More Gardening

This summer has really zipped by.  Suddenly it's fall and summer is more or less over. The weather got cold and the first frost is upon us.  So, the gardening is done. But it was fun while it lasted.

As usual, we started with a bare garden spot.  While we do have a couple of things that winter over, like some blackberry bushes and a couple of peony plants, for the most part, the garden has to be planted each spring. 

We didn't even till the whole garden space. This year, we went mostly with tomatoes.  Brombeere really likes tomatoes and they're fairly easy to grow.  And much of what we put in this year we got from Blaubeere, who is really into gardening. 

The first thing we harvested was some little, yellow cherry tomatoes.  We only had one plant so they came and went pretty fast.  They were pretty good, too.

Then the more traditional tomatoes began ripening.  That was nice.

Through the summer we would watch them begin to ripen.

A spot of red here and there.  

It was nice to see them coming.

Soon, more and more red began showing up.

Then it was nice to get them in the house and on the table. We only had a few bushes so the harvest was never really big.  That was okay, who has time to preserve anything anyway?  But they were nice to have at the dinner table as they came on.

There was never a time when we had lots and lots.  It was a warm summer but I don't think it got as hot for as long as it did last year.  It seemed to be real good weather for the tomatoes this year.

Then, suddenly, there was a day when the predicted low was only 34 degrees and we decided we better bring everything in for the last harvest.  We had a good helper for that.

That last harvest was not huge, but, because we brought in everything that was even a little red, it was bigger than any previous harvest.  So some will need to ripen in the window for a few days before they're ready, but it will stretch the enjoyment out a few days.  Yeah, pretty much all we got this year was tomatoes, but it was enough.  There's nothing quite like homegrown tomatoes. Always yummy, Brombeere loves them so.

In Training

Schwarzbeere's kids have been with us often this summer.  His oldest is already proficient on a bike.  He also has a bike but it's not here with us so when he's here he's unable to ride it.  But Blaubeere took care of that for us.  Her kids had outgrown their bikes and they had already replaced them, a while ago.  Then their old bikes sat around taking up space at her house until it occurred to her that Schwarzbeere's kids might be interested in them.  So we brought them over here.  The biggest one was already in good working order and of a size that is well suited for him, so we suggested to Schwarzbeere's oldest that he might be able to ride it.  He liked that idea.   

And so we let him try it out.  He was sold.  Now he just needed someone to ride with him.  That brings us to the Schwarzbeere's other two kids.  Blaubeere had offered a total of three bikes, two of which had been sitting around longer.  They were smaller and needed a bit of work before they would be rideable. Plus, although Schwarzbeere's two youngest had already expressed interest in riding them, they also both felt they needed training wheels to be able to ride them. Alas, they did not have training wheels attached.  I looked at the local stores that carried bike supplies but nobody had them.  So I ended up ordering them online.

And, at last, they came.  It was a while before I had time to work on them but finally the day came.  First step, assemble the training wheels.

That was a relatively simple process, despite poor instructions.  Again, just pictures, no explanations.  What you going to do?  

But it didn't take long before I had the first set done and ready to go on the bike.  I picked the bike the youngest would use because that bike didn't have any flat tires.  

Once the training wheels were on I adjusted the seat to fit her and it was ready to go.

She had been monitoring the whole process pretty closely up to this point so she was only too happy to give it a try.

Riding a bike with training wheels is pretty basic but there are still some basics to learn. But she picked it up pretty quick and pretty soon she was riding around the driveway like an old pro.  She was pretty happy.

The last bike was a different matter.  It was also smaller so I had to adjust the seat as high as it would go.  But that was enough.  It also had a flat.  So that needed to be fixed.  Fortunately, fixing it only required pumping it up.  It held air over night so we were good to go.  But then the front tire. . .   

Try as I might, I couldn't even get air to go into it.  You could hear the air escaping as fast as you pumped. Very frustrating.  I finally stopped and took the tire off.

I took the tube out and inspected it closely.  I also had Schwarzbeere check real close.  He found a hole right by the stem.  Guess that explained it.  So we got a new tube.  I got the new tube in and pumped it up.  I thought I had been careful getting it back together but I must not have been careful enough.  I had it pumped and set it by the bike, ready to go back on, when the tube exploded.  This must be getting to be old stuff, Brombeere didn't come out to see what the noise was this time.  So I had to get another tube.  While I was waiting, I put the training wheels together and got them on.

