Iulie Visits her Tree
August 28, 2024
dogs, flowers, plants bubby, farm, iulianna, iulie, swing, zinia Leave a comment
Much fun was had on the pretend farm. Lets see. We visited the tree Now taller than iulie).
We walked by the river with the crazy dogs.
We visited the baby zinias in the garden and picked a few early veggies.
We run through the sprinkler on the patio (for some definitions of we).
And we discovered the old swing rope out back.
Much fun was had.
A Sad Day for Family Forestry
March 24, 2024
trees farm, huge maple, JC, tree work 1 Comment
In 2003, when we arrived at this house, there were five huge old maple trees (by old, we mean over 200 years). Two of them have been gone for a decade or more, felled by age and weather. The big mother tree is finally entering the precarious stage when massive branches rot off and fall from the sky.
In order to make sure that the new Josie Oak (well, new in a sense that it is only 25 years old) doesn’t become collateral damage, we decided to take down half of the mother tree.
JC did all of the work. Here he is roping up for a safe perch.
This is kind of a “before” shot. JC topped the parts of the tree he could get to safely, though rot prevented a complete treatment.
And down came the massive part (half the tree which is 42 inches wide at the base).
The fence was unexpectedly smashed from space (better this than the oak).
It was a relatively easy fix (including a new post driven down into the ground).
And that left us with a huge, several day cleanup job. Firewood, solstice fire wood, sticks and branches, and a massive butt log.
Its sad to have to cut out such a huge part of the yard, but trees require maintenance too.
Poetry or Poultry? What’s the difference?
February 23, 2024
animals, farm chickens, chicks, farm Leave a comment
The chicks have reached three weeks old.
A Clean Moonshine?
February 23, 2024
dogs, farm, fashion dog, dogs, farm, grooming, maybe, maybelline, moonie, moonshine Leave a comment
Say it ain’t so. The farm dog gets groomed. And then is rewarded with a visit to the salon.
Meanwhile at the farm, the salon dog goes wild…
Spring Clean for the January Queen
January 10, 2023
farm, horse cleanup, farm, Spring cleaning Leave a comment
Unseasonably warm weather brings out Spring behavior. Chicken palace? Clean. Horses stalls? Clean. Goat enclosure? Picked up. Baryard? Clean.
Drones for Breakfast
September 17, 2017
film, photography drone, drones, farm, garden, mist, shenandoah river 1 Comment
On Machines and Mortality: Life and Death in the Country
March 12, 2016
farm, horse burial, crocus, death, farm, guthrie, machines, mortality Leave a comment
Guthrie lived with us for so long, that I really can’t recall when he first showed up. One day there were just a couple of ponies, and he was one of them. Guthrie was mostly harmless, though his escape artist tendencies were a pain in the ass. He always made a beeline to the chicken feed or the grain bin.
Guthrie was 42 or 44, which is pretty old for a pony. He did not have many teeth, so we fed him soft hay and grain every day, or rather Amy did. He seemed pretty solid this winter, but last week took an unexpected dive, kind of controlled flight into terrain.
So we had a pony to bury, and out here that calls for a machine.
Machines make short work of it
Backhoe takes 4 minutes to dig a massive hole
Front end loader is helpful for moving the heavy carcass around
Into the hole
Tamping down, shockingly great operator skillz
So bye Guthrie, thanks for being part of our lives for all those years. You made your final escape.
First crocus up
