SUNRISE IN BULLFROGBOTTOM

   Just below our farm there's a pecan orchard that a local farmer owns and he lets his cattle graze in it. This morning the fog was slidding through as we were headed into town. Just thought you would enjoy seeing it.

   Jim Cobb.

GOLDEN RING

   A few years ago I took a job that required me to remove my wedding ring for safety reasons. They were afraid I would get my ring caught on something and rip my finger off. Well it turned out to be a bad decision. I should have not taken my ring off and not taken the job.

   Monday I took my ring to "Lover's Lane Jewelers" to have it resized. Today they called and told me it was ready. Now it's back where it belongs & "Big Momma" sure is happy!!

   Jim Cobb Coleman.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

HELLO LADIES

TO REAP WHAT I SOW, NOW I MUST HOE

   I can tell it's been a year since I've done this. I'm tired! I finally made some time to go work in the yard and down in the garden. I got a good bit done, but there is still a ton to do. At this rate I'll probably get it all done by first frost!

   A good pile of limbs got burned, some leaves got raked and burned too. Earlier today I got some bulbs from my Aunt's house and I planted them down in the garden near the rose bushes to help in pollination. They are called the Twelve Disciples because each section puts out 12 blooms at each end. I also planted some mint near our birdbath. We hope to have a good herb garden this year too.

   My neighbor's dogs are constantly digging holes under the fence and they won't fill them in so I put some broke pieces of concrete in to try and close the holes. There always seems to be a fresh jungle of scrub brush each year creeping in on my garden and blocking the sun out. I cut a good sized pile down and boy were the goats happy! In no time all that was left was a big pile of limbs. Looks like I'll be burning again soon.

   The last chore of the day was also the toughest. Hoeing the potatoes and pulling the dirt up to the plants. I have every farmer's fantasy. A good hoe! Mine really is, it's around 50 years. I found it around 30 years ago in an old abandoned shack deep in the woods. The handle was actually a sawed off tree limb. I brought it home, sharpened it up, and put on a new handle. We have been tearing up weeds ever since.

   I'm ready for some french fries!

   Jim Cobb Coleman.

FUN IN THE GARDEN

   There is a lot of work that goes on in the garden, but it's also a place to rest and relax when the work is done. We have a park bench at the backside of the garden so we can sit back and see over the fruits of our labor at the days end. In the middle of the field I planted rose bushes a few years ago to attract the bees and butterflys for help in pollination.

   "Big Momma" added some metal ladybugs at the end of the rows for cuteness, she said. Some where we found a mushroom shaped frog house for all the toad frogs we have hanging around when we irrigate the field. Sometimes my wife likes to bring the radio or a CD player down to listen to while we sit and talk or have a cool drink before we put the tools back in the barn for the night. It may not be a trip to Vegas, but it's pretty good for L.A. (lower Alabama).

   We got pretty side tracked this weekend, and not too much got done around the farm. I walked down to the garden before supper to check on my crops. There is a lot of hoeing that needs to be done. Dirt needs to be piled up to the potatoes. My tomatoes are almost ready to be transplanted into the ground . They have really jumped in the last few days. My squash, onions, & peppers have broke the ground in their cups.

   It's time to cut down the rest of the brush around the garden so I can till up the soil and plant some sunflowers. There's a ditch to be dug around the posts of the new henhouse so I can put chainlink fencing around the bottom half to prevent critters from digging in. A new henhouse to build, and a 20 foot run to wrap in chicken wire.

   Maybe if I can get about half my chores caught up, "Big Momma" will give me some time off for good behavior on that old park bench with a cold glass of homemade lemonaide.

   Jim Cobb Coleman.

THE FIRST STEP TO WORLD DOMINATION

   CRICKET FARMING!!!
   I"ve always been a fisherman. My Dad actually had me catching fish before I could walk & talk. No matter what kind of fishing you may be into, it's hard to beat the basics. A cane pole, some crickets, and hopefully a bream bed!

  I came across a video on U-TUBE sometime back on raising crickets. It looked fairly simple. A lot of kids raising them for lizard food. If these kids can do it, I can too!  I had thought about trying it for a little while but then I went to the trash dump the other day and someone had set out this aquarium . It may or may not hold water but it will do for crickets. We'll see. Besides, have you seen the growing cost of crickets these days!!! Scandalous!

