Thursday, September 2, 2010

Unanswered questions

A reader email the following: 

Hi Patrice,

I've got a handful of questions about things which were discussed in some of your previous topics. For example, did any of your potatoes grow?   Are the Great Pyrenees puppies getting homes yet?  Have you decided to sell your tankards online?   I imagine there are other regular readers who have similar questions about past topics.  So, how about having a topic once a month in which we can ask these questions and you'll answer them?    That would require much more of your time, so perhaps it would not be practical...but it certainly would be fun from this side of the pasture. 
 
Keep on speaking out.  This country needs more people like you.
 
Here are my answers:
 
Nope, the potatoes never grew.  Heck, nothing grew.  To a larger or smaller extent, it's that way for most everyone's gardens this year.  Five of the eight Pyr puppies have homes so far; we're hoping to go visit and indulge in some "puppy love" but so far haven't found the time (it's a 3-hour round trip, not counting time spent there).  Yes, we plan to open a retail page this fall, after our busy season is over.  And yes, I'm happy to answer any unanswered followup questions folks may have.

12 comments:

  1. Gosh, I had some of the very same questions. What a coincidence. ;) Thank you for taking the time to provide the answers.

    Anonymous Patriot
    USA

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  2. No potatoes?

    Bush's fault.

    Bill Smith

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  3. my gardens did not do this year either..lost three peach trees too. had plenty of blackberries, blueberries and raspberries though. and still have lots of dreams of what i will do differently next spring. we should all haang on to our dreams.

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  4. Yeah!

    And I'd add to the list...

    How is your book selling?
    When is Don gonna write one?
    Have you finished the 'sheet curtains?'

    Thanks to you both for all you share with us and for making this gathering place available. It's become an important part of my 'decompression process' each day, and I always look forward to my next visit.

    God bless you.

    A. McSp

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  5. Over here in the West, we really haven't had a hot summer. Sure there have been days of hot weather, but not a season of hot weather. I heard that when Eyjafjallajökull (thecrazylynamedvolcanoiniceland) blew, it spewed so much debris/particulates in the atmosphere that the winter this year will be very cold and wet. It sounds like they were right. Except if you live in Russia. Just a thought.

    Margaret
    California

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  6. Hi Patrice,

    Here in sunny California (actually in the mountains of Central CA) we have had a very poor showing in our gardens. Mostly little golf ball size tomatoes, if any at all.

    I've planted my fall lettuce and broccoli and such, so here's hoping that we get something to show for our efforts this year.

    It does seem to be one of the coolest summers I can remember in a long time.

    As I was explaining to my daughter, a little global warming is actually a good thing as it opens up arable land in sub-temperate areas where crops aren't normally grown.

    However, a little global cooling can be tragic for the world's food supply -- as our gardens this year have testified. Just think if you had to depend on your garden as our ancestors did 150 years ago.

    I also told her that if liberals and the government are carping so bad about global warming, then we better be preparing for a mini ice age -- they can't get anything right.

    Dave

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  7. I have some questions too! When it comes to groceries, what, if anything, do you have to purchase? Or do you make absolutely everything from scratch?
    Also, is there anything you miss about living in an urban area? And what do your parents/siblings think about the way you guys live? Are they preparedness-types too, or do they think it's strange?

    Thanks!

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  8. What Christin said.

    Melody

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  9. What do you do about your livestock when you take a vacation?

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  10. It's quite simple. We don't take vacations.

    Once in awhile we need to take a trip (usually for business), so one of us always stays home. Heck, we haven't traveled all together as a family in... um... well... can't remember.

    We're batting around the idea of the girls and I traveling to Oregon this fall to visit friends (if we can scare up the money) but Don of course will have to stay home. When he travels, then of course I stay home. Shrug. You take the good with the bad...

    - Patrice

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  11. I know you use wood for heat, but I noticed that most of the trees in your pictures are some variety of pine or other evergreen. Do you burn these, or do you get your wood elsewhere? If the former, do you have creosote problems like we get down south when we burn longleaf pine?
    Thanks!

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  12. We burn pine. Don't have much of a choice, really. And yes, we get creosote buildup. We scrub our stovepipe twice a year, all the way up to the cap. Beats having a chimney fire.

    - Patrice

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