Summer is done. Winter is right around the corner. And a lot of things happened in between that I haven’t been diligent about posting.
Backhoe is enjoying its new life out on the farm. It’s enjoyed digging, and driving around through the woods. It is just small enough to be able to sneak down the large trails that currently exist, and will be a key contributor to creating new trails in the future.
2. I had visitors! It was great to have Dad and Auntie Jo around for a few days in the midst of the crazy world.
3. Jonathan & Robin’s flower farm officially has flowers in the ground. It has been located in the field immediately in front of the cemetery. It should be a great location and testing ground for their flower farming hopes/dreams/desires. The plant-a-thon began in August, but still hasn’t quite finished. There are more and more bulbs on the way, but there are a handful of pictures to add to the narrative. The space needed to be occupied by something good looking and relatively short so as to not block views and access to the cemetery. The flower farm is the perfect fit. No official name yet for their flower farming adventure… (that I know of).
4. The understory of a huge area along side the field has been thinned by me with loppers and alot of work. This is going to be the new home of the Paw Paw grove. Way too many seeds will arrive shortly, followed by way to much planting of those seeds. Paw Paw trees NEED full sun to part shade at worst for the beginning decade (or all) of life. So this should work well. They also have a fairly delicate tap root and don’t transplant too well. Since Maine is really on the limit for their range (USDA zone 5 here), I figured it would be best to give them their best possible chance by directly planting seeds. This picture is before I began chopping brush.
5. The bulldozer had some fun in the woods clearing some areas, but I forgot to take pictures of anything. Here is a nice picture along the way of it sitting next to its slumbering future friend… That other one was a “free bulldozer” I got in December. It has no engine, so it’s not going any where anytime soon. It had a Chevy big block that some Nascar guy put into it, but it caught on fire… hence the no engine part. That led to the guy passing the rest of the machine on to me for “free”. Still had to move it.
6. Seed collecting is underway. Mom is sending seed, I’m hunting seeds in the woods, I’m hunting seeds at apple orchards, I’m hunting seeds in the grocery store… Favorite one I’ve got high hope for are Cold Hardy Kiwi. They are kind of a rare one and I managed to get a ton at Sam’s club. They are about the size of a giant grape, but have a million little seeds. Extracting seeds was a little tedious!
6. Tractor driving lessons! Robin learned to drive. Its good to have a few people knowing how to operate everything.
More planting soon!