Jim Cobb.

BREAKING NEWS

PEAS ARE UP!! SO ARE CUCUMBERS!

FARM LIFE- NOTHING NEW

    I found something I have been looking for, for a couple of years yesterday. The old black & white movie "THE EGG AND I". It stars Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert. The tale of a city couple coming to the country to start a farm and a new life. It was also the first time the characters of "Ma & Pa Kettle were introduced. I found it in a collection of 10 movies for the price of one movie, what a deal. If you love farming you'll enjoy this. Good, clean, fun!

Jim Cobb.

THINGS TO COME

   It's been a busy day today.I stayed in the road the whole day. I went over to my Dad's this morning to try and get him to go to the Doctor's office. He has not been feeling good lately. But, Dad being Dad, wouldn't go. He said he was doing much better, but he was still coughing.

   While I was at Dad's I got a call from a job I checked on yesterday. They called me back to tell me to come pick up an application. I spent the next few hours filling it out and running all over town getting references to fill out forms for me so I could turn it in. A part of the job required a Dr. visit for myself, so I had to go get that taken care of so I would be ready if they call me back.

   I got all that done just in time to pick up "Big Momma" from work.We got home and I walked down to the garden to clear my head from the rush of the day. I always think clearer in the woods.I need this job. My family needs me to have this job. Maybe it will happen. I look around and see other things that need to happen in my life. There's flower pots that need to have seeds planted in them, and a bar-b-que grill that needs a wild hog slow cookin on it, and brush to be cleared so I can plant my corn & watermelons & peppers.


   We left shortly there after for Church tonight. I'm enjoying going back to Church. I'm trying to find the answers to the things in life I don't understand. Hopefully I'll find the time to do all the things I need to do, and there will be better things to come.

Jim Cobb Coleman.

PIDDLIN AROUND THE FARM

Today was just an average day around the farm, nothing special. This morning I took "Big Momma" to work and I came home and enjoyed some good ol Eight O'Clock coffee while I sat out some Roma & Black Cherry Tomatoes in cups.

I turned on the sprinkler for the potatoes and peas in the garden. While I was moving the sprinkler around I bogged up over the tops of my boot tops in the newly tilled up soil. Yesterday evening I added 3 rows of heirloom okra. Some of the seeds produce green okra and some is crimson, but it all comes from the same plant.

I have a big mean-looking billy goat named BLUE. He's called BLUE because he's about every color there is except blue. He's not really mean, in fact he is very timid around us. He was grown when we got him and very skiddish. I had to rope him in order to put his collar & bell on him. Since then he won't even let me get close to him. But, he is slowly starting to come around. The other night he forgot for a few moments and actually walked right up to me and started feeding in front of me.

Not much excitement, but still a fun day.

Jim Cobb.

THINGS I MISS

I was just on Facebook and someone posted a short speech from Paul Harvey that got me thinking. Not only was Paul dead on his topic, but it reminded me how much I miss him on the radio every day. The world was a little bit nicer because he was there. A little more friendlier. A little closer to home.

It also reminded me what else I miss, hang on, here they come.

I miss: Jerry Clower- He could make you belly laugh and always stay clean. A lost talent these days.
         : Roy Rogers & Trigger- Every Saturday morning, laying on the floor in front of the TV.
         : John Wayne- A man's man. Cowboy or not he was John Wayne in every picture you saw, and you knew where you stood with him every time.
         : Coach Paul "BEAR" Bryant- Now there was a Coach!
         : Shelling peas in the summer time, seating on the front screened- in porch, talking with family.
         : Family Bar-B-Que's when the whole family gathered and helped cook and visited while they did it, sitting up all night long to cook a hog.
         : Stores closing on Sundays.There is nothing we need so bad, we can't get on Saturday or wait till Monday for.
         : People with manners.
         : People who care. About anyone or anything other than themselves.
         : People who were friendly.
         : Neighbors you could talk to.
         :Workers who took pride in their work.
         :Government Officials who represent us.
         :America! The one I grew up in when life had hope.

I know I must sound like a grumpy old man, but I'm not. I just miss all the things that made life seem normal, and happy. I miss.... I hope!!!

