I'm happy to be home and was outside most of the day yesterday working and tracking the march to autumn, which feels like a very slow march right now as our temps remain in the 80s with a couple of days hitting 90.
The dogwoods are loaded with red berries and their leaves are shifting to fall color. Most of the deciduous trees are starting to drop some leaves; I'm taking advantage of the mower as I spread stall waste to do some chopping and blowing of leaves at the same time.
It's extremely dry right now and any mowing sends up clouds of red clay dust, so after a couple of short passes yesterday I decided to stop.
We got a new load of hay in last week and our farm helper cleaned out the hay tent and emptied the hay stall, cleaning it down to the mats. We usually take the pallets from hay storage out to the big barnyard and dump all the hay debris, some of which is seeds, and end up overseeding the grass that way. He did that for us too, and it was a joy to see.
The fenceline is now clear about 2/3 of the way around our property. The contractor and I have been texting back and forth nailing down the final details for fencing and gates. I'm relieved but not surprised to hear that he, a horseman himself, will be removing old fencing as he goes so that at the end of the day the horses can safely go into any area of the property. There won't be a day when any part of the fence is left open.
Yesterday I took a walk to the back area of the farm, which was Friday's "office" for our farm helper. He did a stunning job clearing what will be the new back fenceline and also cleared out years of brush and fallen limbs, including one huge tree that took a hit last year during a storm. He has neatly cut that into firewood and stacked/secured it for us. That section has never been so clear and tidy. I've enjoyed the wild look back there and enjoyed my various incarnations - the woodland path, the labyrinth - but right now it's a great time to get it cleaned up so we can get the fencing in and then decide what to do with it.
It's easy right now to see where my long-time plan for a writing studio/guest cottage would go!
Down at the edge of the forest in the open area the entire stretch as far as the eye can see to the right and left is a goldenrod haven. Honey bees are getting in their last big pollen run and I stayed down there awhile just watching them work. I'm happy to know that next year my bees will have those flowers to forage.
Which reminds me - I put in two kinds of milkweed on Thursday morning before I headed to Porches. The Saturday before last I attended a pollinator garden workshop and we all got six plants at the end. These are the first official members of my own pollinator garden. The mulch arrived yesterday to top off the newly-expanded beds that flank the garage, gate to the barnyard, and the front porch area, plus some to create a bed outside the gate by the mailbox.
I have a list of more pollinator plants to get at one of our local native plant nurseries and will be working on that later this week.
It was so nice seeing the back area clear - daughter and I took the Corgis back there yesterday evening for a walk. We had a hard time coming back through the barnyard as Keil Bay and Cody wanted to visit with us and with the dogs. Soon enough we'll be working on getting the Corgis used to being out on the larger part of the farm while respecting the space of the horses and donkeys. They have regular meet and greets through the fences and gates but these two dogs have never been allowed to run loose out there. We'll start with some dog runs while the equines are in stalls eating but I hope the transition goes smoothly enough that the Corgis can be out without any stress on either side.
In other farm news we bought the propane tank that's been sitting on our property since the house was built and will be able to shop for the best propane price and have it delivered as we need it. There was some initial difficulty with the propane company about having to have our gate code, but this was negotiated and I happily opened the gate for the delivery yesterday.
Today is a gray day though no rain is forecast. It would be nice to get some but the gray sky is a nice break from bright sun and blue sky!
billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
4 comments:
Everything is moving along at a good pace at November Hill. It's nice to have a helper, it frees you up for so many other things. I think having the fence line cleared is great and will be even better when the fence goes in. I'm a little annoyed that my Autumn weather has been delayed. It's been in the high 80's here with a few days in the 90's and so humid it's miserable trying to get any work done. Hopefully, the cooler temps will kick in soon. I hope you get your writing cottage plans started and are able to build it next year. That would be a lovely place to escape to.
I know it would take me months to do what he has done in weeks!
I am so tired of warm weather too. It looks like this weekend we will shift toward some cooler days and nights down to low 50s, which will definitely feel more fall-like.
I forgot to mention that I am considering having a row of American Holly trees planted along the fence line that borders our neighbor's house, with the idea being to "limb them up" so the evergreen foliage starts at the top of the fence line and goes up from there as they grow, which will screen the part I don't want to see and give us privacy but won't make it feel like a solid wall over there. I may do this at the back of the property as well - until I get things organized back there I'm not sure, but I love the idea of having a border of evergreens we can prune to fit the space as needed. Our arboretum in Raleigh has a row of these and the trunks are as thick as fence posts all the way up to the foliage which is so dense you can't see through it - they have pruned it flat on the inside and let the outside grow out more. It's very nice. I would need to find some large ones to plant though - as I want some of the screening benefit to kick in immediately.
The hollies sound like a good idea and will be pretty. If you can think it you can do it is my motto!
I like that motto!! :)
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