New Project...Not on the List

Each year we create our list of 10 projects to get done and those are our goals for the year, no matter what. The "what" is that sometimes other projects have a way of creating themselves and working their way into our schedule. This past weekend was one such project.

The new project - Clearing part of the shoreline of the big pond to make it easier for fishing (especially fly-fishing) AND using the trunks of the cut trees to temporarily shore up the collapsing overhang roof of the old picnic shelter.

Shoreline Before:

The first 7 pine trees to the right of the tractor are slated for removal.

Shelter Overhang Before:

It's not pretty, but we can at least prop the overhang up for a small improvement.

We had the perfect weekend, weather-wise. We were getting the most extreme outer bands of Hurricane Florence to the north which provided plenty of cloud cover, nice breezes and the occasional misty rain. It was a pleasant day to be doing manual labor outside.

The first step was to use the brush cutter to clear away all of the tall weeds and grass around the trees and along the water's edge. Once that was done, the chainsawing could begin. The first couple of trees came down pretty easy. I wrapped a cable around them and hitched it to the tractor to keep the tree from falling too far from shore and making extraction more difficult.

Using the cable wrapped around the bucket to lift the tree out of the water and up onto the bank.

Two trees on shore and another down and in the water. Also, you can see two pieces
of trunk in the bucket that will be used to prop up the shelter overhang.

Each tree that was cut was drug (via tractor) up around to the head of the pond. We have a large brush pile there that we keep adding to. It's slowly creating a sight/sound break from the traffic on I-16. Soon we won't be able to see, and barely hear, the traffic as it zooms by.

The bottom trunk sections of the trees were measured and cut to size and brought over to the shelter overhang. The scrubby oaks growing in front were also cut down and dragged out to the brush pile. Using the tractor to lift the overhang we man-handled the trunk sections into place. It was not easy work.

This will look a whole lot nicer with some clean-up and a facelift.

Back to the pond...

The fourth, and biggest, tree was a bit of a problem. There was a decent-sized fire ant nest at its base. This called for some fire ant killer and skipping that tree for later while the powder did its work. The third tree was infested with carpenter ants. While they bit and clung to my gloves and shoes as I cut that tree, they seemed completely uninterested in my bare knee as I knelt down to finish the cutting. My lucky day I guess.

By the end of Saturday, I'd cut down all but the "fire ant tree" and put up 3 trunk sections under the overhang. On Sunday it was time to go out and finish those jobs. The last tree was cut down. The final trunk section was put in place under the shelter overhang. After all that, we've got a clean looking shoreline and a reasonably level roof line.

Shoreline After:

Lulu enjoys the first unobstructed view.

Lulu inspects the new, cleaner shoreline.

Shelter Overhand After:

A level roof.
The cooler and garbage can hold food for the fish in the pond.

Still need to clean up the whole area, but at least it is safe to work under there now.

Now don't think I was the only one courting danger with fire ants, carpenter ants, falling trees and collapsing roofs. Neta was out in the wildflower meadow deadheading the wildflowers so we'd have some seeds to spread in other places. She encountered some pretty evil and deadly looking creatures.

As you can see, farm work is not to be taken lightly. There is always something to do around here. You can never accuse either one of us of being a victim of this:

Nothing like a good pun.
That's sage advice!

Six Down, Four To Go

We're slowly whittling down this year's list of farm projects, and we're officially crossing one more off the list: clearing the goat garden area and getting started with plantings.  We've completed that and then some.  We've started gardens, put in grape vines and an orchard, and built the vine trellis tunnel  (which was another project crossed off the list). 

Before

After

Pictures don't really do justice to the amount of work that's been put in here, mostly by Craig (and his trusty tractor).  This area was goat pasture when I was a kid, but had been planted with pine trees that we had cleared when we moved down.  There was a lot of broken branches and debris left after the pines were cut, as well as rows and rows of pine stumps.  The trees were cut at ground level but many of the stumps/roots are still a mowing hazard.  Craig scraped it all up and added it to the pile of discarded trees in the middle, creating a new hill in the process.  He tilled, he planted, he built the trellis and now he mows it all, too.  I'm the visionary and supervisor, you understand.

This is part of the goat gardens, right after the trees were cut

In the orchard, we've put in satsuma oranges, loquats, pomegranate, plum, olives and persimmon (the latter two courtesy of Emily).  We also dug and moved several muscadine grapes, with plans to add more grape varieties. 

Newly planted satsumas in the orchard area

We've added a number of crepe myrtles, too.  We didn't originally plan that but when you find crepe myrtles on clearance at the nursery...well, who can pass that up?  We're up to 10 so far, including a few volunteers that Craig transported from other locations.

