Here on Whisperwood Farm, critters are abundant. Deer are plentiful, leaving ticks everywhere you walk. So, farmhand Mark has sprayed insecticide all around the house, the gardens, and the fruit trees. That seemed to help tremendously, but if you get off of the paths that he's sprayed, you'll pick up some hitch hikers.
A mother fox and at least two kits live in the thicket by the larger garden plot. Mark saw a vulture the other day sitting on a fence post by the garden. Upon closer examination of what the bird was picking at, a tiny fawn leg was found. Obviously something the fox had caught. And a lot of bird feathers have been seen near the garden, too. Some of the feathers looked like they were from a vulture. Maybe the fox is baiting the larger birds with leftovers?
Groundhogs also reside on the Farm. We will have to do something about them, before they find the vegetables just recently sprouting through the crust of the garden soil.
To control the pests that will surely find the fruit trees, Mark put up three bluebird houses. Bluebirds have been seen, almost every morning, fluttering around the fruit trees, so we should have more permanent residents soon. I read that bluebirds will have 2 or 3 broods over the summer, and may even winter over in a bird house. I haven't seen any pests on the fruit trees yet, so the ones in the area must be doing a good job for us so far.
One birdhouse was put on the grape arbor.
T
o keep the deer out of the corn and beans, our farmhand constructed a scarecrow and planted it in the garden. It seems to be working very well. No deer, fox, groundhogs, or crows have been seen near the garden. And there have not been any fresh footprints in the soil either. The tinfoil hands wave madly in the wind, and the scowl face on the jarhead lets the critters know that they are unwelcome. He also makes a good target for Jame's bb gun.
To protect our potted garden, deer netting was placed on the ground around the plants. You may be able to see some of the yellow, dandelion-like weeds surrounding the pots. We read that the deer will not step on fence material. This has worked very well. As the grass and weeds beneath the netting grows taller, the netting rises up off the ground, making a more formidable barricade. We used 7 foot steel fence posts to hang the netting around the fruit trees. But even a few leaves were nibbled on, so we may have to put more on the ground. Or put up another scarecrow. To keep deer away, should we call it a scaredeer?
Welcome to Carolyn's retreat, affectionately known as "Whisperwood Farm." Well, it isn't really a farm, yet, but we do hope to have a large vegetable garden, fruit and nut trees, a grape arbor, figs, chickens and guinea hens, rabbits, honey bees, and maybe some ducks and goats. There's a lot of work to be done.
Farmhand Mark has been busy on the farm. He put together a dog house, insultated it, and it now houses the water supply wellhead. Still some shingles to put on it. Mark chlorinated the well a few weeks ago, and the county tested it and found it to be free of bacteria. But it does have a high iron content. We will probably need a water treatment system, eventually.
One of the first purchases was a lawn tractor, since we have nearly 4 acres of lawn to mow. Mostly weeds, but at least they are green. And the dandelion-like weeds have yellow flowers that open up in the morning and close when the sun gets a bit higher in the sky. Some daisies also add a little color to the yard.
Mark put up the posts for the grape arbor last weekend. Now we have to prepare the soil for the grape vines. He plans to put in an Early Fry, Fry, and Doreen. They are his favorite muscadines.
He has also planted two peach trees, a nectarine, a plum, two pear, and Fugi and Granny Smith apple trees. We have just harvested our first yellow squash, which were planted in 5 to 8 gallon potting containers with tomatoes, zucchini, bell pepper, Swiss chard, and cucumbers. These vegetables will be grown closer to the house, next year, in raised beds. The corn, beans, peas, okra, pumpkin, and watermelons are growing down in the larger plot on the front 1.
Our floor installer is about finished with putting the hardwood floor in the living room and hallway. He framed out the marble hearth, and it really looks good.
Mark has been pressure-washing the house, with the intent of changing the color. The original stain was brown and had faded such that all the knots in the wood siding had turned white. The house looked spotted. Still a lot of work to do after washing. Some of the boards will need replacing, and all the carpenter bee holes will need plugging.
The whole family, and then some, were out to the Farm on Memorial Day for a cookout. If you weren't here, then you missed some of the best grilled hot dogs, burgers, stuffed pablano peppers, chicken salad, steak, cole slaw, and I can't remember what else. There must have been several desserts. The kids played corn hole. Susan and Lloyd dug up monkey grass for transplanting and edged the walkway. They also helped plant corn and beans. Bob found an old shovel (I wonder if he knew it was buried in poison ivy?). Can't wait for the next holiday! And we probably won't, either!
