November Hill farm journal, 100

Wow - 100 farm journal posts!

The heart of November Hill is the house, but the barn is so close behind the house I count it as part of it.

This week we’re having a multi-day rain event, which hasn’t happened in awhile. We need the rain but having it stretched out over 5 days is not my idea of a good week. But I’m rolling with the weather since I cannot control it!

I reorganized who is where in the barn this week. They come in for the day now and I’ve moved Keil Bay into the double stall open to barn aisle + big barnyard. This is the “special” place to be and was originally given to Salina and the donkeys when she got older and needed special attention. 

Keil would say, if he could talk, that he has always been deserving of special attention (and I assure you he has gotten it). Now that he’s 31, he gets the barn aisle during the spring/summer seasons. The barn aisle is coveted because you get the full fan effect there, and you get to survey all the stalls, plus have access to the big barnyard. It’s where the humans enter the barn, so any time one of us goes out, Keil can get to us easily. 

Cody has moved into what was, years ago, “his” stall - on the house side of the barn. That stall opens into the rear shelter and the little barnyard, which is also an active area for the humans when doing chores. 

Apache and Rafer have moved to the far side of the barn, with their end stall open to the dirt paddock. It’s not quite as spacious as it used to be for the donkeys, who went right through the rubber fencing into the arena and on through to the back pasture. Now that we have the board fencing between dirt paddock and arena, they are thwarted.

Redford is allowed to be a “floater.” He’s a good citizen and is rewarded by getting his choice of roommate for the day. Rafer and the pony have become super bonded and they sometimes leave Redford out, so he often chooses to hang out with Keil or Cody, and any time one of us is at the barn and he wants to switch places, he is allowed to. 

The only downside to this plan is that Keil Bay is, and I say this with all affection, a total slob. He drops manure up and down the barn aisle, not bothering to move so much as an inch from where he happens to be standing. The others helpfully go out to their own dedicated manure pile areas, keeping their stalls and shelters clear and making muck duty super easy. With Keil I have to literally muck around his hooves. This has always been the case, and it always will be, so all I can say is that is just who he is. The King.

Otherwise the vegetable garden is doing really well, the pollinator beds are too, bees are good, dogs and cats are good, and while I’m always playing catch up with my various projects, I’m good too. I had a lazy day today, stayed in PJs until 4 when I had a webinar on developing a pitch deck for TV series projects, and now I’m listening to the rain fall and wondering where all the hours went. It’s too late to take a nap and too early to go to bed.

I think I’ll get out the dog brushes and work on Bear Corgi. He is a fluffy and while wonderful in every way, his coat is a grooming nightmare!

Here’s to sunshine before Saturday, when the two bee nucs arrive!

Milkweed ready to pop!

Just now:

We have rain moving in for the next several days - I hope it gives everything a good watering without messing up the blooms of the milkweed and other things getting ready to come out. This is going to be a big bright orange focus in my front pollinator bed when it peaks!

The sweet bay magnolia’s first bloom ever!

This is one of three sweet bay magnolias I planted last fall. Two have buds, and this one has this new bloom as of yesterday!

The flower almost fills my hand, and has a beautiful, sweet, but not overpowering scent. I’m so glad I planted these native trees!

Bloom update

This is the sweet bay magnolia (get it? in honor of the Sweet Bay = Keil Bay) and its very first bloom as of yesterday. Two out of three of the trees I planted last fall are getting ready to bloom this spring and this is the furthest along. I’ll check it today and post the bloom when it happens.

And I’m enthralled with the sundrops. They get more and more interesting as they mature. An entire new batch of flowers are coming in, and the contrast in colors between the bright yellow, maroon stems, and new buds is absolutely gorgeous.

If you want something really interesting with this bright yellow pop, I highly recommend these. I also caught a bee enjoying the pollen.

What’s Coming Up In The Garden, 47: boneset (+ a little miracle)

I was happy to see this for sale last fall at the NC Botanical Garden, and I bought 3 plants and put them in my shady bed. They’ll have late summer white flowers which will be quite nice in the bed. They’ve overwintered well and are growing nicely!

The little miracle:

The second hazelnut tree that I thought was dead has suddenly put out leaves! I’m very happy to see it and glad that I didn’t buy a replacement (the feed store had a few but they sold out before I snagged one online!). I’ve put small mounds of compost around each of the trees to give them some extra nourishment this spring as they grow.

More info on boneset:

Brundage, Stephanie 

Eupatorium perfoliatum

Eupatorium perfoliatum L.

Common Boneset

Asteraceae (Aster Family)

Synonym(s): 

USDA Symbol: eupe3

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)

Tiny, white flowers are arranged in fuzzy clusters top the 3-6 ft. stems of this perennial. Hairy plant with dense flat-topped clusters of many dull-white flowers. Paired leaves, united basally, are perforated by the erect stems. 

As suggested by the Latin species name, the stem appears to be growing through the leaf. To early herb doctors, this indicated the plant would be useful in setting bones, so its leaves were wrapped with bandages around splints. The dried leaves have also been used to make a tonic, boneset tea, thought effective in treating colds, coughs, and constipation. Upland Boneset (E. sessilifolium) is somewhat similar, but its leaves are not fused at the base.