Category: Latest From High Reaches

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Ozark Winter Strikes

All day small bits of snow drifted down. Remnants of ice and snow vanished as the snow accumulated. So this year’s Ozark winter strikes.

As the snow accumulated, future plans moved into wish territory. Driving to town is not impossible. But the reasons for risking an accident aren’t enough to try.

Ozark Winter Strikes with snow
The ice started to melt. Then five inches of snow fell turning the road into an expanse of white. Branches held layers of snow on them. Brush had snow attach to the ice still coating them. This was a picture book in black and white.

Picture Book World

When the snow started, the temperature was in the mid-twenties. That makes a dry, powdery snow. The temperature rose to thirty and the snow stuck on the branches, anywhere it could.

After the snow stopped, milking time came up. The temperatures were cold, but they seemed warm after days of teens and twenties. I left the door open to look out across the white fields.

I read a book about the north woods in winter. It was illustrated with pen and ink drawings. The trees were black patterns in a white world. This was the scene I saw out the barn door.

Ozark Winter Strikes with ice
Freezing rain is a winter hazard in the Ozarks. If the ice is half an inch thick or more, branches and trees can break under the weight. Only a quarter inch coated the trees this time. When the sun comes out, the ice turns the world into crystal.

Ozark Winter Strikes Down Walking

The chickens are resigned, not happily, to staying inside. They refuse to go out in the snow. I leave their door closed.

The goats tromp around the side of the barn to stand in the sun. They bask. Then, it’s back into the barn for hay.

The snow was perfect for snowshoes. We left them up north. I walked around a little, but slogging through five inches of wet snow is hard work.

Cabin Fever

That leaves us inside too. We have plenty to do. Cabin fever isn’t having nothing to do, it’s being stuck inside doing it.

We stand at the windows and look out as today’s sun knocks snow off the branches. I shoved it off my truck. The snow on the ground dimples and sinks.

Tonight the snow will freeze into ice. I have no ice skates and don’t know how to ice skate anyway. Walking to the barn will be treacherous. Dawn will bring more sun, more melting.

That is one thing about when an Ozark winter strikes: It is often gone in a few days.

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Cabin Fever

Everything is coated with ice and snow. Ice looks pretty when the sun hits it, but is treacherous to walk on. People and livestock are stuck inside and quickly develop cabin fever.

cabin fever in chickens
The hen house is too crowded to do much, according to the chickens. Most of them spend their days inside standing on the roosts.

Chickens

These birds hate snow making it an easy decision to keep their door closed. Now, the chickens could flock out to the goat barn, but it’s locked up. They would try under the goat gym, but there isn’t much to do there.

In their room, the chickens have feed and water. They can stand around on the roosts, the floor and the nests.

One day, maybe two, the chickens are okay with this. After that cabin fever sets in and they squabble.

food trumps cabin fever for Nubian goats
As long as there’s hay, my Nubian goats are too busy to indulge in cabin fever. Once the hay is picked through, the squabbles begin.

Goats

My herd is used to walking all day. They do this even on winter days when there is little for them to nibble on.

Hay is not as good as fresh grass, even winter grass. Ice or snow covered grass is another matter. Hay is now top of the menu.

Since the herd is much smaller, there is room for them to wander around. There are favorite spots and that leads to arguments. The door is closed, so the arguments soon involve more goats.

The only goats without cabin fever in a day or two are the kids. They run and play or curl up and sleep.

People

We are outside people. Walking, gardening, work take us outside much of every day. Ice and snow make trips outside occur on an as needed basis only.

It’s not that we don’t have plenty to do inside. The bookcases are loaded with books. Housecleaning is a never completed item. Cooking is an option. I could even get a lot of writing done.

Cabin fever isn’t about having something to do. It’s about being stuck inside.

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Winter Hikes

The hills are covered with bare branches. They don’t look very inviting for winter hikes, but there are interesting things out there.

Birds

Most of the year birds say hidden behind leaves. I hear them singing or scolding, but rarely catch more than a glimpse.

