July 3rd -- July 3rd

One year ago, at 5 minutes to 5, we were handed the keys to the place just as the Title Company locked up for the holiday weekend.

We knew nothing about living out here or what to expect, but septic, well and propane were easy to learn. We didn't have a garage, or a garden,  bulb beds, a dog run, workshop, a graveled drive or patio.  Those are in, along with a lawn, and we slowly discovered the purposeful trees already here ~ figs and olives and almonds and pomegranates - and we are harvesting them.

We built on the working yield idea and now there are Citrus and Blueberries, Nectarines, Grapes, Plums, Apricots, and a summer garden. Old Abe the beloved garden tractor sits waiting for the weekends.

Inside, we are squared away. The lights and fans are up, decorations in place, and the pantry is full. There are a few boxes still in closets and we need shelving but the furnishings fit the house like a glove. Not bad for a Memorial weekend impulse buy.

One year. .. Already? ... Only?

It feels like a lifetime ago we were handed the keys to what would be an inspirational journey.  And now, there's the promise of bringing a wholesome product to market.

Dogs at our feet, crops all around, farmers waving as they go by on their tractor, days of purpose and thankfulness: what more could we ask?

Dragonfly Days

This little guy, and thousands like him, have been hanging around the homestead.  They come for the millions of mosquito larvae which have hatched in the fields. Welcome, warrior bugs!

It is quite a spectacle, as they fill the air an hour before dusk. The other day, one gently climbed onto my hand and allowed me to carry it out into the sun to try and get its picture.

Dragonflies expend a lot of energy when they hunt, and they have to cool down, like this fellow on the edge of the garden fence.  I took this with a regular digital camera. Doesn't it look like he's mugging for me?

Later on, another came and landed ever so gently on my fingertip as I sat quietly in the shade watching the show.

I didn't know Dragonflies like to play. Awesome day.

Lili Von Shtupp

The other night I was awakened by Sammy growling and looking anxiously outside. I peered into the darkness and saw nothing, and walked the house to be sure, and headed down the hall to the laundry room.

I had just awoken and when I found the back door ajar, my heart skipped a beat, but I peered out into the darkness.   Standing before me was a glowing iridescent white pit bull, staring right into my face. I did what any self respecting person would do at 3 in the morning with an open door and a ghost dog. I slammed it! Hard!

It took a while to calm myself down. What just happened here? I checked the house again, but I couldn't shake the open door and seeing the dog. Did we water out back and forget to close it tight? Did I imagine that white glowing dog in the moonlight? I looked through the peep hole but couldn't see a dog. No way was I opening the door again.

I'm not sure how I talked myself back to sleep, but around 3:30 I drifted off. The Hubs had slept through the whole thing, so imagine his surprise when he rose for work at 4:30 and took the dog out for a pee and met up with a (real live) pit bull.  I was awakened in all that excitement, and we checked her out. She was a sweet little dog other than the breed; a recent momma, by the looks of it, no collar or ID, just hanging out hoping for a little help. Sam sure liked her.

It took a day or so before we chanced letting her in - but we did feed and water her, and kindly gave her somewhere to lay in the shade. We put up signs for her owners knowing her pups must be missing her. We asked around, called the Humane Society to register a found dog, but nobody's called or come by. But by day two it had become clear that our dear Lili Von Shtupp might have been dumped out here on purpose.

What a
terrible thing
to do.

She is a very even tempered and kind dog, accustomed to people and being inside, friendly and good mannered. She and Sam get along wonderfully, and she would be an ideal companion if it weren't for her breed.

There's a twang of guilt as I write this, knowing how selfish it sounds not to want a perfectly good dog because she happened to be born a Pit.  But we have learned since getting Sam that owning a dog is all about fit, if you want it to be part of the family. We love that we can take Sammy everywhere with us - we travel with her, take her to Home Depot and into the shops in Carmel. But sadly, we wouldn't be able to do that with sweet Lili. People are afraid of Pits and they are not welcome in hotels and businesses. Heck, they are not even welcome on public sidewalks or at dog parks.

