Simplicity by Choice

Off-Grid Living & Self-Reliance

Spring is Near March 9, 2016

Filed under: homesteading,off grid,simplicity — ourprairiehome @ 11:09 pm
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It’s been getting warm here.  Daytime temps reaching the mid-70’s and looking gorgeous outside.  The kids have been playing with Pookie’s water table the past two days.  Inside the house It gets just cool enough in the morning and evening to still need the wood stove to be lit.

I checked on the apple tree.  We have to watch it closely for signs of budding.  Last year, we forgot to use the organic spray on it and the moths completely destroyed the  apple crop.  This year, I will be using the spray once a month to keep the moths and other pests from damaging the apples.  As I looked the tree over, I found the very first signs of new leaf buds. 

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I will start treating the tree this week.  The next time the treatment will be critical will be the little flower buds starting to appear and also when they open.

The red wasps are starting to become active.  Next payday, I will be buying some wasp sticks by Rescue to hang up.  These are extremely effective sticky traps.  It gives us a no-pesticide method of getting rid of the red wasps without risk to honey bees. 

Sitting here in the quiet, listening to the frogs in the creek run-off, the breeze blowing through the trees, and the laughter of the kids as they play is one of my favorite times of day.

I am truly blessed in my life here.  Yes, it is harder work for me, but the peace it brings is worth every moment. 

 

2 Responses to “Spring is Near”

  1. Last year we bought a wasp container…don’t know what the recipe is now. I think you can buy refills, am I correct?

    • The type we use has no refills that I am aware of. It is a very sticky trap that works like the glue traps for rodents or the fly strips that are sticky. I love that these work so well. We literally have had one trap covered in red wasps within 2 days. If put out early in spring, you have a great chance of getting the queen. The traps do not attract bees at all, which I also liked.


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