We still have a small area to clear behind the new hill, but I may take pity on Craig and let it go to meadow rather than trying to turn it into an additional area that needs mowing.

Now it just needs to grow in!

Here's the status of the project list - we're more than halfway done.  We're waiting on cooler weather to tackle the items we have left.  We've already started the barn renovation, and building a pump house is a must, but I doubt we'll finish all the walking paths or clearing the underbrush along the lane.  I suspect those are going to be perennials on the list for several years to come.


1. Build an enclosure for the pump

2. Put down flooring in the attic

3. Renovate the little barn

4.  Double the wildflower meadow

5. Spruce up the cabin exterior (paint the foundation and landscape)

6. Cut more trees and brush along the lane

7. Clear the goat garden area and start new gardens

8. Expand the walking path around the farm 

9. Finish landscaping the island

10.  Build a vine trellis

Reclamations (A Mostly Crape Myrtle-Themed Blog Post)

The farm giveth. The farm taketh away. But pretty much the farm is in a giving mood, especially when it comes to trees.

Back in April we decided to dig up a tall, spindly crape myrtle that was growing at the base of a cedar tree along our lane. It was well over 20 feet tall and was growing and blooming out of the top of the cedar tree. We used the auger on the tractor to make holes around its base, but that didn't turn out so well as the auger got stuck on a cedar root and broke (we got it fixed later that week). We finally had to finish digging it out with a shovel and broke it into several pieces at the root. We didn't know if it would make it or not but we cut off the top fifteen or so feet ("crape murder") and planted the biggest piece.

It was a windy day and I'm desperately trying to stick the chopped off top back
on the trunk to show how tall it originally was. No luck. Too windy.

The tree just sat there for weeks and did nothing, no buds. We didn't know if it was alive or dead. One thin little piece had leaves and continued to live (wilted) as we watered it daily for at least two weeks. Eventually Neta planted a yellow mandevilla at the base. It it wasn't going to live it could at least serve as a trellis.

Then one day while cutting grass I noticed something...buds...all over the trunk. The skinny piece also had new foliage and flower buds! IT'S ALIVE!!!

Today it looks like this:

Quite the comeback!

We managed to keep another piece alive as well and it had been planted in our Goat Garden.

Another survivor!

We also have some cuttings in our greenhouse that Neta is nursing along. They came from new growth that was on it when we dug it up. Once they are more established they'll get a place in our yard/gardens as well.

We recently noticed two other crape myrtles growing up through a large camellia that has been on the farm for years.

The camellia beside the house.

I dug them both out while fighting off a ferocious nest of fire ants. Once again most of the roots tore off as they were entwined with the camellia roots, so survival is questionable, but expected.

One is a tall, skinny specimen like the previous crape myrtle, the other is smaller, but still spindly. They are getting daily soakings until they get established.

The taller one. It needed staking.

It's the Ichabod Crane of little crape myrtles.

I'm always on the lookout for "good" oak trees as I cut grass or walk around the farm. Recently I found a white oak growing next to the base of, you guessed it, a crape myrtle. Despite finding other oaks, the much sought after white oak has eluded me...until now.

A bucket of white oaks

It was just a little stub sticking up out of the ground, its roots entangled in the crape myrtle. Again I dug. Again I managed to mangle it and created 5 pieces from one oak. One piece had no roots at all and we determined that it wouldn't live at all, but we're keeping the other four in water for now and we'll see how they do before potting them for transplanting next year. I have visions of a grand and stately oak growing among all of our big, old live oaks here on the farm.

A couple of final notes:

A Peach! From our two very immature peach trees (planted last year) we got one edible peach. We weren't really expecting any with the trees being so young. Storms and other things knocked off all but one throughout the spring. It was ugly, but VERY delicious. It was shared during a visit of Neta's brother and his family.

The awful look belied its sweet and delicious flavor

And finally...despite being around since the early spring, Dragonfly season has come on strong. We love to watch them fly around our farm. They love to perch on anything that sticks out above anything else, including tall grass, cages around our fruit trees, the garden fence, bare twigs and your hand, especially when it's on the handle of a lawnmower or something similar.

Here is some video I shot where the dragonflies are backlit by the sun.

Have a great week!!!

Let me explain...no, there is too much...

...let me sum up.
(Princess Bride quotes are always apropos)

So much has been going on...here's a quick catch up.

The garden is doing great this year.  We've managed to stay caught up with weeds (you're never really ahead) and the tomatoes are probably the best we've ever had.

So some of this -- 

Japanese eggplants, green beans, purple carrots, yellow squash, cucumbers, tomatoes and yard-long beans

Turned into this--

Squash casserole, cucumber salad, rice & tomatoes, and sautéed green beans.

