The heat of the past week is lifting and a breeze and distant thunder decided me to mulch some apple trees. The trees are on a gradual slope and with a mattock I create a half circle mound on the lower side and flare the ends of the mound away from the tree so as to ensnare as much running rainwater as possible. The mattock makes quick work of the weeds and larger stemmed growth and because it is lightweight (I am learning, in the past I would have purchased the heaviest sturdiest implement) I am not tired in the 80 to 90 degree heat. Next I cover the catchment area around the trunk with newspapers, at least 10 pages thick fully opened and overlapping. And then I use my bobcat to move wood chip mulch to the tree where I dump it and spread it over the newspapers with a shovel. Not hard work. The mulch will absorb water which would otherwise have penetrated the ground but it prevents weeds for a time and the water in the soil will not be stolen by weeds nor evaporate as much as without the mulch. It is a win win when I irrigate since the bubbler heads are below the mulch.
As I was moving my first load of mulch I noticed (there must have been a movement) a toad in the mulch.
I assume it was a toad not a frog since it satisfied the criteria:not near the water, bumpy skin, wider body, shorter legs and football eyes. Here he/she is:
toad in mulch
The bobcat provides a bumpy ride so, on the way to the orchard, the toad became a little concerned and snuggled into the mulch. You can see the skin color and short squat legs clearly in the photo. He/she arrived safely at the destination and I hope will play a role in insect control.
One of the advantages of keeping chicken is their nutrient supply in the form of poop. Twice a week I gather their extrudences (new word?) in a 5 gallon bucket and head to the apple orchard to gift a lucky tree. This morning, as I was about to upturn the bucket at the base of my favorite apple tree (it provides the best apples), I noticed a little fellow (sex assumed) hard at work on a fallen delicacy. There were a couple of wasps also participating at the meal but they flew off as I neared the camera.
When I purchased the woods I had dreams of a 1/4 acre lake/dam and invested time identifying a locale and internally promoting the feasibility. After all, what can be more satisfying than a sheltered expanse of water nurturing fish, a watering hole for the wildlife, a solace for the stresses of life. And so on. But, apart from a good watershed which flowed plentifully during heavy storms, which we get over here, there was no ongoing supply of water such as a spring. And then I heard of the failures, the couple who had a good dam constructed but it never filled. And I concluded that even if I had a well sealed dam, evaporation during the summer would undo the concept. So recently I focused on the only spring in the woods and almost lost my bobcat in the mud which I was trying to excavate – see post “lucky save”. So with the help of a contractor and excavator (I broke my rule to do everything myself) I enlarged the existing hole where the spring appears but could not make it deep because there are large boulders which are difficult to extricate. An unsatisfying result – for now.
With my lofty aspirations now reduced to a small pond I decided to make the best of it and visited a pet store and bought some small goldfish and minnows and fish food and a water plant. I hoped the fish would survive. And they did for about a week. Now they are gone – eaten I suspect by the frogs. The drainage pipe which extends over the water is one of the launching pads of the frogs. They enter the water like arrows and I suppose the percussive impact of their water entry stuns the fish and makes them easy prey – like shooting fish in a barrel. So instead I will look at the other insect and wildlife when I visit the pond and I am growing various herb and other shade loving plants to introduce among the ferns, which proliferate.
small pond with drainage pipe and unusually sized brick in foreground, found at location
On the way to the pond I have noticed a number of turtles – here is one from this morning.
one of several turtles exploring the woods not far from the pond
Real summer for me is when the tomato plants begin producing. In the past this was well before July 4th. This year I planted my tomato plants early but an unexpected frost devastated them and this set me back several weeks. So, it was only on July 4th that I was able to pick ripe tomatoes.
my first tomato varieties of the year
For the first time in several years I have been able to grow squash. In past years the squash plants appeared to flourish and bore flowers and began producing little squash and then overnight were felled by the lurking vine borer. The only evidence of its activities was the base of the vine at ground level was cracked and disrupted. Undeterred, I planted more vines this year – some were seeds and some transplants. And they bore squash. Not to say the borer was absent – it destroyed say 30% of the plantings, but the remainder survived (this far) and have provided squash. Why the changed outcome? As I include plant diversity it may be the area is more attractive to predators of the borer; or the borer cannot easily find its victims, concealed as they are among numerous different plants. I also planted the 3 sisters – corn, beans and squash together, and maybe this grouping strengthened the squash or discouraged the borer. I really should pick the squash when they are small – the two larger items in the photo below were camouflaged and I only noticed them too late. Squash has been in active production since mid-June.
