Looks like we're going to get a few days of rain starting today. The
rain will be good for our gardens as we have had some sporadic light
rains this spring. Temperatures are warming almost daily and the spring
garden is doing well so far.

We're harvesting the fall garden daily, lots of good sized carrots,
beets are done as are most of the fall plantings. Still have lots of
very tasty lettuces and other greens and we've been eating them daily.
Tilly Dawg can't understand why we're eating something that's not meat,
she's tried a taste or two of greens and just makes a face and goes off
sneezing. <G>

The kumquat tree has been fertilized and today I will fertilize the fig
and the pear trees. Local ag agent says it's time so will do it if I
don't get rained on to much. I hope that sprinkling small amounts of the
proper fertilizer will give us a bigger fruit harvest later on.

Will also get out between rain clouds and use the fertilizer slinger to
spread gypsum again. I do that every other year as the gypsum helps to
dissolve the clay under our lawn and gardens. We don't usually fertilize
the lawn as it grows wild anyway so we just mow once a week. Doesn't
take more than an hour to mow and trim as we have a very small lot.
Getting to old to live on a big property anymore without having to hire
someone to do the job.

Dear wife catches up to me in age every May, she will hit 77 this year
and I will, hopefully, hit 78 in September. I've finally hit geezer
time, got my handicap license plates two weeks ago. I was totally
surprised that getting those plates cost me fifty cents, thought it
would be a lot more than that. Now I don't have to hang the handicap tag
on the mirror anymore. <G>

We harvested the last of the leeks and the big green onions, both are
tasty and we have chopped and vacuum bagged several bags for later use
in soups, gumbos, and other such dishes. Beats buying onions as our soil
is not good for bulbing onions.

George

On Friday, March 10, 2017 at 4:52:24 AM UTC-8, George Shirley wrote:
> Looks like we're going to get a few days of rain starting today. The

> Dear wife catches up to me in age every May, she will hit 77 this year
> and I will, hopefully, hit 78 in September. I've finally hit geezer

> We harvested the last of the leeks and the big green onions, both are

Hi George,

I've lurked here for many years, followed your move to Texas, read all your posts, and have learned a lot from you, so thanks for all that.

I'm in California zone 9b, the beets are just getting some size to them and potatoes look bushy, vivid green in the morning. I planted Romano pole beans, lettuces, basil, and parsley. We had a super wet winter and are still drying out.

Thanks for all your updates. I sure enjoy them.

Regards,

Mike

On 3/25/2017 12:33 PM, mike wrote:
> On Friday, March 10, 2017 at 4:52:24 AM UTC-8, George Shirley wrote:
>> Looks like we're going to get a few days of rain starting today. The
>
>> Dear wife catches up to me in age every May, she will hit 77 this year
>> and I will, hopefully, hit 78 in September. I've finally hit geezer
>
>> We harvested the last of the leeks and the big green onions, both are
>
> Hi George,
>
> I've lurked here for many years, followed your move to Texas, read all your posts, and have learned a lot from you, so thanks for all that.
>
> I'm in California zone 9b, the beets are just getting some size to them and potatoes look bushy, vivid green in the morning. I planted Romano pole beans, lettuces, basil, and parsley. We had a super wet winter and are still drying out.
>
> Thanks for all your updates. I sure enjoy them.
>
> Regards,
>
> Mike
>
You're welcome Mike. Wife and I both grew up on small farms with working
Dads so we did our duty hoeing, picking, etc. We also had mothers who
preserved all the good stuff with canning, dehydration, etc. I guess it
was so entrenched in us that we're still doing it in our late seventies.

I don't do much gardening lately due to multiple strokes over the last
twenty years but still tend to my fruit trees and help in the garden
where I can. I married a hearty and beautiful farm girl and she still
going strong. She's been off to the Poor Garden at her church most of
today and loves digging in the dirt, picking vegetables, etc. I maintain
the accounting books, keep track of what is where, and do most of the
pressure and water canning, and do a lot of the cooking.

So far I've lived longer than all of my male ancestors going back a
little over 100 years. We've all had heart problems and most died of
heart attack or stroke but I lucked out, due, mostly to modern medicine.

