Vintage Home and Farm

We recently attended a wild bird workshop that discussed creating and certifying a property such as our yard as a wildlife habitat through the National Wildlife Federation. The intention of the wildlife habitat certification program is to encourage people to make adjustments to their yards to benefit not only wild birds but also many other creatures, such as frogs, toads, bees, and butterflies. The program also results in increased species biodiversity and the support of native plants.  We've seen all kinds of wildlife on our property, but some are not visible during the full spring-to-fall growing season, and when they are present, they are not in great numbers. So, we're looking forward to adding a few elements to our property to attract and keep more wildlife around. I'm especially interested in how we can make our yard, fields, and garden more attractive to frogs, toads, and gardener snakes. As you may recall, we had a mama gardener snake and her babies hanging around o...

This has been one of our most challenging years when it comes to caring for our ducks, bees, and the garden on our little farm. First, Barney, the beloved community barn cat, passed away, and since then, the critters he used to keep in check have taken over the garden and eaten everything in sight. Those critters are voles, a destructive rodent, and we have watched as they've eaten all of our corn and green bean plants before they even had a chance to bear fruit. They also knocked over multiple fava bean plants, snipped the pea plants at their base so the whole plant died, and ate the tops off the onions. I had no idea rodents ate onion greens, but they sure did! They ate the potato plants (the green part that appears above ground), so there I was a week ago, digging up the potatoes growing in the ground to see if any were left. It was hard to find them without a plant above ground to mark the way. Blessedly, we do have many nice potatoes to enjoy. Currently, they're wreaking h...

 During our walk today, we noticed the Osoberry trees (also known as Indian Plum) are budding, and those closer to the sea are actually in full bloom. Spring is not so far away. The daffodils have come up, although their flowers are not open yet. Crocuses are blooming, as is the heather. On the bluebells, the flower buds are forming down inside the plant and getting ready to rise up and bloom. Some of our irises have bloomed. The delicate crocus is the first flower to appear in the new year, braving frigid winter temperatures to bring us cheer. We planted heather for our honeybees so they would have something to forage in the winter and early spring. The plants are still quite small, though - it will be a few years more before the bees can gather much from them.   Our honeybees survived the 9-degree low we had in mid-January. I credit the extra ventilation we put into the hives. In the photo below, notice the round hole toward the top of the hive as well as the square opening ...

Here it is late December, and I just came back in from the garden with a small harvest. It's been rainy the past few days. Despite the drizzle, I threw on my raincoat and ventured outside to pick fresh greens and see what else I could find.  When I came back inside with the basket full of vegetables and herbs, everything was covered with mud. The beets and horseradish had clumps of dirt on them that got onto the rest. So, I washed it all really well and then soaked it in a bin of water with a few tablespoons of white vinegar to help clear away any impurities. One last rinse and a spin dry in the vegetable spinner, and there they are. My lovely garden veggies. What did I find? Kale, swiss chard, spinach, bok choy, beets, horseradish, and parsley. All except the beets and horseradish were plants that reseeded themselves over the summer. Actually, greens and herbs have been reseeding themselves for the past few years. I have literally not planted any seeds of these plants for a long t...

It seems like time flies by faster and faster. Our daughter graduated from both high school and community college in June. We are so proud of her! June was filled with graduation-related activities and celebrations to recognize her hard work.  Very soon after, we took a week-long family vacation in nearby Discover Bay. Since the resort was situated right on the bay, we brought our boat along and went crabbing. Our daughter even drove the boat for a while.  Below is the crab we caught in the first trap we pulled in. The crab were fairly large and most of the ones we caught we were able to keep. The bottom shelf of the freezer is now filled with fresh Red Rock and Dungeness crab. We like to live back the crab while still on the boat and then when we get home we clean it and freeze it raw (see my previous post about how to live back crabs ). Below are a couple photos from a night at the resort eating some of the crabs. Since we were dipping the crab in butter (vegan butter for me...

Paul put up a new fence around our garden over the winter. This one is much sturdier than the previous fence and will surely not tip over or allow any deer inside. We also built several raised beds for the garden and installed cattle panel arches over which peas, beans, and squash can grow during the summer. Lastly, we are putting landscape cloth on the pathways and wood mulch to keep the weeds down. The wood mulch will cover the entire garden to help retain moisture and build the soil. As you can see, we're only partway done with the mulch.  I've been recycling milk jugs to use as miniature greenhouses over young, tender garden plants. Green bean seedlings are growing under those jugs. Previously, earlier in the spring, the jugs helped my peas get established. The garden is about 5,000 square feet, making it hard to get a good photo of the whole thing. There is still much to do. Paul built two sets of gates, one at each end. The one below is mainly for if we need to get the tr...

Nine months ago, we offered to become foster parents for the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society. There weren't any foster opportunities then, but we stayed on their list in case they needed help. Then, in mid-July, we got the call. They had a momma cat and three kittens for us to foster. The momma was found in a barn when she was pregnant, and now that she had given birth, the kitties needed a foster family to take care of them. They would be with us for 8-10 weeks, and then the Humane Society takes it from there. It has been a great experience, of course, except I forgot how crazy kittens get when they are big enough to crawl out of their pen. They were only in their pen for about two weeks. Since then, it's been total wild chaos in The Corral, which is the room of the house that they are in. Luckily we have a big enough house that it's not too overwhelming. The kittens love to race like bandits around the room, climbing up the furniture, clawing, and chewing on everything. ...