Trip to Sequoia-Ch.1 part 3

Ch.1- The Beginning-Part3

         

        When Lee spoke of the coming of the Sequoia trip and his ideas for how he planned on going were just beginning to come out as we had a discussion one night a few months before they finally had left for their trip. Ann was historically quiet and had very little negative to say as Lee laid out the master plan for the trip. first he was going to buy an old V.W. van , Do whatever conversion he had to do , and then go over every little thing that could go wrong with and prepare a backup plan .He was interested in V.W.vans as you can buy this manual Lee once had, that told you how to repair a V.W. engine on the road, including a backup engine you could bring along with a  box of tools and essentially rebuild the engine or tranny sitting alongside the road. if you need an air compressor , pop a plug out and insert an airline fitting in the sparkplug  hole and start your engine up. it would inflate your tires if you need to, it was definitely a get you there and get you back van  as well as fuel efficient. I used to have one that gave me 25 miles to the gallon. But that wasn't the camper special. 

         The camper special I used to have had a refrigerator ice box that worked off propane. a pop up top camper , and a nice little table for two. Impromptu roadside picnics were commonplace with my camper. I knew personally about the air compressor thing as i had a spark plug blow out of the head as i was driving down the road. it made a god awful racket running on 3 cylinders but still made it to the parts store to pick up a heli coil kit. And now that i mentioned heli coil i will have to let you the reader be responsible for figuring that out or i will never ever get done with this story. But since you were wondering it is a thread insert kit for a cylinder head. it allowed a person to  thread the spark plug back in, a necessary evil at the least, and very much like hiring a lawyer. 

          Maybe it was me attesting to the V.W. campers reliability as a proven vehicle that intrigued Ann about the whole thing. To drive a couple of thousands of miles not worrying about anything, including how much gasoline cost. These old vans seemed to go on forever when they were running great. Ann then  did finally put in her  two cents worth  , getting Lee to agree to let her pay her share, and since they were saving money on the van then  staying at a motel nightly should not be such a big deal. That way she wouldn't have to share a bathroom. 

       She would rather take her chances in a seedy motel with beg bugs biting you and a cold shower and dirty toilet, than wake up in the middle of a forest with a grizzly rocking the camper and acting real pissed about something and nearly scaring the shit out of her, worse yet , to have  nowhere to go. At least the bath room was hers for the night. 

      So now lee was on a mission to find that V.W. van, and since they were not making them anymore , it may prove to be a harder fix than he thought.

Trip to Sequoia CH.1 - part 1

Trip to Sequoia 

   Lee moved the mouse on his screen and hovered over the pic of the V.W.- van he was wanting to see. He was hoping to find a nice vintage van to buy and fix up for his trip to the Sequoia National Park. Something Ann and he had wanted to do for years since they were together, to stand at the base of these giants and gaze skyward and realize that the trees had been alive longer than most trees on earth. 

   Lee was hoping to find a so called green auto to take him across the country. Maybe see the sights along the way. Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone, and possibly head toward  the California Mountains and pan for gold. Even quite possibly dip his toes in the Pacific Ocean. Ann, his longtime friend and lover would rather fly than drive, stay in a motel, and swim in the pool. Than break a bead of sweat sitting around in an old van. Lee figured he would do the van up right and trick it out as best he could to make her agree to try and take the trip. Things haven’t been to good for Lee and Ann as personal health issues were beginning to bother them both.  Neither had anyone but themselves to lean on and oh yes, and occasionally me.  They just needed to get away to try and heal the inner as well as the outer self. 

   Ann’s family was from the Gunnites whose family had sown roots in prospecting and mining and had several mining operations around the country. She could afford to do anything. But was limited by Lee who was a strong sort of character who was very conservative with his money He would insist on paying his own way, even when Ann would offer. Ann would get upset when he spent his money on some of his projects at home.

     If it seems as if I know to much about them then yes I do as they have related numerous stories about their lives. I came to know them way to well and shared plenty of laughs with them.

