Babies take flight...

Just too hot in the Hoostel, so the babies decide to leave.

Only two weeks earlier, the parents were tearing off small pieces of meat and feeding the babies. This film is a hoot. Cheerios; Ed

Hi folks;
Yes, we had a tomatoe fashion show. We planted the tomatoes in 5 gallon pots in our hot house two weeks later than last year as they were overgrown last year waiting to go out to the garden; the hoophouse was not closed in yet. However, this year winter refused to let up and once again, the tomatoes were overgrown in their pots. They don't transplant well when they get older. I finally put them out in the hot house and prepared for a cold dip which came on Sunday night. I was prepared with garage sale sheets and two 1500 watt heaters. The hoophouse only dipped to 32 degrees and all the tomatoes survived. My wife has given up on my "crazy" endeavors but I will persist in my efforts to get the earliest tomatoe in Douglas Co. Anyway, we also learned something else. In the fall when the temps drop, the hoophouse remains somewhat moderate as I think there is plenty of stored heat in the ground. Unlike the spring, we don't have that stored warmth and the interior of the hoophouse rapidly catches up with the cooling temps each night. At this point, I don't much advantage with the spring and cold sensitive species like we get in the fall. We are harvesting much lettuce, beets, chard, and bok choy right now. Cheers; Ed

Putting frames together on 1851 barn

We are working on the D bay right now which includes one of three long round beams that extend 34 feet from floor to ceiling. These will be open in the center of the house. Once we have assembled three sections like these on the other side of the foundation, we will be ready to rent a crane. Then the real fun begins. Stay tuned; Ed

The weather is trying to be spring. This is the F bay in our barn. (one of six) All the knee braces are now finished and this bay goes out to the foundation and gets pegged. All six bays should be assembled before the end of April. Then, the crane. Cheerios; Ed

New pluming 3-6-11

We installed a high pressure line into the hoophouse and hooked up a hose and a cleaning/weighing station.

Planter flashing installed

This photo shows the flashing installed in one of two interior garden beds. Soon, soil will be added to these beds.

Cannabalism 2

This film shows the male swallowing whole, three connected bones from the wing of a baby owl. The female isn't visible. The male hasn't flown away much with plenty to eat.

Cannabalism 1

The morning after the chicks died, the parents began eating them. The literature says that cannabalism is common with barn owls. It is still early in the mating season and we expect another batch of eggs. Stay tuned. Ed

Baby owl death

The blizzard on the 18th of February left the parents challenged to find sufficient food for four hungry mouths. By Saturday night, the babies were dead. This film isn't too pleasant but I have been told that they will commence the whole process all over again. The season is still young. Stay tuned; Ed

4 owls babies! 2-19-11

2-18-11 Snow storm of the decade

Howdy y'all; In the last 24 hours, weve had 1-2 feet of snow. Sure's pretty. Stay tuned; Ed

Chickens riding out the storm

In the last 24 hours we had 1-2 feet of snow. We are fortunate that we created a dry area under the chicken coop. It is the only place they will be able to go for the next few days. Stay tuned; Ed

Rototilling in a blizzard

I bet that we were the only folks in the Carson Valley rototilling during the blizzard on the 16th of February. It was so dusty in there that we had to pressurize the irrigation system and get a hose going. What fun!

Spring wake up baby tortoises

They've been asleep under the rocks for several months. They were thirsty. This is our version of ground hog day.

Beams are ready 2-5-11

We've gone through many gallons of linseed oil and paint thinner. All the important beams have been located. We actually found code letters on several so we know exactly where they go. The rest are like a big puzzle to be teased out. Spring is close and all these beams are going out to the foundation to be assembled laying on the ground. Stay tuned. Ed

Family baloon ride

Folks have asked how we got the picture of the balloon shadow on our Blog page. Well, here you have it. Our family went up for a ride in April 2003 and floated north to a soft landing at the County airport. I looked over my shoulder and took a picture of our farm as we floated away. Cheerios; Ed

Fall bonfire at the farm

We have bonfires at our farm and occasionally bury food in a pit under the fire. This event was during the fall of 2008. Ed is showing off his medieval marshmallow stick. In the picture below, the band strikes up a tune. They were a motley bunch but enjoyed having a place with lots of space where the decibels could climb to the stars. Michael "bones" Chambon is a member of the Barbecue Boys playing the steel guitar in the center. Our computer guru, Kevin Cantley from Computer Zone and his singing daughter have teamed up for the lead. Scott Rankin is strutting around with a bongo and Ed is on the drums trying to keep up with the band. Thems were good times. Cheers; Ed

It's been a little chilly on the farm recently. We had frozen fog called "Pogonip" which covered the farm for a few mornings in January. This photo is a wllow tree at sunup.

Barn house progress

It's barn building time. Now that the foundation is up and the weather is smiling on us, we are taking the beams out of their dusty storage, washing them down, and applying linseed oil to them. Last, we sort them into vertical members and horizontal members. One big puzzle. Stay tuned.

VINEYARD IN WINTER

These vines look so humble, meek, sticks in the snow. I hope they are all alive under their blankets of snow. I'm optimistic. We'll be expanding this vineyard with 70 new vines next March. We will begin building a trellis system as soon as the ground thaws. Stay warm; Ed

Preparing the stemwalls for beam construction

Here we sit waiting for better weather to bring out the big beams. We will be assembling six bays with steel and mortise and tenon joints and then get a crane to stand up the bays. The center point of the bays will be about 30 feet in the center. The top surface of the 12 by 12's in this photo will be expose as the first floor flooring will be set flush with these beams. Stay tuned; Ed

Winter at the farm

We have had continuous snow cover as the temperatures have remained low. The storm fronts keep passing through with rare periods of high pressure.

Happy New Years from Comstock Seed. The hoophouse is dry and cold; good for drying out seed.