Weather Holding

The Old Amigo is feeling like he needs to get some blogging done.  I've been working on a longer piece -- an animal story.  It's taking some serious hours to pull together though, so I thought I'd give you an update on the garden.

We're feeling pretty good about the weather today. Fox, the Blind Man, recommended the Namesake of the Other Folksinger (Notof). Notof is 27 and Fox's son's best buddy. He's spent the summer fishing up north and now he needs some work before winter sets in.  

Notof can work hard.  He spent a day-and-a-half clearing brush and then breaking up soil in the garden.  Job well done. I spent several hours yesterday sifting and moving soil. Angel mixed in compost. 

Notof and I also did quite a bit of clearing on the south side of the property. That's about the last bit that needed attention. It's starting to look darn near manicured (hardly). But at least it's starting to look cleaned up.

The Farm Girl called today too. She couldn't work last week because she had a fire in her yurt. Yep. It started where the pipe from the wood stove went through the wall. It was a close call, but she got it put out and got her place cleaned up. She got her garlic crop in and can work this Thursday AM. If we can get Notof over tomorrow or Tuesday and FG over on Thursday, we'll have the garden dialed in.  No extra time left, but that's okay.

I mowed some more on the south side today. There's long grass there. I pull it up and then run over it with the rotary mower. That chops it, but it clogs the chute into the bag so every few minutes I stop the mower, turn it over, and push the heavy trimmings into the bag. Then I mow a few more feet and do it again. It's a lot of work, but it's having a great effect. 

I call the south & east sides of the property "The Meadow". As I clear it and mow it, I also pull out surface rocks and wood debris. The weedstack continues to grow. The Meadow looks better and better. 

Angel laid in Halloween candy. This'll be our first Halloween here at the Edge of the Continent, and we don't know the trick or treater traffic levels yet. Not many kids in the immediate neighborhood. Of course Halloween, like everything else, can depend an awful lot on the weather.

One more thing: the "Monster Maul". A neighbor loaned me his Monster Maul. It's a heavy (VERY) splitting maul with a metal handle. This thing is amazing. This afternoon I split a couple of 16" long, 18" diameter rounds. No wedges. It's a real... monster.

Okay, I'm going to try to talk Angel into giving me a haircut now.

Stay warm.

Stay dry.

The Yardman Cometh

This AM I sat looking out the window and thought that it looked too cold, damp, and windy to go outside.  But then I thought that I'd better suck it up and go do something.  After all, winter is nearly upon us and if I don't get the yard ready for it, we're likely to be overwhelmed when things start growing.

So I bundled up and went outside.  It quickly became obvious that I was overbundled.  My tasks were strenuous and the temperature in the mid-50's.  It's important for me to realize that here in the Pacific Northwest, an overcast day does not mean one must stay inside.  The weather stayed mild.  I just came back in the house after about 4 hours of heavy work.

At this point, the north and east sides of the property are just about under control. The south side probably needs about two more hours.  The west side is fine for this year. It is good that I'm nearly done with it.  I now have a "weed stack" that's taller than I am and probably 6' wide and twice that in length.  Next year I will be able to compost my mowings from the meadow area, but this year there are too many weed seeds.  Even next year I'll probably only use that compost in certain parts of the property.

My strategy is that if I can get the heavy brush cleared and the grasses thatched, I will be able to maintain things using my electric lawn mower. Of course I'd like to follow in the footsteps of John Wayland and build some kind of electrically powered riding lawnmower, but that will have to wait for fatter times. My electric lawn mower is heavy, but it's also pretty quiet and it's really easy to start!

The garden area still needs several days of work.  We still hope that Angel's farmer friend will help us with that once she has her garlic crop in.  She has already given us some good garden tips.  

So far the compost bins aren't producing anything but gnats.  I think we need more wet, green-type stuff.  We've got too much straw in the mix.  From what I've read, that's the opposite of most compost situations.  Angel suggested some anti-raccoon measures.  The bins have nice lids.  We've added bungee cords and so far the compost bins have remained unmolested.

The last few days have been overcast with brief periods of sun.  The nights have been rainy, cold, and windy.  The wood stove keeps the house comfortable and the slightest amount of sunshine warms the main living areas.  The passive solar design features really work!

So far the local climate suits us perfectly.  It feels so nice to be near the water. When I go downtown and smell the salt air it immediately lifts my mood.  The local views of mountains, seashore, and water are no less stunning today than they were when we first found this place years ago.

Working the Garden & Visiting with Friends

Yesterday the weather cleared and got very comfortable in the afternoon. The east end of our property slopes down to a nature trail. It's a large chunk of our land and has become overgrown with native grasses (fine) and noxious weeds (not fine).

A friend loaned me an industrial strength weed whacker and I've been working this part of the property, cutting down waist high (and higher) swathes of weeds and grasses. I must wear safety goggles and ear protection when I use this machine.

Also, I don't want to subject the neighborhood to more than one fuel tank's worth of noise at a time. That's about as much as I can physically handle anyway, since after "whacking" I must rake and tote huge piles of dead vegetation up the hill. I sort of wish someone around here had goats.

El Grumpo (one of the neighbors) used to have goats but he got rid of 'em a few months ago. Allegedly the guy who owns the property at the top of the hill behind us has or is thinking about getting some goats. He probably has enough forage for them on his own property, however.

Angel may make cookies and bring them up to the family at the top of the hill (she's done this for most of the other nice folks in the 'hood already). Maybe when we deliver the cookies, we'll ask them if their goats would like to munch on our weedstack.

Today is darker and colder out. No complaints. We've got a nice fire going in the wood stove. The house is cozy. I spent a few hours on-line looking for work, emailing old colleagues, etc. Then I returned some stuff to the local library and ran a couple other errands.

Tonight I need to teach a beginners' yoga class at the local athletic club. It will be interesting to see who shows up. Although I've taught lots and lots of yoga classes over the years, until now, no one has asked me to teach a class for complete beginners. It will be interesting and a good experience for me.

I am hoping that tomorrow will be nice enough to do some more outside. It will be important to get the property in shape before the "real winter" sets in in November.

Is this the right rock?