squash plants
My cucumber plants are beginning to take off. Last year they had full sun exposure throughout the day and did not do very well. This year I am growing them in an area which has afternoon shade, which may be helping them. Lots of little flowers in evidence plus bees and other pollinating insects, so I am hoping for a bountiful supply in coming weeks. Here are a few of the early arrivals.
early cucumbers
In addition to the above, the blackberries and blueberries are producing and various of my apple trees are offering samples. I do not spray and although I took care to remove fallen apples last year, this did not deter the usual pest onslaught. My approach is I suppose philosophical, I don’t use chemicals and so, to enjoy the apples, I share them – i.e. I cut out the good parts and leave the affected areas for those who got there first. Pears are not as affected and I am hoping that the pears, which are approaching ripeness, will be all for me.
Did I mention the garlic harvest – a couple weeks ago I brought in the garlic and they are drying in full shade of the carport and every day some are chopped and diced for culinary purposes.
So, some time has passed since my last post and that’s because my focus has been distracted. Reality has a way of intruding on the cocoon we build around us. It may be sudden severe ill health. Or, as in my case, an intrusion.
In my “battle of wits” post last month I mentioned the advent of the fox which seized my favorite chicken. A predator from the outside. Well, a few weeks ago, another predator surfaced – the human kind, and one evening, when I was away from the property, they broke into the log cabin and stole (I was going to say “removed” but why mince words?) a bunch of items. Although I am at the property every day, I am not there every night. In the beginning, in anticipation of such an event, I resolved to not keep any valuable/significant items at the log cabin. And then, as the months rolled by uneventfully, complacency set it and I began leaving (for convenience sake) more and more tools and possessions.
When I first purchased my pickup truck I acquired a large tool box, which fits over the truck bed, and each day I selected the tools I needed and transported them in the tool box to and from the property. For the past few years the tool box was unused in storage. It is now back in commission and I will continue using it until I have better secured the property.
To secure the property I have been working on several fronts:
the excessive vegetation, which provided privacy, comes with a cost – lack of security because it impedes surveillance by neighbors and may even give the impression that the house is abandoned or rarely visited. So a lot has been cut back.
neighbors are important for deterrence and detection and I am lucky to have two supportive neighbors who are keeping an eye on things.
gates. It is not enough to chain gates since they can be lifted off their hinges, which actually happened to me. So I have cabled secured the hinge side of the gates.
lighting. I have sprung for the very efficient LED dawn to dusk lights and dawn to dusk fluorescent lights. Initially I used halogen 300W lights, which are very inefficient, and I was going to transition to halide or sodium until I decided to spend a bit more for LED.
when I purchased the log cabin I replaced all the external locks with Kwikset SmartKey locks, which can be easily rekeyed – less than a minute to rekey each lock.
alarm system. I have installed internal motion detectors and a siren and will in due course include a monitoring system.
surveillance cameras. These are being expanded and upgraded.
I re-sited my outside motion detectors, which were intended to locate the fox, to the exterior of the house to provide early warning of human visitors.
In future posts I will provide more information on the various techniques. Of course the proof is in the pudding, so will wait and see how matters proceed.
To return to normalcy, today I replaced the shattered window, which provided access to the intruders. It was actually a fairly simple operation. The key was to find the exact replacement and I was lucky that Lowe’s carried the match, which came with a few extra features, for a reasonable price. Replacement windows do not have “nail fins” which are on the original windows. So the first step is to cut off the nail fins which secure the old window to the opening. I have an old, good quality reciprocating saw (fortunately never stored at the log cabin) and I was able to cut through the plastic nail fins on all four sides of the damaged window without too much hassle. The window came out easily, I then cleaned the frame, applied caulk, inserted the new window and screwed it secure. My other step towards normalcy was to post to this website.
I have some catching up to do – a recent good honey harvest, squash which are producing and have not yet fallen victim to the borers, a decent garlic harvest, and more – for future posts.