Lili is a Staffordshire Terrier. Her early ancestors came from England, where until the first part of the 19th century, their bred Bulldogs looked more like Pits than they do today. A Pit Bull is a Bulldog and Terrier mix, that made its way into America around 1870. Pits weren't originally bred for fighting, as the modern myth suggests. Their use in dog fighting is a vicious abuse of a loyal breed by traffickers capitalizing on illegal gambling at the dog's expense.

After much talk, we decided that Lili needs a forever home with loving people who will treasure her. She may not have had a very good life up to this point, but you'd never know it by her kind and gentle nature. We think she may have been forced to have many litters before being discarded when they were done with her. For that reason alone we want to help her find a brighter future.

Please, if you are interested in offering a permanent home, email us here or on FB.

Feedback

We have been hard at work on the repellent formulas.  Now that the black gnats are gone, we are concentrating on a combined formula that will work on a broader variety of flying bugs.

Feedback has been positive for the most part. It smells nice. It goes on well and dries quickly. It works consistently around the house, doing yardwork, at afternoon BBQs and on little hiking and biking excursions. Results are from (so far) Beebe, AK; Coal City, IL; Auburn and other towns in CA; Berthoud, CO; and a couple of places in TX.  Nice first term report card.

Also, the improvement feedback has been great.

One wrote that the product still separates when sitting, and we are working on that.

Another mentioned a lot of the first formula product was necessary, and we agree. The newer formula has a broader spectrum of essential oils and in a stronger solution.

Yet another found the scent overpowering. Naturally repelling plants have a strong (and often unpleasant) odor, and it is challenge to balance them with more pleasant natural scents. This feedback was especially interesting because he suffers from many different allergies and still willingly tried it.

A young man found the first formula not very effective when he was fishing on the lake. We are sending his mom the latest batch to test and compare.

The Illinois Science teacher's students on a field trip to the Everglades (FL) are trying it now. The first group reported back that the formula worked moderately well on land but when they hit the swamp, it gave little or no relief. There are three student groups willing to try and let us know how it works for them.

Back @ home, the swell of dragonflies has begun and that marks the beginning of Dragonfly Season. It is a short and intense two weeks as the mosquito larvae hatch in the first big wave. Dragonflies fill the air just before dusk, thousands of them darting in all directions as the last rays of light catch and reflect their iridescent colors. 

We are more ready for it this year, with bug juice and a camera. What a show.

Striking it Rich

Planter Bed w Decorations

 This place has buried treasure.  There have been plenty of rusty hand tools like trowels and small spades, metal children's farm play toys, shovel tops and long tree spikes that are decorating the planting beds.  There are bird bits and snake skins and squirrel bones. We haven't heard the mourning call of the coyotes echo across the valley yet, in large part because they are being picked off by a neighbor for getting after their animals. That's how it works here, but a little knot still forms in my belly. 

Pomegranate

Living relationships are solid and we are learning how it is. Take for instance the other day at a neighbor's house, we saw some movement in the big tree, and up scampered little things ... one two three four five six! ... raccoon babies.  It was the most delightful moment watching them turn in unison and press their faces together and look down at us. They continued up the tree, turned, worked up farther, turned. Nothing could be cuter than that.

Needs, not wants:  three cameras ~ 1 for the house, 1 for the truck, 1 for the car.

Baby

Astonishingly, it turns out that gangly tree at the edge of the lawn with beautiful bright orange flowers began bearing fruit the other day. I know what these are: Pomegranates!  There is another smaller one in back. The best part of any day is discovering what is hidden in plain sight.

Mission Fig

The drip system is a blessing after the soaring 112 temps two weeks ago. The heat killed off the gnats, too. Gotta love it.  The bug zapper is working OT on mosquitos and the birds have already learned to stop by in the morning for a free, nutritious breakfast.

