nuthatch. A very common bird - not sure why the identification was so elusive. I must suck at bird identifying.

Posted by: Weasel at December 12, 2015 04:35 PM (e3bId)

95 Cali, repeat please.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 04:36 PM (sbqh0)

96 Ed Anger at December 12, 2015 04:22 PM

Interesting. It would be nice to hear more about what you learned.

Did you ever hear anybody talk about whether the black drink contained stuff other than yaupon?

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 04:36 PM (qahv/)

97 Chandler, AZ, has a tumbleweed Christmas tree downtown.

Stack 'em up, paint 'em white, and hang the lights.

Just google "Chandler tumblweed tree" for pics. It's not as ugly as you'd think.

Posted by: Blanco Basura at December 12, 2015 04:36 PM (YJmuy)

98 60 Obama should commission the EPA to do a children's Christmas cartoon about how global warming destroys Santa's workshop by melting the ice beneath it.

Santa and the elves would weep because they'd be unable to make presents for aIl the good little boys and girls, especially those who live in third world countries. Santa and Mrs. Claus could be depicted as a black/latina lesbian couple.

It's been done:

http://www.thelastchristmasbook.com/

Posted by: Weirddave at December 12, 2015 04:36 PM (N8hFs)

99 Traye, we have 6 kind of ugly white ones, 2 Rhode Island Red, 1 barred rock, 2 brahma. The red chickens went broody and we put fertilized eggs under them. So we have 10 young chickens. Only three hens. I am going to keep the brabanter rooster. I call him punk rock chicken.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 04:38 PM (BHl9S)

100
We need a Nacho Christmas Tree or a Chicken Wings Christmas Tree. nom nom nom

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at December 12, 2015 04:39 PM (iQIUe)

101 CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 04:31 PM

Yipes. Terrible about the cauliflower.

Wonder if anybody will do the helicopter thing to get produce out of the field this season if it gets even more muddy? I think that celery was picked by hand, too.

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 04:41 PM (qahv/)

102 3 I'm tempted to scream "RAPE!!!!" but anyone who watches that video and doesn't know who's in charge there is blind as a bat.
Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at December 12, 2015 03:31 PM (PMlgt)

The guy's trying to get some action, so it's attempted rape.

Posted by: Insomniac - Pale Horse/Death 2016 at December 12, 2015 04:41 PM (kpqmD)

103 Ricardo, it rained yesterday here. The fields are really messy and slippery, but we need the water something fierce.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 04:43 PM (BHl9S)

104 In the delta of Arkansas we are in the mid 70 degrees. Here come the tornados.

Posted by: Arkansas Yankee at December 12, 2015 04:44 PM (Je4OY)

105 Cali., bum-fuzzled by what harvesters are pulled by tractors these days. Seems we've talked this before but I am remiss. High-dollar cauliflower?

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 04:46 PM (0nkfr)

106 KT, I have never heard of that here. I will ask my husband about that. I do remember helicopters flying over strawberry fields to try to save the berries after the rain in maybe 1989-90?

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 04:46 PM (BHl9S)

107 " I have some volunteer purple-stemmed turnips coming up. I think a Scarlet Queen Hybrid went to seed." KT

Nice ... People tend to think hybrids don't produce viable seed, but I guess they produce one side of the gene pool in this case. It's cool to buy those old traditional plants, but they do great stuff with hybrids as well.

I had to Google to find out which parent retains the genetics, or when. Seems like your hybrid should have retained the parent characteristics, but I guess maybe not if it hasn't had a few years making it "pure". Most Midwest wine grapes are hybrids, but I propagate them with cuttings. I'm not sure what I'd get by seed.

My degree is horticulture, but I never used it really, and forgot everything long ago. Google to the rescue.
aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/vegetables/SEED.html

Posted by: Illiniwek at December 12, 2015 04:46 PM (26Yu7)

108 I would like to get some Seabrights but I don't think they are anything but bantam and we have to have big birds or the hawks would get them.

Posted by: traye at December 12, 2015 04:47 PM (StSl7)

109 And cute chickens, too, CaliGirl.

We used to have a little banty hen roosting in an apricot tree. She stayed in a shed at night during winter. Bossy with our big, scary dog at the time. Led animal walks around the yard.

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 04:47 PM (qahv/)

110 hey, all you gardeners!

Posted by: JohnnyBoy at December 12, 2015 04:47 PM (KG0mU)

111 Posted by: Arkansas Yankee at December 12, 2015 04:44 PM (Je4OY)

Funny you should mention that. I was outside a little while ago and thought the same thing. I'm here in KS, but it's really humid and warm with rain on the way.

Posted by: HH at December 12, 2015 04:48 PM (DrCtv)

112 Test

Posted by: RWC - Team BOHICA at December 12, 2015 04:49 PM (9jeGC)

113 I know you guys/gals need the rain, Cali. Glad you're getting it.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 04:49 PM (XfxED)

114 Anyone know why I have to type my credentials in each time. Is it a setting on the iPad?

Does it for Amazon as well.

Posted by: RWC at December 12, 2015 04:51 PM (9jeGC)

115 Ricardo, cauliflower is field packed. The tractor pulls a huge stainless steel machine. The men on the crew cut the product and put it on the table and then it is put into a box. I will go take a picture of a machine. There are different machines for different vegetables. The machines cost 80,000-100,000. The lettuce machine has water hoses to wash the lettuce. No one can wear jewelry. hairnets, gloves. Everything is washed with chlorine.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 04:52 PM (BHl9S)

116 I watched this video this morning as it made the rounds on Facebook. So I looked at other versions, and one was the college kids with their version, the woman being locked in his apartment with the drink knocking her out, per Bill Cosby. But indeed, they think the old generation was creeps, and don't get the respect for the woman. Sad they destroy old songs with PC.

This one has kids dancing, but I like the audio better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bbuBubZ1yE

Posted by: Illiniwek at December 12, 2015 04:52 PM (26Yu7)

117 Cali girl, are there "picking companies," that you pay to harvest? Sounds like it'd be hard to make money if you had to have specialty machinery for each crop.

Posted by: traye at December 12, 2015 04:55 PM (StSl7)

118 Esther Williams was very lovely, but Betty Garrett and Red Skelton made me laugh. I guess after "On the Town" (Neptune's Daughter was made after On The Town?) she was cast as the comic, man hungry woman?

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at December 12, 2015 04:56 PM (No/ki)

119 http://www.thelastchristmasbook.com/

Posted by: Weirddave

---
All of Al Gore's lies, right down to the fake polar bears. Pretty funny, if exasperating.

Posted by: Bruce Boehner at December 12, 2015 04:57 PM (8Qx8I)

120
Alas, Betty Garrett was an unrepentant commie.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at December 12, 2015 05:00 PM (iQIUe)

121 I liked Ricardo Montalban when he did the Chrysler Cordoba commercials....ahhhh the Corinthian leather.....and the car answered his demands unlike the broad in the movie.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at December 12, 2015 05:04 PM (ej1L0)

122 Lots of actors/actresses were communists, Bruce. I don't have to agree with their politics or even know what they were to enjoy their performances. I never particularly cared for John Wayne's acting (He was always the same.) except in "The Quiet Man" and he apparently wasn't a communist.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at December 12, 2015 05:05 PM (No/ki)

123 Ilex vomitoria. Youse guys rock.

Ordering 40 15 gallon from our friends in Florida Monday. The gnarlier the better.

In plant ID class, way back, one of my favorites. The berries are have a translucent quality Not like any other holly. If your AGW doesn't do them in, add them to the landscape.

Winterberry is cool too.

Don't like any weeping variety though.

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 05:06 PM (48QDY)

124 Goody for you.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at December 12, 2015 05:07 PM (iQIUe)

125 Y-not and KT, Thanks for another great gardening thread. This one is especially interesting and the various holly pictures are lovely. Our neighbor has some kind of shrub growing up the side of the house and for a few days each year the berries on it attract cedar waxwings. Gorgeous birds. (Note to self: Find out what the heck the shrub is.)

The weather has been weird. Nights near or below freezing but warm days, 60s near to 70 degrees. Still have some herbs trying to grow or at least survive. The other morning I saw some dill where each bit of each frond had dew drops on them. Then the early morning sun hit it and transformed the dill to a jade sculpture seen through crystal. Glorious! It was worth growing the dill just for those fifteen minutes.

Posted by: JTB at December 12, 2015 05:10 PM (FvdPb)

126 Yes, goody for me; I can enjoy their performances of decades ago without sometimes even knowing what their politics were or even caring!

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at December 12, 2015 05:10 PM (No/ki)

127 Just checking comments.

Look around traye. I would bet there are Yaupons on or near your farm.

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 05:10 PM (48QDY)

128 Traye, we have a harvesting company. We have a fresh vegetable sales company and a farming company. we harvest for other people as well. The equipment for farming is crazy. We have a shop and we make our own machines. I was in the shop yesterday and they were putting a computer driven sprayer on a new tractor. The tractors all have GPS so the rows are perfect. We also put remote controls in the tractors.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 05:11 PM (BHl9S)

129 Very nice thread, Y-Not and KT and beautiful photos. Thanks.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at December 12, 2015 05:11 PM (No/ki)

130 I will stick my trained prawn into Chekhov's ear and make him my slave! And I will not pay reparations!

Posted by: Khan at December 12, 2015 05:12 PM (8Qx8I)

131 You can never go wrong with Esther Williams. What an attractive woman.

Posted by: JTB at December 12, 2015 05:15 PM (FvdPb)

132 Posted by: FenelonSpoke at December 12, 2015 05:10 PM (No/ki)

I with Fen.


http://bit.ly/1YbDMGE

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 05:19 PM (48QDY)

133 RWC: Anyone know why I have to type my credentials in each time....

To retain your name and email and URL, you have to have cookies on... I think. Don't know about iPuds.

Posted by: mindful webworker - technically squeaking at December 12, 2015 05:19 PM (ACs58)

134 Cold? It 85 and sunny
I'm sweating to death

Posted by: Navycopjoe at December 12, 2015 05:19 PM (3sozU)

135 I liked Ricardo Montalban when he did the Chrysler Cordoba commercials....ahhhh the Corinthian leather.....and the car answered his demands unlike the broad in the movie.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy
****

He had sex with a Chrysler? WTH?!

Posted by: Tilikum Killer Assault Whale at December 12, 2015 05:21 PM (hVdx9)

136 Kaaaarrrk!!! You heard the rumors about Mr. Sulu?

Posted by: Khan at December 12, 2015 05:22 PM (8Qx8I)

137 Ugh, had the wrong link to the archives. Fixing it now.

Posted by: Y-not at December 12, 2015 05:22 PM (t5zYU)

138 Baby, it's warm outside here in Chicagoland... record-breaking mid-50s and tomorrow 61! How can anyone think warmth equals bad? Everyone loves warm! I love El Nino!

Posted by: Aslan's Girl at December 12, 2015 05:22 PM (xetep)

139 128 Traye, we have a harvesting company. We have a fresh vegetable sales company and a farming company. we harvest for other people as well. The equipment for farming is crazy. We have a shop and we make our own machines. I was in the shop yesterday and they were putting a computer driven sprayer on a new tractor. The tractors all have GPS so the rows are perfect. We also put remote controls in the tractors.
Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 05:11 PM (BHl9S)

I know where you are on this. Something about necessity.

My boss bought a $300K sprayer this year. All GPS. Touch pads. Once you turn on the booms, no steering.

$250K sod harvesters.

Cheaper than Obamacare.

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 05:23 PM (48QDY)

140 Kaaaarrrk!!! You heard the rumors about Mr. Sulu?

Posted by: Khan
****

They aren't rumors Khan.
Sometimes we explore uninhabited planets and it gets...lonely.

Posted by: James T Kirk at December 12, 2015 05:23 PM (hVdx9)

141 OT. Hey Golfman
Played the Koolina this morning, hole 6 357yds dogleg right
Bet her highness that I could reach the green on the tee
I'll be damned if I didn't miss the pin by 5 ft

Posted by: Navycopjoe at December 12, 2015 05:24 PM (3sozU)

142 The tractors all have GPS so the rows are perfect

What brand of tractors do you use? Same as your pink toy?

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 05:27 PM (mUa7N)

143 Golfman, people are starting to use mechanized harvesters, no people, but that is still for the value added stuff. The bagged lettuce. My dream is to hold the patent on one. We would do it in a heartbeat.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 05:28 PM (BHl9S)

144 Test. Again.

Posted by: RWC - Team BOHICA at December 12, 2015 05:29 PM (9jeGC)

145 John Deere, we do have a few Old kubotas (sp?). My husband prefers john deere.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 05:29 PM (BHl9S)

146 Fudge fudge fudge!!!!

Posted by: RWC - Team BOHICA at December 12, 2015 05:30 PM (9jeGC)

147 Thanks for the dill report, JTB. Lovely.

Posted by: KT at December 12, 2015 05:31 PM (qahv/)

148 Posted by: Navycopjoe at December 12, 2015 05:24 PM (3sozU)

And you didn't have to pitch to the hole. Hard to chunk a putt.

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 05:31 PM (48QDY)

149 I would bet there are Yaupons on or near your farm.
Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at

Yeah, the house is ringed by them, I pulled up 7 but there are at least 20 more, I'm not a fan of foliage up against the house, but the chickens love them, and so they win.

I haven't seen any wild but there were a lot when I lived on Oak island/yaupon beach (imagine that).

Posted by: traye at December 12, 2015 05:32 PM (StSl7)

150 I used to have a carbide cannon when I was a kid. I would take it to the park acroos the street to shoot it off. It was a lot of fun. Everybody wanted to try it.

Did I mention that was in Sacramento CA? It was quite some time ago.

Posted by: freaked at December 12, 2015 05:32 PM (BO/km)

151 Navycop, did you go over trees? Shorter in a straight line? That is a huge drive

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 05:32 PM (BHl9S)

152 Let's try this

Posted by: RWC - Team BOHICA at December 12, 2015 05:33 PM (9jeGC)

153 "The Holly and the Ivy":

https://youtu.be/0wK60zxmctI

Posted by: logprof at December 12, 2015 05:33 PM (vsbNu)

154 Warm in WC IL also .... 68 still.

GPS and auto steer is cool ... next they'll come up with sprayers that use photos from drones to spray only where the weed problems are, I suppose, or cameras right on the machine. GPS can already turn on and off individual planter units to avoid overlaps.

I only have 50 acres of crops, not much equipment, but bought gps guidance since I spray off the back of my Kawasaki mule. Supposedly accurate to 6", and very helpful in little irregular fields.

That's an impressive operation CaliGirl.

Posted by: Illiniwek at December 12, 2015 05:33 PM (26Yu7)

155 Kubotas rock. Bulletproof.

JD's are pricey on parts. Disclaimer. We have a 5400 with 11,000 hours on it. Yep. No typo.

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 05:34 PM (48QDY)

156 Ok, guess it has something to do with Shitfari

Posted by: RWC - Team BOHICA at December 12, 2015 05:35 PM (9jeGC)

157 >>>Golfman, people are starting to use mechanized harvesters, no people

So will the CoC lose interest in pushing for illegal immigration? That would sink Jeb, and the GOP would be free to move in a more conservatish direction. Would also bring prices down, and lower taxes (fewer entitlements).

Santa, if you're listening, that's what I want for Christmas.

Posted by: Bruce Boehner at December 12, 2015 05:36 PM (8Qx8I)

158 Caligirl, do you use any drones? I suspect some farmers are using them even though they haven't been OK'ed by the government yet.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 05:36 PM (mUa7N)

159 GPS and auto steer is cool ... next they'll come up with sprayers that use photos from drones to spray only where the weed problems are, I suppose, or cameras right on the machine. GPS can already turn on and off individual planter units to avoid overlaps.

That's an impressive operation CaliGirl.
Posted by: Illiniwek at December 12, 2015 05:33 PM (26Yu7)

Boom control was the big deal a few years ago. Now it's individual NOZZLE control. Moving fast.

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 05:37 PM (48QDY)

160 He had sex with a Chrysler? WTH?!
Posted by: Tilikum Killer Assault Whale at December 12, 2015 05:21 PM (hVdx9)

Almost....youtube the commercial and it is very sensual and erotic....Ricardo was the most interesting man in the world in his day.
Stay thirsty my friends.....

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at December 12, 2015 05:38 PM (ej1L0)

161 JD's are pricey on parts

More pricey than Kubota? I would think they are both pricey.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 05:39 PM (mUa7N)

162 It's a irredeemably bad song regardless of the context.

Posted by: weft cut-loop at December 12, 2015 05:40 PM (9YDUz)

163 I know nothing about the tractors. I have only driven the one with the tracks because it's easier. 11,000 hours is a lot. I know the parts are expensive and labor if you take it to the dealer. My new gator has 24 hours on it.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 05:40 PM (BHl9S)

164 Almost....youtube the commercial and it is very sensual and erotic....Ricardo was the most interesting man in the world in his day. Stay thirsty my friends.....

Posted by: Hairyback Guy
---
So, he was the Paolo of automobiles?

Posted by: Bruce Boehner at December 12, 2015 05:40 PM (8Qx8I)

165 I notice that a lot of the farms here (very old community) farm like they have for generations. It could be a lot more productive but hey, it's what they do.

If you tried you could produce three crops in a year here, but I only know one guy who does. The sixty acre field right beside me had the soy beans ready to harvest for over two months, they just got them yesterday.

Posted by: traye at December 12, 2015 05:41 PM (StSl7)

166 Boom control was the big deal a few years ago. Now it's individual NOZZLE control. Moving fast.
Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 05:37 PM (48QDY)

I watch RFD TV just to see what's out there and auction prices. There is really some hi tech stuff in farming. Expensive as hell though.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 05:43 PM (mUa7N)

167 I like hanging out in our shop and watching what they do. Our mechanic is really smart. He reads the manuals at night and figures out the problem. That kind of mind impresses me. He is also good with the computer and helps me with my computer. He also just made a planting machine.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 05:43 PM (BHl9S)

168 Don't talk to much about the warm weather, it makes the climate people say "see global warming is happening, next year, the coastal cities will be flooded" but we are fixing that, the luxurious Paris hotels and call girls were great this year.

Posted by: Colin at December 12, 2015 05:44 PM (T3Tpd)

169 "Kubotas rock. Bulletproof. "


Gotta say, every Kubota I was ever around was a stone-cold bitch. Run whether it had fuel or oil or fluid in it. Just ran.

I remember now, Cali, talking before about harvesters.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 05:44 PM (ubcB/)

170 Mrs. Skookumchuk and I are having a mild little argument about whether we want to do the "floating tree" in the photo (only bigger) this year or next. She says we're too busy. I say, we do it this year, dammit.

Posted by: Skookumchuk at December 12, 2015 05:48 PM (/WPPJ)

171 Traye, we turn over the plots in 90 days. Three and a half crops a year. We grow lettuce cauliflower broccoli, napa, bok choy,leaf lettuce, cilantro, celery, we are in our 3rd year of blueberries. Everything except cilantro is transplanted. If we could leave it in the ground we would. Perishable commodity.
http://tinypic.com/r/30rxydj/9
This is napa, on the left is bok choy.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 05:49 PM (BHl9S)

172 Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 05:43 PM (BHl9S)

Manuals. Live by them. If I or my boss just dropped a couple K's, or multi K's in his case, it's like Christmas. There are some smart people that wrote those books. They'll let you know.

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 05:50 PM (48QDY)

173 Noticed compost is steaming but still have lots of leaves on ground.
I get holly sprouts growing in my yard but they never seem to get far.
I do have lots of birds as I put out a feeder ( need to rebuild it) seeing some year rounders but notice birds I don't see in spring or summer.

Posted by: Skip at December 12, 2015 05:50 PM (k0xxN)

174 169
My husband has had problems with his. He won't buy another one. I don't know why. He may have bought them used.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 05:50 PM (BHl9S)

175 Homies are shooting up a storm this weekend in Chicago. Should have some record numbers by Monday morning!

Posted by: Colin at December 12, 2015 05:52 PM (T3Tpd)

176 My little loader tractor is a 1983 JD 750. Built in Japan with JD specs. Has a 3 cyl Jap engine. Still going strong, but not many hours. I bleed green, not because they are the best, it's what I grew up with. I have some 2 cyl JDs that I've restored. You couldn't kill those things.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 05:53 PM (mUa7N)

177 Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 05:49 PM (BHl9S)

How much N do y'all put on lettuce? I don't know if I'm pushing too much. First year I've tried(though no where near your scale) and we have a 30-0-0 that is half slow release.

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 05:54 PM (48QDY)

178 I'm with, Y-not. My two cats would destroy that with great abandon and delight. We draped long Christmassy ribbons over the tops of some of our pictures and they've already taken some of them down. Fortunately- or not- we have a small, feeble tree that looks like the one out of the Charlie Brown Christmas ("before" picture) and has ornaments but no lights (It couldn't support them) and so the cats are not nearly as interested in that as they would be with a big tree they could try to bat every ornaments off of and perhaps climb up.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at December 12, 2015 05:54 PM (No/ki)

179 Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 05:53 PM (mUa7N)

Yanmar?

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 05:55 PM (48QDY)

180 Sorry- Meant, my cats would destroy the floating tree although it looks very festive and elegant.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at December 12, 2015 05:55 PM (No/ki)

181 Ah, well, cali, if he's good with JD's and they work that's great.


Massey guy myself. But it don't mean no thing if the work gets done at the end of the day.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 05:56 PM (Gzn/8)

182 Baby, it's Cold Outside

----

Didn't see any reference in the OP, but that's the name of a song by The Choir, 1967, from Ohio. Good song too. The Choir, with some line up changes became The Raspberries, most well known for their early 70's hit 'Go All the Way'

Any way you can hear The Choir 's 45 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' on Youtube.

Posted by: jbarntt at December 12, 2015 05:57 PM (hM/US)

183 181 Ah, well, cali, if he's good with JD's and they work that's great.


Massey guy myself. But it don't mean no thing if the work gets done at the end of the day.
Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 05:56 PM (Gzn/

I remember "driving" my grandpa's Ford. On his lap.

This was about 1967. Metal seat. Probably a late Fifties model. Cool.

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 05:59 PM (48QDY)

184 Yanmar?
Posted by: Golfman

Yes.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 06:00 PM (mUa7N)

185 @170
Definitely do the floating tree! purrrrrr

Posted by: Skookumchuk's kitties at December 12, 2015 06:00 PM (t5zYU)

186 Golfman, I'm just the wife. I don't know what they do. I'd have to ask. I do know the bell peppers were fertilized once. they have it down to a science.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 06:01 PM (BHl9S)

187 So much thought and work goes into the gardening thread. Always great, always interesting. Thank you.

My son and daughter-in-law brought over a 5ft. Christmas tree for me, and a stand and lights last weekend. I went into the yard and picked up boughs that had fallen from the fir tree. These I used to make a wreath. More of a fight than I anticipated trying to wrap boughs through the wire wreath frame. A few added decorations and it looks pretty good.

Posted by: washrivergal at December 12, 2015 06:01 PM (CFc5L)

188 Now if there were a holographic floating tree, It would be funny to see the cats attempt to attack that.

Posted by: Bruce Boehner at December 12, 2015 06:03 PM (8Qx8I)

189 "My little loader tractor is a 1983 JD 750. Built in Japan with JD specs. Has a 3 cyl Jap engine. Still going strong, but not many hours. I bleed green, not because they are the best, it's what I grew up with. "


Yanmar seems likely.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 06:03 PM (4NRHc)

190 I love the floating tree as well, but I too have cats. I have a fake tree.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 06:03 PM (BHl9S)

191 When I was a kid 'Big Bang' carbide cannons were popular toys. They must have been popu;ar for a very long time, because I have both my dad's, which looks like this:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/nr4gvn9

and my own:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/opn2rww

So far as Yaupon goes, it was common where I grew up (low country SC) and was a favorite of my mother's. Ironically, I was just at Ocracoke Isalne in October.

I'll mention another low country Christmas tradition here, Bayberry candles. For me, they are the scent of Christmas.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at December 12, 2015 06:03 PM (9mTYi)

192 Ricardo, did you get that Massey 98 bought?

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 06:04 PM (mUa7N)

193 Hoyt Clagwell is the best tractor.

http://tinyurl.com/nmumwjh

Posted by: Eb Dawson at December 12, 2015 06:04 PM (FkBIv)

194 'Isalne'?

Island.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at December 12, 2015 06:04 PM (9mTYi)

195 Another thing about farms here, the owners are by and large old and they wanted something different for their kids so the kids are professionals and soon there are going to be people who inherit the land but have no use for it. That's how we got our place.

My plan is to hopefully make enough here in two more years for the wife to leave work. If that works I'll have a lot more time and I can work something with my neighbors to use their fields, on one side I have 20 acres that only gets mowed and seeded in the fall in oats for deer and the other side is leased but is not taken care of, that's 60 acres. But first, I have to make my little farm work.

Posted by: traye at December 12, 2015 06:05 PM (StSl7)

196 Baby its Cold Outside???

best rendition IMO?

Ann Margaret, and Brian Setzer, on his Christmas Album...

Posted by: BB Wolf at December 12, 2015 06:07 PM (qh617)

197 In Pulp Fiction I remember Butch saying "the Honda's history".

The net says he said "I'm sorry, baby, I had to crash that Honda."

Have I changed time lines?

Posted by: Off topic at December 12, 2015 06:08 PM (PGh+Q)

198 FS, well, our cat would destroy it, too. But I think I've found a spot where we can hang it high enough. Maybe.

Posted by: Skookumchuk at December 12, 2015 06:08 PM (/WPPJ)

199 Posted by: Skookumchuk at December 12, 2015 06:08 PM (/WPPJ)

If you do it, see if you can take a picture and somehow show it to us; I'd love to see how it worked out IRL. :^)

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at December 12, 2015 06:10 PM (No/ki)

200 "Ricardo, did you get that Massey 98 bought?"


No, but I still know exactly where it's at and it's not going anywhere. And it runs loud and proud.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 06:11 PM (Uoovd)

201 Traye, around here its 4th generation farmers. My husband wants to retire in ten years. He doesn't want our son to do it because it's a thankless job and California sucks. If we could move to Texas we would.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 06:11 PM (BHl9S)

202 More of a fight than I anticipated trying to wrap boughs through the wire wreath frame. A few added decorations and it looks pretty good.
---

If you - or any of the horde - want to show off your work, send the pix to me at bailesworth g m a il dot com. It'd be nice to see what everyone makes out of the things they grow.

Posted by: Y-not at December 12, 2015 06:13 PM (t5zYU)

203 And it runs loud and proud.

Yes, indeed.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 06:13 PM (mUa7N)

204 One thing my husband has thought of doing when he retires is just to do the farmers markets and boxes of different produce. Like farm on 20 acres.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 06:14 PM (BHl9S)

205 Whoa! Greg Gutfield just tweeted a link to the Dinesh D'Souza post here.

http://tinyurl.com/qesobm8

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at December 12, 2015 06:15 PM (9mTYi)

206 One year we went to a tree farm and cut our own tree. It was the first (and last time) we ever had a Blue Spruce. It was lovely and we both injuries from trying to get it in the house and get it set up. Painful!
We normally have Douglas firs.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at December 12, 2015 06:15 PM (No/ki)

207
*!*

Brought the tree home today, just remembered that I haven't added water.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at December 12, 2015 06:17 PM (9mTYi)

208  In Pulp Fiction I remember Butch saying "the Honda's history". The net says he said "I'm sorry, baby, I had to crash that Honda." Have I changed time lines?
Posted by: Off topic
---
I said the n-word, but that's ok because I have a black soul.

Posted by: Quentin Tarantino at December 12, 2015 06:20 PM (8Qx8I)

209 206
One year we went to a tree farm and cut our own tree. It was the first
(and last time) we ever had a Blue Spruce. It was lovely and we both
injuries from trying to get it in the house and get it set up. Painful!

We normally have Douglas firs.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at December 12, 2015 06:15 PM (No/ki)

Used to do same thing. It's truly astonishing how much bigger the tree is in the house compared to how manageable and smaller it looks like out in the field!

Posted by: washrivergal at December 12, 2015 06:22 PM (CFc5L)

210 CaliGirl- I could not function without my gator. Second, found a neat site that is making gloves and socks out of Buffalo down. Super cold protection and water repellant without lanolin.

Posted by: Ben Had at December 12, 2015 06:23 PM (Cklb7)

211 I never had much hands on at the farm ... helped bail hay, a few things. But now I can sorta play with it, semi-retired thingy. Have the old farm buildings, but not sure I want to mess with a few cows ... maybe chickens.

I bought two mid size Zetors, used. With Deere, Farmall, they say you pay a lot extra for the paint ... meaning the brand. I don't know, but with Zetor I saw they had a lot more weight per dollar than most, but not sure how that translates to actual tractor value. I don't work them hard or long but have had few problems. They are from Czech Republic and are common in Europe.

Posted by: Illiniwek at December 12, 2015 06:23 PM (26Yu7)

212 Whoa! Greg Gutfield just tweeted a link to the Dinesh D'Souza post here.


Darn. If I'd known we were having famous company I might have worn pants in that thread.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at December 12, 2015 06:23 PM (1xUj/)

213 If you - or any of the horde - want to show off your
work, send the pix to me at bailesworth g m a il dot com. It'd be nice
to see what everyone makes out of the things they grow.

Posted by: Y-not at December 12, 2015 06:13 PM (t5zYU)

I would do that, however, I have the crappiest phone camera on the planet.

Posted by: washrivergal at December 12, 2015 06:24 PM (CFc5L)

214
Went out before dark to gather some wild onion for chives on tonight's baked potatoes. Kinda odd though, as that is usually a 'spring' thing.

Tornado warnings in the area, heading in this direction. Could be an exciting night...

Posted by: Spun and Murky at December 12, 2015 06:24 PM (4DCSq)

215 The OP has too many Christmas trees.

Posted by: Patrick MacNee at December 12, 2015 06:26 PM (8Qx8I)

216 I love my gator too. My husband won't drive it because it's pink. He uses his truck. We took the gator to town for the parade, he made me drive but told me how to do it the whole time.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 06:28 PM (BHl9S)

217 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GVKazRaRNA"


It just sounds so good.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 06:29 PM (C2M9m)

218 The upside-down ornaments on the fishing line tree would be instead of the usually humungous, cut-it-ourselves tree. Since we already put up a bazillion lights, a wreath, and swags outside, it seems like a good option, cat or no cat. Damn cat.

Posted by: Skookumchuk at December 12, 2015 06:32 PM (/WPPJ)

219 Ricardo, that is a cool tractor.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 06:33 PM (BHl9S)

220 My neighbor down the road has one that looks like that at the entrance to his ranch and he puts lights and a giant Santa on it for Christmas.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 06:35 PM (BHl9S)

221 I saw a Christmas tree at the hospital that looked like Darth Vader. Sorry, no pictures. I don't know how.

Posted by: Eromero at December 12, 2015 06:36 PM (b+df9)

222 That was for Ricardo. I am going to look to see what kind of tractor it is. It's red.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 06:37 PM (BHl9S)

223 CaliGirl .. that Farmers Market idea sounds good ... ours is around the old town square, nice place to hang and maybe even make a profit. It's on my list of maybes.

For the younger more energetic I thought a return of the old milkman concept might be cool. But include an array of items ... milk and eggs, even beef ... then fruits and vegies, even dried flowers or honey. An internet catalog to show daily availability. Food inspectors might be an issue.

Of course that takes a little more effort, but with the internet, orders and payment would be easy, and one could use an old milkman style truck. Amazon is trying to get into the grocery delivery market, but I think folks would be receptive to local deliveries from local producers... especially older folks where groceries can be a real chore.

The buy local thing has some merit, though the "sustainable" thing seems taken over by lefties. They can't leave a good thing untouched.

Posted by: Illiniwek at December 12, 2015 06:38 PM (26Yu7)

224 My son and daughter-in-law brought over a 5ft. Christmas tree for me, and a stand and lights last weekend. I went into the yard and picked up boughs that had fallen from the fir tree. These I used to make a wreath. More of a fight than I anticipated trying to wrap boughs through the wire wreath frame. A few added decorations and it looks pretty good.
Posted by: washrivergal at December 12, 2015 06:01 PM (CFc5L)

You are blessed.

Tinsel on grandmas cedar tree that granddaddy cut from out on the farm

Memories.

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 06:39 PM (48QDY)

225 Posted by: washrivergal at December 12, 2015 06:22 PM (CFc5L)

It was so much the size. It was the needles on it which were like razors. A Douglas Fir has much softer needles.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at December 12, 2015 06:40 PM (No/ki)

226 John Deere stuff is a bitch to work on but if you stay at it you can figure it out and save a bunch of money. I have Ford tractor made in '62 that I still use to drag the arena and till up my outside riding track. Runs like a champ.

Posted by: Ben Had at December 12, 2015 06:41 PM (Cklb7)

227 Meant "wasn't" so much the size although we still had to hack off more from the bottom.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at December 12, 2015 06:42 PM (No/ki)

228 Iliniwek @ 211- I have had JD, IH, Case, and AC tractors, backhoes, dozers, combines, and cotton pickers over the years. Today, if money was no object (hit the lottery) I'd buy Kubota wheel tractor, CaseIH backhoe, JD dozer. And a Bobcat. Dang, I think I'm getting some wood.

Posted by: Eromero at December 12, 2015 06:42 PM (b+df9)

229 Cali' don't do anything on my account. You just do your thing.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 06:46 PM (ZNQC+)

230 The thing we need is a truck with a cherry picker on it for tree maintenance.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 06:46 PM (BHl9S)

231 228 Iliniwek @ 211- I have had JD, IH, Case, and AC tractors, backhoes, dozers, combines, and cotton pickers over the years. Today, if money was no object (hit the lottery) I'd buy Kubota wheel tractor, CaseIH backhoe, JD dozer. And a Bobcat. Dang, I think I'm getting some wood.
Posted by: Eromero at December 12, 2015 06:42 PM (b+df9)

Kubota. Check.

Backhoe. Cat.

Dozer. Deere has surpassed Cat there. You are right.

Bobcat. Eh. 287B currently. Hopefully upgrading to a 299D next week. Tracks are the way. Boss says the 287 pushes better than a D3.

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 06:47 PM (48QDY)

232 You are blessed.



Tinsel on grandmas cedar tree that granddaddy cut from out on the farm



Memories.

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 06:39 PM (48QDY)

Yes. Although my son would bend over backwards for me and has done so many, many things that I am grateful for, and that I can hardly believe, it was my daughter-in-laws idea. She is very thoughtful this way.

Posted by: washrivergal at December 12, 2015 06:48 PM (CFc5L)

233 Ricardo, I want to know. I thought the red ones were IH.

Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 06:49 PM (BHl9S)

234 Posted by: CaliGirl at December 12, 2015 06:49 PM (BHl9S)

Yes. As are MF.

Posted by: Golfman - Xenophobe Extrodinaire at December 12, 2015 06:53 PM (48QDY)

235 I replaced the carburetor on my weed eater. Thought that showed unusual competence.

Posted by: Weasel at December 12, 2015 06:55 PM (e3bId)

236 Golfman @ 231- And I only have 2 acres here where I live. Don't need any of that equipment, but would never let a brother down when he needed something. When I was in the Navy (Seabees) we had MRS scrapers, one of the sorriest machines ever. I always heard they were partly owned by John Stennis. Don't know if that was true, but most of our other equipment was topnotch. I'd choose a WABCO (remember those?) over a MRS anyday. Of course CAT is the benchmark for scrapers IMO.

Posted by: Eromero at December 12, 2015 06:56 PM (b+df9)

237 Nood

Posted by: Ed Anger at December 12, 2015 06:57 PM (RcpcZ)

238 "Ricardo, I want to know. I thought the red ones were IH."


Cali', we may be crossing waves.

International Harvester made red tractors. So did Massey-Ferguson.

IH no longer exists. Part of FIAT-New Holland today. MF is part of AGCO (Allis-Gleaner Co) today.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at December 12, 2015 06:58 PM (RRoHg)

239 sounds good eromero ... I'm thinking investing in sound equipment is a good idea, even if not used a lot. Zero interest is no good with an inflating currency, and stock markets seem in a bubble as the fed pumps and manipulates.

I've learned to appreciate the raw power of even a 78hp tractor, but a dozer would be useful. Looked at a trencher with a backhoe on the other side. Want to bury my electrical lines for aesthetic reasons, do more tiling ... maybe just a backhoe.

Posted by: Illiniwek at December 12, 2015 07:02 PM (26Yu7)

240 Lets face it. All manufacturers have made some crap over the years. I'm only familiar with the older stuff, but sure it holds true today. For example, I wouldn't own a JD 1010 gas.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 07:04 PM (mUa7N)

241 I've got a Farmall M in the quonset with carb issues ... it's red with lots of white splotches. Damn sparrows.

Posted by: Illiniwek at December 12, 2015 07:08 PM (26Yu7)

242 Ricardo, help me out here. I think Massey Ferguson was a merger between Massey Harris and Ferguson. So, didn't the Massey Fergusons have a little grey paint on them? The later ones did.

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 07:09 PM (mUa7N)

243 I've run a Ferguson and a Ford 8N years ago. The 8N was a great utility tractor. Wouldn't want to farm with one

Posted by: Ronster at December 12, 2015 07:12 PM (mUa7N)

244 So what's the deal on those Mahindra tractors?

Posted by: stace at December 12, 2015 09:10 PM (CoX6k)

245 "He used to see snow... way off in the mountains..."

Posted by: Richard McEnroe at December 12, 2015 10:45 PM (Kucy5)

246 Late to the party, but the hub and I have been busy today with shopping and Christmas caroling with our church. So nice to see Kentucky getting blog love. It's a heavenly place, particularly in the springtime. Glad you're enjoying it, Y-Not! We love it!

Posted by: Shinypie at December 12, 2015 10:55 PM (3nZXa)

247 They did a story in the Minneapolis paper about the most dangerous job in the state: farming. Minnesota is pretty lax about tractor regulations, and farmers don't retrofit the old ones with roll bars, and in some cases don't change out the front axle for the wider kind that are more stable. I think it was Wisconsin which gives them incentives to do the work, and they have less injuries and deaths.

Talking about passing on the farm: A friend of ours sells his pork at the farmer's market. Put all his kids through a private college doing that; the kids would work the booth with him, selling hot brats and Polish while he sold the packaged stuff. Just lately they added a food truck to the operation; they found out that it didn't pay to have it downtown, but they park outside bars at night and do very well, and they get hired to do weddings and stuff.

My friend was complaining one day about how "the boys want to do this, and that, and it's expensive."

I said, "Rex, how many farmers do you know that don't have a kid who wants to farm? You have five, and all of them want to do it."

He ducked his head, smiled, and agreed that he was lucky.

Posted by: Gordon at December 12, 2015 11:17 PM (hqhmo)

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