Merry Christmas!

Like this little Black Hills Spruce, The Stranded Tree Farm has a vision to grow a little bit each year, to be bigger and brighter than the year before.

This has been another busy year off the farm which affects family (obvious), friends (our few faithful readers) and the farm itself. We've had a few disappointments on the farm, such as two plantings of sweetcorn that failed and the loss of several fruit trees. Some surprises along the way, like the late green bean crop that was shared with our neighbors.

We hope everyone's Christmas is happy as we look forward to another busy year. If we can get more accomplished, we will see less from our disappointed robin (and I saw this guy a lot this year):

In the tradition of sharing Christmas songs:



Merry Christmas from the Stranded Tree Farm!

Wednesday wildlife, our green friend

Found among the blackberries:

I enjoy the small things like these frogs and hope he fills up on those Japanese Beetles this year. The neighbors have been spraying to try to control those devastating pests and they decided to congregate on my corn instead.

Drought warning for August, 2017

With barely an inch of rain since June 1st, this is the result:

 

 

What likes the Grand Canyon, this is an example of what the hay ground looks like. This is the 5th summer out of the seven that we've had the acreage where rain has been way below average. This week will be spent on pump repairs. And weed cutter repairs. Oh, and work on the mower. You get the point. (It's been one of those summers.)

Legacy trees, pin oak and red maple

A good friend of ours retired earlier this summer and as a tribute to Bill and his wife, Kathy, we decided to plant a couple of trees in their honor. Bill picked a picked a pin oak and Kathy chose a red maple. Interesting choices in that we have a plentiful supply of seeds and acorns and typically transplant young sprouts each year although not close together.

That changed as I planted several pin oak seedlings in the row next to the hay ground in the same row as red maples that were planted a couple of years ago. Space was available after we lost several due to our ongoing battle with rabbits.

Here's a look:

Pin Oak

 Red Maple

I've known Bill and Kathy for over 35 years and our paths have come together and diverged at least a dozen times in that period. I know that they've supported us behind the scenes throughout the years. As an honor of them and our friendship, these two seedlings are a reminder of their legacy here in Iowa and I think of them each time I haul water, cut weeds and other work.

Just a small token of appreciation for a couple of people that made a difference in our lives.

Friday is buck day, June buck

This guy is in a hurry

June brings berries

Very low yield for our first year of strawberries. After almost three weeks of no rain and with a pump breakdown, we only got about 5 quarts. You can't expect much without moisture and starlings taking their toll.

Flavorful and low numbers, but still enjoyed.

Wednesday wildlife, a little protection this week

I kind of like this doe:

 

She's not taking crap from a rabbit:

Friday is buck day, young buck

Those antlers will grow in someday.

Wednesday wildlife, a little late for Mothers' Day

After several summers of seeing twins, we have just the one this year.

What's going on here?

Let's see...

As a couple of you know, a new chapter will be beginning next week on the employment front. That is, so long as I survive the first day of work in a new environment. I hope this will be the last place I receive a paycheck from until our our small enterprise takes off.

The planting of our cash crop this year is nearly complete in between a couple of strong storm systems and a frost last week. The tiller has proven itself as a good investment and I have plans for later this year (if time permits.)

The war on rabbits continues as I'm updating the fencing this spring. I watched one vault over the 2 foot chicken wire and through the electric fence in one leap. We'll see if my improvements are just a waste of time.

In an effort to make up for missed pictures, here is one of the best of the pheasants:

This hen-pecked rooster can't step out without being checked up on.

I don't have much time to be standing around:

Time to get back to work!

Friday is buck day, snowstorm chase

Wednesday wildlife, coyote country

These seem to be healthy enough:

Too bad they aren't keeping he rabbit population down.

Friday is buck day, bucks at night

Wednesday wildlife, feathered friends posing for the camera

Friday is buck day, Rumps!

Walking away from the camera and showing their best sides:

By the shed, a poor silhouette but a nice rack:

Wednesday wildlife, looking for a home

Immediate Occupancy: Small country bungalow with views of rolling hills overlooking the scenic English River valley. Perfect starter home for that young couple who are looking to begin their family. Recently built with a cedar roof and open floor plan, interior completely stripped just a few short months ago.

 
The frugal-minded will appreciate the attractive styling and three-dimensional construction. Southern exposure with young trees nearby is just the thing for a growing young family. No appointment necessary to view this lovely home that could be yours for just a song.

This bluebird pair worked in concert with one on the ground while the other perched on a young walnut tree. While I first spotted them a week ago, this past Saturday they were checking out the house. I'm hoping that this will be the year a young brood will emerge and we can enjoy them for years to come.

Box elder blues, young trees needing gone

I spent this past Saturday cutting several dead, dying and rotting trees. A dead elm that need to be removed for a couple of summers and 8 box elders that ranged from 8 to 15 inches in diameter. One proved troublesome and it leaned north but turned to the southeast. That came back on me over the fence.