The self sufficiency of nature continues to amaze, and discovering bits of what remains from one hundred eleven years of planting and living with purpose is our link to the future.

• Enough big trees to entice big birds to roost and they in turn keep down rodents and snakes.
• Enough shade for the house to help protect against wind and sun.
• Enough seasonal fruit - almonds and figs and olives and pomegranates that remain, but many more I can imagine were here - along with a big healthy garden for a bountiful table.

Hawk

Our very first harvest ever is table ready. The olives, in brine from November to May, then were placed in a 5 day water bath before being grouped into five different marinades and 12 different combinations of herbs and spices. They empower us to do more. Next up is learning how to preserve, dehydrate and can.

La Bella Vita

I shined up my ring for the occasion. When you take a thought slash idea into the world of action it is, as it turns out, a very big deal. 

This day was made for making the rounds - first to the County Recorder's Office (for a fictitious business license), then to the Planning and Public Works Department (for a Business license), and finally to the bank to open a business account.

We talked it up and wrote it down, gave away samples and that is how CityFolk Farmers was put on the map. I want to be consumed by the newness of it, the excited promise and hopefulness of looking ahead. There's a baby in the family again, something to nurture and grow.

I know it will stretch us farther and work us harder than we thought possible, but not today. Today we are honeymooning with License 2013501, with dogs at our feet, ripe figs on the tree, a garden of green things, and olives on the table from our very first harvest.

We are also just days from the first anniversary of closing escrow and getting the keys. Life was full of so many dreams and plans, and concerns, too, about what lay ahead. Looking back, what I see now is that we couldn't imagine how good it would be.

Year 1, down.

The Rumsey Lavender Farm

We headed into the Capay Valley over the weekend to check out the Rumsey Lavender Festival.

Rumsey turned out to be not too different than Zamora, other than having three times more people and being less developed, probably because of its remote location.  You get there by taking windy, country two lane roads.

The farm is small, just a few acres, with some big oaks and fruit and olives dotted around. Rosemary and Oleander and Grapes grow wild on the perimeter and in the center are rows and rows of lavender. They have six varieties planted - three American and three English varieties.

We were too late for the farm tour, and so wandered around and tasted some free samples ... lavender shortbread cookies, lavender mint iced tea, lavender brownies, and lavender lemonade.  The recipes were printed and sitting in a basket next to the food table for visitors to take home. Everything was good, but the lavender lemonade was exceptional. We came home and first thing made up a batch. We didn't have enough fresh lemons on hand, so we substituted bottled juice which still tasted okay. You can really tell the difference, though.

They had little lavender bushes for sale, and we picked up two Hidcote and two Buena Vista, both of them English varieties. We have six American lavender in the ground already - and these will be a nice compliment with their deep purple flowers in a more compact, rounded bush. The English lavendar is quite fragrant and striking.

The Rumsey Lavender Farm sells year round the most wonderfully fragrant body sprays and lanolin based moisturizers, warming oil, soaps, and of course small vials of essential oils.  They are an organic farm, as well. http://cachecreeklavender.com 

In the shade under the tree was a jazz quartet playing smooth background music, and situated near the arts and crafts table where children made things to take home.  A local vintner offered wine tasting if you wanted to do that, and local wines were for sale.

We learned about the different varieties and their use, and snipped two large bunches of blooms to bring home. The fragrance in the air was unbelieveable.

We sprayed down with our homemade mosquito repellent before going and walked with confidence right between the rows with bees hovering all around. We actually were able to reach in and snip stems and the bees agreeably moved out of the way. That's a definite first for me.

It was enchanting. I have never been that close to a lot of bees, right among them, as they happily fed on the nectar.  I am allergic and have been afraid of them all my life. But since moving to the farm with hives all around, it has been great to get over some of that and learn to appreciate and trust them more ... especially with an Epi-Pen in the medicine cabinet. :)

All in all, it was a pretty great day.

