Homesteading on a Blackberry Hilltop
July 2, 2026 On June 19, I harvested more tomatoes. I found two of the San Marzano tomatoes ready to be harvested, along with more cherry tomatoes. One of the San Marzano tomatoes was attacked by fruit borers or some other type of pest. The yellow patty pan squashes are prolific. Walking around in the […]
Read More More Tomatoes Ready for HarvestingJune 22, 2026 On June 12, we did several errands in town. When we got back home, we walked down to the mailbox. The daylilies along the fence were blooming. I did some housework and Bruce did some weed whacking. In the early evening, while it was still light enough, we toured the orchard and […]
Read More Sunset Over the HouseJune 21, 2026 On June 9, I walked out to the garden to see how my garden was growing. The soybeans had more Japanese Beatles on them. I picked off the Japanese Beetles and dropped them into soapy water. The traps are doing a great job, but they don’t catch all of the Japanese Beetles. […]
Read More Green Beans Are Ready!June 21, 2026 On June 2, Bruce decided to do more playing work with the tractor. He moved dirt from the pile of dirt at the bottom of the driveway to the holes around the grassy knoll. He also used the tractor’s backhoe to work at breaking apart the root ball of Pine Tree Three. […]
Read More More Fun with the TractorJune 15, 2026 On May 30th, it rained again. During a break in the rain, we picked a few handfuls of blueberries. The sunset was pretty. The stars in the sky were twinkling and the stars on the ground (fireflies) were flashing. On May 30th, Bruce mowed. The grass was so tall that it looked […]
Read More Blueberries and Fireflies, Plus Update on Pine Tree ThreeMay 23, 2026 On May 14, Bruce asked me if I had any thoughts on what to do next with the tractor. As we walked to see the figs, I saw the mess of roots and holes that made a spot by the fence very hard to mow. I suggested that it could be the […]
Read More Watching Bruce Enjoy the New Toy (Tractor)May 23, 2026 On May 11, I continued walking around Blackberry Homestead to help my recovery from the gallbladder removal surgery. I enjoy looking at the garden, so my walks mainly focus on the garden. Later in the day, I walked into the back pasture. Bruce had cut logs from Pine Tree Two in the […]
Read More Continuing to Walk AroundMay 21, 2026 On May 9, I came to my senses and decided to stop all the craziness. I really shouldn’t have walked over a 1/4 mile each day for two days right after surgery. On the second day, I was also kneeling which was awful. I learned you should NOT kneel or sit on […]
Read More Taking It Easy After Overdoing for Two Days Right After Gallbladder SurgeryMay 20, 2026 The day after surgery (May 7), I continued to follow the doctor’s pain management medication instructions. I was alternating between Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen every three hours. At night, I when I had to wake up to take my pills, I would walk around the house and go back to sleep. I was […]
Read More The Day After Gallbladder Removal SurgeryMay 12, 2026 In the morning of April 30, Bruce continued his reign of destruction on Pine Tree One’s stump. He needed to remove logs from around the stump to reach it from a different angle. After watching Bruce for a bit, I went to check on the garden. I watered to soften up the […]
Read More Bruce Reigns Terror on Pine Tree One’s Stump with Tractor
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