Winter is different. There are few leaves to hide behind. Fewer kinds of birds are out there, but they can be seen.

Cardinals are the most visible. The males have put on their mating finery so their red glows.

Woodpeckers are beginning to nest so the sound of wood being chiseled is everywhere. The males are drumming to advertise their latest nesting holes.

Carolina Wren on Bird Feeder
I put out fresh sunflower seeds to lure in a couple of cardinals. They went elsewhere. Chickadees came to enjoy the bounty. Carolina wrens don’t normally stop at the feeder, but this one decided to inspect it.

Plants

The trees and shrubs may be bare, the ground isn’t. Mosses and lichens coat the ground with greens and grays. Christmas and ebony spleenwort ferns add green spikes.

A number of plants do sprout in the late summer into fall and overwinter as small sets of leaves. Trying to identify them is a fun challenge on winter hikes.

Trees and I have an uneasy relationship. I like trees. However, photographing them is difficult as they are so tall.

Still, on winter hikes, I take photographs of winter buds on branches I pull down. Then I go in to stumble my way through the “Missoui Trees in Winter” keys trying to identify them.

Once the trees leaf out, I will go back and use leaves to identify these trees. And I can look up to the branches far overhead on some trees I can’t include in my Flora project unless I learn to climb trees.

green mosses light up winter hikes
Mosses are among the very earlies plants. They need moist places and thrive even in frigid temperatures. Over the winter, with the trees bare, mosses green up absorbing the winter sun adding color to the Ozark hills during winter hikes.

Weather

The biggest drawback to winter hikes is the weather. Many days I stand at the windows looking out at the hills. Cold, rain, snow, ice are good reasons to stay inside.

One nice thing about the Ozarks weather are the warmer spells mixed into the cold ones. Going out walking is possible then.

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Gardens Need Seeds

As I try to finish putting my garden to bed for the winter, the seed catalogs lure me with their gorgeous pictures. After all, gardens need seeds to grow all those crops next season.

The Fun Part

Seed catalogs are the fun part of gardening. Each kind and variety looks so enticing. Each page is pored over, drooled over and finally flipped over to expose the next list of possible plants.

As I look through the catalogs, I start a list of seeds I would like to order. The list gets longer and longer. Window shopping is fun.

gardens need seeds and transplants like Broccoli
This fall I planted broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts transplants. With the arrival of cold weather, the two beds were put under plastic ‘tents’ to keep them warmer overnight and during the day. Cauliflower is much more cold sensitive and was cheerfully consumed by my Nubian buck. The broccoli is making florets. The sprouts have sprouts on them. Big tomato cages provide supports under the plastic draped over wires strung around posts. Rain does pool in the plastic in places, but these temporary shelters do work.

Reality Sets In

There are vegetables we don’t like to eat. There are vegetables I can’t grow for one reason or another.

Corn is one of these. We love sweet corn. Raccoons do too. Unless I want to spend my nights out in the garden, gun in hand, the raccoons eat all of the corn.

My garden is finite. The wish list is not. Unfortunately, the garden wins, mostly.

Time is also finite. The Ozarks does have a long growing season, but I don’t want to wait until September for those first tomatoes. Since I can’t set tomatoes and peppers out until mid to late May, those plants with long growing times won’t produce in time.

gardens need seeds and transplants like Brussels sprouts
Buying Brussels sprouts is much more convenient than growing them. The plants take up a lot of room yielding not that many sprouts. However, the leaves are good to eat too. They can be shredded for stir fry or dropped into soups and stews. Of course, my Nubian goats (especially Augustus) think I grow these just for them, a welcome winter treat.

Gardens Need Seeds

Once the wish list is done and reality sets in, the seed list gets trimmed. What will get planted where? How many plants can I fit into the space allotted? Can I use succession planting? If I grow it, will we et it? If we can’t eat it all, can I sell it?

By mid January, the seed lists need to become seed orders. Gardening season begins in late January for my garden. That’s when the leek and Savoy cabbage seeds are started. The transplants move to the garden in March.

