Stump Garden 2019

Posted on March 25, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

Last fall a huge old Maple Tree came down in the “Yard Shake up 2018” and it left me with this huge rotted out stump. I meant to do more with this it last fall but all I really got done was prepping it some for spring.

Well, Spring is here! This past week, I took a shovel out and removed layers of snow on top and around the stump itself, as once its exposed to the sun it will warm up faster.

Here is my Stump Garden to be.. three days after I shoveled it out. Still very frozen in the middle, I scraped out the top layer of sugar snow till I hit more solid ice.

Then we added in two huge shovels worth of rabbit poo.. So our first layer in the stump is the well rotted wood that you saw being pulled down in the video above and now I  have added in a four inch layer of rabbit poo.

This has been done for two reason’s..

The first is that the black rabbit poo will act as a heat sink for the sun and will help this area heat up and melt down faster.

The second is that I want that layer of a cool manure to rot down into the water holding rotted wood below it..

Once that has melted out, I will top it with a mix of well finished compost/dirt to fill up the rest of the stump and get it planted out.

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Dogwood 52-Fill the Frame

Posted on March 25, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

This photo is not cropped and It drives me a touch crazy that I didn’t get perfect levelness when I took it but it meets the fill the frame, one subject.. one color.. Ok, so it’s shades of the same color…. call it one camo color blended lol..

Patrick was giving the eye to the birds at the feeder and was facing the sun so he had crazy intense look at the time..

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Pruning of the Plum Tree’s 2019

Posted on March 24, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

Yesterday hubby and I put on snow shoes and headed out into the main part of the yard to try and get to our plum tree’s. They were in a way the fruit tree’s that need the least amount of pruning on the farm as they took a huge pruning/cut back job on them last year due to treating a disease on them.

It was a brutal pruning job done at the wrong time of the year but we cut out all the effected limbs and removed all the fruit and treated the tree’s. We will need to treat them again this spring and clean up all under them.

So really this spring we headed out with two goals in mind in regards to pruning the plums.

  1. To remove suckers, cross over rubbing branches out of the trees, any branches that were growing downward instead of upwards and to open up the middle of the tree’s to encourage a nice open middle of the trees.
  2. Trim down all but the single or double main shoots into whips as the younger 2 to 3 year old plums are going to be dug up and moved around the yard this year in the great replant.

Here is what we were mainly dealing with in general.

This is a plum in need of spring pruning, that snow is a good 18 to 22 inches high, so there is a good base down there yet.

Here is the same tree with its approx. 1/4th to 1/3rd taken off.. Because we took so much last year, we went pretty easy on the plums this year.

I was checking the plums pretty closely to see where they are at, as they are the very first hard fruit bloomers in the spring and where they are at helps me figure out when to start warming up and releasing my mason bee coons into the permaculture based food hedgerow plants.

I will take photos of them later in the season and link it back though for you!

 

 

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Increasing your pollination coverage timing using Native Bees

Posted on March 23, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

Excited to be adding in one more native bee to my breeding program this year. We have Mason Bee’s and Leaf cutter Bees and now will also be “hopefully” breeding for this wild and native species Osmia californica.

 

It is about the same size as our early mason bee (Osmia lignaria) and nests in the same size nesting tunnels. So there is no need to buy additional nests for this species.

Increasing diversity will spread your pollination over time from early spring to late spring.  The Osmia Californica tends to naturally come out later than the Osmia Lignaria bees.

The Osmia Lignaria tend to be the Mason bee’s that a would be most active in regards to pollination for your plums, cherries, pears, apples and Crab apples.

As the Osmia Californica hatch out a few weeks later, they are wonderful  in regards to extending the mason bee pollination of the later bloomers. Pollination with this species extends into blueberry, raspberry and Saskatoon blossom time.

I will scenting out their own house and am very hopeful they will enjoy what my garden has to offer, I currently have large patch of raspberries/black berries canes. A number of blueberry bushes and five saskatoon bushes at this time.

I will look forward to tracking to see who is liking my clove current and other current bushes? I have some extra camera equipment coming in this year to try and take a crazy amount of photos of the different native bees on the farm this year.

 

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No Spring Kittens for us!

Posted on March 23, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

Little Baby LeeLoo was growing up fast and turned six months old..

With the longer days and the warm sunlight it was only a matter of time before she was going to go into her first heat and we all know what a spring heat means.. Kittens..

No Spring kittens on the farm this year! Leeloo headed to the vets yesterday to get altered, this saves me money because I get a better rate for the surgery as she is not in heat, not expecting and not had kittens.

She was picked up this morning, poor little gal says.. where did my fluffy belly go 🙂

Otherwise, she is relaxing and happy to be home.. She enjoyed her breakfast and is now napping..  I am sure it must be so confusing to them to be taken to the vets, the smells, the drugs, the surgery.

I picked up the meds to keep the purr pride and the hounds safe from flea’s, ticks and more on the same trip.. I am not going to be starting them on it yet, I think if the weather holds, I expect I will not need to use them till May.

Weather is tricky and it could change suddenly. The local reports says that we are going to a bad tick year.. we will see if they are right. I am preparing for it, got my tick remover, got my chicken flock ready to get some extra freedom to help clean up the yard.

