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Firewood hunt and logs fallen across forest roads

The new (rebuilt) heavy weight weed whacker arrived and Sid is doing the final assembly.
Mike the woodcutter sprayed the false brome that was invading the meadow. It looks nice and dead.
Kay is installing the other camera on Bear Blvd. (aka a short road to the clear cut plantings) hoping to catch our black bear, cougar or other assorted wildlife.
There are little piles of firewood all over. We went on a finding and loading mission. Here is Kay, loading away.
See the riparian plantings?
Oh no! A fallen tree blocks the forest road!
We were trying to figure out why the tree fell and saw this weird white stuff on the broken trunk.
Whaaaaat? Another fallen tree?
All assembled and cutting its little heart out.

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The Crees visit, firewood is added, and a dump run accomplished

Julius, Jessica, Sid, Gavin and … Bianca
Looking over the fields and the forest.
Bianca’s smile is a beautiful sight.
Kay and Bill load firewood cut and split by Mike the woodcutter.
Mike stacked a nice bunch of firewood. We finished it and tarped it against the rain that is sure to come shortly.
Dump run.
Fetching more firewood out of the woods.
Sid successfully grew this tasty watermelon!

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Preparing for firewood delivery

To supplement the firewood we are getting out of our own woods, we ordered two cords of maple and alder mix, already seasoned. In preparation, Sid found a good spot for it near or at where the root cellar used to be. We needed three big holes to put posts in for a backstop so that the wood wouldn’t roll down the hill. We rented this post hole digger to help with the job
It poured rain after the posts were in, so when the truck with the wood arrived, the ground was too wet to drive the truck to the location we had so carefully prepped. Guess we’ll be hauling it there with the Ranger, a wheelbarrow and strong backs.

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Clear skies – no smoke from wildfires

After nearly two weeks of bad air from wildfire smoke, it is back to work time at the farm!
Bill and Diana, armed to the teeth, head up the Loop trail to check out the status of the road. It is very important to keep it clear of fallen trees in the event a fire requires fire suppression equipment access.
I think (but don’t know) that this mushroom is Chicken of the woods, or Sulphur shelf (laetiporus sulphureus). From the internet:
“Chicken of the woods is another locally harvested mushroom. It is hard to miss, with its vibrant orange and yellow shelves fanning out on tree trunks. With a dense and firm texture and a taste reminiscent of chicken, they are wonderful in soups, stir-fries, marinades and in place of chicken in vegetarian “chicken” salad. These mushrooms must be harvested while very young and fresh before they become tough and inedible. “
Bill hefts a log to block entrance to property that does not belong to us.
Do not take the Ranger onto other folks’ property!
Yeow! A veritable field of poison oak just off the Loop trail.
The Loop trail was impediment free for the most part. Bill and Diana head across Rock Creek to examine the Creek trail.
The riparian plantings (mostly Western red cedar) look good, but the weeds make bushwhacking necessary.
The large wood placement in this area is doing its job well. Look at all the debris!
Back at the house in time to spot Sid while he’s on the roof.

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Summer Workforce Makes Big Impact

Tory’s garden has never looked better thanks to Sandra, who spent August making improvements both in and out of the house.
Bianca agrees that Sandra is the hardest worker.
Nina and Alex did their share, too.
Here’s the guy who makes our summer workforce get up and at em every day.
While he puts on shingles.
Hoss would rather ride a motorcycle. Beats hunting!
An errant sapling bites the dust. Sadly, the Reed canarygrass eradication will have to wait another day.
Two patches of Reed canarygrass AND blackberries. A project for another day.
We put the game camera up in the same location as last time. Will the bear, cougar, elk and others return?
The battery pack for the fish counting folks is still next to Griffith Creek.
Griffith Creek is low.
Hard to see, but there are lots of elderberries (both ripe and green) on this skinny tree.

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Wildlife galore!

I left my game camera up for nearly two months, and look at what it captured: a cougar!
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An elk! You can tell by size and by the markings on his behind. You can compare it with the deer behinds seen later in this blog.
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Deer
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Where’s Bianca, says the coyote.
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This little gal and her friends triggered a lot of photos.
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Hot, hot, hot!

Despite the heat (near or at 90 degrees F), I managed a little weed whacking near the barn/big garage.
Sid cut metal roofing material with his saw, suffering a multitude of tiny cuts in the process.
Always lots of mowing to do.
Sid and the tractor trying to scoop up the remaining rock so that this area can be mowed.
Maybe a two person job!
This strategy worked.
Loading up the pickup for a dump run.
No, they weren’t putting it back. I just reversed the order of the photos.

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Late June chores

The dark purple row of blooms next to the fence along the cow lane is an invasion of purple vetch. It will choke out everything in its path, given a chance. Mowing or weed-whacking its blooms will not kill it, but will control its spread. I chose to weed whack the couple of patches found fairly close to the house.
My weapon of choice.
Because it is a vine, the Vetch has a nasty habit of winding around the weed whacker, rendering it inoperable.
Sid and Bill mow while I weed whack.
More vetch!
It’s hard to tell, but the field is full of the tiny blue flowers seen in the close up photo above.
Bianca found something dead in the woods. It was like catnip to a cat!
Bianca, watching five deer cavorting in the field.
Sid and Bill moved our extra pallets to the landing where we stack firewood.

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