Blog #38

March 2 – April 2

Last month, I made my update to you all mostly photos.  Since a picture makes a thousand words, I may stick with that format for a while.

The month started out with us looking at prefab sheds to use for future housing for goats and sheep.  And me with a badly twisted ankle. It took 5 weeks for this to heal.  Hobble along Cassidy!

March quickly progressed with more research into how to create our apiary for the bees. We knew where we wanted to put it. It had to face south (bees like that) and be sunny, but not too sunny because it’s hot down here. We selected adjacent to our new pasture. Someone suggested putting the bees inside the pasture to get maximum protection, but I can see the goats climbing over the fence and knocking everything down. Murphy’s Law of Farming is not something I want to try break.  

The beeyard began with a few loads of dirt to level. And some wood to hold it in. Then a wall of 6X6’s. We love our tractor for getting all this done, and our neighbor with the dump truck. That came in handy after we put down the Geotech fabric to prevent weeds, as we put a couple of loads of gravel on top.  Then David designed an electric fence. It won’t keep in bees but it will (hopefully) keep out bears. Winnie the Pooh will definitely need a balloon because there is no way for him to walk through to eat my bees. Some people think bears want honey, but actually they want the bees themselves as they are a good supply of protein.

The weather here has been unseasonably warm for early March. With that comes winds. That may seem like it has little to do with Canada Geese (it does) but they are trying out our pond and we don’t want them (and their poop) around. We heard that swans and geese are oil and water, so we got some plastic swans to float around. It kinda worked, until the geese got wise that the swans weren’t actively chasing them. Then the winds shifted. The swans blew off the pond, and their heads came off. I picked them up and re-capitated them and threw them on the pond. The geese must have thought I’m a complete badass that picks up dead swans, wrestles them, makes them rise from the dead and can get them floating their way again.  Didn’t see many geese that week.

I drove by a local nursery on a warm day (it hit the mid 70s!) and fell in love with a local hard to get, native magnolia. I thought about it for a few days and decided to bite the bullet and acquire an Ash Magnolia, days before I was heading out to CA. The nursery delivered and installed it while I was away. Right now, it looks like a 7-foot tall stick, but I’m hopeful that it will leaf out in time. 

My neighbor Amber gave me eggs from her hens and ducks.

Facebook is a marvelous thing.  I got in touch with a group about American Nigora goats. You remember from last time that they are a cross breed between Nigerian dwarfs (known for milking) and Angoras (known for fiber). Well there’s a lady not far from me that is breeding some. We went to see her operation so we know how to build a shelter for them. Her husband built a pole barn that is now what David wants to build. Or did until he figured out that we should just build a shelter under the overhang of our hangar. Anyway, she also has minature cows, a breed called Zebu from India. Got some good ideas from Amanda, her husband Brian and her mom Barbara who is raising these goats as her retirement project. 

I have fence envy. And the bathroom is almost done. 

A Taste of Asheville is an annual fundraiser where local restaurants all have booths to sample their wares. I got tickets and we had a great time. Lots of places I wanted to try were there. Now I have to make it into the brick-and-mortar locations!

The pool is another project. Is it working? Is it broken? Did I break something else? Not yet, but give me time… No really, we figured out that all that gunk in the pump filters needed a cleaning.  Turns out when it rains a lot, worms don’t only go on the driveway – they turn up in the pool, but I didn’t see it since it was skimmed out. And so, after we cleaned out the gross me out pump filters, I had to clean out the paper cartridges. Suffice it to say, I am becoming the pool girl. I may have a second job.

Bri sent us to the WhistleHop, a cool nearby brewery in a train. Not kidding. They got two train cars and you hang out listening to live music, watching the film loop from the front of trains around the world, eating from the great food truck and grabbing a beer. 

In mid March, I went out to California where I got to visit with my sister Linda and family before heading over the my SIL Kirsten, fiancé Sam and new baby Eloise. Sam’s mom normally babysits while they’re working, but couldn’t for a week since her other grandkids were coming for a visit. I was the beneficiary. I got to spend a week with a beautiful, happy, wonderful 4 month old and her parents. I took her on her first visit to a library! And Rachel and Madison came down from WA to visit and play with the baby. And everyone all got together for my birthday Wednesday! We got to meet Sam’s brothers (at least 2 of them) and their kids at Sam’s parents home. Carol and Tom (Sam’s mom and dad) hosted us for a dinner and we had a ton of fun. Could this get any better? 

It was sad to say good bye. At least I had my book club to look forward to.  I Zoomed into our Long Island gang, along with two others who were out of town. We hadn’t done this in years. I think we all remember fondly the last time we really got together, when we were kidding around that we couldn’t hug or shake hands soon. Then the Lockdown started a week or so later and we really couldn’t. Now we’re back again… and I convince a new book club in Asheville to read the same book!

Kids are born! Brianna and boyfriend brought home the biggest pizza I’ve ever seen. 

My nieces and nephew came for a visit! We went to Brianna’s favorite donut shop, the family favorite bookstore with a café for champagne and charcuterrie, toured the Grove Arcade, didn’t get into the Pinball Museum (they were at capacity), went for a hike, did some forced labor, Charlotte drove the tractor, and saw a rainbow as they were leaving and flying home.

I made my first ever swarm box! Got parts from my friend Cliff and David showed me how to put together the hole saw. Without supervision, I used power tools!  I drilled the hole, cut the plywood bottom, drilled holes for the screws, screwed int the bottom, strapped it together (with the drawn out comb) and hung it near the equipment shed. A couple of sprays of lemongrass attractant and I hope I catch some free bees!

We’re hoping we’re not too late to support our vast acreage of lawn. I bought fertilizer to spread. I would have used manure, but that can only be done in the fall from what I’ve read. Next year. Anyway, we got a spreader/aerator which I pulled behind the Mule (an ATV we use around the CW Ranch). It needs to be weighted down, and late in the day, the weights fell in the hopper when I went over a bump. Not realizing, I kept driving. A few yards later, I took it apart and reassembled. Checking my work every few dozen turns, I noticed not as much fertilizer was being distributed.  Turns out, I broke another piece of farm equipment. David showed me that the flat piece of metal on the right did not match the helix shaped one on the left. It had bent. Luckily we have a 2 ton press! We tried to straighten out this piece. It almost worked. I tried it out the next day – our last day before some rain – and it wouldn’t go. I traveled to 3 different stores hoping to find a replacement. David finally found one assembled on the way back from a business trip south.  I had a couple of hours left in the day and got in as much as I could. It poured that night. 

Since it looked like crappy weather, David and I went to an orchid show at the NC Arboretum. Looks like it’s my orchid month between this and SF Greenhouse. I miss my garden club friends when I go to things like that.  Still, many great things to visit there at the NC location. We’ll go back — maybe to both! 

I must be a real farmer because I keep consulting the weather. Every inch of rain is important if you’re planting crops. Mine are small fry compared to real farmers. I have some arugula coming up and other stuff I remember throwing in the ground on a warm day. What is it? We’ll soon see!  I’m mostly just trying to get some grass seed in on bare patches and overseed where we’re hoping the hay. Still, we’re going away to NH for Passover and I want to get this in before it rains again on Monday.  I may have to spread some in the rain?  Wish me luck!