With the new tube in, it pumped up much better.  With the training wheels on it was ready to go.

The young man sat upon it and was happy.  The bike was generally a bit small but, still, it worked. And it was what we had so I was happy.  

So, after trying it out in the driveway, he was all set, ready to go.  A happy kid. Now we just needed a time when they were all here and the weather was cooperating enough for all of us to go on a ride.  We also need to get helmets for the youngest two.

A few days later we finally had everything, helmets, good weather, and time to take everyone on a ride!

Everyone was out and ready! This was the first ride for the two littlest and, unfortunately, it didn't go as envisioned.  But it was good, very good for a first ride. Instead of a short ride around the block we ended up in a near by parking lot, where it went much better. They got in some good practice. And we hope they will get better and be able to have longer, more fun rides!

A Learning Experience

Recently Erdbeere and her boys came for a visit. And, while they were here, they wanted to learn a little about the fine art of fishing.  So we had arranged for two of their uncles (Schwarzbeere & Himbeere), who are both accomplished fishermen, to come teach them the finer points of fishing.  Or at least give them an introduction to the sport. Schwarzbeere's kids were also with us at the time so we all went to a good spot for kids to fish and got to it.

Because none of the kids had any fishing gear, Schwarzbeere had gotten up early on the appointed day and run to the store to get some.  Then, once we got to the fishing spot, they had to spend some time getting the poles and stuff all ready.  

That was a hard part, some of the kids were impatient. And it does take a few minutes to get five poles set up with bobbers, sinkers, and hooks.

But finally it was done and we all walked the short distance to the water, which we all hoped held lots of little fishies for the kids to catch.

Most of the kids lined themselves up along the bank, spaced far enough apart that we hope they wouldn't snag each other as they learned how to cast their lines.

Some wanted to try fishing from the little pier out over the water.

During the time we were there, they all got pretty good at casting their lines.  Some actually got good at it. As they fished there were a couple of times, actually quite a few times, that lines got tangled around the ends of the pole.  It took them a while to learn how to keep their line from getting wrapped around the end of their own pole.  

We had a couple of chairs along which some took advantage of.

Even though there weren't a lot of weeds, there were several times that lines got tangled in the weeds and had to be untangled and then straightened back out.

In the process, there were a couple of times that bobbers got snapped off the ends of the line.  Sometimes they flipped away and landed on the ground.  Once one landed in the water and took a little teamwork to be retrieved.

And once there was a monster tangle.  In the end, that line got cut and restrung with bobber and sinker before they were back in business.

The kids lasted not quite two hours before they'd had enough.  And unfortunately, nobody caught any fish.  Schwarzbeere was the only one that even got a nibble, although Himbeere expressed some doubt about whether or not that had actually happened.  Both the uncles have seen people pull respectable fish out of this pond so we knew it could be done. But there was a culvert that connects this little pond with a nearby river so the fish can come and go as they please.  Apparently today they were out and about, and not in the pond. It turned out okay, though, because that saved us having to figure out what to do if anyone had wanted to keep what they caught; both the uncles are "catch and release" fishermen. The kids all said they had a good time, despite not catching anything. Yet, despite saying they all had fun, nobody expressed any interest in hurrying back for another round. Fancy that.

Before the Storm

The other day Schwarzbeere's kids were over and the morning had been a bit rough.  So Brombeere took two of them shopping and I took the oldest one for a  bike ride.  

I wanted to "stretch" him (read: wear him out a little) by taking him on one of the longer rides he'd ever gone on while with us.  But there was a rain storm coming.  

So I planned a ride that would be longer, but that would get us back before the rain got here.

As we were out and about, you could see the big thunder clouds building out to the west, growing bigger and darker as we rode along.  There were times when I thought we might get caught, especially since he specifically requested some places he wanted to go, because he thought they were fun places to ride.

As we were riding the last half mile we felt the rain drops begin to fall, big drops hitting us as we rode along.  But we got home and into the garage before the heavy stuff hit.  Of course, in his case it didn't do much good.  As I put my bike away he ran in and out of the garage, gradually getting wetter and wetter until he was wet enough that he had to change clothes when we went inside.  But he was tired and happy.  Mission accomplished.  The rest of the afternoon was better.

