You know, it’s getting hard to farm around here. We seem not to have three days of sunshine in a row anymore. And it takes at least three days to cut, rake and dry to bale hay. Will’s getting frustrated as he still has like five more farms to hay. It’s funny; last year it was so dry there was no hay, although, of course, plenty of sunshine. This year, the hay is thick, but you just can’t get it put up. Whew, but it’s getting tricky!
We hate coming and going down our driveway as the new owner of the 80 from the road in is now logging the 40 acres next to our land. Yep, our house is still more than half a mile down the driveway, but we hate to watch that woodland go bald. We knew it would happen, but boy it’s ugly.
I’ve been busily live trapping ground squirrels and have caught over 25 so far, releasing them far away from anyone, place, in the woods. Someday soon, I hope to run out of the little buggers! They are so destructive to our gardens, eating plants off, the centers out of melons and the leaves off beans.
Not able to hay, Will’s been working overtime, weeding in the gardens. Yesterday, he took the old Simplicity tractor with tiller to the North Garden, tilling in between the corn rows where he had mowed the weeds. It fit just right and really did a nice job. Thank you, Bill, for letting us use that wonderful helper! — Jackie
I agree with your statement that the forest close to you looks terrible. I am unsure if we need lumber or not for resale. I do know that wood is very expensive right now. Anyway, keep on trucking and do what you love.
This wood is destined to become paper. I like trees better, but we do need toilet paper, etc.
Squirrels are tasty.
Not so much with ground squirrels. But, in a pinch…..
Hi Jackie, the squirrels eat all our tomatoes, I would like to relocate them far away. The area of clear cut looks like a tornado mowed everything in it’s path. Pathetic how man is destroying the earth.
We feel like the woods is being raped……
We sure know how that feels! We had a good stretch this week for drying, but had to hay a few fields 20 miles from our usual area, so we didn’t get much made. But oh well. We shall get it on the next turn around. So much left to make, that we will probably be making it into September and possibly beyond. I had to replant all my parsnips, which I am not super hopeful will grow, but even tiny ones are good for soup.
Can carrots self pollinate? I planted a patch when we first bought our house 4 years ago, and I never harvested any because it got overgrown with weeds. This year, in the area where the garden was, I keep finding lots of carrot seedlings, many of which I hope will turn into big carrots. I was excited when I kept finding them in all the dirt.
Trying to get to mulching my squashes, as some desperately need it. My north Georgia roasters are taking off like a bullet and growing very well. I am excited for the fruit! I have been helping pollinate a little.
Do you have bees? A friend has a hive with some Russian variety, and I really am interested in getting into bees to help pollinate and for the honey. Just wondering if you or anyone else has experience.
Yeah, Will’s talking about haying in the snow…. But we have a sunny week forecast so you can bet he’s going to be busy!
Carrots pollinate each other (or will cross with Queen Ann’s Lace). Here’s hoping you get carrots not Queen Ann’s lace crosses, with are nothing to write home about. Chances are you do have baby carrots. What a great find!
We don’t have bees as Will has been very allergic to bee sting. I used to have bees and had a lot of enjoyment with them. I even caught a swarm barehanded and re-hived them!
That’s exciting! I’ll have to see what I get. I hope it’s carrots too.
I hope we can do bees. I think it would be a wonderful thing to enjoy! Barehanded swarm catching is on my bucket list for sure.
I wonder how the clear cut (yes it is a slaughter) will affect the area when it rains, snows, and melts? Man is his own worst enemy it seems.
Probably not too much. All the slash (branches and stumps), plus small growth pretty much holds the water in place. Unfortunately, we’ve become pretty dependent on paper. Just remember the fights during COVID, when folks couldn’t get toilet paper???
I tend to forget your area isn’t the proverbial hard wood (oak, hickory, walnut) like I’m in. I do hope it is replanted – aka responsible harvesting.
Our ‘built in ground squirrel catcher’ happens to be a Rattlesnake. We walk ‘gingerly’ whenever we are in its territory. We normally relocate any rattlesnakes – but this one was quite a ways from the buildings – and it had just killed a ground squirrel. Between it, one of our kitties, and our squirrel chasing/catching dog, our squirrel problems are now minimal.
Had rattlers; would rather have squirrels to trap. We killed one under our porch steps and another in the chicken coop, in Montana. The cat and dog do help a lot, keeping them down but I’ve got 27 so far!
That logging job they are doing is horrible. Yes we log our land but we do it carefully never taking more than necessary. How awful for you! Do the people realize that once gone the trees are gone for ever?
I feel bad for you having to look at that. Is that your driveway all rutted up? Shame!
Yep. They’ve ruined three culverts Will put in to control ground water on the drive, already. Sigh….
