Flora and Fauna, March 2016
Multiflora Rose, wait-a-minute vine, and blackberries that came up by the willow which has fallen down behind them. Just south of the upper pond.
Multiflora Rose, wait-a-minute vine, and blackberries that came up by the willow which has fallen down behind them. Just south of the upper pond.
took it down today, 2 March; there was another couple cups in there from today. Next year need to start the process in early February. Too many warm nights in late February.
15.2-OakHouse from the southwest
This grove of oaks will become a house with a sharp edge where the power line goes by on the south side of it.
Sat and studied the little grove for a while today. Looking each tree from bottom to top, well, most of the trees. firguring out where I want it more open to walking through and where I want the oak to make a wall. Except for the entrance where the ladder is laing and the other entrnace over by the large persimmon, walls around the rest. The wall directly in front in this photo, the SW corner, already has some graftings that have taken, and there are also some along the right, the south wall and on around to the southeast. The south wall needs to be abrupt -- 10' clearance for the power lines easement. I did quite a bit of pruning and trimming inside and also identified several saplings that will need to be harvested. Then I looked at more grafting encouragement opportunities and this time instead of wire, am trying simply tying together with baling twine.
Doing a vertical panorama is challenging at best, and this close to the subject is impossible without major distortion of the vertical lines. I grafted these two together about 6 or 7 years ago when I had it in my mind that the branch would move higher up as the tree grew. Then I happened to be reading a source a couple years later that said they don't. Where the branch comes out, that's where it stays. So what I vaguely had in mind as a lintel or maybe a roof support or floor support now turns out to be a shelf at best, maybe a hanging bar.
opening up the interior of 15.2-OakHouse
These ratcheting pruners work well -- but the ratcheting action only works if you have the angle just right.
opening up the interior of 15.2-OakHouse
The smaller oaks in here will be harvested, today just pruned their side branches, and some from the larger that are low and inside.
Impossible to see the places where I'd used twine to hold branches together to hopefully graft. 4 or 5 spots along this south edge, under the power line.
opening up the interior of 15.2-OakHouse
Lookig east, this will be a ground floor room that looks out at the neighbour's house.
From inside 15.2-OakHouse looking north
There is a pathway directly north that comes out in the clearing around that huge persimmon in the middle.
Preparing for harvest. This asian pear may be an invader, but he will earn his keep by growing straight and tall and thick, suitable for harvest for fine woodworker needs. Pruned several of the clipper sized ones today, will chaing saw the rest of the lower branches later.
These are from the same tree, but not the same twig. 7th, 8th and 30th of March.
Built bed in 2015, planted that summer. In early march 2016 can see the sage is doing ok, but some of the others are "weeds." Some of those I want, but I don't know which ones yet.
Cleared out a whole bunch of bush honeysuckle, but still a lot more behind. Now need to cut up the bush honeysuckle stems and do something with them. And put some native trees and bushes in there. Forest edge that faces north...
This photo is taken from observtion point 1, southwest of the house about 10 meters. This particular view, to the east, is the subject of several hundred photos over the years.
This photo is taken from observtion point 1, southwest of the house about 10 meters. This particular view, to the east, is the subject of several hundred photos over the years.
potting soil mixing with peat moss
There are a lot of these coming up in the early spring. What are they? Both of them.
potting soil mixed with peat moss and spread over wood chips. Day is off and on sprinkles, but watered them in anyway.
I think these were a freebie at Peace Nook. In any case put a half inch of potting soil mix, scattered seeds, level and tamped down, watered in.
Decided it was too cold out here on the deck, even if glassed in. Moved them indoors the next day, into a south facing window that gets early morning as well as afternoon light.
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