Step A

Done

Honest Progress

Every week is an interesting one around our place, and this was no different.  Right after Memorial Day, a local radio station mentioned the BlogSpot on the air at the end of a piece on Black Gnats and how there is no known repellent. Okay...if stuff like that is going to happen, we'd better get serious with developing a product. (!!)

F533113 from the weekend test turned out to be stronger and long lasting, and has more varieties of essential oils. It is still gentle and natural and sweet smelling, but the percentage of essential oils increased to see how that would affect its effectiveness. A SuperHero Garden Club member applied it at 6:30 am and didn't need to reapply until 11am, but the Hubs and I reapplied about every 3 to 3 1/2 hours to be on the safe side. That was a huge improvement over the last formula which repelled bugs but lasted about 2 hours before needing to reapply.

No bites. But we did notice a little interest from the bee population. Hmmm. Looks like we need to cut back a little on the vanilla!

Eight small bottles are on their way to the Florida Everglades next week, and today we get feedback from someone returning from Hawaii. A family in Oklahoma who is surrounded by floodwater from the tornados asked for a sample with temps heading into the 80s by the weekend. They expect to be inundated by mosquitos in no time. Crossing my fingers it works for her there.

We also dropped some off to the neighbors who are harvesting now, and they will use it right away.  That will be especially helpful to see how they like it. After all, Yolo is our home and the gnats and mosquitos are why we started on this journey.

There is a lot ahead - shelf life and storage needs, and what sitting in a backpack for a weeklong hike will do to the formula. Can it sit in direct sun at the beach? Or in cold weather on a shelf in the garage?  How many lavender flowers does it take to make a vial of essential oil and what is the extraction process?

Online hints and suggestions have been very helpful. We have also ordered several books to learn more about essential oils, their medicinal properties and chemical inter-relationships. It is insightful to see what online people are combining and what works and doesn't work for them. For instance, last night I learned that several of the essential oils thought to repel spiders are commonly used for other purposes. Peppermint. Citronella. Lavender.

There's a Lavender Festival at a Lavender Farm in Yolo County on Saturday -- we will swing by as early as possible, with triple-digit temps expected by the afternoon. The weekends fly by, I can promise you that!

Field Test From the Garden

We are running out of time to take on these nasty little no-see-ums, black gnats that are tiny and pack a whollop in their bite that takes weeks to heal.  They show up mid May and disappear as temperatures soar, usually around the 4th of July.

Farmers around here wear long sleeve cotton shirts with cuffs and collars, tuck the shirts into their jeans, and tuck their jeans into their boots or put thick rubber bands around their ankles because gnats can get in and under everything, but they don't bite through clothes. They are small enough to climb through window screens so if you live in gnat country and sleep with your windows open for circulation, they are probably in your house and feasting on you while you sleep.

You can see them swarm in agricultural areas where there is moisture, or in neighborhoods in town after sprinklers run, and we hear they nest nearly everywhere. They extract blood for the protein in laying their eggs, but they do not carry diseases like mosquitos.

The local farmers, well and septic guys use Skin So Soft from Avon that has an oily barrier so the bugs can't grab hold, but they are quick to say it works better on mosquitos than gnats. But it's all they've got. They have tried everything else and nothing seems to work on black gnats.

We have tried quite a few products as well, and they are not very effective.  We know there is always something in nature to compliment a chemical developed in the lab, and with the need for something to be used topically and continually in communities like ours, it stands to reason the repellent would be safer if it comes from the ground. We got into researching natural remedies and ordered up a bunch of essential oils, and got to work.

We are out in the country and have standing water all around, including an abandoned pool right next door. We repurposed a SkeeterVac for the outside and it is capturing gnats and mosquitos, and we are also in the process of  planting mosquito repellent plants in the yard (lemongrass, catnip, lavender, etc). Mosquitos are a problem here year round, and worst in the spring, summer and fall.

