Too Much Land

My house has been for sale for a year as of November 1.  In that time it has had only three showings.  Yes, the price is well above average in this market, but so, at least to my way of thinking, is the house. It is afterall, a fairly good reproduction of the Locust Grove history house in Lousiville, Ky sitting on 8.3 acres surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere in southwest Ohio, includes two barns and pastures and a chicken house.

Last week we had a broker openhouse to introduce the house to a variety of realtors and review some of its important features.  We also wanted to get an idea of what realtors in general thought of the house.  The general consensus was that the house included too much land!  This was amazing to me, because I thought its secluded location at the end of a quarter mile lane with barns and pastures for animals of all kinds was a real plus. I envisioned the house being purchased by a 50 something couple with young grandchildren who would love to come to their grandparents"farm" and see the chickens or maybe even ride a horse. I guess I was wrong.  Animals do tie you down if you don't have good back up care givers.  The result is I'm looking at stripping away half the acreage and selling it as building lots. I think I'm the only one left who values it as Locust Grove Farm, much the pity.

Late Summer Asparagus

One of the first things we did the first spring we lived at Locust Grove Farm was to plant an asparagus bed. We planted 50 crowns in two rows about two feet deep.  Our high PH southern Ohio soil is perfect for asparagus and by the third spring we were picking asparagus every day for a month. We ate it fresh of course, but also froze enough to have the other eleven months of the year.

Asparagus fern from August cutting with bindweed growing everywhere.

A few years ago around the first of August, I accidentally mowed over a few of the ferns. Within a day or two fresh green asparagus spears appeared in their place. I'd read that you could cut the ferns down in early August and get a second crop and here was proof. We harvest so much asparagus in the spring that I decided a second crop was not really necessary and have always just let the ferns grow, When the ferns dry and turn golden brown in the fall, mow them down and add them to a compost pile.

Single plant, then weeds, then the rest of the row.

But this spring with the cold and the rain, the asparagus crop was late in coming and skimpy as well. Weed were a bigger problem then usual which was a concern. I ate fresh asparagus sparingly and froze as much as I could. I decided then and there to mow the ferns in August and see what would happen.  The result was a small but very tasty second crop which I enjoyed fresh and shared with family. The ferns grew back very quickly and have stayed green with no signs of fall color here in October.

The calves are enjoying this little bit of pasture in front of the house. They are all weaned now, their mothers have forgotten all about them and they are happy on good pasture containing a good mix of grass and clover.

This shot was taken in early evening, hence the demon like glowing eye. That's Boxster by the way, the one with the eye.  He is an Angus crossbred bull, nice enough, but is destined for a short, happy life on the way to my freezer. At the moment the girls and boys are all together,  By the end of this month I'll bring the girls over to winter with the Alpacas and Belle the donkey.  Laredo, the herd bull, will join the little boys.