So frustrating to see clear cutting. My Dad and brothers and generations before have all been loggers and sawmillers. They have never done clear cut. Dad always said that’s not harvesting, that’s slaughter. Our neighbors clear cut their property next to ours.its nauseating to see. They are cattlemen and want grass not trees. So sad. We could use a little of that rain here. We are getting quite dry. My garden really needs a rain. Prayers for you and Will and this new challenge facing you.
They aren’t going to get grass, they are going to get weeds. Not to mention all the wildlife that is getting displaced and will be looking for a new home/food source. If an area was meant to have grass, it would have already been grass.
I sure wish I could pack up some of our rain and spread it out to you folks who really need it! Will used to selectively log with a team of horses and mules. But he never left a woods looking like that!
I had 20 acres of wildlife and realized early on that I was outnumbered so I didn’t expect much civilizing cultivation to happen. I decided to be the visitor on their property and they turned me wild instead!
We live compatibly with our wildlife. But the ground squirrels moved in droves, due to easy access to food. In the woods, you seldom see one. These are welfare ground squirrels, not a normal population. We have never killed a wolf, coyote or bobcat, bear or mountain lion yet; we try to get along with them all with fences, good sense and putting in our small stock at night. We do like to eat though and we eat what we raise.
So sad to see all those trees gone. We could sure use some of that rain here in MT. But on the other hand, the farmers are busy harvesting.
I’d send you some if only I could!! We’re trying to hay and it’s been hard.
If they are logging poplar, luckily it grows back fairly quickly. I hate it though! Here’s an idea, after it’s logged you may be able to buy it fairly cheap. Isn’t that how you bought the land that your on? Logged? Prices have jumped though! Just a thought!
Yep, it’s a lot of poplar and I do know the woods will come back in about a dozen years as ours did. And yes, if we can, we’ll buy it, just to provide a greater buffer to our homestead, whether it’s ugly or not.
Clear Cutting is so awful ! Looks like the Amazon Forest after the timber co. Is finished ! Some day there Will be laws prevent that kind of destructive cutting . In the mean time ….thoughts and prayers for you both . Hope you get your hay up . We are small scale haying , enough for meat rabbits through winter . Still it just keeps raining here in Northern Ky. To say nothing about the flooding in eastern Ky. . More Prayers for them ! Sharon
We’ve added our prayers for them too. The flooding was horrific.
We trap and relocate the racoons that get in our chicken feed. I sure wish we had some rain! Oklahoma has been very hot and dry this summer.
I sure wish I could send you some of our rain. It never seems to even out over the countr, does it???
Wish we would get rain to help put out all these fires. I hate to see so many beautiful trees cut down. Another home for birds, bugs and lizards gone.
Our thoughts exactly. The only good thing is knowing they’ll re-grow in a couple of decades.
The photo of the logging being done along your 1 mile road is sad. Looks like they are putting in a freeway. My sympathies to that change happening in your woods.
It’s all about the money. We wish we could drive with our eyes shut!
The power went out for me and I lost 18 frozen chickens- next time I’ll can them up. What a loss! Rain rare and infrequent here. Harvest in full swing with onions, tomatoes, sweet corn. So sad to see the woods clear cut. Wood pile for my heating about done-hard slugging as a one man crew. I don’t water or irrigate and the harvest will be diminished this year. The tomatoes seem to taste less robust. Each year is different and challenging. We haven’t done a second crop of hay due to less rainfall. Making hay has its challenges. Does weather affect tomatoes taste?
Wow! So sorry to hear about your loss of frozen chickens. That happend to me years and years ago, making me an avid canner!
Will’s haying is going slow but we should have some sun this week. (Please God!!)
Yes, the weather can and does affect the taste of many vegetables, especially hot peppers, which get hot when the weather is hot and dry.
Might want to check local law – In many places it’s illegal to trap and “relocate” wildlife. It just moves the problem to another area…
In NY, squirrels are an exception for trapping. When I relocated my grey squirrels, though, red ones moved in to take their place. They are mean and nasty little things.
I did and it’s okay. The problem squirrels now live where there’s NO people. In the woods, they don’t get so numerous due to natural predators.
Gosh Jackie. We feel your pain. We have 160+ acres. Neighbor (who has 53 acres) put his trailer very close to property line. Unfortunately our home is close to that line so we can see it. We have a bit of woods in between us and we’ve been planting more pines hoping to fill spaces up someday. It’s a bummer but what ya gonna do? I smoldered :) for awhile but had to let it go, nothing I can do.
Yep, we’ve long ago discovered that what you can’t change you just have to accept. Not necessarily like though!
It’s nice you don’t kill the squirrels. But they are a pain in the tush!
That they are. But when they go to live four miles away in the National Forest, with no people anywhere, they’re less of a pain!!
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