A couple of months ago, we started with a basic homemade mosquito repellent that was shared on Facebook, and modified it to make it our own. After several successful weeks of using it, we passed 25 bottles out to people on our FB page and family and friends, and asked for feedback. Bottles were sent to Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, Colorado, and up and down California. We are waiting to hear if it works for them against the mosquitos they have. 

We want to develop effective and safe products to use on kids and animals; something with ingredients that come from the garden and grow wild; something that won't stain clothes or dry oily on the skin; and something affordable and that smells reasonably good.

Last weekend, we took on the black gnats. We developed three formulas and sprayed ourselves down including the dog. For me, it was: right arm, Formula 1; left arm, Formula 2; face, neck, hair, back, legs, belly and ankles, Formula 3. For my husband he used: left arm, formula 2; right arm, Formula 3, and Deet product on face, hair, neck, ankles and belly. He is extremely reactive to gnat bites and we didn't want to take a chance on field test day 1.

On Saturday we worked for about 9 hours outside. We reapplied the formula every 2 hours because natural products absorb more efficiently than chemical ones.  After two hours it was clear Formula 1 was keeping off mosquitos but not gnats, so we washed it off and reapplied the area with Formula 2.

Formula 2 worked really well for both of us. We watched the gnats land on us and crawl around and fly away. Of course it would be better if they didn't even land, but this was a great first step.

Formula 3 also worked reasonably well, but not as well as Formula 2.

On Sunday we showered, reapplied Formula 2 from head to toe, and headed back into the yard for 7 more hours. At the end of the day my husband only had only 3 bites. I had none anywhere on my body except for the shoulder and neck area after crawling through buggy, spidery trees to run drip lines and I'm pretty sure they are spider bites.

The scent is not quite right - but if anyone wants to try it on the condition of giving some honest feedback, we'll send you some.

The Turnout

We needed a budget getaway and TravelZoo provided us just the place: Mendocino. We headed through windy roads and little towns, stopping along the way at interesting places, like the 'Got Bats?' guy who had a roadside shack. The birdhouses he made were all repurposed from something else, and in active use. Wrens, bats, and a variety of others darted in and out of the barrels and garden box birdhouses.

This little weekend was leisurely and quiet. We wandered around shops and took drives to Fort Bragg. There were a couple of beaches needing someone to sit in the sun and watch the dog romp through a little creek dumping into the ocean. What is it about dogs needing to roll in the stinkiest stuff they can find? She carted back about 10 lbs of sand in her hair.

The hotel was in town and pretty - a clean, spacious, dog friendly room right off the main street. Mendocino is mostly a dog friendly town in terms of the shops, but she needed to stay in the room for meals.

The Harvest was an awesome find - it is a market that caters to its organic and natural clientele. They carried a ton of essential oils and Jojoba oil so we can continue research on the bug repellent formulas. The ones we ordered online arrived missing Rosemary, and that is being shipped out this week.


There were nice, nice people everywhere, beautiful weather in the high 60s, low 70s, sunny and bright every day with very little fog. We walked through gardens and visited with the locals. We met Buster at Glass Fire, who showed us his beautiful glass sculptures and the shop in the back. We spent about an hour with him learning his trade. Big talent there, and we brought home a little something.

 Today happens to be the 100th Birthday of the American Cancer Society. Imagine that.  We will be making some joyful noise today, you can count on that!

My prayer is that we can celebrate the day together when cancer goes the way of the Dinosaur.

 

 

A Cure for Olives

There is admittedly a long wait time between harvesting olives and eating them. For us it was four months and twelve days for dry salt cured and seven months and fourteen days for water brined.

There was a lot of excitement and anticipation on harvest day, cleaning, sorting and jarring them in different brining methods.  And now the first leg of their journey is over.