I was very pleased  but surprised that they are having local lime and tick information session this spring in our county and those around me.. its very new to have this issue in our area.

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Friday Rambles Around the Table – Overwhelm

Posted on March 22, 2019 by Just another day on the farm


What a treat to be able to stand on my deck with a cup of hot coffee and see soil.. even it is only the top of the big hill of soil that was dug out of the pond to be.. Even if I know its fleeting as a snow storm is moving in.. they say we will get a few inches or maybe another six inches if it really hits us.

It just makes the spring like moments seem even more special..  like playing in puddles LOL Lets put those new muck boots to good use right!

As I look around my own farm and see all the thing that need to be done, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed, spring is truly coming now and its in the middle stage of needing to get the winter clean up done, the garden’s prepared and planted out. Breeding programs, spring flood of eggs and chicks a more.

One foot in front of the other will get you there.. break it down, plan it out and work the steps! It will all come together.

Now I am going to turn this to a little bit of a darker side..  The world this week has been far more overwhelming in many ways.

It does not seem to matter where we looked this past week, every day seemed to bring something new, be it Mass Shooting attacks, Plane Crashes, Weather Based events that have taken SO many lives both human and animal. So much loss of homes and livelihoods.

I fully believe that there will be farmers that will lose their farms this year due to some of the things that have happened, I know there are thousands that have lost their homes and there are hundreds this week that are mourning the loss of their loved ones.

I wish I could make it all better..

I can’t

I can’t take away that pain

I can’t fix anything that has happened

I just have to face it, look it in eye and chew it over. I need to listen to the voices crying in the wind and close off the rest of the world and truly hear them. I need to slow my mind and do my best to put “my way of seeing the world” to the side and try to grasp even in the smallest way a different view-point, a different culture.

For me (and I respect if it’s not your way) I need to pray

Then I need to slowly get up, shake myself and start to move again. Start to do.. slower, sadder in some ways, reminded to find joy in little things, reminded to tell those I care about I love you more often, to slow down and play with my hounds, say yes to the purrpot that asks to come up for lap time, take more time to listen to the wind, to smell the awakening earth, to feel the sun on my skin.. to be reminded of the awe of watching a seed sprout and grow into this fragile shoot of green, reaching for the light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Spring time with our Horses

Posted on March 21, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

The spring shedding has started, so much horse hair coming out of my big boys. The muckiness has started, they have dirty hips and knees. Daily grooming has started and extra cleaning of feet is required.

My boys have had the winter off. We have all enjoyed that down time, they like their cuddles and pats and rubs, I have enjoyed that leaning time, that just spending time with them, often huddled on the other side of the wind.

However I have plans for my draft boys this spring here on the farm, not just riding which will be lovely but I need to put them to work in harness. Caleb is a old hand at hauling things around but this will be the first spring in training for Bojangles.

Brandy’s gear fits him with a big of adjustments and Bo is smaller and easier to work in certain spaces then Caleb is with his bigger body.  So that will be a fun learning curve to share with you as it goes.

Last night was one of the first really nice days we have had and so when hubby said, want to go for a walk, I said yes and lets grab the horse’s and take them for a walk too.

I had to laugh, when they saw us coming with halters, they lined up and helped put them on, they were as excited about getting out for a bit of time with us as we were to spend it with them.

Ears flickered, and heads looked this way and that.. a bit of rust showed on them as different vehicles drove by, some faster, some slower, some stopping and asking if everything was ok, to which they got yes.. yes.. just taking them out for a walk, all is good

They would have been very much game for a bit of stretch the legs on the road, the only safe place to really walk at the moment, I was glad to be on the ground as they got a bit fresh. Its exciting to get out and be able to freely move after all their winter of careful steps on the snow/ice.

Today we groomed and using horse cookies, we did some stretching.. time to start working with them daily for even just ten min or so weather allowing.  I want to just run though the basic’s, do some stretching out, do some walking and then I will need to clean up the saddles and harness and start checking fits.

The horse’s change shape from winter out of shape just hanging out, to working summer shape and it would be totally unfair of me to just grab them and ask them to work hard. They have lot of work coming in terms of giving me a helping on re-working the pastures, hauling wood, skidding out a few things and helping me use the ditch digger to create swall’s and a new rain garden this spring.

Ferrier comes next week for their next foot trim.

 

 

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Farmgal’s Photography March 21st

Posted on March 21, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

Trying to teach the wild turkeys to move on. they have found the ground under the bird feeders and are coming in daily right now..

This pretty was hanging out for a few minutes on the snowbank by the road edge.

I looked up and just loved this big old tree I cam across..

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How to Build a Mason Bee Hotel Series

Posted on March 20, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

How to Build a Mason Bee Hotel Series

Guest Posts by Powell River Books Blog

As most folks know I will be adding in a number of different mason bee and Native Pollinator hotels and nesting box’s here on the farm. I am also placing Nest Box’s at some community gardens as well as private garden/yards.  I was very excited to see a post on Powell River Books Blog talking about their Mason Bee Hotels as they are a number of years worth of working with them. I wrote and asked if they would be open to doing a guest post series here on the blog. Thank you so much for saying YES!

