Archive for April, 2007
April 16, 2007 – New Driveway Gravel
Last year I put off re-graveling the driveway. The lime rock usually only lasts a few years before breaking down into powder/fines. Now that the threat of snow is passed, 17 tons of gravel were deposited yesterday as you don’t want to lay gravel that may have a chance to be plowed or snowblown before getting packed down. The truck can drive and spread most of it, but can’t get under the trees.
I still had the blade on the tractor, so used that for some rough leveling and spreading the piles under the trees before making an impromputu drag out of a cattle panel and some cement blocks for more fine leveling. The driver assures me I got a deal today because they were not processing the regular rock at the quarry, but the hardest stuff for freeway construction in Des Moines, so I got gravel that is usually $15/ton for $10/ton.
April 15, 2007 – Wendell Berry/Barn Burning
Not many days you can see a barn burn down AND hear Wendell Berry speak! First, to the barn. A few months ago, I wrote about a century farm (one that is honored to be owned by the same family for over 100 years) that was let slide into disrepair and intentionally burned).
We were headed to church on Sunday morning and the smoke had just started pouring out of the barn. Mesmerized with the size of the fire, we pulled over on the side of the road to watch (I wasn’t willing to drive back home to get the camera, some moments have to stay that way). It was about three minutes from the time the barn was in full flame until it collapsed to the ground. Huge vortexes of flame shot out of the door to the hay loft. The barn wasn’t it good shape (see picture from last winter), but it is sad to see another barn go. It is way too common. Our skyline changes once again.
That night, about seven hours later, we were driving back to Ames to see Wendell Berry and something had re-ignited the ditch near the barn and the fire was heading south quickly – the fire trucks arrived as we were driving down the road to survey the fire and whether anything was in its path to stop it. Now we have a complex – our 2 now-famous fires (two different trips) where places we were just at/just arriving burned in Texas – and now, happening across the height of two different fires in the same place, the same day, hours apart.
In case you haven’t seen it, Sugar Creek Farm has a post and incredible photos of an old barn burning down.
In the evening we went to see Wendell Berry, an author, poet, social critic, and farmer whose work I have long admired. He appeared at Iowa State in the Great Hall. In an attempt to make the evening more intimate, it was set up like a talk show – with other speakers besides Wendell on stage to make conversation. Unfortunately, the sound system sounded and acted like it was purchased second-hand from a McDonald’s drive-thru, so I wasn’t really sure what all he said – there was an overflow crowd as well.
When they opened it up to questions from the audience, again, unfortunately, there were questions that didn’t elucidate elaboration, or worse yet, just plain ramblings by people using the microphone to introduce the audience to their web site and pet peeve. All in all, it was an unsatisfying event that held so much promise to be good. I’ll have to read his latest book to make up for it.
April 14, 2007 – Finally a Day!
Today, we finally had a day that wasn’t cold or snowy! We were able to get a few things done outside. GJ dressed up a crowd to do some bee work. She brought her stepson from CA and a friend visiting from Fiji.
Here is the crew and, of course, the youngest one gets to hold the fire!
Marty leads the procession down to the hive.
Smoking the hive to settle the bees before lifting off the lid.
Yeah! There’s still bees inside (that’s no longer something taken for granted).
More hive work. (I’m not sure what’s going on today!)
Linda got the first few things in the ground, although most of the garden is still to wet to work.
April 13, 2007 – New Committee Duties
I have a new committee committment. I have been asked to be a member of the Advisory Committee for the Value Chain Partnerships for Sustainable Agriculture currently facilitated by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
There are currently a number of groups funded by the project, including the pork niche working group, regional food system working group, flax working group and bioeconomy working group. As advisory board members, we will be asked to help evaluate the benefits/results of each group and help determine funding levels for each group going forward. It’ll be a great way to keep connected to what’s going on in this neck of the woods.
April 12, 2007 – Thingamajig Thursday #67
Here’s this week’s Thingamajig Thursday entry.
Also check out the last thingamajig answer.
Move mouse over this sentence to pop-up answer.Â
As always, put your guess in a comment below.
April 11, 2007 – Winter Storm Warning…in April?
Today the weatherman issued a winter storm warning for 5-7 inches of snow and strong winds. It didn’t end up to be so bad – even though it snowed nearly all day long, most of it melted as it fell. The roads were slick in the morning – saw 6 cars in the ditch.
Mostly, we’re pretending it’s not really happening!
April 10, 2007 – Claire and Emma Visit Wind Farm
Today Emma and I (Claire) went with the 4-H Jr. Conservationists to visit a wind farm in Blairsburg, Iowa.
The farm has over one hundred wind turbines located on farmland in the area. I went representing the high school Envirothon team, along with 2 other members of the team. We learned a great deal of information to help us with our presentation for the state competition.
Here’s a picture of me and the other two envirthon members that went on the field trip.
 
The wind turbines were much larger than they appeared. The base was the size of a small room and had a ladder leading to the top. This picture is one of 2 platfroms inside the turbine for workers to rest on. It’s about 85 feet above us to the first platform.
This is my friend (let’s call her “Polly”) posing against the turbine. On the trip we also visited the Calkins Nature Center.
April 9, 2007 – Equipment Day/Fresh Air
This afternoon, although it wasn’t warm, it was sunny and calm. I needed to replace a couple of battteries on lawn mowers, change oil, and other things.
Swapping the mower deck for the tiller is always a pain – here we are almost complete.