Jim Cobb Coleman  

A ROOM WITH A VIEW

Do you ever just stop and look around at your surroundings? Sometimes there's alot of cool stuff happening all around you and you never notice it. We all get busy, but we need to slow down and appreciate the view. Especially the view from the bottom.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

No blarney! Shamus McDuck hopes you have the luck of the Irish today!

SCENES FROM THE FARM

As I eased out the back door early this morning I paused to enjoy the view and a sip of coffee. The azaelas are in full bloom splashed in pinks, reds, and purples.

Sissy girl our calico farm cat was napping on the porch stretched out and claiming the Deacon's bench as her's.

Down in front of the barn my plow patiently awaits me to come and put us both to work.

Morning is my favorite time of the day, you get to watch the real world come alive.

Jim Cobb Coleman
bullfrogbottom.blogspot.com/

GOOD HARVEST

As I have said, I live the old country ways I grew up living. I learned early to hunt, fish, farm and live with animals. As well as farming for my food I fish for fun and for the meat. I also hunt for my meat and for the enjoyment of being in the woods.

We try to use as much of the animal as possible just like the Indians did hundreds of years ago. If I have a good season I can help feed my family for 6 months to a year from the meat. I do my own butchering and processing.

Between deer, wild hogs, small game, and fish plus the fruit and vegetables we raise I try to provide as much as possible for my family without going to a store. Some years are better then others. That's why they call it fishing & hunting, your trying but, no guarantees. I know it's better for us than anything you can get from the store. If you don't believe me ask your Dr.. We did. Deer meat is healthier for you.

Here's a little experiment you can try that will back me up. Geta egg from a local farmer with chickens, and take one from your local grocery store. Open it up and look at the color of the yolk. One is yellow, one is orange. Guess which one's better for you? The orange one. The orange one will taste delicious, the yellow one like cardboard. Which one do you want? I raise my own, they're orange.

Hope ya'll have a good harvest!
Jim Cobb Coleman.

STARTING SEEDS

Yesterday evening "Big Momma" and I got real dirty! We sat on the front porch and sat out 48 cups of seeds for our garden. We planted 12 cups of banana peppers, 12 cups of heirloom ferris wheel tomatoes, 12 cups of cayenne peppers, and 12 cups of onions.

Today I'm adding 12 cups of black cherry heirloom tomatoes, 12 cups of Roma tomatoes, 10 cups of straight 8 cucumbers, 10 cups of red cherry tomatoes, 10 cups of crookneck squash, and 8 cups of California Wonder bell peppers.

All of the potting soil I'm using is home grown out of my compost bin. I save all vegetable scraps , coffee grinds, egg shells, grass clippings, leaves, an occaisional can of beer, and a little seasoned manure. Give it a couple of months in my homemade compost tumbler, or a couple of years slow cooking in a big pile and there you go. Composting was one of my favorite areas in the Master Gardener Program with the County Extension Service. Anyone can do it and it only takes up a little space in your yard. First chance I get I'll add photos of my homemade composter it's easy to make and very inexpensive.


In between showers I hope to actually get my peas and butterbeans in the ground this week. So far this week no luck yet. Our tax-man called today and needs some money so I have to go see him in a little while, and I hope to go help do some grass cutting over at the Church this afternoon before service this evening. It's gonna be another buzy one here on the farm, but that's how we like it. If you get the chance stop by there's always room for another planter on the front porch.

Jim Cobb

SIGNS OF SPRING

Overnight my taters have popped up. Boy are they pretty. I've always been a gambler at heart, so I think I'm gonna gamble and go ahead and try to get a jump start on the growing season. I know there is always a chance of frost before Easter gets here, but I think it's worth the risk to have some early fresh peas.

I'll start with some black-eyed peas and butter beans. As you can see in my picture I have plenty of seeds! I get my seeds for peas and butter beans straight off the grocery store shelf. Dried peas are seeds, and they're cheaper than buying them at the feed & seed store. Same thing with the potatoes. I just buy a bag down at "Hubbard's" Grocery Store and bring them home and put them on a shelf for a week or two unopened. When they sprout eyes, open the bag and let them go another week or so till the eyes are up good. Then take your pocket knife and cut off a plug of tater with an eye on it and plant them, eyes up.

