Pic of the Month: December ‘10

posted by James on 12/31/10

Christmas Bells

It amazes me how pleasing compositions unexpectedly produce themselves. Of course, it’s hard not to come away with a winner when one is standing on a . . .

Leave a Comment » | posted in Photography

How Old? Answered!

posted by James on 12/24/10

Have you guessed the age of the old farm house? Once you’ve made a guess, click here to find the answer!

On a photo excursion earlier this week, I hiked out into the backwoods with a fellow from church to an old deserted farm here in West Virginia. I marveled when he told me how old the antiquated buildings were.

How old would you guess this farm house is? Leave a comment with your guess and then I’ll post the answer in a few days.

Here’s a hint: my tour guide said it had been 32 years since anyone had lived here.

14 Comments » | posted in Family News

Did You Know . . .

posted by Donald on 12/20/10

. . . That there are three stages in life?

1. You believe there really is a Santa Claus!
2. You absolutely do not believe in Santa Claus!
3. You ARE Santa Claus!

. . . That:

“There’d be no Christmas greetings,

there’d be no Christmas morn;

there’d be no Christmas season

if our Lord had not been born”?

- poem, by M. Staddon

. . . That poinsettia plants:

are not poisonous,
are native to Mexico but now grow wild in many countries, and
were named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first US ambassador to Mexico (under Andrew Jackson), who sent a specimen back to the States for the first time?

- various sources

4 Comments » | posted in Tidbits

Big McHenry Tomato 6-year Report

posted by Michael on 12/20/10

What I call the ‘Big McHenry’ tomato was originally bred in Middlebourn, West Virginia (Tyler County) by a Mr. Mccutchan (or Mccutcheon?) in the earlier part of the 20th century. David McHenry acquired the seeds and continued growing them along with his nephew, Neil, a friend to both my grandfather (Bud Brannon of Salem, WV) and I. Grandpa tried them in 2003. I received the seeds from one of these tomatoes that he grew in Salem and tried them for the first time in 2004. Impressed with the flavor, productivity, and disease resistance, I quit growing any other varieties the next year.

Number of plants: We just grow what we can use as a family. A large number of plants is not needed for healthy seed production. I routinely plant twice as many pots as I will actually use, and only plant out the best of the lot.
Grow lights: My grow light is located by a south-facing window so that the plants receive some natural light during the day in addition to the grow light.
Soil amendments: I use whatever I can get my hands on for nitrogen, whether horse manure or composted grass or something else. “Grass goo” means a big wad of black slimy smelly decomposing green grass stuffed into the planting hole with the seedling at planting time. For gypsum, we smash old drywall to powder. Rock phosphate usually comes in a granulated form. Mulching the plants with hay has done an amazing job of helping to keep early blight from infecting the plants for longer into the summer. Wood ashes can supply some potassium, but don’t apply them too heavily. I never used decayed leaves until 2010 and credit them with much of that year’s amazing results.

(Download Chart PDF)

It became a sort of hobby to see how big a tomato could be grown with this variety that was already well adapted to our climate in north central West Virginia. Finally in 2009 I grew three tomatoes that broke the 3 lb.