Background: Last winter, we harvested 20-25 lbs of olives from two trees from the corner of the yard and split the yield in thirds. One third was dry brined and two thirds were water/salt brined at varying degrees of salt concentration. We harvested twice:  early November at the start of the season and mid December at the end. We wanted to learn if the size and flavor of the fruit would change.

Dry brining is a quicker method, 60-80 days, and we gave it a try. On Feb 23rd those olives were rinsed, soaked in water for days and stored in the fridge in two types of marinades - one spicy and one normal - including olive oil, vinegar, spices and garlic/onion.  To be frank, they were all puckered up and incredibly salty. But we gave it a couple of months, hoping they would rehydrate and lose some of that salty flavor. They never did and so out they went.

We had high(er) hopes for the remaining batches, which involved bimonthly and monthly salt water changes throughout the winter and spring.  Brining is amazing because you decide when they are ready. You can adjust the degree of ripeness - we prefer ours with just a little nip of bitterness, and this week they were perfect and we removed them from the brine. Next, we drained and rinsed them and will be put through a daily water bath for 5 days to leach out some of the salt and then on to the marinading room.

We have learned a lot from our first harvest.

We learned about color. For Kalamatas, you can pick all of the colors at varying degrees of ripeness, what you look for is size. Once it's in the marinade, the concentrated salt brine strips some of the the flesh color anyway and you end up with a beautiful variegated assortment of green, light red, and darker black olives. We have a commercial bottle of Kalamatas in the pantry and they look the same way.

We learned about harvest differences. The late harvest fruit has a more robust flavor but a more delicate flesh because it was allowed to completely ripen on the tree. It doesn't need as long or strong of a solution to cure. Brining late and early harvests the same amount of time left the later harvest a little softer meat than we would like. We will fix that next year.

We learned why it is important to keep the early and late harvests separate. Now that both are out of the brine, I mixed them together for their water bath. And then realized the late harvest fruit needs to be used first because it is soft, and we will toss the early harvest back into a lighter storage brine for later. So that added an extra step of hand sorting them.

Next season, the research will take all this into account and concentrate more on the trees. What will happen to olive production when they receive regular water and fertilized through the growing season? WIll it matter in the fruit by watering heaviest right before the harvest? Will there be more
yield? Larger and meatier fruit? Will it speed up the fruit maturity? I think we mentioned the trees had been sorely neglected for the last decade or more. They needed a modest pruning which I did and hope it won't shock the trees into skipping a season of production.  With only two producing trees, and won't be going for a deeper prune until the two adolescents produce fruit.

And just this week, more comparative research came up. Our neighbor down the way has a big olive just on the outskirts of his land.  It gets no special attention or water, other than what nature provides. He offered the harvest to us if we want it. Trees have different yields year to year, and so this will be especially helpful to compare with ours and teach us how to best care for our little grove. Always learning. This is fun.

Solution 1

Eureka, we found it! The right containers for this amazing, out of the kitchen and garden super great mosquito repellent we stumbled upon.  Solution 1.

 

The bottles are a great shape, with a locking toggle switch on top, easy to carry, easy on hikes. 

There were baskets full of them and in snazzy colors. 

 

We snatched 'em up, brought 'em home, filled 'em up,  tried 'em out and will get 'em shipped. 

 

Just three samples left. Want to try it?  Privately email your name and address.

 

The only thing we ask in return is feedback. Oh, and your undying allegiance to the cause. 

Down with Deet; up with homemade alternatives that are safer to use.

 

Water*Lavendar*Essential Oils*

 

First Batch

 

 Looks like an army ready to deploy

In the Thick of It

Bunny season. My favorite. Mommas and babies have been hopping around the lawn teaching them about the street, and the wicked people who live here with dogs, and all about the patrols of flying things. I'd guess being a bunny out here is a bit of a disadvantage, but they do run like lightening.

