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I finished installing, caulking, and staining the exterior trim for the corners and where the three levels of siding are joined. This leaves finishing the sofits, the upstairs windows, and the overhanging eaves. I don’t expect to do the eaves this year. The kitchen area now has an overhead light and one outlet. The only [...]
I drove down on Friday and returned on Tuesday. I didn’t get stuck or drive off the driveway this trip. I did have to dodge the ruts, though. There had been a big rain on Monday with 1.5 inches of rain and big winds. The only rain this trip was a bit on Monday about [...]
I met with an ODNR biologist to consider the possibility of converting the portion of the pasture dominated by reed canary grass to a wetlands and the effect this might have on the Eastern Spadefoot toad habitat. Since a portion of the wetlands would be in the CRP Riparian project area, we would need to [...]
On this visit, I concentrated on removing multiflora rose and Autumn olive. This is in response to discussions with the USDA Forester who informed us that the invasives are damaging the native flora. This year’s heavier than normal rain has resulted in lush growth. The area around the cabin is still too wet to do [...]
On this visit, I checked all the planting areas. The 2010 Red Maple planting seem to be the most successful at this time. I did not see any deer damage, so maybe deer prefer something else. The 2009 planting at the north end of the pasture is sparse. I walked through the reed canary bottom [...]
On Wednesday morning, May 11, we met with Bill, the Forester, Mike, a ODNR wetlands specialist, and two teenage girls. The girls are interested in becoming foresters, so they were observing. The Tree Farm certificatation interview took up most of the afternoon and involved our describing all of the tasks we have done since we [...]
Probably the most important event on this trip was, on Wednesday, to meet with 30-40 people who are working to prevent the strip mining that is proposed for the property just north of our woodlands. All of these people live nearby. I was very impressed; they are thoughtful, educated and can effectively express their concerns. [...]
There was unusually warm weather this week and I took advantage to do some additional grapevine removal, cutting back the brush along the driveway and trail cleanup. I also checked the tree planting from last year. While I was doing these jobs, J&K Contracting finished sheathing the cabin roof, installing the skylights, and shingling. It [...]
While I don’t consider myself to be a bird watcher, I do enjoy encountering unexpected birds. Earlier this year, a pair of Canada geese discovered our new one acre pond. In early April, they laid a nest with four eggs. But, some creature, maybe raccoons or coyotes, destroyed this nest. So the geese produced another [...]
I arrived on Friday afternoon and promptly replaced the solar system batteries, charge controller and re-installed the 1500 watt inverter. After that, I connected the power to the new cabin. Chris joined me on Friday evening. On Saturday, my daughter and grandson arrived. We installed the four windows on the loft, installed the last of [...]