Trip to Sequoia-Ch.1-part2

    

Trip to Sequoia

      I came to know Lee and Ann from the time they accidentally first visited my wood studio. Accidentally I say as they had turned up my lane to park and make out and wandered to far. I happened to be out raking hay and noticed the car. So i took the tractor over to see what was happening. Nothing much had started and they saw a carving of mine, sitting alongside the driveway and began to talk about it. One thing leads to another and I started my sales pitch which usually leads me nowhere, but what the heck you never know. Then I offered a tour and even though they could have just left. They enthusiastically said yes and we were off to tour my sculpture garden. Lee was a tall lanky man, a bit rolled over at the shoulder indicating some back trouble, but he had a smile as he had Ann on his arm.

        Ann was a great looking woman with a beautiful Mona Lisa smile. a little smirk of orneriness that hinted at secrets only she knows. A private warm smile is all Lee ever saw.  He cared for her deeply. Ann seemed oblivious to his glances and seemed quite at ease at times ignoring him. It wasn't as if she had eyes for others but instead was so wrapped up in the moment she knew nothing else. These actions i have seen from her at times since I have come to know her and Lee. 

        Lee would sit at the table and just listen as he would let Ann just go on and talk. At times i thought he just loved hearing her voice. After I listened to her awhile knew that could not be the reason. But then I wasn't married to her and would never be. Lee would nod appropriately at those spaces where she required affirmation but basically Ann would take over and command the conversation. 
       Lee wasn't stupid, in contradiction, he was quite smart, having gone to college with no degree for his effort, and his levels of instruction varied widely, but at times Lee said he knew enough about everything to make him dangerous.  Reflective of his education, Lee was a jack of all trades and master of none. He had been a painter, carpenter, draftsman, electrician and plumber wrapped up into one. He loved my sculptures and loved to drag Ann around and they would sit in my sculpture park and later we would have tea in the greenhouse and sit around on the chaise lounge in the late evening when the greenhouse had cooled and the warm earthy smells laden with intoxicating thick floral aroma, would dance on the air as it wafted in the cool evening air.  We would sit under the moon light and talk and sip tea till it was so dark we would have to light a candle, to light the path to the house and to their awaiting car. 

      But we would exchange tales as we sat there two or three times a month just talking. We would listen mostly to Ann but at times she would yield the floor to Lee who would tell tales of amazing proportions that left you wondering if mankind was really that naive. At times he would pick your brain and leave you wondering still at unanswered questions you both may have. Lee’s first work after high school came during the oil field boom of the 70’s around this part of Ohio. Lee started as a truck driver and eventually progressed to an equipment operator. he was driven by freedom of finally escaping the farm and finding himself. Alcohol and wild parties were the norm as well as smoking marijuana; Lee was always a willing participant when it came to parties. this alcoholism led to a traffic accident which almost crippled him. he recovered and had only in his midlife found Ann sitting at a Dairy Isle licking an ice cream cone and cooling off in the heat. She mentioned something about his dog and truck and they hit it off in a conversation that soon ended in an appropriate date. 

      Ann would talk about work, her kids as she was divorced also.  At times she would curse her ex because he screwed up everything for her, but then it was going to be screwed up anyhow as they were two entirely different people headed on different paths. She liked, and one would say even loved nature. That is why they would come over to my place and walk through my gardens as i try to have a surprise at every turn. For this two  or three times per month they would come ,and would settle on bringing back to their house a new plant usually a perennial I would select and grow . This and conversation is how I was paid. But these people held my interest whenever around.(to be cont. )

2

open house yockey farms 2013. 

        as far as i know a good time was had by all who attended the open house here at yockey farms. we had   it o a Saturday on may 18 th of this year. a hay ride and a raffle of a bear i am yet to carve was offered for free as well as free plants to all who attended. neighbors mark and sheila miskimmens, were awarded the yet to be carved bear i should soon start on. 

         i know i said i would carve on the open house date and attempted to do so. but the heat and my lack of saw preparation , prevented me from doing so. i kind of let everyone down. sorry but as i have said it is currently a one man operation and it was all i could do to just make the open house as nice as it was. never again will i allow myself to be extended that far that i was unable to accomplish what i said. 