We think of honey as nutritious and pure, but it ain’t necessarily so. Most of us want to trust others, and then we get burned and keep our guards up and become cynical. Recently my emotions oscillated back and forth and I still don’t know where I come out.
I produced just under 5 gallons of honey last year, which should have been sufficient to carry me through the winter and spring until my next honey harvesting sessions. But it tasted so good and so many wanted a bottle that I ran out of honey early spring and decided to buy some to carry me over.
I bought a container labelled “North American Honey” which tasted ok, not great. (stage 1 – trust, does not contain honey from China).
One day I scrutinized the label more carefully and read the statement “May contain product of the U.S.A and Canada”. This caution surprised me – I thought it would say “Contains product of the U.S.A or Canada”. To me “may contain” means it may or it may not contain. (stage 2 – cynicism).
So the question for me was what percentage if any of the honey was from North America. I visited the packager’s website (to keep my life simple I will not identify the producer) and it extolled the wonders of their honey. I did some googling and found they had some years ago filed a petition against alleged honey dumping from China. My hopes began to rise – these must be the good guys. (stage 3 – neutral)
So I emailed the packager and, to my pleasant surprise, within a few days received a reply that said: “The North American Honey you purchased is 100% USA. Our labels allow us to use Canada Honey in the product, but we have not done so for a few years.” Great news, but why not make this clearer in the label by saying “Contains product of the U.S.A or Canada”. Anyhow, issue resolved as far as I was concerned. (stage 4 – trust, again).
I must clarify my antipathy for honey from China – not because it is sold at a very low price which undercuts U.S. producers – that’s life (actually I have very strong views on the trade deficit and will one day get onto this topic). No, the reason is there are health concerns about Chinese honey as detailed in the American Bee Journal (“ABJ”), June 2011 p.593. So how can you tell from which country the honey originates? By analyzing the pollen in the honey – so called melissopalynology. And what would make it impossible to determine the country of origin? If all the pollen in the honey is filtered out. California and Florida passed laws prohibiting the removal of pollen except where this was necessary to eliminate foreign inorganic or organic matter. Well, recent tests found that a lot of honey sold as U.S. honey has been filtered to remove all the pollen – see ABJ June 2012 p.554. And, guess what, the packager which I have been following is named as one of the producers which has filtered out the pollen from their honey. (stage – heading to cynicism, again).
Now the producers have reasons for filtering out the pollen – the honey looks clearer because it has been filtered to remove particles which make it cloudy, and is less likely to crystallize, etc. But, given all the concerns about country of origin, why not leave the pollen in the honey so everyone knows what they are buying?
Now you may say I am unduly cynical but my experience goes back to a time when my family represented in South Africa one of the best known Bordeaux wine producers, which seeped class and prestige from every pore. Until one day when the wine inspectors made a surprise visit, found cheap wine from another country in their cellars, and instantaneously this famous house was scandalized and destroyed. So I want to trust all the representations and soothing explanations about the origin of some purchased honey, but am not there yet.
Matching wits with a chicken predator is not a contest I chose. But I have no option but to contend, as best I can.
Some 3 weeks ago on a Saturday evening as I readied to close up the chicken coop I did my count and noticed that Goldie 2 was missing. We searched the three paddocks and then the perimeter zone without result. It was only when I went 50 yards into the woods that I noticed one of her feathers. Golden Comets have distinctive gold colored feathers. Goldie 2 was my favorite chicken – intelligent, trusting, inquisitive – and probably with less honed survival skills. A few paces further I saw more feathers and then a bundle of feathers where she must have made her last struggle, and then no more feathers. I suspected the culprit was a fox, probably a red fox I had spotted in the past.
Since foxes are supposed to be active early morning and late afternoon, I decided to reset the automatic coop door opener from 7.30am to 9am and I hoped the chicken would be safe until 5.30pm to 6pm when I typically coop them. A week passed without incident. Then I spotted the fox again one evening. Then some more time passed. Last Thursday at 4.30pm the rooster gave his serious distress call – four distress calls in quick succession. Onto the deck I stumbled and I heard some commotion at the bottom gate and then I saw this lithe attractive fox head down the hill into the woods, alone. Then two days later, Saturday afternoon at 4.15pm, we happened to glance outside and saw the red fox heading for the chicken paddocks. Upon seeing us it swiftly turned around and moved quickly up the hill and, without seeming to slow down, under a gate where the space between the gate and the ground was approximately 5.5″ and then up the hill and it was gone. Pity, a really good looking animal.
