All About Pocket Knives

Unk wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 3:26 pm Nice pics guys.

I posted these before the outage, but they didn't make the backup date so I will re-post. We had a foggy morning recently, so I walked around the place and took some pics.

Does anyone know what the plant with the blue berries is? Looks like it may be a privet?

Don't know if your serious or not but I believe that to be a blue berry bush, very tasty in mho.

Got some pictures.

wlf wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2024 1:53 am Got some pictures.

Nice

More

bighomer wrote: ↑Thu May 09, 2024 10:58 pm

Unk wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 3:26 pm Nice pics guys.

I posted these before the outage, but they didn't make the backup date so I will re-post. We had a foggy morning recently, so I walked around the place and took some pics.

Does anyone know what the plant with the blue berries is? Looks like it may be a privet?

Don't know if your serious or not but I believe that to be a blue berry bush, very tasty in mho.

Hi Bighomer. Serious as a heart attack! I grew up around here and have never seen a blueberry bush in the wild. We eat a lot of blueberries, but we get them at the grocery store. The berries on this bush as very small, maybe 1/4 (if that) the size if what you get at the grocery store. That's why I thought it might be a privet tree. They (privet) are supposed to be invasive.

wlf wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2024 1:58 amMore

Everything looks wonderful Lyle!

Thanks fellas.

wlf wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2024 1:53 am Got some pictures.

Very nice, Mr. Lyle, you have a very neat, great looking landscape. You must be giving those Farmers Jacks a real workout from the looks of those plants!

Thanks Ike, it's exercise that "used" to be easy.

I have been taking down a few dead trees on my place. I had a narrow path between other trees to try to land this one on. It did a half spin as it was falling and landed on the tree and bush to the right - exactly "widow maker" scenario I was trying to avoid. It was sitting at about a 50 degree angle - too dangerous to cut up. I pulled my Ranger over and let the winch out and wrapped it around the trunk about half-way down. Luckily the bottom of the trunk was on the right side of the stump which held it in place. My Ranger is around 1500 lbs with me in it, and it was starting to slide a little bit - but I was able to winch the tree over to the left and safely to the ground. And of course it started raining about that time, so I wrapped it up for the day (and yes, I know my chain was loose. I tightened it up).

Lyle, your place is beautiful! I know how much work it takes to maintain that garden.

Mike, the best laid plans…….. Glad you were able to recover. Looks like a good save! Those Polaris Rangers are handy workhorses.

Ken

Unk wrote: ↑Sun May 12, 2024 2:52 am I have been taking down a few dead trees on my place. I had a narrow path between other trees to try to land this one on. It did a half spin as it was falling and landed on the tree and bush to the right - exactly "widow maker" scenario I was trying to avoid. It was sitting at about a 50 degree angle - too dangerous to cut up. I pulled my Ranger over and let the winch out and wrapped it around the trunk about half-way down. Luckily the bottom of the trunk was on the right side of the stump which held it in place. My Ranger is around 1500 lbs with me in it, and it was starting to slide a little bit - but I was able to winch the tree over to the left and safely to the ground. And of course it started raining about that time, so I wrapped it up for the day (and yes, I know my chain was loose. I tightened it up).

Trees seem to have a mind of their own and a very evil sense of humor. You did good.

Unk wrote: ↑Sun May 12, 2024 2:52 am I have been taking down a few dead trees on my place. I had a narrow path between other trees to try to land this one on. It did a half spin as it was falling and landed on the tree and bush to the right - exactly "widow maker" scenario I was trying to avoid. It was sitting at about a 50 degree angle - too dangerous to cut up. I pulled my Ranger over and let the winch out and wrapped it around the trunk about half-way down. Luckily the bottom of the trunk was on the right side of the stump which held it in place. My Ranger is around 1500 lbs with me in it, and it was starting to slide a little bit - but I was able to winch the tree over to the left and safely to the ground. And of course it started raining about that time, so I wrapped it up for the day (and yes, I know my chain was loose. I tightened it up).

Trees seem to have a mind of their own and a very evil sense of humor. You did good. Will some of it wind up on your lathe?

Is that a result of the ash borer Mike ? It's a shame the devastation they've done. I love our deciduous forests.

wlf wrote: ↑Sun May 12, 2024 4:18 pm Is that a result of the ash borer Mike ? It's a shame the devastation they've done. I love our deciduous forests.

thanks guys.

Lyle - I think that particular one is a oak tree. I have lost quite a few oaks to Oak Wilt. It's caused by a fungus that is transported by a beetle.

However, a few yards away from this tree, I have lost a couple of very large ash trees - much bigger than the oak. I am assuming from borer beetles. They will also have to come down. I have quite a few ash trees that have died on my place. I hate losing these trees. The only saving grace is that I will salvage some lumber from the trees to make stuff in my shop.

Anyone know what this might be?

It’s a fast growing vine that came up last year next to a clematis in the planting bed around our mailbox.

It never bloomed.

