New Day 50 – Comealong Cat

The weather was beautiful Sunday. So beautiful that my guilt over painting indoors with my dog snoring beside me, finally forced me put up the brushes and get my shoes on for a walk. As I headed outside with Bo, I made note of  where the cats were. Lately Finn, my granddaughter’s cat whose been living here while she is at college, has taken to following me around the yard. I was afraid he might try to follow us on our longer trek. I was not sure he wouldn’t wander off and get lost, or get stuck up a tree (which he has done several times). I saw he was safely indoors. Good, I thought.

We were half way down the driveway when Finn came bounding along. He’s free to go in and out the cat door as he pleases. I had wrongly assumed he was happy snoozing inside.

So, I decided to see how it went.

Finn is very much like Max, the neighborhood cat, who used to follow me, Buddy, and Bo, frequently on our walks. Max is featured in many of my past blogs. Max moved away, and I’ve missed his company. Of course I didn’t have to worry about Max – he was a roaming cat and not mine. But I was not keen to have to tell my granddaughter that I’d lost her cat.

How does he know the way?

Right away Finn took the lead.

Bo and Finn just rambling on toward the water.

 

The beaver dam across the road.

 

Stopping for a little scent exploration.

 

Sometimes Finn leads – sometimes he follows.

On high alert – ducks ahead!

 

Someone has made a path through the marsh. Hmmm?

 

No Finn – come back!

 

That’s not a great idea either. Remember how you got stuck up the tree all night?

 

Thank you!

Happy cat!

 

Taking the short cut back towards home. We went far enough for a first foray.

 

Back on the road.

 

Finn stops for a roll in the sand.

 

Heading back home. Finn knows the way. Why do I think he’s roamed farther than the yard before?

 

Home sweet home, safe and sound.

 

We’ll have to do that again!

(No apologies for all the cat pictures.)

Signing off.

 

New Day 49 – The Beaver Returns

I took a stroll in the drizzle today, down to the wetlands where I like to sit and contemplate. Nearly there I sadly discovered that the beautifully shaped ash that I’d wrapped a few years ago against the beaver who’d been taking my trees, had been chewed down to the last half inch.

Why the beaver stopped there, I don’t know. Probably he knew it wasn’t going to be an easy haul down to the water and simply needed a tooth sharpening.

I strolled on to the water and spotted the beginnings of a new dam.

You can see three newly stripped saplings. One laid across the gap, one that must have fallen through, and one further away at the edge of the grasses. That one will probably be part of the dam tomorrow. Above the dam is the pond where I sit and watch the ducks and the sunset. On this side below the new dam is the stream that runs down to the old skating pond area, and on under the road to the big water reserve across the road from me.

I think that dam starter was probably growing here yesterday.

This was my attempt at saving some of my trees. It’s ugly I know, especially during a winter with no snow. But it was necessary to save some of my hardwoods. I wish the beaver liked snap pine. I have plenty of those I wouldn’t mind losing. I put this flashing around these trees two years ago. And though I did leave some saplings for the beaver, once I’d done this, he moved on – probably discouraged by the metal barriers.  But now he’s back.

This is the major dam the beaver has built over the last two years. When I first moved here 18 years ago, a different dam was in place here. The effect is to create a large pond above which became a skating pond for the grandchildren. I spent hours clearing off the snow, are we all have many happy memories playing down here on the ice.

The ice pond with small area cleared after snow storm.

If you’ve been following me, you will have seen this ice pond before.

Here’s the same area today with the same old tree stump – a little more decayed. We didn’t have enough snow and cold for a safe ice pond this year, but next year, perhaps.

The old dam that created the first ice pond was eventually torn down by the town. I was very upset, especially as I knew the beavers were living in the lodge that was now unprotected due to the falling water level.

But come spring and fall, there was a new benefit. The apple tree that had been overhanging the pond was now water free. That fall I had a large bounty of apples (blogged about a few years ago).

But now again, the apple tree is hanging over the pond.

Here’s the apple tree. It fell over during the ice storm of 2008, but it continues to bloom and produce apples. Unfortunately I cannot reach the apples now due to the new dam.

As you can see, the beaver has been at the apple tree. There won’t be any apples, whether or not I can pick them, if he continues.

Here’s another view of the skating pond. The apple tree is out of sight at the left. The dam is just below at the right.

And here is the water under the bridge – a really lovely old stone bridge. The dam is just to my left, quite visible from the road. Now I don’t know whether I’d rather have apples or a skating pond. I guess what I really want is for the beavers to be able to do their thing without deliberate destruction of their creations. It’s true, I don’t want them to take all my hardwoods, but I wouldn’t destroy their dams and lodge to protect my trees. I like the idea of living in peace together.

