Farewell to a friend

A close friend left us this past Monday. The Mrs' faithful companion of the last 12 years has moved on after a tough decision.

Director of Early Warning Services, Buck, at his favorite place: the Mrs' side.

I spent some time over the past couple of days going through some of the trail cameras to find pictures with him. Nearly every one of Buck, he is at her side. There is one where he is at my side, but I had a sandwich in my hand.

It was a rough couple of weeks with a sudden onset of canine diabetes. We didn't see any warning and this is sometimes so. His kidneys were working overtime and we couldn't leave him alone for very long. He had a tough weekend but still had some minutes when he seemed like his old self. That hope was traded for reality when steps became obviously difficult for him.

It was time to let go.

I was able to save him from this decision twice before but not this time and I feel like I failed him. (I know that it makes no sense to think so, but I do.) I think he would have liked another "run" on the acreage this weekend but the heat would have been too much for him. The time wasn't right. It never is.

Buckeye was the best of his litter with the intelligence of the border collie and the love of water from his spaniel side. He had more friends in town than I do. He stood his ground more than once between the Mrs and what he saw as a threat. Raising his hackles while wagging his tail really wasn't the best response, though. He was a rogue, a charmer and a thief of treats from the neighbor's house during visits.  A kind, gentle and friendly soul and a good companion. He was a good dog.

A damn good dog.

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."
.................................... Anonymous

I hope I can be held worthy of you, old friend.

Wednesday wildlife, looking forward to this buck

This buck was feeding off the low hanging branches of a mulberry tree. With late berries still ripening, a sweet snack was available for his reach.

Get to work, despite a bad weekend

This was a rough weekend to get much accomplished at the acreage, but anther 5 gallons of beans means another canner on the fire.

Another 4 chestnut seedlings were planted but we lost one that was dug up by some critter. That brings 22 chestnut seedlings in the ground this year. A shower on Monday gave us about a tenth of an inch as we look for some more rain on Tuesday.

Sweetcorn looks to be about 2-3 weeks before we can pick and the electric fence is doing its job keeping deer away. No sign of coons yet but they tend to wait until corn is ripe and then have a feast. With a lower wire should keep them out (maybe).

With a decent rain on Saturday and early morning Sunday, most of the weeds got a break from my blade. I'm looking forward to a few dry days and maybe an extra day to work this week, but my mower hasn't gotten enough hours this year.

I'm ready for a Stihl commercial

If it would get me a new trimmer or chain saw, then I'm ready!

I've gone through many gallons of gas through this Stihl FS130 trimmer. It hasn't failed me yet going into our third summer.

While trimming close to one of the trail cameras, this is another one of my mug shots. I'm not making an effort to get these shots but I'm not making an effort to turn off the cameras either.

Along with cutting weeds, I planted another 18 chestnuts in a small section on the east fence last Sunday in time for the rain on Monday.

It's harvest time, so Get to Work!

Over 5 gallons of green beans on one 70 foot row:

This is our go-to variety of Blue Lake green beans. I had to hurry, because on the horizon was this line of thunderstorms rumbling to the south.

 

Instead of watching clouds roll by, I should get back to work!

Wednesday wildlife, catbirds

I'm seeing more and more of the these insect feeders over the past several weeks and I don't recall seeing them prior to this year. Catbirds feed off of insects although it's reported that they will eat into our fruit production.

They can eat all the bugs they want and I hope they get fat. But they can stay away from the ripening blackberries:

These plants of the Triple Crown variety are just starting to turn but yields this year isn't high enough for our liking.

We've entered the 20th Century

I wrote that correctly, the 20th Century.

Electricity has come to the Stranded Tree Farm!

(Yes, it's a solar charger but we aren't ready for the electric line from the local REC just yet.)

We put up 4 wires to discourage deer, rabbits and raccoons from getting to our sweet corn and berry operation. I was a bit late getting the fence up and deer had begun to nip the tops off of the corn and some of the blackberry vines. I don't think our yields will be high for the sweetcorn that was planted late but the beans look very good so far and I'm encouraged by the number of blooms. I look for our first green beans this coming weekend and they will taste good picked right from the plant.

There are plenty of other food sources for the wildlife besides what we are trying to grow for ourselves. And they are welcome to it.

Wednesday wildlife, winged visitors

I'm fairly sure it is a Meadow Fritillary (above) feeding from the dandelion while this Red Admiral (below) decided to take a break feeding off my sweat after a hot day cutting weeds:

I don't mind the visitors that frequent the farm so long as they follow the rules: leave me and mine alone, don't damage what's on the farm and don't eat what we're trying to grow.

Instead of walking around...

Get back to work!

 

An overabundance of weeds need attention. With timely rains (as in it's been raining most weekends) I haven't been able to keep the sawgrass and wild parsnip under control. This past weekend gave us time to try to catch up.

At the end of the day, it was nice to sit in the shade of the young cottonwoods. The weekend's coming and more needs to be done.

Wednesday wildlife, when birds attack

What looks like a Hitchcock movie but these blackbirds were content to sit atop the shed roof.

More than likely these are grackles that like to make a lot of noise.

But this finch wasn't camera shy:

Bloomin' Tuesday, blackberries

Dozens of them! :

This variety is a Triple Crown that we picked up from Lowe's a couple of years ago and produced fairly well for us last year. The plant has produced well this year while the others are a bit behind.

A thornless plant that has exceeded our expectations for size and flavor and I look forward to a handful after a day of cutting weeds come August through the first frost.

Wednesday wildlife, another fawn visit

I don't know if this is the same fawn as I recorded last week but this one is another good pic: