Frosty Hemlock

Hemlock with a heavy cover of frost.

I hope that I'm not the only one for whom Christmas is coming way to fast.  I was somehow convinced that I still had two weeks.  My husband broke the bad news to me similar to the way he would approach one of the horses if they were loose....with great caution and trepidation.

I'm looking forward to getting the Charlie Brown tree in the house this week and the decorations unpacked.  The beautiful wreath that my husband got from a friend is finally hanging and we were blessed with a bit of snow.  It's going to be hard not spending Christmas Eve with my Grandpa Joe after 38 years of doing so.

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends!

All You Need Is Love

I don't know about you.  But there is something wonderful about being with the person that you love, on the land that you love while doing something that you both love doing.  Mr. Weingartner has grown so accustomed to the camera that now he rarely bothers to scowl at me.  He has accepted that it's just coming along as an extension of me.   

Heaven Is A Bass Pond

Skywatch Friday


Can you picture the Large Mouth Bass jumpin' and the Barn Swallow's diving?

The sun going down and the mist starting to roll in here on a little slice of heaven in New Wilmington, PA that I call home. Come on out and join me sometime for picture taking, Bass fishing or a glass of wine and a quiet chat....I would love to have you!

Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday

I am lucky to have a four wheel utility vehicle to be able to haul me around the farm like a tough wheelchair. Anyway. The Sky. My Wheels. Crutches. Lovely blooming Pyrus calleryana 'Cleveland Select' aka Cleveland Select Pears.

Waitin' on Work

Bobcat 863 with a 28 Caretree Spade and Grouser Tracks Waiting For Work.

The spring digging season is super short this year. For some trees the window to dig closed last week. For most of the rest we will be lucky to make it though the week.

Not that's it's overly important this year. The tree market is totally in the tank. We have friends in the nursery industry that are bull dozing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of trees. Unfortunately there is no way to stop production of trees. It takes years to grow them and the row spacing is set to sell them off in a certain number of years.

We have a few fields that will be seeing a chainsaw to every other tree in the row in order to save half of them. But for the most part our spacing is good. Hopefully the fall season will spell redemption.

Pattern

Saving baler twine for a rainy day? Seems a bit crazy as we generate a never ending supply of used twine around here.

30 Days

Today

Thirty Days Ago

The Old Bank Barn

Fall Color

Saturday while on my walk I made a mental note to come out to this field and shoot between these beautiful rows of Acer rubrum 'Franksred' aka Red Sunset Red Maple. I badgered my husband to no avail yesterday. But today he gave in and came out with me.

And he brought the lovely Clarice with him as well. And since I'm an equal opportunity blogger and I do not discriminate between long legged (JRTCA) and short legged (Irish) Jack Russell Terriers. I'm posting her as well.

No post of my husband would be complete without a demonstration of his incredible grumpiness! The contrast between his sweet tempered girl and himself is amazing don't cha think?

Day 37 - Back To Work

Day 35 - First Day of Fall

Crab apples are a little confused. These guys are spring blooming flowers. That apparently do not understand what side of the equator they live on.

Day 24 - The Pump

Day 18 - Pink Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend

I had to go back and take some more pictures of the lovely Pink Diamond Hydrangea....the field just keeps getting pinker and pinker.

Day 12 - Big Boy

Can you guess which project is about to start? Hint....Barrack did not come through with funds. We are on our own.

As an aside...I just want to say that Photoshop makes me feel pathetic, useless, and like I need a nap, snack or a slap. I wanted to recover some of the lost highlights on this photo mainly on the top of the boom where the yellow is washed. The original is shot in raw..... anyone willing to take a raw copy and make SOMETHING happen then tell me how you did it....so I can try to duplicate?

Day 11 - Cultivated vs Wild

The beautiful Pink Diamond Hydrangea aka Hydrangea paniculata 'Pink Diamond' competing for attention with Goldenrod (Solidago something... not sure which one exactly). You can see which one I think the winner is.

Day 9 - A River Runs Through It

Dear Mr. President Obama (if that is the wrong salutation I apologize),

Please send money....

We have crumbling infrastructure here at the farm. The main line from the Well that feeds all our homes and buildings is slowly deteriorating. I woke up this morning and went out to walk the dogs only to find that the 'Sugar Shack' now has a mote. That's right.....a mote.

Please do not send Home Land Security, ATF, NSA, FBI, or the CIA.... we did not plan the mote. It is not part of a farm home security plan. We have a busted main line.

Please send some 'Infrastructure Funding'. You know that bill you passed to fix up the roads, bridges, dams, electrical grid, water ways.

Do not send a team of engineers, OSHA, DER, DEP, Prevailing Wage workers and supervisors, the operators union, a host of brand new shiny equipment. We don't want to turn a $80 job into a $80,000 job.

Just send the check.....80 bucks will do......I'll be waiting.....

Sincerely,

Pennsylvania Wild Woman

P.S. It's the only money were asking for.....we've been bailout free since 1902.

P.P.S. Of course if you decide to extend the 'Cash for Clunkers' program to include farm machinery our 1948 Hi-clear sure could used replaced....we bought it new, paid cash too, it still runs....it's just a little rough.

Day 2

365-2.JPG, originally uploaded by Pa Wild Woman.

Quercus palustris aka Pin Oak (Swamp Oak)

I love Pin Oak...Mighty Oaks that get big and have such a unique form with descending, lateral and ascending branches all on the same tree when young. They are just a fantastic tree!

Not to mention that they keep the squirrels well fed through the winter!

Day 1

365-1_edited-1.jpg, originally uploaded by Pa Wild Woman.

Hubby likes to shop for one thing only......Equipment. Sunday we went for a drive with the girls and stopped off for a peak at the 'new' tractor dealer in the area.

Any one want to guess on what this piece of equipment is? I know all you farm girls will probable know.

Fishin' The Pond

We have two ponds here at the farm. The 'perks' of having to irrigate! This handsome bass was caught in the bigger of the two by my Grandfather this past Saturday. This was his second cast of the evening. This big bugger struck the ol' top water lure hard. And he was not happy about being reeled in either.

The niece caught the most fish...we finally let her put this one in the bucket so she could watch it. Little known fact....Bluegill really enjoy cheese curls!

No fish were harmed in the making of these pictures....all were released happily back into the pond. Snaps were taken by Sisterella!

Winter Wonderland

Snow, Ice, Snow, Rain, Ice, Snow.....what a day, or should I say what a month.  Japanese Maples awaiting the spring digging season.