My tomatoes and peppers I'll start in old styrofoam coffee cups and noodle soup cups I've saved all year to recycle. I compost so I already have my own homemade potting soil. We save our vegetable scraps ,egg shells, and coffee grinds. During the year I pick up bags of grass clippings and leaves for the pile. The last few years we had a cow, I saved the manure and add it to the pile. We have rabbits and during the year I top dress in between the rows with their manure to help fertilize.

They say "HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL". I am hoping for a bumper crop!!

See ya'll later,

Jim Cobb Coleman.

BABY PHOTOS

Howdy Folks!

It's been a rainy cloudy day here in the Bottoms. I really didn't get a whole lot done outside today. Supposedly the rain will be over tomorrow, and I can get out and get some tilling and planting done.

Since there wasn't a whole lot to write about, I thought I'd show a couple of baby photos of some recent arrivals here on the farm. Please welcome my two little buddies Buckshot and Tater.

See ya'll later.

Jim Cobb.

FAMILY TIME

This weekend has been all about family, one way or another. Friday night I got a call from my Mom, She said my Dad was not feeling good and she was worried he might need to go to the Dr.'s office. My Dad is stubborn and she knew I was the only one who could talk him in to going. "Big Momma" and I drove over to check on him but he insisted he was fine. I knew he was sick , but I didn't think he was that bad off. I told him I would see him in the morning for coffee & bisquits.

Saturday morning we had breakfast with Mom & Dad. Just the visiting did Dad good. After we left, I took "Big Momma" grocery shopping down at Hubbard's Grocery Store and we loaded up. We hoped to see our son "Pumpkin Head" who works there, but he had already got off by the time we got there. He and his brother "Cobb Jr." were going to their cousin "Taylor's" house to visit and play some games this evening.

Me and "Big Momma" had a night to ourselves. We took care of the goats and chickens, and sat on the front porch and talked as the sun went down. Later we had grilled pork and watched some T.V.

Early Sunday morning "Cobb Jr." had to go to work, but he found out he had a flat tire. He had to borrow his brothers truck to get to work. We went to Church and came home. After lunch I tried to fix "Cobb Jr.'s" flat. But he had one lug nut that was stuck in place. No matter what I tried, for 4 & 1/2 hours, I couldn't get that tire off. We'll have to work on it tomorrow. At Church tonight it was the Preachers birthday, they had cake and ice cream after the service.

I didn't get a whole lot done I wanted to do this weekend because of everything that popped up, but we took care of alot of family needs. I tried to take care of my Father, I spent some good times with my wife ( even if it was at the grocery store ), and I tried to help my son out. The other things will get done in time. It' was not a wasted weekend as long as my Family was took care of.

Jim Cobb Coleman

CHANGES COMING ON

"Let me see, said the blind man, let me see". It seems like I see some changes a coming on. Hopefully for the better. The last couple of weeks have slowed me down a little. "Big Momma" got sick last week with a flu bug and had to stay home. I have never been kissed so much in almost 24 years of marriage and just like I knew it would be..... I got sick too! Ain't love grand!

Now that we are about to all get back to normal I can get back to writing here. It's been awefully busy here. "Cobb Jr." had to go out of town for a few days for some firefighting training. "Pumpkin Head" 's been steadily doing good at Bullfrog Bottom High School and bagging all those groceries down at "Hubbard's" grocery store . I've got two rows of potatoes planted down in the garden and onions waiting to be transplanted.

I am slowly creeping into this technology. Today I got on Facebook and started playing for the first time. If anyone's interested come check me out at, Jim Cobb Coleman. You might find out some things you didn't know about us or you didn't want to know. Either way you can just pop in and say howdy! I'm pressing my boys to help me get some photos up from down here in the bottom hopefully they'll show up in a day or two.

It's been another busy day here on the farm. I feel like I was chasing my own tail all day, and no matter how much I did, I still feel like I didn't get enough done. I took "Big Momma" to work, came home and had some good ol' eight o'clock coffee, got on Face book, my Mom and Dad called and needed a lawn mower repaired (which I did), fed and watered the animals, grilled a pork tender loin and some sausage for supper, and now I've got to shower and shave and get ready for Church tonight. Whew!!!

Oh well, I'll sleep good tonight! If the good Lords willing and the creek don't rise I'll holler at ya'll tomorrow!

Jim Cobb Coleman