I am in full learning mode about what repels insects, and what might make a good non-deet/non-skin-so-soft repellent. It started with that confounded pool next door and devising things to plant in garden beds nearest to it. And from there ... the idea just sprung from somewhere generic on the web. A posted homemade repellent caught our eye, we mixed some up and loved it. It worked really well.  I tracked it back to several websites and lost the thread on a site called Grow Food Not Lawns. Where it originated I may never know.

Theirs was a simple combination of household ingredients and one essential oil.  We consistently use it and it consistently works on mosquitos. But now we are in little black gnat season -  gnats - chiggers - noseeums - that land unnoticed and leave big painful and itchy welts. We need something that works on them, too.

I've rounded up several vials of essential oils of plants naturally discouraging mosquitos and other flying insects. Next, I needed a cross section of people willing to try it in different parts of the country, so I put a shout out on FB through our City Folk Farmers page to give away 25 free samples. Small samples of Repellent #1 will be headed soon to Texas and Illinois, Oregon, Arkansas, Colorado, Virginia and Washington state. As more types of repellent roll out, hopefully they will be willing to try it out in their areas and report back to the hive.

We see a handful of non-chemical mosquito repellents on the market but they are really expensive. Why?! Wholesome repellents that are good and good for you should be cheap and effective so people use them safely. We won't use repellents occasionally; we spray down every day on every part of our bodies including our faces and scalp. What we use has to be safe and really work.

We have used solution 1 for about ten weeks, on ourselves and the dog. The scent is indescribably delicious - sweet vanilla lavendar that dries with no sticky residue and lasts a good long while. It's easy and safe to reapply as often as needed. It doesn't attract bees, which I thought it might.

Market research continues, and hopefully solution #2 will roll out sometime in June to help the Hubs' gnat allergy. We are stalled on a name that will convey a natural skin product that repels bugs without using the word repellent. Should it include the word natural? from the garden? from the pantry? skin treatment to discourage bites? We will not be using the word Organic, too heavily regulated.

Another mosquito update. We are in week three of the SkeeterVac and it is interesting a LOT of bugs, and not just mosquitos. Is it a success? We'll know soon ... the rice fields to the east are ready to roll, and we'll be abuzz with transformation in no time. Stay tuned for updates when we are in the thick of it.

Bearing Witness

We were talking last night that it has been nine months into country living already.

It took work to set some boundaries for the house critters: spiders and mice and wasps that enjoyed a nice long stay when no one lived here and no one cared.  But we did it.  Sam has even become an occasional mouser, catching and playing (not eating), and no need for a cat.

Propane was easy - it's only for the stove and heater, so spring/summer/fall the use is negligible. It is reliable, just like natural gas has always been.

Electricity out here seems to go farther. Electric dryer, water heater and of course a/c and other household utilities - but we find there's less need to a/c with the open land absorbing and dissipating some of the heat of the day. The temps are the same, but it doesn't feel as hot. Miss the pool, though!

Septic was in good shape when we arrived and we treat it lovingly ... and monthly. Knock on wood.

For us the big unknown was well water, and we have come a long way. Now when that icky sulfur smell comes from the pipes, we take it in stride: just spritz a little foo-foo and change the filter, flush the system and get back on track. And when the water pressure drops, the Hubs expertly takes care of that, too.

For having no neighbors, we have found easy connections. We are two of 53 residents, but the workers wave from the fields, and there is constant activity all around. The farmer nearest to us stops by and he and the Hubs are friends, and also the Postmistress who, it turns out, is a good person to know. The rental house down the way has people moving in this weekend, and the right*right*right next door project house has an interesting owner who comes and goes a few times a week. He is digging a septic by hand at the moment.  (!!!)

Living here has been an awakening. We compost now, and build and repurpose and nurture things. It is a busier life. We understand the weeds and the bees are here to stay, and appreciate more the chance to tame a small piece for ourselves.