An Agricultural Hazard

One thing I like to do is ride on state recreational trails.  These are sometimes called "rails-to-trails" paths; they are old, abandoned railroad beds that have been converted into recreational trails and are usually maintained by local enthusiast, usually a snowmobile club, since they are used by walkers, hikers, joggers, bikers, and folks on ATVs and snowmobiles.  It sometimes strikes me as odd to be riding along on my bike and pass a speed limit sign that says "55 mph".  Yeah, that's not me on my bike. Anyway, often these trails have old train tunnels on them, really cool. Tunnels are fun whenever you find them, which is pretty common on state recreational trails. But I digress. Because they are converted train tacks these trails typically are long and run through the countryside, between towns. That means through agricultural land: farmland. And farmland means it needs water.

Where I live it rains a lot but sometimes farmland still needs more water than what naturally falls from the sky.  That means the farmers have to irrigate.  Now days, big fields are watered with pivot irrigation systems.  

The "pivot" part comes from the fact that one end is stationary, usually connected to a well from which the system pumps water.  Then it is pumped out the length of the pipe, which is several feet in the air (so it will always be above whatever might be growing in the field), and out onto the crop. So the whole system is on wheels and rotates round the field, watering a big circle.

If you're flying somewhere and look down and see a patchwork of green circles, those are fields being watered by pivot irrigation systems.

Along the length of the pipes are sprinkler heads that spray water out onto the crop.

At the end opposite of the stationary end is a big rain-bird type sprinkler head that sprays water way out beyond the end of the pipe.  A way to extend the area that is being watered.  Then, as the sprinkler works through its cycle, it rotates around the field, watering whatever is planted.

Most of the time, when I have been riding these state trails, the sprinkler system, if it's on and working at all, is in some distant part of the field, well away from the trail. Sometimes it's not.  That's when you have to be careful. That rain-bird on the end sometimes will spray out onto the trial and you have to time your passing so it doesn't get you wet. Yeah, a rain-bird sprinkler covers a circle out on the end of the pipe so even if the length of pipe is near the trial the rain-bird will be doing a circle and only once in the circle will spray onto the trial.  That's when you have to hurry by.  You may have to stop and wait a minute as the rain-bird does its circle and moves off the trail but that doesn't usually take very long.

Then there was the day the sprinkler system was just through the trees from the trail and the rain-bird at the end was pumping out tons of water, directly onto the trial.

Because the rain-bird was just off the trail, almost half the circle it made was hitting the trail.  I had to stop and wait.  For almost half the circle.  That took a little longer.

It was pumping so much water it was like a heavy rain.  And because it was just through the trees and hidden by the trees, it was hard to tell exactly where the rain-bird itself was or where on the trail it was reaching, how long a stretch of the trail it was covering.  It was actually reaching clear across the trail, well into the field on the other side. That made it hard to know where to stop so I could stay dry while I waited.  And, yes, I miscalculated and stopped to wait too close.  Pretty soon water was pouring through the trees and getting me thoroughly soaked. Before I could get backed up I was totally soaked and wet. Not entirely a pleasant experience.  But before I realized I had miscalculated it was too late.  It got me.  Yeah, that happened.  But, otherwise it was a very fine ride along a beautiful trial on a wonderful day.

The Season Opener

Summer is officially here, it has begun.  So we got our kayaks out,  packed a few sandwiches and goodies, and headed to our favorite lake for an afternoon of fun in the sand and on the water.

It was a warm afternoon, the hottest day yet of the summer season.  And we needed something to do with the kids.

And what kid doesn't like to play in the water.

So they played in the water, seeing what treasures they could find on the sandy bottom, by the little beach.

Playing and splashing, cooling off.

One of the things we like about this beach is that the water is quite clear for lake water.

They found plenty of shells and pretty rocks, which they called "gems".  Good times.

Then Schwarzbeere got out in the kayak.  The kids love it when he took them each out.

Good time out on the water.

Good time out with their dad.

Schwarzbeere's oldest got brave enough to try it out on his own.  This, actually, was not his first time out by himself. But it was his first time this summer.

He was feeling pretty confident

He stayed in the swim area for a while (we were the only ones at the beach).  But he was having trouble getting himself seated properly and was struggling with the paddles so it wasn't going too well.  About the time the kayak tipped and spilled him out he decided it was more fun going out with his dad.

They must have wore him out.

Either that, or he was just enjoying the solitude of drifting around on the water, relaxing.  In any case, it was a good, relaxing afternoon and everyone enjoyed themselves.  When we got home that night the kids all slept real well.  Must have worn them all out.