       this has all been a journey for me over the last year and quite a learning experiment for me and some that  have helped me. a major goal was achieved by just being open this spring. at this time last year i was tearing down the greenhouse from where i had bought it at canton south garden center when it went up for auction. two new ends and moving it to the farm and re-erecting it as well as stocking it in one year and having product to sell from the middle of nowhere, is one major goal accomplished . also during this time i cant say how many posts on here i have contributed toward my goal on this blog.

       as usual this is never enough as the bar goes higher as i knock off another goal. and of course part of what i have done is only accomplished through the help of others.my thanks to all and you know who you are.   having accomplished the goal of opening the greenhouse i need to focus on a direction for it to go in the next couple of years. i am a hobbyist gardener at best and hardly know all there is to know and would work best in a supportive role to move this project where it needs to go. at times i am stretched so thin that i can hardly do a half good job of all attempted. this is not me and i would like to change this. i need to find someone to take over the greenhouse operations. 

      my arbor day tree sale was a real success, and i was able to sell all but about 40 of the 400 trees i bought last year. i need to expand on that this year. i feel there is a niche here to sell trees in the sizes i offer at  a discount and at the same time assure that the livability rate of the trees are greatly enhanced by potting and holding for one year before planting. this years plantings include hardwoods and edible fruit trees, shrubs, and arbor vitae grown from seedlings. presently weeds seem to have an upper hand in my management decisions. this i one thing i need to change. 

      been thinking of advertising for a person to be responsible for running the greenhouse. at best it is a part time position to start. i would have to negotiate a percentage of net profit as wages earned. it is impossible of me to think about doing all this by myself. this would be an excellent opportunity for a person interested in greenhouse management to take charge and assume responsibility. we would be responsible for the hating / cooling and mechanical as well as the supply side of the greenhouse operation. the trees do not necessarily need to be in the greenhouse and so this would  be an opportunity to plan on filling the greenhouse with sell-able product. at 28x48 feet ,and being a semi round type greenhouse . it is fairly sizable with good plastic still rated for 3 years before replacement. we have 2 wells and and it has a retention pond designed to be used as a water feature and as a source of backup water. we are able to source materials in bulk and delivered to the greenhouse, saving a considerable amount of money. as with most business deals complete specifications would be backed in writing with a signed contract. this protects both parties. i am still thinking as to what direction i should go. i just know i would not b able to do justice to all and make the business grow without some help. i would like to be carving the bear and not worrying about any of this. but i also have hay to make for the cows, and a log cabin to build and a couple of carving appointments. wow i make myself tired just thinking of all. so shedding some may be in my best interest. 

       lately i have been of the notion to find some peace in my soul to become settled in my mental state. to do those things i was intended to do, to work my artistic side and be creative. this is what i have always wanted to do.i owe some people and have been working at making amends to those people i have wronged in life and now it is time for me. some who have followed me over time could possibly say that i have always done what i wanted. and to this i say ptui...i have hardly said or done half of what i always wanted to do but instead have been at the bidding of others. for this reason or another, others in my life have been the beneficiaries of my time. i gave and i have gave till i don't know if i want to give any more. currently i have just myself and one other person who would have a say in all i do, and doubt that would be my mom as i love her much but i still feel it is time for me and another person i care about to make some sort of  life together despite all of our differences. this is a plan and always subject to change. my life has been changing quite a bit over the years. 

     i guess i would just like to try some new things i have always wanted to try. i also want to do it before i am to old to even think about trying. another goal i have met recently was to lose weight and so far have lost 27 pounds and this as well as lifestyle changes , have maybe given me another 10 years i hope.  just cant waste no time doing the wrong thing and feel having someone in my life is an important part of it all. 

      so for all the bad i did by not carving on the open house i have secretly tilted the goal meter deeply towards the good i have accomplished. the goals i have achieved and the residual knowledge one gains when working and thinking in realms he has only touched before. it is all good when you try to accomplish something. pessimism and dark thoughts yield very little to an open mind. i am glad to be a free thinker.  