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Black Spots on Nubian Kid

I’ve seen a lot of spots on Nubian kids over the years. This is the first time I’ve seen black spots on Nubian kid. They are striking against a soft brown.

White and Brown Spots

Usually, kids have white spots like one or both of their parents. Sometimes they have hazy edges. This is usually when the background color is a bit frosty.

The deep black with white spots coloring is the one people love. For a time goat owners would breed just to get this combination. The problem was that the color didn’t necessarily keep good milk production and conformation with it.

Brown spots on kids are sometimes called liver spots. Generally, these start turning white in a few months. Sometimes the main spot will be white with a brown edge.

American Nubian buck kid
At a week old this Nubian buck kid is practicing looking impressive. He is also starting to chew on everything, not for teething, but to get bacteria in his rumen and start his cud. Yes, he will be for sale in a few months.

Black Spots Are New

Nubian doe High Reaches Spring is a red brown with brown ears. Her color goes back to some red bucks like Goat Town USA Gaius. She has no spots nor any spots in her background.

Nubian buck High Reaches Silk’s Augustus is gray with frosted or white ears and nose. He has lots of white spots. Red is in his background. He is the only buck in my herd.

Both of these buck kids are definitely Augustus’ kids. He passed on his frosted ears and nose to them.

One is red brown with black dorsal stripe. He is big and bold. His stance is often that of a proud buck.

Then there is the other one. Black spots on Nubian kid surprise. These spots are jet black. His coat is brown so the spots really show up.

Will These Black Spots Turn White?

Liver spots turn white. Augustus has white spots. Spotted Nubian goats usually have white spots.

Over the next few months, I will watch and see if these spots change color. They probably will. However, it would be nice for them to stay like they are now.

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Thoughts About Gardening

The wish books have arrived filled with gorgeous pictures of produce. Even a bit of snow can’t stop the thoughts about gardening.

Looking Back

Considering the heat, sun and drought this last summer, my garden did very well. My freezers are full. The fall garden is producing. It was a successful gardening year.

There were problems. The heat and sun kept me inside too much so the weeds got out of control.

These also made the tubs too hot for the plants growing in them. The dirt was bath water warm! Shade is an important item to plan for next year.

Rabbit Food?
My Savoy cabbages looked great until the rabbits found them. However my Nubian buck Augustus didn’t mind rabbit nibbled cabbage snacks. My garden fence needs improvements.

Looking Forward

I grew a number of new plants last summer. Some were a success. Others were not.

Chinese eggplant is a better tub plant than traditional eggplant. Carrots need more water and more shade.

Sunflowers will not be in the garden again. Better planning for succession planting will be in the garden.

My seed list is growing as I add more plants. Most are old friends like Napa cabbage, bok choi, Zephyr squash, butternut squash, long beans, tomatoes, sweet peppers, Chinese celery, potatoes, beets. Newer ones include more kinds of snow peas, leeks and Savoy cabbage.

Planning ahead for Chinese cabbage
Napa cabbage and bok choi grow well in the tubs as long as I cover to deter cabbage worms and add shade to keep the tubs from getting too hot.

Thoughts about Gardening

It occurred to me that I write about my garden a lot over the course of the year. I spend a lot of time in it doing and trying different aspects of gardening.

Although I am a serious amateur gardener and read gardening books about other gardeners, I never considered writing about gardening. My garden is not neat, rarely orderly and my methods adapt each year.

Last year I kept a monthly planner about my garden. It told me a lot about how successful my garden turned out to be. Other people find my methods interesting.

Perhaps I will write down my thoughts about gardening in more detail this year. Maybe they will become a book after that. After the six I’m presently working on get finished.

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Visiting Yellow Shafted Flicker

The workshop roof does keep the rain out, but has open eaves letting others in. This time it was a visiting yellow shafted flicker.

Finding the Visiting Yellow Shafted Flicker

With the arrival of almost nightly frosts, old blankets and towels are in daily evidence in my garden. Each morning these need to be removed for the day.

