Hay, Nature, Autumn
Aug. 27th, 2008 04:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helwenYesterday we finally got the mow next to the two mows of rowen in order enough for it to be used for the latest load.
Today we went down to Noho for a few appointments, both of which went well. Stopped by Big Y and Dave's Soda and Pet Food City while we were down there to get green tea and cat food, respectively.
The weather has been holding this week, so the latest load of rowen has been baled and is sitting down in the field. Even though the tedding, raking, and the sun and wind have done much of the drying, another day in the sun probably won't hurt. Moisture and grass together in a compressed space is a bad combination for a wood barn, as anyone who's thrown grass into a compost pile/bin knows. If the composting process has slowed down then some fresh grass thrown in can be quite useful -- in a barn, this is never a good thing.
My mother-in-law Marian put out a hummingbird feeder this summer and has both succeeded in attracting hummingbirds and finding a way to defeat the local ants' attempts to steal the sugar water. I believe she said she used bag balm around the hanger, across the path the ants would need to take to get there.
In general the area seems to be getting a little wilder over time. There are more sightings in all the hilltowns and even in Greenfield of bear, deer, coyote, eagles, hawks, various members of the mink family, and a certain type of great cat -- the presence of which I believe is still being denied by the state government's 'experts'. Interactions between the worlds of humans and animals are increasing, and not always to either party's benefit. On one side, human society as it currently operates does a good deal of harm to the environment, as many folks seem to have forgotten that we're a part of that environment. On the other, I was reading somewhere last week about an increase in aggressive animal behavior towards humans -- a sign of increased pressure on limited resources perhaps? In this area more pets seem to be disappearing, in particular cats. My father-in-law William's cat Henry seems to have joined those ranks, unfortunately. No proof, but he hasn't been seen in nearly two weeks, so it seems likely he fell prey to something -- and he isn't a small cat himself.
The great egret is still spending time with the geese in the field. We've been wondering if he's decided he's a goose. Come September, I hope he's able to find his way to his proper winter destination.
When I awoke this morning, the cool of the air and the taste and smell of it reminded me of school. A cool, dewy, bright morning, it caused me to remember walks to school with my school bag slung over my shoulder, gathering chestnuts on the way home, and the beautiful autumn leaves to come. For all that the day warmed up quickly enough, still, autumn proper is on its way.
Today we went down to Noho for a few appointments, both of which went well. Stopped by Big Y and Dave's Soda and Pet Food City while we were down there to get green tea and cat food, respectively.
The weather has been holding this week, so the latest load of rowen has been baled and is sitting down in the field. Even though the tedding, raking, and the sun and wind have done much of the drying, another day in the sun probably won't hurt. Moisture and grass together in a compressed space is a bad combination for a wood barn, as anyone who's thrown grass into a compost pile/bin knows. If the composting process has slowed down then some fresh grass thrown in can be quite useful -- in a barn, this is never a good thing.
My mother-in-law Marian put out a hummingbird feeder this summer and has both succeeded in attracting hummingbirds and finding a way to defeat the local ants' attempts to steal the sugar water. I believe she said she used bag balm around the hanger, across the path the ants would need to take to get there.
In general the area seems to be getting a little wilder over time. There are more sightings in all the hilltowns and even in Greenfield of bear, deer, coyote, eagles, hawks, various members of the mink family, and a certain type of great cat -- the presence of which I believe is still being denied by the state government's 'experts'. Interactions between the worlds of humans and animals are increasing, and not always to either party's benefit. On one side, human society as it currently operates does a good deal of harm to the environment, as many folks seem to have forgotten that we're a part of that environment. On the other, I was reading somewhere last week about an increase in aggressive animal behavior towards humans -- a sign of increased pressure on limited resources perhaps? In this area more pets seem to be disappearing, in particular cats. My father-in-law William's cat Henry seems to have joined those ranks, unfortunately. No proof, but he hasn't been seen in nearly two weeks, so it seems likely he fell prey to something -- and he isn't a small cat himself.
The great egret is still spending time with the geese in the field. We've been wondering if he's decided he's a goose. Come September, I hope he's able to find his way to his proper winter destination.
When I awoke this morning, the cool of the air and the taste and smell of it reminded me of school. A cool, dewy, bright morning, it caused me to remember walks to school with my school bag slung over my shoulder, gathering chestnuts on the way home, and the beautiful autumn leaves to come. For all that the day warmed up quickly enough, still, autumn proper is on its way.
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Great Cat
Date: 2008-08-28 08:05 pm (UTC)I like it here! Thanks for sharing!
risa b
Re: Great Cat
Date: 2008-08-28 08:45 pm (UTC)Hey, I checked out your blog briefly -- wow! You're much further along than we are. We're still working on infrastructure, and likely to be doing that for a while at the rate we're going :P
btw, I've been wanting to learn how to coppice but there's no one on the East coast. Have you found any useful books or videos? Photographs only get one so far... of course I need a place to practice too, sigh.
Re: Great Cat
Date: 2008-08-28 10:11 pm (UTC)Basically, what land you don't have in crops or pasture can go into tree species that resprout.
Cut them off at the ground (not all of them at once -- the soil needs tree shade for moisture) when they are whatever size(s) you need. We use twigs with leaves chipped, for mulch, branches as pea stakes and laden-fruit-tree supports, and anything bigger diameter as firewood. The stump should sprout several new "trees" around its cambium (inner bark -- the most "live" part) within 2 years. let these all grow to the size of the first trunk. Repeat the process. These suckers will grow up to four times as fast as the first trunk and the tree will live longer than it would have if you had left it alone.
YMMV, of course!
risa b
Re: Great Cat
Date: 2008-08-28 10:15 pm (UTC)son (http://wiki.antir.sca.org/index.php?title=Nicolai_Rabenis_Von_Tachov).
Re: Great Cat
Date: 2008-08-28 10:32 pm (UTC)I've gone to the coppicing.com site and some other places, but they don't really explain some of the bits like how to work some of the branches sideways to make a hedge and things like that. I guess for that bit we'll just have to experiment :D
Re: Great Cat
Date: 2008-08-28 10:39 pm (UTC)Re: Great Cat
Date: 2008-08-28 10:41 pm (UTC)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Seymour_(author)
Basically you plant a row of hawthorns around the field you want to hedge. Then when you have enough bush to hedge, you drive a stake between each one and its neighbors, cut halfway through each hawthorne, bend it towards its neighbor (each in turn, all to the left or all to the right) and braid its branches through the stake and into the neighboring hawthone's branches. A well-sharpened billhook is the tool of choice.
Coppicing is about growing wood for wood products. I think that's the distinction, anyway.