Came back this year and is about to occupy the whole bed.

Leaves and leafing pattern very much like clematis, but again, no blooms.

Went and got another sandstone feeding trough today. I have 4 of these but I really like them because they are typical German country style. It is 5 feet 11 inches long and weighs about a trillon tons. It was supposed to cost €160. I asked if he would take €150. He said if the three of you can get that on your trailer you can have it for €150 and kind of laughed under his breath. That's all the motivation I needed.

Me, my son & my daughter had to move it off of a small wall, 35 yards down a walk way, up two steps into the drive way and onto my trailer. I had taken lots of wood with me including some long pieces & some round pieces so we rolled it most of the way but the wall, steps and trailer were a real challenge and I'm sure I'll have a few pains from torn muscles in the morning but we did it.

Then the guy said I have two more smaller troughs 1/2 that size that I need moved from here (his parent's house) to my house. It's just a mile away. If you guys move them for me, I'll give you that big trough for free. €150 vs. Free? Needless to say, he had a deal.

And we have a new feeding trough. Just have to find some nice rocks to put under it instead of wood.

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Some of you may recall my Cockscomb flowers garden when we lived in Delaware:
So the full story behind these is my FIL harvested some seeds from his in-laws in Canada in the early 1950’s and every year he’d cultivate a Cockscomb flowers garden. When he move in with us in Maryland in 2009, the tradition continued as it did when we moved to Delaware.

Now that we are residents of coastal North Carolina I was weary about getting them started but with a bit of perseverance I was able to get a crop started:
I picked an area that gets nearly full sun and is generally out of the prevailing winds - fingers crossed!

bestgear wrote: ↑Sat May 18, 2024 8:09 pm Some of you may recall my Cockscomb flowers garden when we lived in Delaware:

Now that we are residents of coastal North Carolina I was weary about getting them started but with a bit of perseverance I was able to get a crop started:

I picked an area that gets nearly full sun and is generally out of the prevailing winds - fingers crossed!

I'm sure that's going to look awesome Tom! Please show us some updated pictures when they are in bloom.

bestgear wrote: ↑Sat May 18, 2024 8:09 pm Now that we are residents of coastal North Carolina I was weary about getting them started but with a bit of perseverance I was able to get a crop started:

Interesting story. The lady-folk around these parts kinda do the same thing with cuttings of different rose bushes and Azalea's. Some of the plants go back several generations !!

royal0014 wrote: ↑Sun May 19, 2024 12:17 pm

bestgear wrote: ↑Sat May 18, 2024 8:09 pm Now that we are residents of coastal North Carolina I was weary about getting them started but with a bit of perseverance I was able to get a crop started:

Interesting story. The lady-folk around these parts kinda do the same thing with cuttings of different rose bushes and Azalea's. Some of the plants go back several generations !!

What's also interesting (to me) Chris is that Cockscomb's are annuals so the plants come up each Spring from seeds dropped in Autumn. The seeds are as small as a dot from a sharp pencil and I've had a hard time starting seedlings in pots until this year when I gave them close to a month to germinate before I could move them to individual pots. They are very dear to my wife Cathy so I put my greenest thumb on this year

TPK wrote: ↑Sun May 19, 2024 5:26 amPlease show us some updated pictures when they are in bloom

will do

Cockscomb, aka celosia was one of my mom’s favorite flowers. She had a flower bed where they self re-seeded annually. They regrew so thick she had to thin them every year.

The annual wildflower display goes on in Texas. The bluebonnets have mostly gone to seed, the paintbrush and prairie primrose blooms are about finished, but the fire wheels (aka gaillardia, aka Indian Blanket), prairie verbena, and bishopweed are in full bloom.

Ken

Thanks for the pics. It's that way here too and I love it.

Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Sun May 19, 2024 8:31 pm Cockscomb, aka celosia was one of my mom’s favorite flowers. She had a flower bed where they self re-seeded annually. They regrew so thick she had to thin them every year.

The annual wildflower display goes on in Texas. The bluebonnets have mostly gone to seed, the paintbrush and prairie primrose blooms are about finished, but the fire wheels (aka gaillardia, aka Indian Blanket), prairie verbena, and bishopweed are in full bloom.

Ken

It's beautiful in Texas Ken!

I bought 5 Cactus plants at a plant show yesterday from two different sellers. 4 from one guy a one from another guy. They both claimed they could all stay outside year round. Then I got home & did some researching & only one of the 5 can really stay outside all winter. The one I brought by itself from the one seller can actually stay outside year round. And the 4 I bought from the other seller all need a place in the basement over the winter. I hate it when I am lied to. Oh well.

We had fun at the show though. It was at the Botanic Garden in Würzburg. We must have bought about 25 plants all together. I'll take some pictures to add to this post later on this morning. We got stuff from fly traps to sweet potatos to cactuses to succulents to mints to ect.

A few posts back I wrote about a feeding trough that I was going to buy but ended up getting it for free so the left over money was used to buy plants yesterday.

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