Summertime, It Ain't No Time for Bloggin'

There has been little time for blogging about Bufflehead Pond Farm lately.  Summer and the garden have sucked all the hours from our days, what little is left over after our full-time jobs.  But all in a good way.  We had the most gorgeous summer ever, especially for western Washington, with constant sun and hot days for months on end. (And there has been more than enough physical work to keep us buffed up, albeit beneath deepening layers of contented fat cells.)

But this great weather meant having to spend two hours every day watering the new lawn and all the thirsty tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkins, peas, beans, cucumbers, carrots, beets, turnips, onions, garlic, shallots, bok choy, strawberries, a bay tree, melons, rhubarb, three kinds of basil, lettuces, spinach, all kinds of herbs, and a huge raspberry plant weaving in and out of the garden fence. And other stuff too… a rue plant, blueberry bushes, savory, lavender, rosemary, lovage, spring onions, and more…

Totally out of control...

And numerous daily visits to coax the “children” to grow faster, bigger, more prolific, or to toss the occasional giant slug into the pond, or pick the caterpillars off, or harvest some salad-fixin’s for dinner, or deposit the daily compost scraps, or stand and stare for long minutes musing about how the garden is going to look “when it’s finished... someday.”

Dee's New Fitness Center Workout

And now moving into fall, the moisture returns, bringing:  Mowing... Weed whacking… Mildew and vine rot for all the tomatoes, zukes, cukes, pumpkins and melons… Harvesting, every night, baskets of tomatoes and cukes for pickling… Canning and freezing… Blackberry picking, washing, freezing… and, did I mention mowing?

Too Many Tomatoes

We also had a serious tent caterpillar invasion this past spring, and it's going to be much worse in 2015, they say, increasing our "chore load" dramatically.  Unfortunately, these critters spring from the alder trees that lurk like 75-foot tall pernicious green vampires all over our property.  We’ve been cutting them down (they’re great for firewood!) and digging out stumps all summer, but there are dozens more to get rid of before billions of eggs covering their trunks hatch next May and the thick carpet of ravenous caterpillars slithers down from the trees to devour our entire garden.

In short, without going into the thousands of other happy chores, big ones and small ones, that have to get done around here to keep this place civilized and to make it look like the paradise we visualize, we’ve gotta get organized and make a plan about how it’s all going to get done and when.  Otherwise, we’re just plain doomed.  It’s a slippery slope indeed.

When Bruce bought the property, the county (Department of Conservation) gave him a satellite shot of the whole 12 acres, divided into labeled sections.  It looks a bit different from today’s view from space because of the added and deleted buildings, but the basics are the same, and we’re going to use this as a guide to understanding and planning for the property workload for the year.

2009 - When Bruce bought the farm, so to speak.

Early in 2013, house under construction

To complicate matters, there’s not one specific section of land where the most important activity (bird watching) will take place, so we’ll have to organize our organization in such a way as to allow for non-location-specific chores like this.  This one job involves constant vigilance from all portals within the house, with bird books and binoculars ever handy, and with ears alert for bird songs and chirps outdoors.  Sometimes this work requires a glass of wine and an internet connection, to facilitate bird identification, of course. 

But Bruce has lamb chops on the griddle and my ability to concentrate on blogging is no longer possible, what with all that wine to facilitate, or whatever it was that I was doing...  I'll let you know when we get organized.  Do stay tuned.

Cheers!
Dee and Bruce

The Important Things

The Denizens of Bufflehead Pond

Such big ideas we had when we first set out to inhabit Bufflehead Pond Farm! The place had not been properly tended to for years, and the local ecology (mostly blackberries and stinging nettles) had pretty much taken over. Being human and with engineering and military backgrounds, both of us, we both had compelling urges to clean up, organize, remove deadfall and ugly trees, spray weed killer everywhere, hack, chop, and rototill...

The pond, now 'famous' for its winter Bufflehead Ducks and its summertime Mallards and Wood Ducks, was one of the biggest offenders.  If only we could clear out those tall reeds that threaten to choke the pond, and those nasty lily pads that seem to be spreading!  OUT with them!  Oh, and that huge weedy tree at the edge of the pond blocks our long view of the stables and beyond. Chop it down!

And so on.  You get the idea.  Clean, clear, organized, easy to manage.  That's the ideal, right? You be the judge.  What unfolds from here is the story about our new farm family and their relationships to each other and to all the things that grow in and around the pond. This sketch (above) shows a few of the more prominent members.  There are more. Future blog posts will add more detail. There's so much to tell.