On 3/25/2017 9:02 PM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Sat 25 Mar 2017 12:39:57p, George Shirley told us...
>
>> On 3/25/2017 12:33 PM, mike wrote:
>>> On Friday, March 10, 2017 at 4:52:24 AM UTC-8, George Shirley
>>> wrote:
>>>> Looks like we're going to get a few days of rain starting today.
>>>> The
>>>
>>>> Dear wife catches up to me in age every May, she will hit 77
>>>> this year and I will, hopefully, hit 78 in September. I've
>>>> finally hit geezer
>>>
>>>> We harvested the last of the leeks and the big green onions,
>>>> both are
>>>
>>> Hi George,
>>>
>>> I've lurked here for many years, followed your move to Texas,
>>> read all your posts, and have learned a lot from you, so thanks
>>> for all that.
>>>
>>> I'm in California zone 9b, the beets are just getting some size
>>> to them and potatoes look bushy, vivid green in the morning. I
>>> planted Romano pole beans, lettuces, basil, and parsley. We had a
>>> super wet winter and are still drying out.
>>>
>>> Thanks for all your updates. I sure enjoy them.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Mike
>>>
>> You're welcome Mike. Wife and I both grew up on small farms with
>> working Dads so we did our duty hoeing, picking, etc. We also had
>> mothers who preserved all the good stuff with canning,
>> dehydration, etc. I guess it was so entrenched in us that we're
>> still doing it in our late seventies.
>>
>> I don't do much gardening lately due to multiple strokes over the
>> last twenty years but still tend to my fruit trees and help in the
>> garden where I can. I married a hearty and beautiful farm girl and
>> she still going strong. She's been off to the Poor Garden at her
>> church most of today and loves digging in the dirt, picking
>> vegetables, etc. I maintain the accounting books, keep track of
>> what is where, and do most of the pressure and water canning, and
>> do a lot of the cooking.
>>
>> So far I've lived longer than all of my male ancestors going back
>> a little over 100 years. We've all had heart problems and most
>> died of heart attack or stroke but I lucked out, due, mostly to
>> modern medicine.
>>
>
> Hi George,
>
> I don't have a house so I don't have a garden. However, I have a
> number of sources for good produce of many kinds, and since they are
> locally grown and often seasonal, I freeze, can, or pickle many
> things.
>
> I've read many of your posts over the years and have learned and
> enjoyed from what you wrote.
>
> I'm now 72 and in good health. I certainly commend you for the
> amount of work you and your wife do. It's inspiring!!!
>
> I once asked you about brown turkey figs. I finally found a local
> source for them,and have made fig preserves many times since. I
> always add a couple of thin slices of lemon to each pint, as my
> grandmother alwayhs did.
>
> When I was visiting back in Ohio last Septemer I found about 12
> pounds of ground cherries that I brought back to AZ and made
> preserves from them. They were delicious but, unfortunately, I'll
> probably never see them again. :-(
>
> Anyway, just wanted to send my regards, and to take care of
> yourselves!
>
> Wayne
>
Haven't heard from you in years Wayne so it's good to know you're still
around. Keep on making those preserves. We're hoping for a bumper crop
of figs, pears, and kumquats this year and we've still got a canning
pantry completely full of goodies. I'm trying to get the grands and
great grands to eat more of it but they're mostly hooked by the roadside
diners here. I can't blame them because the grands all have jobs, thank
goodness, and the great grands are growing up. Our eldest great
granddaughter will be 17 in November will be going off to college before
long.

Both our freezers are full of goodies from the gardens and stuff we made
to eat later.

It's good to hear from an old friend once more. Keep it up.

George, Miz Anne, and Tilly Dawg

On 3/26/2017 3:00 AM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Sat 25 Mar 2017 07:14:32p, George Shirley told us...
>
>> Haven't heard from you in years Wayne so it's good to know you're
>> still around. Keep on making those preserves. We're hoping for a
>> bumper crop of figs, pears, and kumquats this year and we've still
>> got a canning pantry completely full of goodies. I'm trying to get
>> the grands and great grands to eat more of it but they're mostly
>> hooked by the roadside diners here. I can't blame them because the
>> grands all have jobs, thank goodness, and the great grands are
>> growing up. Our eldest great granddaughter will be 17 in November
>> will be going off to college before long.
>>
>> Both our freezers are full of goodies from the gardens and stuff
>> we made to eat later.
>>
>> It's good to hear from an old friend once more. Keep it up.
>>
>> George, Miz Anne, and Tilly Dawg
>
> It's really good to hear from you too, George, and know that you and
> your family are well. I'll second on your bumper crops this year!
> It's really nice to have an abundance. I'm sure that your pantry and
> freezers are brim full with all the goodies you make. I know that
> when David and I were both working, we often chose to eat out because
> cooking during the week was just too much of a task. Most of our
> friends are still working, and rarely take us up on offers of things
> put up. One couple, though, also does quite a bit of cooking but
> they have very small gardens and don't put up much for freezing or
> canning. The one exception is that they do like to make pickles and
> relish, and several types of jam and preserves. They only make
> brined pickles, though, so we trade back and forth, as I generally
> make various sweet pickles and relishes.
>
> We only have space for two large refrigerators with top freezers, so
> I have to limit space for foods that I make at home and freeze. We
> do have a lot of space for tings we can and preserve. Neither of us
> care much canned vegetables, soups, etc., so most of what is canned
> is either pickles or jam and preserves.
>
> Wow, your family has really grown up and older since the last time we
> wrote, at least several years ago. I'm sure that you're very proud
> of all of them.
>
> I just now started posting again on Usenet. At one time I was
> reading and posting on at least 30 news groups. Now I'm only posting
> to three. :-)
>
> Please give my best to Miz Anne and Till Dawg!
>
> Wayne
>
>
>
We have two freezers, a 22 cubic foot and the small one built into the
fridge, they're both stuffed with goodies. When we moved back home to
Texas, after twenty odd years in Louisiana, I turned one of the
bedrooms into an office and the closet in that room is where I put all
the canned goods we put together. Being a true nerd each shelf has
labels as to what is what. Keep the pressure canners, the boiling water
canner, and my gold prospecting gear in there too.

Rec.food.preserving hasn't had much in traffic for several years now,
don't hear from Barb at all lately. She is the youngest of a large
family and is probably looking after her siblings. I miss her quirky
messages of years back. I have one elder half sister left but we don't
talk and have been that way for about twenty years now. I think she's
about 86 now, if she's still around.

Our Louisiana property was a little over 12,000 square feet, this one is
6500 square feet and the houses are about ten feet in between. True
Houston area subdivisions. We moved here in 12/12 and there have been
over 6,000 homes built around us since then. Traffic is horrendous and
runs from 0300 to midnight. I didn't want to leave Louisiana but this is
where our children (2), grandchildren (5), and great grandchildren (6),
so far, live. No more two hour drives to see all of them and one
grandson lives two blocks from us on the same street. Of course the kids
and grands are all much older now and work so we don't really see them
that much. Come December we will be married 57 years and dated two years
before that. Hoping we will still be around for a few more to see great
great grands. <G>

We were blessed with a gentle rain yesterday so the gardens should be
"shoosting up to the sky" today, quoting "Green Acres" from long ago.

George