Winter hovers outside; the month of December in the Ohio Valley turned out mild and dark with drizzly overcast days and almost no sunshine. It's the time for reflection, I tell myself as I recline…
Posts published by “Spec MacQuayde”
Flocks of sandhill cranes fly overhead during the day, millions of the birds wintering in our river valley. They choose more or less V formations, but not as pronounced as the Canada geese do. The…
Unusually balmy weather haunted Anderson Valley at least through the end of November, a phenomenon I witnessed first hand touring the gardens of friends who still had tomatoes and peppers blooming and fruiting after Thanksgiving.…
Without a tractor, I’d been unable to work the crop residue and weeds into the ground from our sweetcorn, watermelons, etc., and the lambsquarters and pigweeds were rearing their ugly heads and waving them at me defiantly in the autumn breeze
A gentle rain keeps me company in the wee hours as I pen these words. We desperately needed it. Throughout May and June, storms danced by with thunder and lightning all around, teasing us like…
Watermelons are setting fruit as temperatures finally climb into the lower nineties. This year I planted a new hybrid seedless variety from Johnny’s Select Seeds out of Maine, the seedless Moon & Stars. I hope…
Country inhabitants of the Ohio river valley have endured the most arduous winter in memory, at least for people 77 years and younger. While the blizzard of '77 lingers on in family photo albums, with…
Friday I emerged from bed a couple hours after noon, made a pot of tea and went out back to toss a loaf of cheap ass white bread to the five hens and one cock…