First the Bufflehead Ducks. We love these little fellows for their happy diving ways, their sweet dispositions, and (let's face it) they are just too darned cute for words. We can keep an eye on the pond from every room in the house, and we keep the binoculars and the bird identification books handy at all times, just for this purpose.  For today, we introduce the two major players on the stage of Bufflehead Pond.

Mr Buffle

"Mr Buffle" is the main character for the winter.  He believes this is his pond, and although he's quite agreeable about sharing it with other Buffleheads and the occasional Mallard visitor, there was no question in any of their minds about who was boss.  To indicate his ownership, he positions himself in the exact center of the pond and grooms himself, a very ostentatious and commanding display. No one challenged him. Sadly, we never saw him with a female all winter, except for a small flock of Hooded Mergansers (cousins of Buffleheads), with whose females he flirted shamelessly, chasing them into the reeds for who knows what nefarious activities.

Observing all this from his perch in the reed patch close to shore is the Red Winged Blackbird, a dominant male who has been here the entire time we have... summer, fall, winter, and now spring... watching, waiting, keeping an eye on things.  Last fall, a large family (perhaps 25-30) of these birds gathered in the reeds each morning for a group pep talk and gossip session, meeting there again each evening to share their full reports. They nested in the big ugly weedy-looking tree that grows on the edge of the pond close to the reeds. There were times when the noise from the Blackbird Happy Hour each day was deafening... but always happy sounding. Last fall all of them disappeared on their winter migration, all except for the "Daddy Red Winged," who still hangs out in the reeds every day and keeps his eyes on all the activities in and around the pond.  Where Mr Buffle owned the water and the feeding grounds within, Mr Red Winged owned the space around and above the pond.

These are the two main characters at Bufflehead Pond Farm, the two bad boys who keep everything functioning smoothly and well balanced.  We think of Mr Buffle as the President, and Mr Red Winged as the CEO.  The other day there was a very interesting collection of ducks paddling about, not all in agreement about who gets to occupy and feed in which section of the pond.  And I swear I am not making this up: Mr Red Winged left his observation perch in the reeds and flew down, landed on a lily pad near the offending ducks to have a stern conversation with them on their level, and then returned to his reed perch, satisfied that the argument was resolved. We both saw this, amazed at this "CEO Bird" and realizing that it's not really Mr Buffle's pond after all. It totally belongs to Mr Red Winged. And to prove the point, when a young eagle came to hunt last week, this incredible little bird attacked it and chased it away.  Afterward, I did notice his chest seemed a bit more puffed out than usual.

The reeds and lily pads will have to stay, bottom line. And those pesky barn swallows that have taken over the stables? More on those amazing little guys next time... Do stay tuned!

Cheers - Dee

STUFFED INDELICATA SQUASH, or, “What to do with those leftover Thanksgiving decorations”

Down Home...

OK… so we have a little landscaping challenge right now. And when we decided to invite a few neighbors over last month, it was really embarrassing to think about, having visions of “Tobacco Road.” To solve this, however temporarily, I bought a whole bunch of pumpkins and assorted squashes from the overflowing bin at the grocery store, scattered some straw on the ground by the front steps, along with some corn stalks from Bruce’s “South 40” corn patch, and made the entry look a little less like “down home in the southern swamps” and more like an overflowing squash bin at the grocery store.

Millstones and milestones...

We're ba-aa-ack!

The good news is (milestone) that we got enough of our stuff stashed that we could actually let people come inside and hang out with us.  When we got a little bit settled, we had some friends, family and neighbors drop in for a drink and a bite and a short tour of the place. Bruce got to show off his kegerator and pot filler and we answered a lot of questions like "what's that going to be when it's finished?"  :D

Baby Steps...

It may not look like much, but to us, it was cause for a celebration.  This weekend for the first time ever, we were able to get my car into the garage.  Tight fit, but in is in!  

"Where's the Vaseline, Mabel?"

Purple Berry-Pickin' Fingers

Well, we've been sleeping in the house for four weeks now.  Seems like we just moved in last night, in some ways.  And in others, we've always been right here, worrying about the weeds, the landscaping, the fencing, the garden, the falling down garden shed, getting the hot tub installed, getting the garage boxes unpacked, OMG!  It will not stop!

The house looks pretty cool, actually, and we are enjoying living in it.  Bruce likes to pose his manly chef pose with his (now famous) pot filler.  

A Dog's Life...

At Bufflehead Pond, it is indeed a dog's life.  This doesn't even count the fact that the two of us have been working like dogs for the past eternity of days...

For a man who claims not to like my "pussy" dogs, Bruce is enjoying pulling out all his fence building toys to create a coyote-free zone for my Skids (my four-legged kids who can't get traction on the wood floors).

Green Acres, Part One