When we moved here two years ago, several trees had been cut down but the stumps remained throughout the lawn area, making it hazardous to cut the grass. We also took down the one fence that created a paddock. In the paddock were several trees that were damaged by the horses that were kept there. The trees had died and we cut them down. We turned this area into lawn and garden. We hired a tree company this week to come in and grind the stumps for us. Now all we have to do is level it (it looks like giant mole holes!) and plant some grass seed and we’re good to go. It was quite an impressive machine that ground the stumps into tiny pieces.
Categories: Gardening
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Tags: lawn, stumps
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Just when I was beginning to think that the duck eggs weren’t going to hatch, I came home from work the other day and found one baby duck poking its head out from underneath its mama’s belly. The two ducks and a black hen have been sitting on eggs-mostly duck eggs and a couple of chicken eggs. The next day there were more. And the next day there were more again. I believe they’ve all hatched now. We have a total of fourteen ducklings and one black chick. I hope this doesn’t turn into the story of the ugly duckling in reverse as the ugly chick. The ducks and the hen all believe they are the mothers and are guarding the chick and ducklings together. They are all a cute bunch!
Common Snapping Turtle
Last Friday we had the privilege of seeing a large snapping turtle digging a hole in the gravel at the side of the road and laying her eggs in it. She must be living in the swamp. We also saw one last year-maybe this is the same one. She really looks like something that originated from the age of the dinosaurs. I did a little research to find out how long it will be before the eggs hatch out. This is the information I found. Common snapping turtles are Canada’s largest freshwater turtles, reaching up to 50cm(19.5 inches) long and weighing up to 15kg (30 pounds). Their estimated lifespan is 30 to 40 years or more. Snapping turtles live in shallow ponds, shallow lakes and streams. They eat invertebrates, fish, frogs, snakes, birds and mammals. They are noctural, feeding mainly at night. Snapping turtles mate from April to November and their peak laying season is June and July when they lay 25-80 eggs in a hole they dig in the sand. The eggs hatch 9-18 weeks later, usually in September to early October. They become dormant during the winter when they bury themselves in the mud. They have developed their ‘snapping’ habit as a defense since their bodies are too big to hide inside their shells. Their jaws are so powerful they can amputate a finger. To see some more cool pictures and learn some more facts about these incredible creatures go to http://nature.ca/notebooks/english/snapper.htm.
I planted one rhubarb plant this spring and I know I won’t be able to harvest anything from it this year, but thank goodness I know other people who have big beautiful rhubarb patches that are generous enough to give some away. I have made some rhubarb pies and rhubarb sauce so far and am thinking about baking a rhubarb cake. It is so easy to freeze the extra and have it handy for baking the rest of the year. All you have to do is wash it, cut it in small pieces and place it in freezer bags. I measure it out into two cup portions per bag (one bag will make a pie). This is the first of my preserves this year. My goal is to grow as much as I can and to buy local produce when it’s in season and can and freeze as much as I think the family will eat in the next year. I can hardly wait for the strawberries!
Categories: Food
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Tags: local, pie, preserve, rhubarb
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May long weekend with sunshine and warm weather-that doesn’t happen very often around here! We set up our tent in our own personal private campground-our backyard, on Friday evening. We lit the campfire, had a game of frisbee, went for a walk down to the swamp to listen to the frogs sing, then sat around the fire and cooked smores. In anticipation for fishing the next day, at 10:00pm we went searching through the lawn and gardens for dew worms and we found them everywhere!
We had a good sleep in the tent-until 4:15 am when the roosters began their morning serenades! After breakfast and tending to our barnyard animals, we packed a picnic lunch and headed to the campground where are friends were set up. After fishing, lunch and socializing we went for a wonderful hour-long canoe ride down the river. We came home for supper, tired and hungry and camped in the backyard for a second night.
Again, the roosters roused us early but they didn’t seem to bother me as much this time and I didn’t want to leave my warm, cozy sleeping bag. Jack and I took a bike ride around the block and on the way back past the swamp we saw a mother duck with about ten ducklings swimming in a long line behind her. We spent the day gardening, playing games and relaxing then we were off to my sister’s for supper and fireworks. We decided to sleep in the house last night so we might get to sleep in a little bit this morning.
We let out the chickens and ducks and fed Charlotte and Zoe and watched them run around in the pasture. Then we had coffee on the deck as we watched the birds at the feeders. The skies suddenly decided to open up and we had quite a downpour of rain. I decided I would finally get some baking done. I had planned on doing some last week and hadn’t gotten to it. I baked maple syrup muffins, hermit cookies and a rhubarb pie. Ed cooked a roast beef on the barbecue and we had a very yummy supper. What a great long weekend. I wish we could have more of these!
Veronica is now the mother of five beautiful kittens. Four are grey striped and look almost identical and one is orange. She gave birth to them in a cushion of leaves in one of the stalls in the barn. This is also the same stall where the ducks have been laying eggs and one is now setting and a black hen is sitting on some eggs. I guess this stall has become the official maternity ward of the barnyard. I hope the other two moms are successful.
Zoe
Finally! We finished repairing the board fence and put up two lines of electrical wire about two weeks ago in preparation for the arrival of a lamb and goat. This afternoon we picked up Charlotte, a beautiful Katahdin lamb born earlier this year. She was alone in the barn for only a few hours but she was crying and breaking my heart. Luckily, when I phoned the woman I know who has goats, she had some available and we were able to go tonight to pick one up. We brought home curious Zoe, an Oberhasli goat born last fall, and she met Charlotte. They are close to the same size right now and I think they’ll make great companions for each other. I hope we’ve made our fence goat-proof enough to keep Zoe contained in the pasture. It should be entertaining watching these two frolic together this summer.
Charlotte