New Day 48 – First Sign of Spring

This morning when I went out to feed the chickens I heard the first red winged black bird of the season. This is a sure sign spring is here. I couldn’t catch sight of the newly arrived, but a few minutes later I saw her (or him) under the feeder – no doubt chowing down after a long journey.

I’m so happy to see her as last year I saw no red winged blackbirds at all. Usually they are plentiful. I feared my birds were some of those found dead on the roads down south.

Normally this time of year snow still covers the ground. Not so this year. In fact I have not had to take out the snow blower even once (knock on wood).

Along with the blackbird came a gloriously warm winter day – 75 degrees (f). I let the girls out of their penned area to enjoy the weather.

Here they are composting away.

Poor me…I had to choose between staying indoors and working on an oil painting that is near completion, or heading outside to enjoy the day. Of course I did both.

The pond across the way.

You can see we still have ice on the pond.

My old dog Bo came along for the walk. He’s still a trouper despite his old age.

Here’s a photo from yesterday. Another beautiful day it was. The sun was setting – but I cheated and put this on “fall” setting to bring out the light.

When we returned from our walk today, the girls had made their way to the feeder to clean up what was left after the birds, squirrels, and turkeys had had their fill.

New Day 47 – Building a Greenhouse

I suppose it’s a bit of a cheat to post this as it is not from this year, or even a winter project. I had intended this to be a day to day posting similar to my building the chicken coop. The postings never happened, but I did take the photos. In the end, the greenhouse, (solarium – as my neighbors call it), was finished enough for use last summer without a single posting.

Now as I sit here mid-winter, without much heading outside, I think, why not post the greenhouse photos?

I got the idea to build this greenhouse/solarium from photos I saw online of many charming structures built from old windows. Since I had held onto the windows I had replaced on the house a number of years ago, I had many to start with. Others, with synchronicity, I quickly accumulated from freebies left at the side of the roads in the area.

I still haven’t finished all the window trims, or painted anything yet. But last spring I started my vegetables in the greenhouse and they did very well. I have a large wooden rocking chair inside which makes it a fun bug-free place to sit in the summer.

Here’s a photo I took last summer of the nearly finished, but in use, product. (It is level, by the way, it just doesn’t appear so in this photo.)

If you want to see how it developed, read on.

I picked a spot that received the most sun, and spent several weeks transplanting all the vinca that was growing there, leveling the ground, and moving a large boulder that was in the way.

This was one heavy boulder. After struggling to lever it out of the ground, I decided to dig the hole deep enough to get it below ground where it would not be a bother.

Boulder buried, the next step was to level the ground and lay the foundation blocks. Then I built the frame, having carefully designed it to accommodate all the windows I had.

I assure you it really is level – clearly I need a camera with a level on it.

I started adding windows. They are held in place by wooden 1 x 1 slats on all four sides, inside and out. The two top windows in the front are hinged at the top to open out for ventilation.

On this side, at the back I built a screen to fill the long rectangular space. This I then shuttered it on the outside. At the back I did something similar with the two smaller rectangles at the top.

When most of the windows were in, I began to put on the roof while continuing with the  windows.

The roof is clear fiberglass. This is the only photograph I took of the roof in progress.  It was time consuming, but not difficult. It is anchored to all the studs so that it won’t blow away.

While I was working on the roof, grasshoppers for some reason were attracted. I spent a lot of time following this critter around trying to get a decent shot. Isn’t she lovely? I love these creatures. Their bodies are so amazing. How do I know this is a she? See next photo.

I felt a bit bad about taking this next one, surely they wanted their privacy! But I couldn’t resist.

All this greenery was growing inside the greenhouse as I put it together. The last step was to pull all the weeds and lay down flagstone which I had in abundance having been left here by the former owners. You can see here that the wood I used was rough-cut.

Then I started to think about what I’d do with the rectangular spaces at the bottom.

Though I’d never done it before, I thought I’d try filling the spaces with stone and cement. First I built a frame, gathered stones from around the yard and laid them out in a nice order. Then I lined the frame with plastic, poured in cement, and then pushed in the stones.

I let the cement harden for 24 hours. Then I lugged the frame over the the solarium, pushed out the cement and stone slab, and cemented it into place.

Here’s one cemented in, and you can just see the one at the right sitting in place ready to be cemented in.

Here most of the stone work is done, the roof is completed, and all the other non-window areas are either screened in or filled in with plywood. Here you can see roof trim which I cut to match the scallops of the roof.