This evening Linda and I had a bit of a treat – we went to Ames to a lecture by Terry Gross, host of NPR’s Fresh Air radio/interview show. First, it was strange to see the woman behind the voice – the mental models never quite match up with the real thing. It was an interesting evening – she shared interviews that went well and those that didn’t. We heard about some of the background on her interviews with Bill O’Reilly, Monica Lewinski, Lynn Cheney, Gene Simmons (Rock band KISS) and many others.
April 8, 2007 – Easter Day
One of the things that Nana brings to us, is the lamb cake tradition. She’s got a cake mold in the shape of a lamb and the kids put the frosting and decorations on it.
Applying the frosting.
The complete lamb cake.
April 7, 2007 – Getting Ready for Easter
Today, the kids started getting ready for Easter.
Who doesn’t have fond memories of dying Easter eggs as a kid or with their kids? The amazing transformation from white to brightly colored eggs is magic.
Egg dying is always a bit of a quandary at our house as all of our chickens lay brown or green eggs. We have to buy white store eggs to dye. It’s hard to put that package of sterile commodity white egggs into the cart.
April 6, 2007 – Cold!
It’s not getting warmer.
It’s getting hard to get on with spring. A day of town errands.
April 5, 2007 – Thingamajig Thursday #66
Here’s this week’s Thingamajig Thursday entry.
Also check out the last thingamajig answer.
Move mouse over this sentence to pop-up answer.
As always, put your guess in a comment below.
April 4, 2007 – What Happened to Spring?
Cold.
Cloudy.
20-40 mph winds.
It didn’t even reach 32 degrees today. This after a couple of weeks of mid 50′s to mid 70′s. Corn stove is back on 24×7. Fruit trees were on verge of budding out – hope the lows in the teens only puts them into hibernation.
April 3, 2007 – Willow Varieties
Yesterday I planted seven different willow varieties. Let’s fast forward to what the willows will look like in the future. We’re thinking these will be a great addition to the farm as they fulfill the “rule of three.” We like each element of the farm to have at least three uses. The willows can be used as goat browse, woody ornamentals, and basket/furniture materials, all while growing in a moist spot of the pasture. We purchased all these willows from Bluestem Nursery – the folks have a wonderful web site. All the following photographs and descriptions are from the Bluestem Nursery site.
Salix udensis ‘Sekka’
Common name: Japanese Fantail willow, Dragon willow
Description: Large shrub; 10 m (35′); dark maroon-black new growth; very bright fall colours; highly ornamental.
Salix gracilistyla ‘Melanostachys’
Common name: Black pussy willow
Description: Large large shrub; 7 m (23′); rounded form; slow growing; showy black catkins appearing in spring; highly ornamental. Black pussy willow will often bloom (display its catkins) before the snow melts. No other willow compares to the display of orange anthers against the jet-black catkins. Slow-growing and easily controlled by selective pruning, ‘Melanostachys’ is suitable for smaller areas.
Salix triandra ‘Black Maul’
Common name: Japanese Almond leaved willow
Description: Large shrub; 10 m (35′); dark maroon-black new growth; very bright fall colours; highly ornamental. Probably the most widely used willow for baskets with varieties growing throughout Europe, Britain, the Middle East and into central Asia.
Salix koriyanagi ‘Rubykins’
Description: medium, many branched shrub; 4 m (13′) in height; reddish-green annual growth; young leaves pale pink, turning to dark green and grey beneath; sways nicely in a breeze. Used extensively in Japan for fine basketry. Naturally grows long, very flexible rods. Basketmakers will want to coppice annually in late winter. Native to Korea, but very hardy in our cold climate.
Salix babylonica var. pekinensis
Common name: Curly or Corkscrew willow, Peking willow
Description: Small tree; 6-9 m (20-30′); contorted reddish-gold new growth; outstanding ornamental throughout the year. There are many varieties of the larger Peking willow. However, this is a smaller clone preferred by the Japanese for flower arrangements, where it is used both fresh and dried. In colder climates, it is not as prone to die back, thus preserving the twisted golden branches. Highly ornamental and non-invasive, Tortuosa can be used in smaller areas. Nonetheless, one would wise to keep it well away from septic fields, which is the case with any tree. S. babylonica var. pekinensis will grow to a height of 15 – 20′ in just 3 to 4 seasons, then slow down and fill out, eventually reaching around 30′ after 8 to 10 years. There are two ways to grow this plant – pruned or left to grow to its natural form.
Salix viminalis ‘Superba’
Common name: Common Osier
Description: Tall shrub; 3-9 m (10-30′); yellow to olive-green branchlets; conspicuous yellow blooms, often before the snow melts. For basketry, plant in fertile soil, space .5 m apart and space rows 1.5m. Keep well watered and weed free for three years. Prune annually to encourage long straight rods that quality baskets require. There are two ways to grow this plant – pruned or left to grow to its natural form.
Salix caprea ‘Select’
Common name: Goat Willow, French Pussy Willow, Great Sallow
Description: Large shrub or small tree; 6-9 m (20-30′); reddish-brown new growth; leaves broadly elliptic or obovate, grey-green. This is one of the larger willows not associated with water. The natural habitat is the woodland edge and in the lowlands. In early spring, goat willow or great sallow produces an abundance of nectar and pollen on the many fat catkins (see them developing at the leaf junctions in the picture). Bees are greatly attracted to these catkins. This is one of the famous pussy willows of the floral trade.
All descriptions and photos from Bluestem Nursery where this is only the tip of the iceberg in willow varieties for sale.