I decided to engage. First make it more difficult to get past the field gate by blocking the space under the gate.
gate to #3 chicken paddock with 4 by 4 post blocking access between ground and gate
This quick fix will not discourage him/her, just motivate it to find another route and at least foster the realization that my holding is not a cafetaria where you can just saunter up for your next meal.
Then I turned my attention to the paddocks – some of the fences are 4 ft high and some 5 ft. I laid one or more strands of barbed wire above all the exterior 4 ft fences.
barbed wire strands above 4 ft horse fence which surrounds some of the chicken paddock
Then I tried plugging gaps beneath the fences with large stones/boulders. The next area of weakness was the gates – one is 7ft high, the other 3 about 4 ft high. I encircled the top rail of all 3 gates with barbed wire to discourage climbing activities.
4 ft gate to chicken paddock with barbed wire on top rail and interstices blocked with fencing material
Sundry other improvements were made including clearing the growth on the paddocks’ west exterior so that I and the rooster could more readily spot a stealthy intruder.
west side of chicken paddock before clearingwest side of chicken paddock after clearing
My next steps will be to resort to technology and install motion sensors which may alert me to the fox’s approach. I believe the coop will withstand a predator so my concern is about day attacks when I am deep in the woods or temporarily away from the property. I have considered and rejected traps – would hate to ensnare my Trudy or a neighbor’s dog. But there are other options and so I have cleared surrounding brush and obstacles for a clear line of sight.
Luck shouldn’t factor into daily events – maybe it has a role in investing, or coincidental meetings, but surely not when it comes to my tracked Takeuchi bobcat. The way I am feeling right now is lucky and this is probably because I acted carelessly and was able to extricate myself from a sticky jam, actually muddy patch, without much loss.
I mentioned previously a trail I cut through the woods which ran close to a spring. The spring fills a small pool from which it saunters down the hill, mostly unseen, below the surface of a dry stream bed. My thought was to cut an access path from the trail to the spring and then enlarge the pool. Because this is rough terrain my friend Mike volunteered to be on hand for the unforeseen. Cutting the access path was relatively straightforward – we agreed on the route, then highlighted the route with yellow rope, then me with the bobcat and Mike with the machete, cut the path to the spring.
How to deepen the pool. The lowest side of the pool was on the northwest but it was barred by briar necklaces. So I initially approached with the bobcat from the higher west bank and quickly realized the incline was too steep. So I backed out the bobcat and we hacked an approach from the northwest which shouldered between two large trees. The bobcat loader made quick work of thick roots and, because I was tired from my previous attempt and lack of sleep the previous evening (to sleep at 1am and up at 5am to drop a relative at the airport), I was impatient and did not widen the new ramp or cut it for a more gentle approach angle. I headed down the ramp in the bobcat, loaded the bucket with mud backed out and dumped the contents. That was easy, so without pause I went in again, deeper. As I backed out the bobcat’s tracks began to spin.
I have learned a lot the past 24 hours. Tracks are great and provide much, much more traction on wet soil than wheels. But, if the front of the bobcat is in water and you are backing out, the mud covered track at the front moves to the rear and slathers the dry soil under the rear tracks with water and mud. The first, primeval instinct is panic, I gotta get out, so you increase the throttle and more mud and water are rapidly transferred to the back and the front of the bobcat settles deeper into the mud because it is digging a hole by the tracks scooping up the mud and water in the front, and transferring it to the rear. I plunged the loader edge vertically into the mud and tried to use the leverage of the loader to push the bobcat backward up the ramp. To no avail.
machete Mike and a mud ensnared bobcat
So I cut the engine and together with Mike we strategized. When a vehicle is trapped in soft sand you place sticks and branches and rough material behind or in front of the engine driven wheels for the treads to grip and, with some luck (again the “luck” word) you can get out. We cut lengths of 4″ to 6″ diameter trunks (lots of trees around) and jammed these under the tracks – this was possible because using the loader I was able to move the bobcat forward onto its front edge and expose the rear tracks. Then with full throttle and using the loader for leverage I powered the bobcat backwards – and barely moved.
