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deluxestogie Grow Log 2017

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Bex

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Do old people really wake at dawn? I’m an old person - I can lay in bed until 10AM - although I usually force myself up at around 9....
A lovely sunrise....sadly, has been cloudy here, practically every day, for months. I would normally get some spectacular sunrises and sunsets, but have been deprived of seeing them. On the very rare occasions where we have a spectacularly clear, blue sky around mid-morning, the planes come over, on their way to Heathrow, and slice the sky with their faux ‘condensation’ trails. Within 30 minutes, the sky is hazy and the sun is gone. It makes me furious......:(
 

deluxestogie

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It's been a busy week for Bob's tobacco world. I started a new run in the kiln (duration 1 month). I started the Bucket Press demo (duration 1 month). Today, I started a new batch of Perique (duration 3 months).

Garden20171208_3302_Perique_BaldioVera_start_600.jpg


The Perique batch uses all of the huge leaves of two entire plants of my 2016 Baldió Vera. In my 4.5 inch diameter acrylic cylinder jar, that only amounts to 1" of pressed leaf. It's all froglegged, which was the only time-consuming chore this morning.

So...nothing to do for at least a month. When the Perique is done in early March, I'll try to remember to use the clamp to squeeze my bathroom scale, and maybe get a ballpark estimate of how much pressure I'm applying to that ~64 in[sup]2[/sup] disk of Perique. Whatever the psi turns out to be, it works. Meanwhile, the Perique run will live on my enclosed back porch.

Bob
 

deluxestogie

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Living in a rural area frequently provides the opportunity to observe uncommon wildlife, right here in my yard.

Garden20171209_3307_wildlife_500.jpg


It didn't seem to be afraid of me, and held still while I brought out the camera, and snapped this shot. It made a sound something like an offended, "I beg your pardon."

It's quite a coincidence. I have a ticket for this Thursday night to see a socio-cultural diversity film that may also have captured some footage of this species in the wild. I believe this particular specimen to be about 40 years old.

Bob
 

deluxestogie

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If you need a review before deciding whether or not to buy a ticket for this film, then it's not your kind of movie. You might enjoy a romantic comedy instead. Or a documentary on beet production in Siberia.

Bob
 

BigBonner

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It is probably looking for that yellow snow to make ice cream . I have about a inch of snow and I hope that is all we get this year .I hate snow but snow is supposed to be good for soil .
 

deluxestogie

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Well, JBD, I really enjoyed that video...and the music has a nice beet. Who ever thought they would be taking the rectal temperature of a beet?

Bob
 

SmokesAhoy

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I think that Kentucky snow arrived but it's about a foot so far and perfect for making snowmen
IMG_20171212_152251.jpg
 

deluxestogie

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'Tis the Season to be Harvesting

By October, my Corojo 99, Piloto Cubano PR and Virginia Bright Leaf had all sprouted substantial suckers. Not being fond of suckers, nor of the aphids that had also blossomed all over the imidacloprid-depleted leaves, I passed the days and months muttering to myself, "maybe tomorrow..."

Garden20171220_3313_Corojo99_frozenSuckerCrop_600.jpg


Today, December 20, after two months of rain, wind and freezing temperatures, I decided that they must be perfect for harvest. Strong winds had taken many of the largest leaves. Any that touched the ground were rotted. Most of those that had been held off the ground still showed the green splotches of persistent chlorophyll.

I picked any likely leaves, carefully inspected them (tossing over half of those in the process), and gathered a small hand each of Corojo 99 and Piloto Cubano. Not a single VA Bright Leaf made the grade, so none were harvested.

These hands will dry easily in the low humidity of my presently heated house. Just to be sure, I've placed both hands onto a seedling heat mat on the back porch.

Garden20171220_3314_Corojo99_frozenSuckerHand_600.jpg


Garden20171220_3318_PilotoCubanoPR_frozenSuckerHand_600.jpg


Keep in mind that these are the very finest of the frozen suckers. At some point, I will kiln them, taste them, then throw them away (probably).

Bob
 

OldDinosaurWesH

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Bob:

Good luck with that. Most of my sucker crop didn't amount to much. Most of it is going to end up in the wood stove. But...nothing ventured nothing gained. I got some usable leaf out of it. Oh...and some useful cardio-vascular exercise doing it.

Merry Christmas to all!

Wes H.
 

deluxestogie

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santanav2.gif


A worrisome thought just crossed my mind:

This past summer my old farmhouse got a new, metal roof installed. When they did that, they removed the chimney to below the roof, since it was no longer used for anything. (It goes to the kitchen, where the wood stove of yesteryear likely attached to it.)

Just tonight, Christmas Eve, it dawned on me that Santa may see no chimney, and fly right on past. I suppose I could put a large sign up there, indicating that he should just use the unlocked front door. But it's 10:30 at night.

These Victorian traditions create issues. Sleighs, sleigh bells, roasting chestnuts, mantle pieces, chimneys, stockings. And who knew that sugar plums are not plums, but a kind of candy?

"Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters...
"

Shutters? Really? It does get better.

"He was dress’d all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnish’d with ashes and soot;


I believe that. No red suit. Just fur and ashes and soot.

"The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath
."

Woah! I think they leave that part out nowadays. Old Saint Nick has turned over a new leaf.

So, if you're lurking around this forum, Santa, you're certainly welcome to come in the front door with your pipe. I'll leave a plate with several excellent pipe blends in vapor-proof bags, right where a mantle might be, if I had one.

Bob
 
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