Poultry fence and generally epic updates...

This is going to be a pretty long post -- you've been warned.  I'll try to keep it easy to get through with lots of pictures and not too much text.  Basically, there are a ton of things that I've wanted to post about for a while but haven't managed to do it.  So -- I'm putting them all in one post....whoa.

First things first -- the poultry yard fencing.  After the chicktagon went up, putting up a permanent fence was the next thing on the agenda.  After we lost our chickens, we knew we really needed to do this ASAP to avoid a repeat fox performance.  We managed to find some cedar fence posts on Craigslist (literally the tops of cedar trees from a shingle company), and we were hoping to borrow a neighbor's post-hole digger attachment for the tractor.  It turns out our 3-point hitches aren't compatible, so we were on the hunt for a post-hole digger and a trench digger.  There is not a single place in the midcoast region that rents a post-hole digger tractor implement, so we're stuck renting something else.  After exploring many options, we ended up with a post hole digger and trench digger that attach to a small Bobcat.  We need the posts to go down at least 2 (preferably 3) feet, and we wanted to bury the fence at least a foot to prevent animals from digging under the fence to get at our ladies and gents.  So...here goes....

The before -- chicktagon on the right, fenced in pond on the left in the back.

Anna drives the trench digger over to the  fence site.  She's badass.

Trench digging like a pro -- this thing made our lives MUCH easier.  We would still be digging trenches if we were doing it by hand.  It couldn't handle all the rocks, but it did manage to move a sizable number of sizable rocks. :)

On to post-hole digging.  We decided with the first hole that it was best to dig the hole, then put in the pole.  We're working in a really wet area, and we didn't want the holes to fill up with water before we had a chance to put in the posts.  We are filling in around the posts with a mixture of lime and gravel.  We read that this mixture is better than concrete in wet areas because concrete actually absorbs the moisture and holds it next to the post, which speeds the rotting process.  We don't want that -- mostly because we don't want to do this again....ever.....or at least for a long time.

You knew it was coming.  He just makes it so easy. Clearly, he's not afraid of the Bobcat.

Making sure the posts are at least close to level.

End of day 1 -- trench dug, 24 posts in, 1200 lbs of gravel put down -- total exhaustion. We most definitely deserved that gluten free beer in the outdoor shower. :)

Day 2 -- 200 ft of 6-ft welded wire, another 1200 lbs of gravel, 400 ft of rough hewn cedar boards, and a race against the tropical storm. Rain in the forecast for the afternoon -- we couldn't pick up the fencing until 10:30 -- bring it.

End of day 2 -- all the fencing is up, we even made a separate section for Inga (Russian tortoise).  This section will also be the adolescent/sick chicken/duck area. This day was even more epic than the first -- it rained on us a bit, but not too much.  At the end of the day when we were filling in the trenches, I almost kicked Anna's butt when she told me she was having fun filling in the trenches because we were "rolling around in the mud." I was so tired, I was at the point of crying, and I hate hate hate shoveling (maybe why I like no-dig permaculture?).  There was nothing fun about it.

So the gate location was on uneven ground -- answer -- purposely make a crooked gate.  I'd say my woodworking skills are improving.  This gate required both mitering and beveling.  I kind of love it.  We buried a chunk of cedar post under the gate so it won't wear down over time creating a gap under the gate.  

YAY!  Olive is also happy that the heavy machinery fence building is done....except that the chicken yard was one of her favorite playing spots.  I'm sure she'll find a new one. :)

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Moving right along -- one thing we've learned is that farming/planting can be a serious lesson in patience.  Good thing we both already have a yoga practice, or we may be even more impatient than we already are.  We have been doing a ton of planting in the past few months, and I'd like to call this section, "Things we've planted that might, just might, give us something in the next 3-15 years"....yes, 15 years. There are also some things we've planted that won't take that long, but still...

This is American Persimmon - it's native to the US, but few people grow it.  When the fruit is ripe, it is delicious, but if you pick it too soon, it is tarty tart tart!  We have 4 of these, and maybe we'll get to taste some in 5+ years.

This is a Pawpaw - also native to the US, as far north as us!  It is more common in the midwest and mid-Atlantic regions.  If you live there, be on the lookout!  This gem is also known as the Custard Apple -- it tastes like a combination of banana, mango, tropical goodness.  It doesn't like to be transplanted, hence the leaves look like crap, but notice the new leaves at the top! YEAH!  This baby (and it's 3 siblings) will hopefully give us fruit in 10+ years.