I suggested to Mike that rather than place the trunks parallel and under the tracks we should place them at right angles to the tracks. A lot of work and full bore throttle and – no progress.
bobcat trapped deep in the mud
We thought the rear of the bobcat was catching the ground and so with long handled shovels we dug out the dirt and, with a lot of throttle, gained a few inches to freedom. At this point, with 4 hours invested to little avail, Mike had to leave and kindly agreed to return the next day and his parting words were “you are tired, leave it for tonight, you can get injured.” Which is good advice when you are deep in the woods with no one around.
Getting stuck in the mud, especially with a tracked vehicle, which should not get stuck anywhere, is an insult to ones sense of independence, self reliance, and ego. Needless to say, I spent another hour digging, investigating and throttling and concluded a) remnants of the roots of the biggest tree were snagging the bobcat (revenge of the tree whose roots I had savaged); b) pushing wood under the tracks was a bad idea – the wood became slippery from the mud and water and because it did not span the width of the tracks, a good part of the gripping surface of the tracks was not getting traction; and c) the spring, which I had thought was a dribbler seemed more of a gusher and the water from the spring was transforming the area into a mud bath.
a trapped bobcat is not much to grin about, except its a photo
After a really good night’s sleep and early next morning I was back at the muddy site – my hope was to single handed retrieve the situation and save Mike a trip. I replaced the new chain on my chainsaw with an older chain and cut through some of the blocking roots – their diameter was 4″ to 6″ and I decided the old chain would be temporarily sacrificed cutting roots surrounded by soil and pebbles (until I could re-sharpen it). This helped and I got the bobcat back about 6″. I then decided the rising water was a problem and with the machete cleared a path down the dry stream bed and then with shovel and pick axe dug a 40ft trench in the stream bed. The bed appeared dry on the top but the holes dug by the shovel quickly revealed the water running just below the surface. This helped to remove the water which had been building up around the bobcat.
But it still wasn’t moving. I was convinced that the bobcat was snagging on concealed obstacles and, as I dug deeper around the rear of the bobcat and its tracks, these came to light. By this time Mike had arrived and together, with an array of tools from long handled edgers, mattock, grubbing tools, hand saws and the rapidly blunting chain saw we cleared a path to the rear. With the benefit of a night’s sleep we agreed that the tracks would grip better if they were not covered with mud and that spinning the tracks quickly in frustration just dug the machine in deeper. So the new modus operandi after clearing obstacles, including belatedly all the wood we had the previous day shoved under the tracks, was to use our gloved hands to pull the mud out of the exposed treads in the track. Then, in a frequently repeated sequence, with hopes high, I would fire up the bobcat, apply throttle and slowly power the bobcat rearwards and gain a few inches more to freedom. Unlike the previous day we were thinking rather than just acting and we were following a procedure that appeared to have traction. It was surprising how many times we were sure it would get out and it didn’t. But, eventually, with Mike yelling encouragement I escaped the clutches of the mud and got to level ground.
Was it luck? Probably not, but an education into new techniques, the importance of thinking it out and a good night’s sleep.
I have never had much luck with squash. A clan of squash vine borers benignly observe my squash growing efforts and, just when the squash begins its dash for the finish line, they take up residence in the base of the stem of the squash plant, chew away, and the vine keels over. In previous years I noticed mating stink bugs in the vicinity of the squash plants before their demise and, guilt by association, when I spotted them this morning, I quickly fashioned by bug dispatcher. My bug dispatcher is based on a handy internet tip – a soda bottle, or in my case a plastic dish detergent bottle, sliced horizontally with the top third inverted into the bottom third and secured with duct tape. Add a teaspoon of detergent, some water, shake, and this becomes the final destination for the offenders. To secure the miscreants I use long handled rubber tipped tweezers – the rubber tips have a better grip on hard shelled insects. So in to the soapy mix went the doting, connected couple. Another way is to locate the funnel of the bug dispatcher directly below the bug and then knock it or shake its perch and, with some luck, it will tumble into the funnel. My squash plants are in a new location this year and I hope, probably unrealistically, that they will escape the attentions of the vine borers.
assembled bug dispatcher with long handled tweezers
squash bug dispatcher – vertical view
The leaves of my potato plants were afflicted by all types of bug biters. A biggish, slow moving feaster was easily taken and added to the dispatcher.