Part Three of Three –  Keeping your Mason Bee House Working.

Part One Drilling out your logs

Part Two – Making your Mason Bee House using a Bird House

I love this upcycle idea of using a older or new bird house to create the base for your mason bee house. I have noticed that “birds houses” are a faction of the cost compared to buy a Mason bee wooden house. Frugal is always a good thing.

In our area Mason Bees hatch, begin feeding and look for likely nesting sites in March.

Last year’s filled nesting blocks resting under the front porch.

Larvae mature during the summer and remain dormant from fall through winter. A freezing snap followed by increased sunshine and warming weather breaks their dormancy.

To get ready for the hatching phase, and to provide new nesting sites, Wayne and I made new blocks. We gently moved the old ones to a location nearby so the hatchlings can easily find their new nesting blocks.

Males emerge first but have to wait for females before the mating season begins. Mason Bees remain active for 4 to six weeks. While they feed and collect pollen for their nests and larvae, they are busy with the important process of plant pollination.

Old nesting blocks face southeast to catch the morning sun and encourage hatching.

Building bee hotels is a simple process. I made mine from old birdhouses. Drill nesting blocks out of untreated wood you have on hand. I use driftwood sticks.

Drill 6-inch deep 5/16-inch holes with an opening only in the front. Mount your hotel above ground, where it won’t sway, facing south or southeast for plenty of sun. Drilling blocks 6″ deep encourages female production.

Thank you again for sharing your posts here. I love their floating gardens.. You truly live in a very special place!  Want to learn more about their life?

Join us in Coastal BC and head up Powell Lake to experience off-the-grid life in a floating cabin. Up the Lake is the first book in the Coastal BC Stories series. It tells the story about how we discovered Powell River, takes you on an ocean cruise to popular Desolation Sound, for a quad ride into the backcountry and an overhead flight for a unique view of this incredible place. Read Up the Lake by Wayne Lutz and join us for the vacation of a lifetime. Up the Lake is free for Kindle readers at Amazon and most online e-book sellers.

Thanks again for this opportunity to share. Unfortunately, Amazon.ca doesn’t honor the free option that is available at Amazon.com. If your readers have an Amazon.com account that would be the preferred seller for Kindle. If your readers go to the Smashwords site they can purchase the e-book version of Up the Lake for free in a variety of versions including Mobi that can be read on Kindle. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12852 — Margy

These post’s was written between 2015 – 2018  They have a had great success with getting their mason bee’s to like their new home! 


 

Margy Lutz and her husband Wayne discovered Powell River, BC, during an airplane camping trip in 2000. They purchased an off-the-grid float cabin on nearby Powell Lake that has become their home since retiring from careers in education in Southern California and becoming Canadian permanent residents and citizens. Margy is the author of the Powell River Books Blog and Wayne is the author of the Coastal BC Stories series of books.

http://powellriverbooks.blogspot.com 

www.powellriverbooks.com 

 

 

 

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The Gal in the Garden Series 2019

Posted on March 20, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

This is the weekly overview of the gardens. I will still do detailed posts lots of different garden related subjects. I will bring them back and show cases them here on the weekly round-up.

Happy first day of spring! 2019

The past week is the very first week that we have had more spring like weather, it’s still below normal in temps but we have 2 days above 0 with some melting.  We have a deep snow pack all over the yard but the solar heat is strong and you can see things slowly being exposed.

The top of the dug out hill for the ponding area has melted out first. It’s the first soil to show on the farm, and I am tempted to cover it with a tarp and heat it up, put a few boards around it and plant it out with radish with a small cover, I think I can get a 30 day crop off it before I would need to move it.

We are already 3 weeks behind the average on the yard in terms of spring and as I do not want major flooding, I am hoping that it stays a slower melting and warming up on spring.

However I am more than ready to get some things planted, so on the weekend, I took matters into my own hands. We hauled out storage metal horse trough up out of the big barn and to an area in the front yard.

Nothing like spending quality time collecting frozen horse pucks with your man out on the snow LOL

We hauled in a full load of horse that filled the trough 1/3rd of the way after that, we did another full load of rabbit/bedding mix and filled it to the 2/3rds mark. I need room to dig and turn the poo to work it into compost and then fill that top part with soil to plant in at a later point in the process.

We covered it with thick plastic and put an old gate on top of that to hold it down with bricks on the corners. If you want to see the daily update on this project, some day’s just write-up, other days temp gage info, sometimes a little video. Like my Just another day facebook page to get the full scoop.

The only other thing of note is that one of the jug pens was cleaned out and the bedding, a mix of hay/straw and only sheep poo has been moved to its own spot in the yard, I will be working that compost pile as a single animal compost. It was kept in the front yard as I want to use it in the new build.  I will get a photo of it for next week.

I have finally decided that the front main yard is going to be called the “the big shake up” it will be so different when its done.. but its going to be lovely!

The week will run Tuesday to Tuesday and I look forward to what the next week will bring, they say? that we will have a few days above 0, we will see if they are right. I leave you with some of the pretty flower color in the house at the moment.

 

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