      the boat i had carved for a party before, and the ducks, had the better of the pansies both times . was beautiful while it lasted. i love to watch the empty boat being carried by the wind on its tethered course.

    the hay ride was fun and mom was able to ride to the top of the farm where eagles fear to tread. well maybe not that high but it is a ways up there and what a view. on a clear day you can see 2 landfills and a strip mine . we all had a fun time. hope to see you next year.

bigger fish to fry

          this was an apple tree that had taken over the pond on the other side of the hill . i was cleaning out the pond and it was in my road , but i did manage to salvage the log for a carving and it is still attached to the root it was carved on at the edge of the pond. as with all my carvings it needs attention something i seem to have so little time to pay to details such as this . so the list accumulates 

        a  neighbor down the street has every blade of grass waving in unison and at the correct height so his lawn shimmers  under shining sun. all his shrubs are trimmed in a precise manner, i actually think he counts the leaves on each bush \so to make sure that all his property is in balance.  . for fun he rips up his driveway and lays asphalt where the concrete used to be. he has to look for things to do around his house . i wonder just where and when did he get all this energy to do lifes bidding and more. i can hardly get one or two projects done right, let alone the multitude  of projects he attempts and he is one year younger , it is almost sickening to drive past his pl;ace and not find anything wrong. 

        one reason and a major reason he is able to be on top of things is that his place is small and he has been there forever. myself in contrast have been in and out of this area , and at no time was i the only one making decisions on the farm. this makes a big difference  as were not allowed to do this or that because of one reason or another. so we had to just go with the flow. 

      mr perfect also had a good job, while i in contrast spent more than my fair share on unemployment line as they used to call it when everyone had to report. when i was making good money , it would come in dribbles and drabs and only long enough for you to maybe see some light. i worked in construction where the norm is to be laid off at times. and when i was busy  i was working to much to  worry about farming and again i didn't have a place of my own to farm or equipment to do it. . so i was in a sort of limbo and it was during this time of living alone and working on projects was i able to slowly achieve some order to my life. 

         mr perfect had  2.2 kids and one was a female and one male and raised them, with his wife's help through graduation, and college to find them moving on to their own life. and  mr perfect began his further obsession with being perfect as he had plenty of time now that the kids were grown to become more perfect. it was a hard concept for someone who knows he is already perfect to admit defeat and say yes the bar needs to raise higher. trees were removed from the front yard. majestic beauties towering and full, partially hiding his front porch and casting shadows on his yard affecting the quality of the grass,  as grass doesn't do well in shade. his projects seemed to have urgency as he was getting older and they  needed to be finalized before he might pass away. 

         we talk on occasion , and wave on a regular basis as neighbors do. it doesn't stop me from envying his life to an extent. it was as if someone had mapped out his life . he never strayed and probably goes to church also. something i would have to do to say anything about one way or another just as i couldn't prove he goes to church. he  just seems the type. raised his kids payed his taxes , and yet i envy normal. 

  

         i don't know whether i envy him or his lifestyle of having everything fit into a plan so nice and neat. to so the same thing year after year.it is at this point i start to scare myself as i start to think about how emotional he must get when something comes up that didn't fit into the plan as it commonly does in my life. to never get a job done such as farming as it is never ending , must scare the hell out of someone that is perfect. me i just try to take it in stride. you cant tell a cow when t have a calf or let alone where. i had a calf  born in a snow storm and it had froze before the mother had it cleaned. it wasn't in my plan to have it that way, but it happened. i just dragged the calf to the side of the field and buried it . what could i do? 

      i struggle daily to find my purpose in life. i imagine mr. perfect already knows what that is. i long for more comforting times and less toil. to find times to just enjoy life and my partner in crime. hoping in the end that my life will be full . and in some ways it is already. i have spent my time in the trenches and know what the true meaning of nothing means. so to have some something makes me appreciate more. 