The property has an overabundance of these box elders in the fence line, some of which I would much rather have the wind take down. Even though these were small, almost all had rotten centers and a couple were dead. One of these had rot up to 12 feet and only a few inches at the base was keeping in upright.

The second one I cut was about 7 inches wide and I discovered ants:

Another example of a smaller 5 inch tree:

I like the red blending through the wood grain, but it's rare to get a log of any size that is worth to cut.

I'm thankful for the chain brake for the saw and I pretty much have the habit of hitting the brake after a major cut or if I have to step around the brush. A missed step could have cost me a foot on Saturday.

About 5 hours of cutting, stacking and dragging brush around and I called it a day:

Not quite going off in the sunset, but back to the truck.

Friday is buck day, August antlers

From the files:

Wednesday wildlife, 4 AM coyote call

Our first pic of a coyote this year. The neighbors have had several hunts after reports of the predators attacking young lambs. They can have their fill of rabbits on our acreage and leave the livestock alone.

Get to work, taking down the deck, part two

After the initial work day tearing the deck from the middle of the pond, the January Thaw came to Iowa and it took me a couple of weeks before I felt safe to get back to work.

On February 4, I found this:

One of the poles was under the ice and I'm going to have to wait for the thaw before I can think about getting that one. Another was at an angle with only about 4 feet out of the water.

Discouraged but with a job to be done, I unloaded the tools and got to work. The first couple of hours went pretty well and I was able to get the two poles detached:

On the bottom right of the picture, you can see that I cracked the ice but the pole on the left broke through when it hit.

The temp reached to the upper 30's with fairly strong winds from the south. The deck was flapping in the wind and it started to get loose from the ice. I figured that I couldn't waste time taking pictures but I did check the depth of the ice:

I dragged the two posts to the south bank of the pond and took the chainsaw to the deck and cut the 2x6's to get the deck down so I can manage it better.

I used a drill to take out as many screws as I could to get the plywood off and then tried to take apart the joists. I dragged the plywood out of the pond and decided to use the chainsaw to the joists to speed up the process. The wind was cold against the skin even though it was fairly warm for an early February day. By the fifth hour of work, I could feel my joints ache a bit and I could tell I was out of shape from not working so much during the winter.

Then I stepped into the hole in the ice. I didn't fall all the way through but I stupidly stepped back into the hole I mentioned earlier. My left leg was wet to the knee but I still had work to finish.

Dragging the joists up the bank, I cleaned things up of what wasn't still frozen in the ice. I appreciated wearing the chainsaw chaps as they worked as a windbreak when I faced the wind. I could have used a broom but I didn't think that far ahead before loading up for the day.

About 90 minutes after dipping my leg into the water, I was loaded up and turned the heater on high. I headed home, satisfied that I was able to get most of the deck torn down and dragged out of the pond but thinking of the rest of the work needed to clean up.

Spring is here, red winged blackbirds

Last Monday I got out of my car at my paying job and heard the call from a light post. I was caught by a co-worker as I stared at the bird thinking that it's here about two weeks early. By Tuesday, dozens are seen along the fence rows during the drive to work.

Normally they arrive during the first week of March and they were freezing their tail feathers off on Friday with temps in the 20's. We're back in the 50's on Sunday, so maybe spring is here.

(This is a picture from a few years ago of a red winged blackbird at the acreage)

These birds are among my favorites because they are a welcoming sign that spring in nearly here and their song reminds me of summers at grandpa's farm.

Friday is buck day, two for the show

To make up for some of the Fridays that I've missed:

Get to work, taking down the deck, part one

The deck that the previous owner built had seen better days and it made sense to take it down. I tried bracing it a couple of winters back but gravity worked against me. I needed the pond frozen over so I could stand on the ice to work.

Having to spend several weekends installing water heaters instead of working on the pond, I finally had a chance on the weekend of January 14. I cut some of the bracing and one of the posts. I used spring cleats on my boots and I wore chaps using the chainsaw. I didn't feel like bleeding out on the ice.

The ice was thick enough as I got a good solid thump when the pole it. Rest assured that I used proper techniques to drop the pole and the straight cut was just to cut it close to the ice. I used an older chain in case I hit a spike in the pole that I couldn't see. 

I dragged the pole up the bank as far as I could and called it a good first day. The 15th gave me another chance to work and I took the lower decking off.

One side a time:

And cleaned up the debris:
 

I unscrewed the plywood sheets and then split the 2x6 decking in two. Before my knees gave out, I dragged everything up out of the pond for later.

It took me several days to recover but it turned out that I wasn't able to get back because of warm weather came once again to Iowa and the ice just wasn't safe enough for me to work for a couple of weekends until February 4th.

Part two will show why I was one day short.