although “art” is a big word for this, I’m still pretty happy about it for a first attempt :).
If it’s not keets, it’s chickens
We ordered 12 more Rhode Island Reds, they will be our 3rd “batch”. They are indeed a good breed in the cold. They arrived with their beaks trimmed which is 100% barbaric and we will never order chickens from this place again. The old timer farmer we had gotten them from thus far stopped doing it so we had to look for alternatives. It didn’t even occur to us that this could happen, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised when stepping out of a personal interaction with a local farmer, and into one with an out of state large scale breeder. This shall serve as a great reminder to not ever do that for chickens and anything regarding food or animals. Fuck these guys.
Yoink
“I’m gonna have me some of these”
-1 racoon
After the keets were taken out by a racoon, we bought a trap. We left store bought corn in there for weeks, but the racoon has standards and prefers local organic stuff. So instead it destroyed some of our corn plants not 10 feet away from the trap. As with the keets, leaving 80% the food untouched. Their modus operandi: destroying everything and taking a couple of bites is extremely enraging.
The day I found our half eaten corn cobs on the ground, I decided it was time for the big guns. I opened a can of super fancy French canned fish we reserve for special occasions.
I reluctantly shared a tiny bit of it with the trap, and special occasioned the rest myself.
It had been many nights of failure, but this stuff is potent, and so the very same night, the racoon was trapped. Proving once again that French food is to die for.
Notice how it pulled inside 30′ of the string I had attached to the trap’s handle and proceeded to gnaw and pee on it. It’s only fair that it would spend all night being a jerk under the circumstances.
I had setup the trail cam next to the trap,
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and now I know there’s 2… So far though, second one seems to have wisened up to what the trap means, or maybe the stench of pee and fear hormones isn’t an enticing accompaniment to a fancy diner.
Counter Measures
The fauna has taken a huge bite out of our work this year. A woodchuck ate the garden, crows ravaged the blueberry plants, deer went after young fruit trees & currants, finally a racoon simply killed all the keets and didn’t even eat them. One animal after another has gone after our work and voided much of it, this is the first year this happens to such a scale and it is making us feel besieged.
It’s interesting just how much brutal competition there is in nature. I used to think of nature as an idealized garden of Eden, but it’s closer to a ruthless competition which often ends in death. I despise man’s expansionist dominance over nature, yet living closer to nature means participating in the competition. Hawks circles over our baby, ticks & mosquitoes suck our blood, raccoons take out our flocks, deer reap the fruits of our sweat. I’m fine with letting nature get its share but nature is perfectly fine taking it all. I don’t enjoy exerting human dominance but I can’t let that go, it’s time to be more aggressive.
Intel gathering
The little fuckers parade around the chicken coop like they own the place
Unfortunately not at a set time at which I could throw them a little welcome party
A trap does stay up all night, notice to pull string in case the skunk gets in there
Well at least I caught something with the box the trap came in
Super scary scarecrow
The trees are now in prison until they have more mass
Keets
The chickens were “gifted back to nature” last Winter. No egg production and a new baby in the house brought this shortcut we didn’t like taking.
I’ve updated the list of traditions and cultural artifacts I understood since moving to Vermont for the occasion. It made me understand how so many religions have the concept of sacrificing animals to deities, and the idea of offerings to gods in general. I heard the coyotes come from the next hill over the same night and rejoice at the bounty. I never had issues with coyotes, coincidence? I think not. Everything happening at night feels supernatural. It’s not the first time we take animals deep into the forest to be cleaned up, and this was likely a frequent occurrence in the lives of humans when religions popped up.
We’re populating the coop this time with Guinea Hens. Apparently they’re like guard dogs, but they also eat ticks, and snakes, and they require little feeding.
Haying Fever
I’m getting good at changing implements
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A nightmare if you’re allergic to pollen
Stuck in the mud once more… The truck will pull it out.
Take 2, with board to help not sink in. We need more culverts.
Off we go! later suckers, me & my tractor have got some fields to mow.
Chestnut leaves
All 3 chestnut saplings are looking great with fresh new leaves.
Garlic Baby
Farmer baby is satisfied with the garlic inspection.
Black gold
From one Vermont hill
To our Vermont hill
Featuring: some guy with a giant ass tractor
Compost is gold, we haven’t been so good at making our own and the raspberries haven’t grown so well. This year we’re trying to pamper them more by weeding them more aggressively and making sure they’ve got more than enough nutrients in the soil.
Room flooring
This is a bedroom a kid will grow up and become a teenager in, I laid tongue and groove pine because I could use the hardest of woods, there will be holes through it. I figured it’ll be easier to be ok with the damage if it’s not super expensive wood. The result looks great but it will wear faster. I love the angles in that room, Robin has not been in it for weeks, we’re keeping it a surprise and will have a ribbon cutting ceremony in a couple of days.
The old crowbar helping straighten up recalcitrant boards
Working in tight spaces
Construction baby managing the crew
A first in 3 years
A nicely finished room, no visible insulation, studs or vapor barrier. It is incredibly satisfying to work on finishing a room. Since we now have enough space in the house, all the others will follow. We are done making temporary arrangements.
A guide for the circular is incredibly useful for making rip cuts.
How trims are born
Finer work is super satisfying
I opened the windows and discovered the view a few weeks ago, giving them a nice frame makes it all the more enjoyable.
Maple seedling
Something is making this year an excellent one for maples to come out of the ground. Maple seedlings are everywhere.
Marking rocks to save mower blades
I’ll pop them out when the backhoe is attached. I took a lots of rocks out and these are the last ones :).