In this next one,  you can see the door which is the insert from a screened/storm door that was on the house when I bought it. The frame rotted, but I kept the inserts.

Here’s a view of the side with the shuttered screen. The shutters are not hinged yet in the photo, but will eventually be hinged. I did discover a design flaw. The roof overhang does not allow the shutters to open. So my plan is to cut the top of the shutters and fix them in place permanently, and hinge the lower sections. This past summer, I simply removed the temporary wood slat that holds them in place, and removed the shutters completely.

That’s my cat Chessie making her way to the greenhouse.

I still have some window framing to do. I need to attach the trim properly (It’s just tacked on), and paint. I’m going to make milk paint.

That’s about it! If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

New Day 46 -Frost On My Windows

We had some cold days here last week, and I found myself once again photographing the frost on my windows. I find these gems of nature irresistible. I poured through my dozens of images and saved many for future photo shopping. I lost my hard drive over a year ago and don’t have my favorite photo editing software anymore. So editing will have to wait.   These that I post here are untouched – merely cropped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Day – 45

I haven’t made an entry here for months – years even. But today I had a visitor to the suet feeder, and I feel inspired to share, and to perhaps resume my blogging.

Look who showed up. I’ve never seen a crow at the feeder before. I love crows, and know they are very spiritual beings, bringing magic into ones life.

Who doesn’t like magic?

New Day 44 – Predator Prevention

I thought I would add an update on the bobcat situation. Several days after the astounding appearance of the bobcat outside my kitchen window, she (or he), returned. I was at the kitchen sink again and saw the cat over by the chicken coop. I watched her prowling about. Again, I had my camera, and though the distance was too great the capture any good photographs, I did snap a few. She stood near the corner of the coop for a while. She could probably hear the hens inside. And I suspect one or two were cowering outside underneath the coop.

The bobcat returns and contemplates her dinner

Suddenly I saw the cat crouch. I knew she was going to attempt to leap onto the roof. From there she would have been able to drop down inside the pen. It would have been curtains for one of the girls.

I raced to the back door, throwing it open as noisily as I could. I was lucky. She had not yet leapt. Off she ran behind the fencing and into the woods. I knew I had to do something to prevent access to the coop’s roof.

Once the ground had thawed enough to allow staking, I set about reworking the tunnels and fencing. I opened up the long tunnel coming from the cat area, and converted it into a tall fence. This I ran from the chicken’s fencing across the front over to the smaller tunnel to the new A-frame. Then I opened up the new short tunnel I’d put in last year, and used that to form another tall fence back to the old door into the back chicken area. Then I built a new door for the new front chicken area. The door looks a bit silly, especially in winter when there is little greenery around. But it serves the purpose, and the chickens are safe. In fact I like this arrangement much better since I can have the front door of the coop open and not have hens escaping into the yard to make holes everywhere.

A new fencing arrangement completed – those boulders to the right are actually in the chicken area

I go in their area and feed them dandelions and other goodies during the day. It’s a much better arrangement.

Lots of new sunny space to dig up – the fencing extends forward to the grass where it is staked down, the bamboo poles are freestanding and support the top of the fence by tension.

Happy hens, though they still would prefer being out where I am

New Day 43 – Sunflower Sprouts

Mr. Black Bear visited a week or so ago while I was out in the playhouse (now my painting studio) working on an oil painting I’ve been at for quite a few weeks now. Fortunately Bo was in the playhouse with me. I heard a noise and looked up to see a black bear heading for the bird feeder. He pulled it down and helped himself. Bo did not make a sound.

When the bear finished his meal, he headed for the area around the chicken coop. He began rocking one of the posts back and forth causing the chickens some alarm. They flew out of the coop, and I flew out of the playhouse shouting. The bear moved off, and after some crashing around in the woods, all was quiet again.

Sunflower seeds growing under the bird feeder

Yesterday I noticed that around the bird feeder a whole crop of sunflower seeds had sprouted. It occurred to me that if we can eat sunflower seeds, we should be able to eat the sprouts. So I checked on-line, just to be sure, and sure enough, there were a lot of raves about them.

So I went out and pulled up a bunch.  After washing and picking over them, I had them for lunch with tomato and cottage cheese. It was delicious. I found the flavor much more pleasing than either beans or alfalfa sprouts. They have a rather nutty taste.

Sprouts harvested and washed

Lunch

I had them again for supper with spinach, feta, and cucumber added.

Dinner

I do wonder if the bird seed is GMO. I’ll have to look into this, and if so, find some organic birdseed. It seems to me I could grow these all year round, at pennies a meal – a lot cheaper than buying the sprouts themselves.