This is the Pawpaw flower. It is staaaaanky and pollinated by flies. Photo credit: www.carolinanature.com

This is the fruit -- it is the largest North American fruit.  It probably hasn't been very popular because it has a very short shelf life.  It makes a great smoothie base! :) Photo credit: www.examiner.com

Here's what it looks like inside.  The seeds are not edible, actually poisonous, but look at the custardy goodness! Photo credit: www.tcpermaculture.blogspot.com

This is our row of cylons...there are many copies.  We grafted a bunch of apple scion wood (hence cylons) onto some root stock. The scion wood is the new growth that gets pruned off in the spring.  We took a grafting workshop and came home with 10 grafts -- it looks like they're all making it, but only time will tell.  These may give us fruit in the next 4-5 years. They are mostly rare varieties found in Maine.

Olive in the cylon patch.  She's very brave.

This is a pear tree.  We got it from Fedco at the tree sale.  I'm optimistic it will give us fruit in 3 years (a short wait!).

The strawberry patch -- which needs to be weeded, but that's another story.  We got the roots from the Fedco tree sale.  These would give us fruit this year, but since they're perennial, we're pinching off the flowers in order to encourage the plants to get better established root systems.  It is tragic to pinch off the flowers, but it led me to smell the strawberry flower.  If you've never done it before, you simply must.  It smells like yummy sweet strawberry goodness. Our plan is for the strawberry patch to expand a bit each year until it takes over this entire hill. We can eat strawberries next year.

Asparagus!  We planted about 75 plants, and we were looking forward to our lush asparagus forest.  It isn't so lush right now.  Tragically, we recently learned that most varieties aren't self seeding.  So, it won't expand into the thick forest we were hoping for.  Either we'll keep planting, or we'll look for a variety that spreads.  We can't eat these puppies for another 2 years.  It is torturous.

This is Hablitzia -- it's a perennial spinach vine.  We've planted under the deck, and it's going to crawl up the outdoor shower. The dogs kept trampling it, but now it's better...sort of.  You can see the squished cage.

This is a perennial arugula.  We just transplanted it a couple days ago, and the roots weren't the best.  Hopefully it will pull through. We've started a perennial vegetable bed in our terraced garden figuring that it gets warm first so we'll get lots of delicious greens early in the spring.

These are Egyptian walking onions -- a perennial onion.  The bulbs at the top get so heavy that they flop over onto the ground.  That roots, and the plants 'walk' around the garden.  

This is Water Celery -- ducks love it, and we can eat it too.  It can be quite aggressive in wet areas, so we're keeping it contained in a pot -- which will have to get much larger.  It is right next to the outdoor shower, so it gets watered every time we shower. :)

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Moving on....I told you this would be epic.  Now, just some things we've noticed around the farm.

This is the view of our field right now -- the lupines and other wildflowers are busting!  We love it...but not as much as some other ladies living here....

When we stepped outside this morning, we couldn't help but notice a humming in the field.  We were wondering if it was just the sound of the bees on all the flowers.  It appears it was.  They're working so hard, and it is pretty awe inspiring to watch them coming and going from the hive.

Here they are in action -- you can see some of their very loaded down legs.  I'm not sure how they can manage to fly with all that pollen!

Don't know who this guy is, but it was really pretty.

This is a spittle bug removed from the spittle (seen top left).  I have never seen one before, so I checked it out while we were watching the bees.

Lots of low-bush blueberries around our hives and in the field.  Can't wait for these babies to turn blue!

Given we have to pinch off all the flowers on our planted strawberries, it is really nice to find a bunch of these wild strawberries in the field. YUM!

Our flowers are loaded with Giant Swallowtails.  They're so beautiful.

And, just to prove it isn't all sunshine, butterflies, and rainbows over here....

We cut and stacked some wood....and it fell over. :(

Our omnipresent trash pile.  We still have to insulate the coop ceiling, but we need the insulation to dry out before we can do that.  I know, we could move it inside, but that's too easy.  So, we have a trash pile....classy.

I took a break from writing this (and other things -- I'm multitasking) to refill my....water, yes, it's water.  This is what I found outside.

Farm manager -- relaxing under a bench.

Olive -- hot, happy, tired, and dirty.

Last but certainly not least -- my wife...planting veggies topless.  Like I said, we keep it classy. :)

 OK -- I think that's it for now. Thanks for sticking with it.  Look forward to an upcoming post about...slugs. :)