a potato plant leaf lover before entering the bug dispatcher
Fig tree
I was concerned when my main fig tree did not sport figlets – my word for little figs, and I thought the tree was taking a sabbatical or I had over fertilized it with manure the previous year. But suddenly, in the past week, figlets have appeared and I am now hoping for a bumper crop, what with the manuring, and having the overflow from my rainwater storage tanks directed at the base of the tree, and the removal of competitors.
future figs
Though there are bug visitors to the tree – large numbers a few weeks ago and just the occasional bystopper now – not sure who they are or their intent.
fig tree visitor – unusual bug
Tomatoes
Last year was not a great tomato year for me. I have again planted out a number of different varieties and will keep an eye on them. When I noticed two strong volunteers emerge from compost spreads I decided to embrace them with wire cages and I will water them well and hopefully in due course, learn their identity and enjoy them.
The past few weeks I have been preoccupied with cutting a new trail through the woods. The northwest part of the property slopes down a hill and its face is creased with contour ditches and berms installed I know not by whom or when. There is a small spring which forms a stream which slides off the property. My new trail is designed to give me access to the spring and to meander among the fast growing tulip poplars. Since this is the north facing slope, which is sheltered from the sun and benefits from the contour ditches, it also has ferns and mosses and a wildness of growth.
lush wild area at base of hill
My trail is maybe half a mile long. I marked its intended route a year ago with yellow rope. Two weeks ago I began construction. Initially my thought was to make a road which my tractor could access, but my tractor is 7 ft wide and when hitched with a chipper cannot make sharp turns. So the road would have had to be fairly straight. My tracked bobcat on the other hand is 5 ft wide and can turn on a dime, which means it can easily dribble among the larger trees. So I settled on a trail rather than a road and saved a lot of larger trees and a lot of work.
beginning of the trail
From previous experience I know not to leave any stumps, especially the smaller ones which upset the unwary, so instead of chainsawing and pulling the trees out of the way (and leaving stumps in place), I used my tracked bobcat to clear the way. Two alternative procedures.
For those trees with diameters up to 3″, I simply lifted them up out of the ground with a chain and slip hook. A slip hook allows the chain to run freely through it so as the bobcat pulled on the chain the hook tightened on the trunk of the tree. The other end of the chain was secured to the bobcat body with a grab hook which gripped onto a link of the chain. The slip hook worked fine on most of the trees except for one kind where the bark peeled off easily. In this situation I had to revert to the second procedure.
example of slip hook
example of grab hook
The second procedure, primarily for the larger trees, was to attempt to push the tree over with the bobcat loader pushing the trunk at about 5 ft off the ground. If the tree refused to budge I would cut the roots on either side of it with the loader teeth and then it usually could be pushed sufficiently to expose the base of the tree. Then, with the loader at ground level I would bulldoze the tree out of the ground and push it sufficiently far to sever its roots. The trees are interlocked by vines, mainly muscadine (grape vines) and they would have been hung up if I had merely chainsawed them. So the assistance of the bobcat was invaluable.
trail along slope of hill
Once the trees were down I limbed and bucked the trees, that is to say I cut off the branches where they joined the trunks, and I cut the trunk into 5 ft lengths. The 5ft lengths of the hardwood trees fit into the bobcat’s loader and I brought them back to the log cabin and stored under shelter to dry for firewood use at year’s end. The pine trees trunks I will leave to degrade and return nutrients to the soil.
small spring at base of hill
I made several additional trips with the bobcat – down the trail to collect the rootballs and dump them in a large gully at the foot of the slope, and up the trail to collect the 5ft wood lengths for transport to the storage area.
5 ft lengths of future firewood
Finally my tractor came into play. I attached a woodchipper to the rear, which is driven by the tractor’s engine, and I have begun chipping the branches and odd wood lengths. The chippings will be spread along the trail.
trail along base of hill
So much strenuous pleasurable work and a good result to date. I must acknowledge the contributions of Mike, who assisted on the first day with lassoing and removing the trees, and Simon, who on two days worked hard amidst the mosquitoes and diesel fumes to help me complete the task. On the way back this morning along the trail almost stepped on a baby turtle – it was on 1″ long – see below.