And then suddenly the tomatoes all seemed to ripen at the same time.  

Tomatoes, eggplants, green bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, & beans

Which I was very happy to turn into lunch!

Ah yeah!

We had both bush and pole beans, so when the bush beans started ailing I ruthlessly yanked them out.  Pole beans are so much easier to harvest!

New additions: jalapenos and cucamelons (aka Mexican gherkins, aka mouse melon)

Yard-long beans really live up to their name, too! 

Chopped to size

It hasn't all been gardening and cooking though; I also had to deal with the leftovers from last year's garden.  I let the gourds dry in the barn over the winter, then drilled holes and cleaned them out.  We're hoping to attract some bug eating purple martins. 

These got spaced out along the fence after the photo. 

Meanwhile, we've got plenty of other birds, namely barn swallows and bluebirds.  

These bluebirds chicks have already grown up and now are raising a family of their own.

Almost ready to leave the nest

Yes, the swallows returned to our front porch, rebuilding their nest in the same spot as last year.  They are pretty skittish around people, especially for birds that choose to build on human habitation!  They're out of the nest now too, but they come back frequently to check in.

We stopped by our favorite nurseries (a few times), and then had to get all of these in the ground or in pots.

Which my other bug eaters really appreciate!

This guy (an Eastern Pondhawk) was actually eating a bug when he landed next to me.
  (thanks to Science Twitter for the ID)

We had to entertain some unexpected visitors stopping by, too.

Lulu was happy to host! 
Despite appearances that quail was A-OK and proved it by leading us all on a merry chase.

Once we finally caught her she was released in the woods.  Where Lulu promptly tracked her down and retrieved her by following Craig's backtrail.  The second release was more successful.

It isn't all work around here, we find some time to relax, too.  Although fishing is a not exactly relaxing when Lulu helps.

She was completely oblivious to how close she came to getting hooked!

Finally time to relax!

Arbor Day

Arbor Day came a bit late on the farm this year. Oh sure, we've planted our fair share of trees to do our part and will continue to expand our orchards, but this was a different sort of Arbor Day.

Once again referring to our list of goals for 2018, we put one up to a vote and our readers chose the "vine trellis". Technically what we meant was an arbor as it incorporates a trellis and creates a tunnel-like passageway of climbing plants. Yes...that is what we meant!

So construction began...

The cleared/scraped land that we started on

We had an area off to the west side of the house which we'd had clear-cut of all trees during the timber harvest back in 2016. I used the tractor to scrape the half closest to the house which is where Neta will build/create her "Goat Garden" (so named as it will be out in front of the old Goat Barn). There are still spots that aren't scraped completely smooth due to the old pine stumps, but as they rot over the next few years, we'll be able to scrape those out and create a smooth area for expansion of the garden.

If there is a truck AND a tractor in the picture, you know real work is getting done.

The spot that Neta and I picked out lines up with the kitchen windows so when you are looking out, it will look directly down the arbor which will eventually end with a bench and a bush/shrub of some sort to create a nice backdrop.

The construction itself was pretty simple: Ten - 10 foot 4x4s (5 on each side, buried 2 feet deep) spaced 8 feet apart, with a span of 8 foot 2x6s down the sides and across the width.

The first side is done.
The picture is crooked, not the arbor.

Even though Neta offered to help me, she was busy with her own work which included tending to the vegetable garden and our several flower gardens along with plenty of other chores involving growing things. So with that in mind and not wanting to call her from across the farm every few minutes to help me hold a heavy board in place, I figured out a helper of my own.

Clamps were my best friend

And when you run out of clamps...use a screw to hold things in place
while you climb the ladder on the other side. 

Once all of the sides were complete, I doubled the 2x6s across the span and added some old curved bows that we found in our big barn, which were probably used for a hoop house at one time.

We finished off the bows and added fencing down the sides up to the bottom of the cross pieces. This will allow the vine to have something to grow on.

The (mostly) finished product.

The vine that we chose (after Neta's research) is Star Jasmine (aka Confederate Jasmine). It blooms star-shaped flowers all spring and summer long that are very fragrant. The other thing we liked about it is that it's evergreen so we won't have a dead, brown vine hanging on the arbor in the winter months.

We'll plant the vine between each of the posts along the sides.

Some of the Star Jasmine we plan to plant.

I noted that the arbor is "mostly" finished. We still plan to add some fencing to the top to help support the vine when it is tall enough, but that will come later. And of course we still need to plant the vines, which will probably happen this coming weekend.

Soon (in several years) to be a fragrant and scenic tunnel of Star Jasmine vines.
Note the difference between this picture and the first one. One week of rain and
suddenly the farm goes from dust to greenery.

So that wraps up another project! On to the next one...