christmas trees new and old then new again

        i was recently asked what tree i would be using for christmas , and i prefer a live tree as to something you cut down and bring inside. although a potted or balled tree may be smaller and it is less stress to use a smaller tree to move inside as it is a 10 foot tall pine. a 10 footer  would have at least a 3 foot ball which is quite heavy so smaller is better when using live trees. a 2 or 3 footer is perfect for the older single person and the pot only makes the tree appear larger than it is . i have some trees i have potted this spring which will be suitable to use for this christmas. next christmas i intend to start selling or possibly renting my christmas trees. with renting you would pay a fee for maintenance of the tree of which  you would use for your christmases and then return to me after christmas .  i would then  keep it and feed it and guarantee you will have it for next 4 christmases , after which  you can plant it and let it be known as your special christmas tree or we can plant it here on farm in a permanent location. also you get the satisfaction of knowing that you saved 4 trees from being cut down and helped save the planet. also i could offer this service at cheaper rate than what it is to buy a cut tree every year. at prices of over 60 dollars for a cut tree there could be significant savings.  

     this is a picture of james a friend off mine planting pine trees this spring. i have moved a bunch of these to the new greenhouse i have built here on the property and intend to add about 1000 more next spring. when i was a kid we had a tree we had bought that was already potted and we had placed in a washtub and then moved it to the back porch around thanksgiving. it was about 4 foot tall blue spruce which mom had wabted for the yard. i toted it in about a week before christmas , and we used it that year for a christmas tree. at 4 foot tall it was still quite heavy and a roller cart could have been used to make it easier. but heck mom had strong kids namely me who would after christmas drag it back outside and as soon as i could dug a hole and placed inth e ground in our backyard as part of the landscaping. 

      for yeasrs the christmas tree did well as it was placed there when i was 15 years old and suddenly died when i was 52 and taking out some storm damaged trees and dead trees out of the yard with the excavator. i could take the trees out whole taking out roots and all , picking the tree up and placing it in a burn pile or whatever needed to be done to finalize its use. i decided to save the log and maybe someday carve something out of it.i felt somewhat sentimental for it as it did give me my first back ache.

       well mothers day was coming up and nice thing about this carving business is you are never out of presents just out of energy to make them all. anyhow i decided to carve a bear out of the christmas tree we had used and had so much mileage on . the log of the christmas tree  is behind babe who was getting a time out for being bad, so i put her on my carving stand which she hated but loved as she was getting most attention. 

        the following pics are of the bear in various stages as well as being placed down the lane  and then as in the last pic at its final destination to welcome all to the farm. this log had a forked top and i used it to full advantage to make the arms stand up and hold the sign. it is showing signs of deterioration as part of the time i had buried the base to prevent it from tipping over and this caused a premature rot. maybe i will carve a new base someday and fix it . but for now i have a bunch of firewood supporting it. this is definitely making full beneficial reuse of natures materials. not only did we use it for a christmas tree it lived in our yard and removed carbon dioxide from the air for 37 years , and then became a sculpture for now 5 years and still going. that is the way to lock up the carbon in our atmosphere. 

   well mom loved her mothers day gift all the more because it was a log of sentimental significance. now if i could have had those sunflowers face the right direction . cant fight mother nature but you sure can bend her and shape her as you want. 

this was clem

      today is thanksgiving and time to give thanks. i am thankful that despite how hard i try sometimes,  that this old body still serves me well. now the mind is a different story. i am thankful for all of you who believed in me and those who didn't.

       i have made it this far.

       to those who think i wouldn't.

       guess what have no intentions of checking out real soon , and only hope i can stay around long enough to really irritate the hell out of you.

       need to thank all of you for reading my blog. i am believe it or not,going on 6000 hits since i started. i have wrote over 166 short pages , each filled with a different shots i took . some pics i have repeated , and maybe i told a story or 2 a couple times. but heck i am creeping ever closer to that 57 yr. old mark and so i feel i am entitled as i am an official aarp mail fan. when i first started almost a year ago i said i would write for 365 days. lately i haven't been doing the best, but still intend to finish my original pledge. i am a little less than halfway to my goal . shouldn't take me to long. lol. but i will finish and then i shall make a choice of writing a book. shouldn't be much difference especially if it is fiction . at least i can control the story. 

      i am thankful for family and close friends. can never have enough. but still have a hard time figuring out which one i would really call if i was in jail. guess i better stay out of that place. 

     i am thankful i never really needed to try last thankful.. 

    i am thankful i am able to do my own thing here in life. it has its moments and the boss is an ass , but oh well still able to live with him, (me) !

     bless mom and babe my dog , and others who have the fortune to acquaint themselves to me as well all strangers. may you all  live long and prosper. i intend to. kev

Yockey Farms Greenhouse

      this is going to be the official name of  the new greenhouse. it is a family operation managed by myself and owned by the family. i will be selling landscape supplies as well as plants to what extent is still being determined . but will plan on trying to sell vegetable and flower starter plants in early spring. would like most of business to be in potted trees as well as shrubs and perennials. i also plan to sell used hand tools and assortment of new hand tools. 

       plan on having landscaped plots  in a walk through garden demonstrating the use of landscaping with materials yockey farms has to offer. 

       and you must be asking why yockey farms? this is in honor of my grandpa and grandma as well as their parents who represent the third and fourth generation farmers who represent our family and it was my grandpa who in 1942 moved my grandma and my mom and aunt fran to this farm. at the time there was no electric or well or much of anything except an old log cabin with a whole in the ground where the furnace sat in water.  a well was dug and an addition was added to the cabin and after world war 2 , when wire for rural electrification was released electricity flowed into the farm this was around  1946. this is how the story was told to me by mom and dates are approximate. 

       grandpa worked at herculese during the war as well as grandma did to. a regular rosie the riveter but really all she did was move material at that time. they both continued to work and eventually were able to pay off the farm and grandpa had a chance to build a barn which was recently removed as it was in poor condition. grandpa and grandma continued to work on this farm improving it  till they had a chance to buy our other farm in 1955 from u.s. corps of engineers as part of a land sell off. they continued to hold this farm and eventually passed it on to my mom and dad. and it has been in our immediate family since then.

       since dad has passed as well as my grandpa and grandma , mom is the sole owner of both properties. 

      after discussion we decided to honor our grandparents and revive the yockey name . i will have more information on it as it becomes available as to what we will have and when we will  be open officially.

an owl i carved at algonquin needs painted