New Day 41 – The Potato Patch And An Unknown Bug

Toward the end of the winter I purchased a bag of organic potatoes. I don’t eat a lot of potato, so I was eventually left with a bunch of sprouting spuds. Instead of tossing them out, I decided to plant them come spring. Which I did. I dug up a weedy area behind the workshop where Audrey raised her chicks last summer. The soil seemed very rich and fertile, so I did nothing except pull up the weeds in a small rectangular area. Then I cut up the potatoes and put them in the ground, with some straw on top.

The potato patch

I almost forgot about them. Much to my surprise, when I finally did think to check and see what was happening, I had ten or so potato plants growing better than any of the vegetables I’d started in the garden. I’ve been blanketing them in straw as they grow which I understand is what one is supposed to do. 

The chicks’ A-frame and chicken coop in the background. And lots of weeds and fern all around. I’ll have to watch or the potatoes will be over-run.

Two of the girls, watching.

The other day I noticed half a dozen strange-looking bugs eating the leaves. I have no idea what these bugs are. The are translucent except for a brown marking that looks like a teddy bear from above. I’ve never seen these bugs before, and all my searches on Google have not come up with anything like them. So, if anyone knows what this bug is, please let me know. 

What are these?

It didn’t seem able to fly.

 

 I took the bugs to the chickens, and they were gone in about two seconds. It’s amazing how keen the chickens’ eyes are. Even when I dropped one bug on the ground, the chickens had no trouble seeing it.

This morning I was mowing the grass which had grown almost knee-high with all the rainy days we’ve had. I spotted an unusual spider on one of the white iris. I don’t know this critter either. He’s pretty handsome though. What he does is crawl inside the blossom, pull the petals in around him, and hide there waiting for something – surely not a bee – perhaps a moth of some sort. I don’t know – I couldn’t hang around long enough to find out.

I know it’s a spider, but it’s not a familiar one.

Visiting Kitty was here this morning for breakfast. She stayed all winter – inside the house, but mostly on the screened porch. Once the snow had melted enough for her to walk, she was gone. She stayed away for weeks, and just when I was sure she’d become someone’s dinner, she showed up again, meowing outside the door for a meal. Her habit at the moment is to show up, have breakfast, and then take off for another span of several weeks. It’s mid afternoon now, and she’s gone again. I think she must have another home somewhere. She doesn’t seem undernourished, even when she’s been gone for a long time. She’s clearly feral, but does allow me to pat her when she is outside. I couldn’t get near her this winter when she was in the house. Bo could though. She loves Bo.

Here’s Visiting Kitty, having breakfast this morning.

New Day 40 – Morning Surprise

I’ve been watching the bird house my daughter gave me a few years ago, these past weeks. This is the first year birds have moved in. A pair of chickadees took up residence a while back, and they have been very busy for a while, flying in and out with bugs and grubs. They are so fast that I’ve been unable to photograph them on their way into the house, but when they leave, they pause at the doorstep, so I’ve snapped a few long-range photos.

Abbey with bird house in background. It is from here that I took all the photos.

Here’s Mom heading out for more bugs.

 

And here’s Dad.

This morning I was preparing to head out to the grocery, but thought to check and see if the birds were up and busy. They were – Mom and Dad rushing in and out. When the parents were away from the house, I noticed some movement at the opening. I was surprised that the young were way up near the door. I had envisioned them down at the bottom where they would be safe. I began to worry that one would fall out. So I waited and watched through my binoculars. I had visions of having to rescue a baby bird and put it back into the house. I hung on watching, waiting for Mama to return and tell her babies to behave and get back from the door.

It seemed a longer time than normal waiting for Mom to return. Suddenly a chick poked its head out, and then  flew straight out and over to the hemlock tree fifty feet or so away. Then another chick did the same thing – came to the door and flew off. Then a third. I could see there was still another to go, so I raced to grab my camera, and got back just in time to see chick number four fly out. It was far too fast for my reflexes.

But as luck would have it, there was one more – the timid one. This little chick came to the door and then hopped down onto the ledge and looked around. Mom and Dad were making a racket calling to the little one from the hemlock. Little Chick looked around, cried for Mama, kept looking back at the safety of the nest, and then finally fluffed up its wings and flew off.

The last chick. Where is everyone?

Mama!

 

Should I go back in there?

Okay – I can do this.

 

And then they were gone.

The whole thing took less than ten minutes.

I’ve been collecting tidbits to blog about, including Mom and Dad in the bird house doorway, but I was thinking this morning that I needed a focus for the next blog.

As so often happens, Spirit provides.