Springtime Cottages and Worms

 

Springtime Blog

 

The weather here in my neighborhood is finally starting to get warmer (the ice on my road has finally melted), so it seems an appropriate time to send along a new blog before you-all get too busy to read my scribblings. The picture below is a good place to start. You may know ours is a vacation area and thus we have any number of cottages that dot the area since ‘downstaters’ hunger for the rustic environment that our area offers.

The photo shows me standing next to one of the many hot properties in my neighborhood. I asked the Missus for this picture in case I decide to invest in this estate and then flip it for sale at an exorbitant price to some young, nature-loving, and wealthy individual who believes that I have an honest face. Of course, I will need to advertise this as ‘needs some loving attention’ or ‘perfect for a handyman or handywoman.’

OOPs! I forgot to get a picture of the privy in the back.

                                A Possible Real Estate Investment?

I won’t sell to just anyone, of course, since this property is in my neighborhood and just one road past my estate that is accessible by bicycle. Just so that I am not inundated by telephone messages from those of you interested in purchasing, I should warn you that I have not yet ventured any of my own capital on this project. Thus far, this project is simply a flight of fancy, somewhat inhibited by my lack of energy and the stout lock on the remaining front door that is still attached.

I came upon this property on one of our many bicycle rides. Now that I have a bum ankle, bicycling is a better pastime for the Missus and I instead of our former walking. I purchased a new bike for the Missus some while ago, and this year, feeling somewhat jealous of her ride, I decided to purchase a similar bike for myself. It’s an aluminum-framed bike, a real humdinger, although yesterday I discovered that the rear tire wouldn’t hold air pressure, so now the new bike seems more like an umdinger.

Since you asked, yes, my ankle has been a problem for a few years now, as it has caused me grief whenever I overworked the finicky thing. I’m finally past that troublesome pain from over-use. Now, my ankle complains all the time.

At maple sugaring time last year, I spent one all-day session on my feet, hunched over a large pot of boiling sap. The following day my ankle decided that walking was completely out of the question. The discomfort lasted for the next several days, so I went to see our local podiatrist. He asked me how the maple syrup came out. Then he fitted me with a boot and said he would see me in three months. The boot helped me to hobble along, but did little to help my speed or flexibility on the pickleball court.

Next, I saw an orthopedist, a doctor with extensive training at several schools and hospitals and more degrees and honors than I could imagine. He said that ankle surgery has a lengthy recovery and often has questionable results, but he could give me a shot of cortisone as a starting place to see how much help that provided. I got the shot. When I left his office, my foot and ankle felt like I was walking on air. I began to have hope for better pickleball, after all. The remarkable improvement in comfort lasted for a complete afternoon. The next day the improvement was a distant memory. I haven’t yet been back to that sawbones, either.

One of the changes I will need to manage soon is the care and outdoor re-location of my worm ranch and yes, the worms are doing just fine, eating our leftovers and creating worm fertilizer for gardening. My first colony is almost ready to graduate. Over the winter they increased in number and size. My favorite worm, Ralphie, has outgrown every other worm in the ranch. The worms were supposed to be Red Worms, small little wrigglers with a slight tinge of red. Somehow Ralphie sneaked into the batch as he is more the size of a nightcrawler than a redworm. So far as I know, Ralphie gets along fine with his mates – at least none of them have complained to me.

The original ranch has become two. A month or so ago, I decided that the first colony was getting cramped for space, so I set up a second ranch and transferred a couple dozen wrigglers into the new plastic tub. I decided to name the new tub after the Missus, keeping the original ranch as Camp Ralphie after my friendly, oversized worm. As soon as our nighttime temperatures are above freezing, I’ll put some worms from the first ranch in one of my gardens outdoors and begin the indoor ranching again with a few holdovers and new bedding.

I have learned quite a bit about worm ranching. One of the most important things is that worms are fussy eaters. (Who would have guessed?) There are several things they don’t like, so it is a waste of time to feed them any dairy, meat, or anything with substantial fat. They also shun citrus, and they don’t seem fond of onion peels or similar smelly veggies. Following these recommendations assures that the ranch will be odor – free. One of the things they do like is paper – shredded paper preferred, of course. They thrive on constant moisture and my source says they like to suck on cardboard, although I have yet to find any suckers in either of my ranches, despite my careful placement of moistened cardboard over the top of each pasture in the ranch.

Since the worm thing has been so successful, I’ll be certain to send you a summertime garden picture showing the vigorous veggies that I expect to grow after I flood them with worm poop.

Oh! I forgot to mention that I have a new book that should be available at Amazon shortly. For my Indiana friends and relatives, this one is about the Wabash River in northeast Indiana and the famous Indian who lived there, a remarkable Indian known everywhere as Little Turtle. Just ask if you want to know more and I’ll send you something.

 

Bill T