Adventures and Projects Update

lynx

Down the road is a groundhog hole, beside the road in the ditch hillside. I have seen the groundhog cross the road from a distance as we walked.  Teaka likes to check out the hole if we walk that way and one day in May, out for an afternoon walk, Teaka ran ahead to check out the hole.  Lynx have a very distinctive cry.  I heard that cry and then suddenly saw Teaka chasing something through the field.  If I hadn't heard the lynx, I would have thought it was a fox.  Surprisingly Teaka ran faster than the lynx but almost at the forest the lynx did a 90 degree turn and outsmarted Teaka.  Thank goodness, that is not an encounter I think Teaka is prepared for (or me for that matter).  My fearless buddy takes her job very seriously.  Recently my neighbour had a fox invade their chicken coop and kill a few chickens, which prompted him to put up an electric fence, so I know that Teaka's presence has a big impact on keeping our property safe.

a deep hole

I fell into a hole.  Luckily I didn't hurt myself, save a leg full of scratches.  Also luckily I only fell into it with one leg.  I imagine the incident would have looked quite comical.  As I recall it, I first felt my shoe fill with water and suddenly realized I was sitting on the ground with my leg down a hole.  I have yet to investigate the area further, with full intention of wearing a safety harness attached to my tractor, since the hole is in the middle of my field, in a gully.  On a glance from solid ground it appears it might be an old well, or perhaps a natural spring.  Under the surrounding grass and weeds it seems to be have been covered in wood or logs, which I assume rotted and is why I fell through it.  To be continued....

kittens

Brie and Remy are loving life outside, chasing moths and butterflies and occasionally the chickens. They come for a walk with me and Teaka through the back field.  I keep a path mowed to make it easier for all of us to walk.

henhouse screen door

Putting up screen door cuts down the number of flies and bees getting into the henhouse.  A small number still get in through the chicken opening at the bottom, but the birds do not. I made the chicken opening according to the size of  Duke, the rooster, and unintentionally it ended up being large enough for Teaka to walk through as well.

mailbox post 

My neighbour brought me a 7 foot post, part of an old hydro pole, to use for my mailbox. When I removed the old post that had broken off at ground level it was about 24 inches in the ground, which meant I had some digging to do to get a post height of 45 inches for my mailbox (39 inch deep hole).  Digging wasn't too bad early in the spring when the ground was still soft.

laundry posts

Putting up my laundry posts proved to be more complicated than I had thought and it challenged my creative thinking and problem solving skills. If I could weld I think it would have made things easier, but woodworking is my thing, not welding. A must in the solution had to be standalone sturdiness and time will tell if that is something I achieved.  Here's what I came up with:

-Cutting down 3 larger bam trees and a few smaller ones. I cut the larger trees at fence post height so I can use them as posts when I erect a new fence some day. Cutting a few more trees might be helpful but I need to be mindful that they also act as an important wind break in the winter.

-Existing cemented posts that I found in my field as supports, set in holes 24" deep.

-Wood shims to fill the gap left from the size difference of the existing posts and laundry posts.

-Metal rods in a cement form to hold the suspended laundry post at the correct height and to reinforce the concrete.

                       

-Using the Kubota to lift the laundry post up and over the base post and cementing it in place

  

-Painting the posts, buying new hardware for the missing pieces, and putting up the line.

Voila! I am so happy to have a clothesline.  Eventually I will put a table top on the tree stump to be able to put my laundry basket on.  And yes that tree trunk still needs to be cut up and removed... all in due time.

firefly

One (early) morning at the end of June I took a video of a firefly at my door.  The video is not great quality because of the low light, but I was impressed with the green glow emitted by the bug.

Fun firefly facts:

Fireflies are actually beetles.  They can glow either yellow, green or orange.  Their lifespan is about two months.  Even firefly eggs glow!