       i also don't know if my life was so mapped out as some are, would i be the same person i am today? and i can answer that an unequivocally no.  i would not be the same person. my path would have been a lot different as well as my experiences. i think too that one becomes sheltered and mislead when living in a cocoon all the time. that you never reach your full potential as a human being, and that adversity as bad as it is rewards us with an experience that draws us together as a family in ways not really understood or appreciated. it is same way disaster victims tend to bond together after a major tragedy. as they all have a similar story to tell and remember. 

        but day after day of relentless struggle to keep moving and pushing myself to my potential has left me drained and wanting at times for a simpler life like mr . perfect has. but it is also at these times i must search my self for a deeper meaning to life and understand , that it was never in my nature to be anything but who i am now. and if that means struggling then so be it. it still doesn't stop me from checking out his lawn for that errant swatch of grass that would give me an oh yeah type of moment where i finally realize he is like me , and maybe not so perfect after all. 

        i have tried over the last year to do my best at this greenhouse project, at times investing labor ad cash and time i can never replace to make it happen. it will tomorrow if all goes well and even if it doesn't , i will take in stride as i usually do. all i really want is a camaraderie of friends and strangers and family to come together and have a good time. to understand that i will be here and if you want something special grown out , i have the facility to make it happen. i will continue to improve  these facilities,with future plans already in place of where i want this to go. but i intend to make the open house a moment of reflection and appreciation for those i hold dearly on a yearly basis. a time to come together and have fun , and enjoy each others company. maybe learn something new. buy if want , but most all have a good time.  

the 2nd cabin here on the farm. 

     this is the second cabin here on the farm as the 1st is the main house mom lives in. in 1943 it was the only house back in here when grandpa and grandma first looked at the property. the original house was much smaller by about half what it is today and the basement consisted of a whole dug in the ground and there was an  old coal furnace standing in a about a foot of water.a small shed was attached to the front porch ad i believe someone used to sleep in it. the lane was thick from brambles that would scratch the sides of the vehicle as you drove in or out. they paid 1800 for it when they bought it. mom said she had never seen so much cash at that time. today it wouldn't even be considered a good down payment. but at that time it was a lot more money than most people had, work was plentiful as the war effort was on but there really was nothing to spend it on as everything was rationed. 

      so grandma being a real penny pincher managed to tuck away enough to buy this farm of 40 acres. grandpa set about building the house that partially houses me called the little house and little it was 4 rooms and outside toilet. it had no running water as there was no electric back here yet , wire was in short supply due to the war effort. so it was candle light and carrying water from the spring that feeds the pond we have today. they lived in the little house till grandpa could remodel the main house. when world war 2 was over it wasnt long before electricity was installed .wharton electric wired the house and the old log cabin finally leapt into the 20 th century. 

        it is amazing how we take a simple thing like electricity for granted. they  now had electric for a water pump and had my uncle orpha come up and drill a water well we still use today. grandpa and grandma worked as much as they could, so there was little time to do anything , but grandpa would find time and he built a barn and a corn crib . it was about this time he bought a new tractor a ford ferguson. a small but dependable tractor that was a big plus  to farming. at some point land was becoming available in large tracts with suitable barns and houses. 

        not quite sure if it was the muskingum conservancy district or a government agency similar that offered up the land behind dover dam for sale at auction . it was about 1955 when this happened and the piece of ground grandpa was interested in was our other farm. the house had been moved but the barn had not. it was necessary to move the barn or tear it down as it was in a flood zone and we had one year to move it and grandpa did and it still stands today. 

       again this farm was put on hold as grandpa set up frming at the other farm .  until mom met my step dad and married him in 1963 and then we as a family moved into the vacant house here on this farm. then  grandpa and grandma eventually moved into our house on the other farm. when we moved back into this farm  i can remember everything being grown up and spending days pruning saplings out of the fields especially crabapples and briar vines well over 10 feet high were the norm. the house was quite cozy in a grove of trees and the backyard was a hill out of the kitchen . soon dad would bring in equipment borrowed of beaver excavating  and  set about making the yard as it is today. 

       the original old cabin does date back to the early 1800's around 1825 when the deed to the property mentions a cabin as part of the description of property. originally the property was a land grant to a revolutionary war veteran as compensation for being involved in the war effort. . this cabin i am building  is going to be built with pieces parts of old barns that used to exist around here and may contain parts of the barn next door that is nothing but a memory as many have fallen. 