Orange Cat likes exploring my garden as so many interesting animals live there, interesting to him anyway. He caught a pack or wood rat as I was weeding. It was too big and escaped to continue raiding my garden.

This time Orange leaped up at the workshop window along one edge of the garden. The flicker was hanging on the inside of the window.

yellow shafted flicker
Although a kind of woodpecker, the yellow shafted woodpecker mostly eats ants. The stiff tail, strong feet and chisel beak show it is a woodpecker.

What Are Flickers?

Only the yellow shafted flicker occurs in my part of the Ozarks. It’s a brown backed woodpecker with a white rump patch and yellow under its wings.

These birds are welcome around my garden although they don’t often come. Their favorite food is ants. I don’t mind ants, but they tend to overpopulate the garden.

Ants like a wide variety of produce and dig holes in things like tomatoes. Their colonies appear under every rock, piece of cardboard, bucket and in the raised beds.

Usually visiting yellow shafted flickers are off along the creek banks raiding the ant colonies there. They take off as soon as I come into sight. This means safety for them and disappointment for me as they are beautiful birds I would like to see close up.

flicker looking to escape
The black face stripe and large red stripe on the head mark this as a male yellow shafted flicker. He is upside down at the peak of the rook on the rafters.

My Chance

Although the flicker in the workshop was not trapped, it had forgotten how it got in. It was a bold bird, staying hanging on the window as I went inside with my camera.

The doors at each end of the workshop make inviting exits for most birds visiting in the workshop, usually sparrow and wrens, occasionally hummingbirds.

The flicker ignored the open doors choosing to fly up to the rafters. There it flew to the end of the room and went out the way it came in: under the roof peak.

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Digging Jerusalem Artichokes

When I mention digging Jerusalem artichokes to people, most of them think about the globe artichokes sold in the markets. This is not what I am talking about at all.

Globe Artichoke or Jerusalem Artichoke?

The globe artichoke is the flower of a thistle. These are enormous flowers, but just like the ones on roadside thistles before they open. If you slice through one of these, it will look like the market variety in miniature.

The Jerusalem artichoke is a sunflower. Wild varieties bloom in August and do have small tubers. My garden variety grows much taller, has large tubers and blooms in late August.

Artichokes and Potatoes

Another comment from people is how a Jerusalem artichoke is like a potato. Other than both being tubers, this is far from the truth.

Potatoes can be grown, dug, dried and stored in the pantry in a box. Yes, Jerusalem artichokes can be grown and dug like potatoes. If you try to dry them and store the min the pantry, they will wither away into husks.

digging Jerusalem artichokes
When the Jerusalem artichokes first get turned up, they are covered with dirt. This clump doesn’t have a lot of them in it. Most of the chokes broke off and had to be dug out. I never find them all.

Digging Jerusalem Artichokes

Since Jerusalem artichokes do not store well, they get dug as they will be used. I dig my first ones after the stalks have frozen and turned brown and brittle. These are chopped off about six inches over the ground and the stalks carted away. The stubs mark where to dig for tubers.

The best tool I’ve found is a potato fork. Pick one plant to dig. Have a bucket of water handy.

Use the fork to lift out the plant. The tubers are connected to the roots and buried in the ground. I use the fork to lift the tubers buried as much as a foot deep up.

I knock a lot of the dirt off. The bucket of water is for swishing off much of the dirt still on the tubers. Not all of the dirt will come off.

cleaning Jerusalem artichokes
Digging Jerusalem artichokes is time consuming. It doesn’t take long to gather up a pile. More time is spent checking for those still buried in the dirt. Rather than taking a lot of dirt into the house, I wash them off in the garden. This is the pile of washed chokes from this batch. Once inside the house, they are cleaned using scrubs and an old toothbrush. They are then ready to become mashed, stir fry like water chestnuts, pieces in stews, broken up in salads and more.