We find it fun to take drives at dusk. Recently we discovered miles and miles of vineyards that are tucked into the hills away from the main road. Sam hangs out the window staring at the cows and goats and horses.  One time we bonded with a little mocha colored lamb and decided If and When we become farm animal ready, we'd like one of those.

It has energized us into making sure there is room for all who live here. Last weekend, a Golden Eagle startled us by flying right beside us with a rabbit in its talons. We visit with a gorgeous Great Horned Owl pair that hangs out @ Mary's Chapel, or watch a Kit Fox track its dinner in the cornfield. We laugh at bats who fly haphazardly overhead and applaud their choice of dinner (mosquitos). Woodpeckers peek out from their perfectly round holes in the trunk of the Black Locust tree.

But my most favorite moment came last summer as I turned onto our road around dusk. There were thousands and thousands of Dragonflies feeding on bugs drawn to the crops all around. The air was thick with them, colors reflecting off  the setting sun as they darted in all directions. I stopped the car and just let them engulf me and live for a moment as one of them. Thank you, Lord, for letting me be here to witness this.

Birds of a Feather

At our request a list was compiled from our Guest the Birder during his 3 day stay. In the expanse of the fields around, the trees within eyeshot and earshot and those roosting nearby, plus side trips to the Dead End Duck Club and Mary's Chapel, there was an impressive variety of birds. This is his list, and web pictures I could find that match up with some of them.

@ the homestead: Brewer's Blackbird*Red-Winged Blackbird*Red-Tailed Hawk*Red-Shouldered Hawk*American Kestrel*American Robin*Ash-Throated Flycatcher*Black Phoebe*Common Raven Downey Woodpecker*Eurasian Collard Dove*Mourning Dove*European Starling*Great Egret*Loggerhead Shrike*Northern Harrier*Northern Mockingbird*Snowy Egret(s)*Great BLue Heron*Scrub Jay*Turkey Vulture*Western Kingbird*White-Faced Ibis*and a Yellow Warbler.

Out & About: All those, plus Great Horned Owl, Eagle, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Clay-colored Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, Savannah Sparrow, Mallard, American Coot, American Goldfinch, House Finch, and a Western Kingbird.

American Robin

Downy Woodpecker

Mourning Doves

Red Winged Blackbird

Yellow Warbler

Turkey Vulture



Snowy Egret

Red Shouldered Hawk

Great Blue Heron

Barn Swallow

Good Times

Ideas are growing...

March 21st

 

March 11th

The land is taking shape.
 From this ... to this ... in two weeks.

The garden space is taking shape. Boxes are built, in place and level.  They look astonishingly small in the open land, but are plenty big enough.

Two - 4x8s, 10" deep;  Two - 4x4s, 10" deep. Newly added will be a 3' x 20' along the back just for herbs.



March 18th

April 21st

The first batch of compost is almost ready. The boxes are nearly full of soil from around the yard mixed with some organic nutrients.

As you can see, other ideas are also flourishing.




Rocks from around the yard
made an ideal edging

Making progress but it's a
very big bed

In an ignored and ugly part of the yard it was discovered there were large iris and Heavenly Bamboo struggling to thrive.


The last couple of weekends were devoted to helping them along. The bed is 6' x 30'. 

With Jeffery's help, we lightened the area of copious amounts of weeds, removed some saplings and ivy that were encroaching, transplanted two containerized Queen Palms brought over from the city, and added ground cover, lavendar and geraniums. As you see, it was quite a transformation.



Results of a well spent weekend 

We enjoyed good food and fellowship. And we also spent a good amount of the time actively Birding. Jeffery is a very knowledgeable and experienced birder and was an excellent guide.

The Great Horned Owl did not appear, so we migrated to where a pair reside near Mary's Chapel (CR97 at Road 15). We arrived just before dusk and lingered in the beautiful, simple country cemetery surrounded by majestic oaks, and walked among the grave markers some of which date back to 1837.