       lucy took the pics of babe and her darn wood she leaves me in the yard. mom calls them her babies as she carts them around protecting them. and chewing on them when frustrated . i was showing lucy where i was placing the cabin above the spring and we were sitting on the stones of the foundation when the cattle come up to us and started crowding around. some wanting petting and some were curious . at one point while talking to lucy i totally left my guard down and allowed the bull in  an open pasture get close enough to my back while being seated to smell my shirt which made me jump up and chase him off. he is a friendly bull but unfortunately to many friendly bulls have killed farmers or maimed them over the years. never again will i allow that to happen as once before i was to friendly with a bull and nearly cost my life. lucy was unaware the extent of danger we were in , but rest assured i shall never let her be in that situation again. thankfully he is still scared of me and maybe now more than ever. but this did allow me some great closeups of everything but the bull.

    and here is obama at a safe distance looking all sullen and rejected as i wont play with him. to bad. 

mudder and trouble

       mudder having been born in a mud puddle and the older and i wouldn't say wiser, but definitely more ornery than trouble who also is aptly named, were caught the other day red handed or black hoofed so to speak. a low place where the terrain dips and exposes a high electric fence affords mudder and trouble the freedom to explore my yard and in turn the back of my greenhouse. the slightest hint of anything and they slip back into the fence seemingly undetected, leaving behind a trail of destruction and mayhem . 

       recently i had spent time placing some older arbor vitae in an area back of the greenhouse and had the plants all set up and heeled in real nice. i topped off the top  of the pots with more soil as i had recently transplanted them and since i was handling them took full advantage of getting them into shape. shaping the tops with shears and weeding as necessary. an unusually windy day after i had placed them there , let me find them in the morning all scattered about , but in an unusual way as it didn't look like wind as i had originally thought but instead one was going this way , and another the other way. thinking at the time if this was wind it sure was a twirling around. i sat them up and straightened everything up and went on about  my business. the next morning i again found the arbor vitae west hell and crooked as the term goes. and then i started looking for another culprit to my vandalism problems , as there had been no wind the previous evening. 

       it was as i was standing there straightening them up again i noticed that mudder and trouble who at this time was called shithead, as i call; any unnamed animal i am fond of, but just haven't settled on a name yet. well mudder was giving me the old evil eye as i grumbled about what was going on , and it was at this point she dropped tit and stared and then walked to the other side of her mother , as if to hide. up the hill i could see shithead or the future trouble as it is cleaner to say than shithead, looking down at me glaring also as if i was taking all the fun away and then it came to me what  they were doing . and it was then i looked at the ground and noticed the hoof prints as if bambi had been stalking me from behind the greenhouse. i looked up the hill again and said to shithead , you are nothing but trouble and thought to myself what an appropriate name. he too had found a tit but gladly looked down the hill at the mere mention of his new name . 

       since  accusing them and finding them out things have been pretty good but today with an added twist i actually caught them in the act of being on the wrong side of the fence again as i came out of the greenhouse to find both of them chewing on a pile of cardboard boxes as if it was their last meal. the door slamming spooked trouble who scurried back under the fence arching his back downward to assure he didnt touch the wire which was electric. whereupon he he returned to the safety of his mother who seemed , at best unconcerned by the going ons. 

         yet defiantly this time mudder refused to give ground and steadfastly reserved her right to stand and eat cardboard as she pleased , till she saw babe behind  me and figured she too had better return to the safety of the fence. and off she went as she to ducked behind the fence to supposed safety, looking back as if to say you are not any fun. but then again neither is picking up after them. 

         i have just been to busy to give much thought to fixing the fence as it is low on my list of priorities , but assure you it will move higher if they persist . now it is just a novelty to watch them have fun in their cow ways and think they are getting one over on me. 

         today was a step closer to the open house as preparations continue. i was able to set the front stones of the log cabin and unload the logs in the location i selected. also i spent time straightening the office area and absorbing the overflow of pots we have.