Yield

A single established plant yielded two plastic grocery sacks of tubers. This doesn’t count the discards chewed on by millipedes and sowbugs or too small to bother with.

No matter how carefully you are digging Jerusalem artichokes, you never get all of them. The plant will sprout up again in the spring to yield next winter’s crop.

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Fixing Fence

Fixing fence is nothing new in any rural area. Fencing goes down for lots of reasons including being cut, posts rotting, trees falling on it and flooding.

Anyone who owns livestock knows fences must be checked frequently. It’s far easier fixing fence before livestock wanders through the hole and off sometimes for miles or causes an accident on a road.

fixing fence
First leaves and branches piled onto the fence. The posts began to lean. Then gravel from the road washed onto the leaves. The posts fell flat taking the fence with them. Fixing the fence requires removal of the gravel, the leaves and branches, then using the tractor to pull the posts back into position. A sledge hammer knocks the posts down into the ground a couple of inches so they stay standing mostly up.

Water Versus Fence

Barbed wire doesn’t catch as much debris as field fence with its six inches squares or six inches by twelve inch holes. I have field fence because goats do not consider barbed wire a fence.

Water alone flows easily through field fence. If that water is pushing branches or piles of leaves, these catch forming a dam. Water is powerful when it’s on the move. The wire/leaf dams get pushed over.

One of my fences is along the road. The water moves road gravel on top of the leaves.

Hopes, Dreams and Reality cover
It’s much more fun when flood disasters remain on the page, not out in the field. Unfortunately nature makes sure floods are part of reality off the page too.

“Hopes, Dreams and Reality”

Mindy has a much bigger storm to contend with than the one we just had go through. She has long stretches of fence along the gravel road. Her feeder steers need to be in those pastures.

As I wrote about how Mindy is fixing fence, I remembered the steps I use to repair mine. It had been some time since I had actually done it so I hoped I got it right.

I did. I know this because I am going through those steps now. And those sore muscles and sore back are real.

Facing Reality

The major storms are getting more common. They are doing more damage. Fixing fence will get to be a common chore.

However, I am lucky. I don’t have much fence down from this last storm. A friend told me about a man with four miles of fence down.

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Disappointed Goats

Just the other side of the creek grow two female persimmon trees, both loaded with persimmons this year. When the clouds left, I let the goats out and they ran off to go across the bridge to eat fallen persimmons. Except the bridge is not there now leaving disappointed goats standing on the creek bank staring across the raging flood.

bridge under water
When we first saw the bridge we built across out Ozark creek, the damage was obvious, but not the full extent. The grass shows how it was flattened by flood water now receded.

The Bridge

Over thirty years ago, when we moved here, getting across the creek meant wading through the water. This wasn’t much of a problem during the summer when we didn’t mind wet feet or wore boots when we did.

Half the pastures are across that creek. There was no easy ford to take the tractor across. If we wanted to cut firewood or brushhog, we had to inch the tractor down to the creek and almost pull or push it up the other side.

We bought two I-beams, put in cement footings, cut thick planks. And the bridge was built. It was big enough for foot traffic – us and the goats – and the tractor.

Five years ago a derecho hit damaging the bridge and the creek banks it was attached to. It became only a foot bridge. This storm has shifted and broken one pillar making the bridge unrepairable.

disappointed goats
My Nubian goats herd has used the bridge across the creek for thirty years. Now they stand looking at where the bridge should be, but isn’t. I finally found a place about 70 feet upstream where the banks are low enough and the creek shallow enough for the herd to wade across. They do expect me to lead them across in the morning and back across in the afternoon.

Now What?

Once the flood recedes the goats will wade across the creek. Today’s disappointed goats will be glad to check for all those fallen persimmons.

Spring kids will be left on the barn side of the creek whenever their mothers wade across. These disappointed goats will grow and learn to cross the creek too.

We will be back to wearing rubber boots whenever we want to cross the creek. The easy access for the tractor is washed out too, so the tractor will stay on the barn side.

The Solution?

Build a new bridge. That will end the disappointed goats problem and ours too.