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Post by reed on Dec 4, 2017 5:37:11 GMT -5
We have a good bunch of large owls like great horned and barred. Not many little screech owls any more or at least not around my house. Haven't seen a barn owl in a long time.
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Post by walt on Dec 4, 2017 13:09:29 GMT -5
I don't know how long its been since I lst saw a barn owl or screech owl. Used to be a few around. But great horned owls are still common. They are the only thing that regularly catches and eats skunks. Not that skunks are much of a problem here. they might get a chicken or raid a beehive now and then. But I have done without chickens for some years now, and no one has beehives going any more in this area.
Its sad to see batches of empty beehives sitting in peoples yards. They died and the owners gathered them in, maybe thinking he'd re-stock them sometime, but I doubt it'll happen. I wrote he. I've known plenty of women who kept bees. My oldest sister, an RN who was a surgical nurse, kept several hives.
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Post by farmermike on Dec 5, 2017 1:16:24 GMT -5
I hear a barn owl shriek almost every night in my suburban neighborhood. We still have a burgeoning rat population, though I suppose it would be worse without the owls.
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Post by steev on Dec 5, 2017 11:54:11 GMT -5
Rats are flourishing here, too; I'm appointed to meet a client today about rat control; one problem is that people have ivy beds in which the rats shelter; nothing can get them in there except snakes, which people will kill on sight.
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Post by steev on Dec 6, 2017 21:45:17 GMT -5
Went to see about the stone pines; gone!; I suspect someone wants them for re-foresting in the burned areas; SoCal is now burning.
Not that bad for me (only insofar as these trees are concerned), since it looks like drought may be developing, and I would have needed to up-pot them and cozened them for a year (not more, one hopes), but it would have been a PITA; I'll check other outlets of this discount chain, going to the farm.
The economy is going to hell, judging from the competition on the freeconomics level. I sure like it better when other folks are doing well enough not to be scrambling.
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Post by steev on Dec 10, 2017 23:05:55 GMT -5
The bison herd is ~200, at least double ever before; I've no idea why; the lone rhea is still around, poor critter.
Pruned some; mowed two lanes, preparatory to tilling, if it ever rains; checked the stock-pond; it's shrinking; the meager snow on the coast peaks is gone, but it dropped to 32F last night; I was working in a T-shirt and sweating today. This isn't my idea of December.
The last, cloched peas are sprouting; the earlier, uncloched field peas have been stolen; 90' showing nothing but pits; I've seen this before; I suspect ground squirrels; I'm mulling ways to prevent this, less fiddley than cloching.
There's not been enough rain to sprout the barley I planted; out in the Central Valley, they're running irrigation rigs to sprout their oats; there are many more acres of trees/grapes going in; I suppose they contracted for the plants before it looked like another drought year, so it'll be another "pump it out" year, to keep from financial loss; keep the quarterly report looking good; who gives a shit about the ecosystem; if you make enough money, you can move to Dubai, a totally artificial environment, where you can ski in July.
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Post by steev on Dec 12, 2017 1:16:55 GMT -5
Looks like we've hit the NorHem posting-drought; oh, well; I have a potential new worker due tomorrow; we'll see how it goes; I really want somebody to train and to learn my clientele and buy my business, so I can bail at the end of 2019, without abandoning my clients, some of whom I've had for 35+ years.
I think I've figured out how I can get buried on the farm; now I just have to enlist my brother in my scheme; bwaa-ha-haa! Hell, no, I'm not gonna tell you all the details; maybe I'll write an account that can be opened only after all the involved are gone. Got an agreement with a lawyer to work on putting the farm in a family trust, last week of December, when I'll be on "vacation", which is working on the farm for free. I don't expect any of this push to come to shove in less than another twenty years, but one never knows, does one?
The farm's dryness gives me pause; should I till and plant in anticipation of rain, or will that be wasted effort/seed? This farmer thing is very dicey; even if rain comes enough to sprout the seed, will there be enough in the well for irrigation? I'm so glad my living doesn't depend on farm income.
Nevertheless, I'm so proud that the most devastating wildfire in SoCal, fifth largest in Cali history, so far, has my name on it: "Thomas".
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Post by philagardener on Dec 12, 2017 6:21:34 GMT -5
Hell, no, I'm not gonna tell you all the details; maybe I'll write an account that can be opened only after all the involved are gone. No need for us to know the hole story . . . |
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Post by steev on Dec 12, 2017 12:20:44 GMT -5
Deep, that.
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Post by steev on Dec 13, 2017 20:48:03 GMT -5
Started a new helper today; he seems very compatible, willing to learn, interested in potentially buying the business (given two years to learn my clients' particular needs and the range of services I can offer; well beyond mow, blow, and go). Not gonna make any precipitous moves, though, having been here before.
Re the farm, I think I'll continue clearing and tilling, just in case rain comes decently; if not, I'll mulch things deeply with bunny-bedding to discourage weeds, drying, and compaction, and look to better times; the areas weed-covered are not yet too dry.
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Post by steev on Dec 14, 2017 23:51:32 GMT -5
Scored a bag of mark-down "red-onion-scallions" (half-inch diameter) at my produce store; I'll plant them this weekend; they'll be fine for the head-start.
I've scored 6 stone pines that I need to up-pot; this doesn't look like a year to plant them out; damn, damn, damn. I really liked it better when we had regular rainy seasons; things will be different, when I'm in charge.
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Post by steev on Dec 19, 2017 0:07:40 GMT -5
That new helper seems to have a real problem with "don't leave tools where anyone could trip: not children; not blind folks; not the aged; not even those with their heads up their phones"; I pointed out today that he's gambling with my livelihood and property in my old age and that if his dipshittery sentences me to living under an overpass, I'll have to kill him. We'll see whether he's gotten the message; if not, I'll start fining him $5 every time he fails to act responsibly; if that doesn't engage his attention, he's toast. I'd rather walk away from my business than have my ass sued off because he doesn't get the drift.
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Post by steev on Dec 22, 2017 11:45:54 GMT -5
Winter Solstice! Here in NorHem, our Great Father, the sun, again turns his face towards us, urging our Great Mother, Earth, to fecundity and fruition. Happy New Year!
For those in SoHem, plentiful harvests!
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Post by richardw on Dec 22, 2017 13:08:05 GMT -5
Thank you.
These short nights mean less sleep, still, nothing better than a walk around the garden coffee cup in hand as the sun comes up
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Post by steev on Dec 23, 2017 2:02:06 GMT -5
It's not safe for me to go walking around the garden before I've finished my coffee and "cleared my mind", but I get the concept.
When I move to the farm, I'll have to work out the lack of reading the morning fish-wrap (to allow the coffee to do its magic, clearing my "mind"); I'll prolly manage to adjust, eventually.
Haven't heard from that helper since Tuesday; his voice-mail is maxed-out; don't suppose he just bailed, as I owe him two day's pay. WTF!
So I put an ad on craigslist; one bite already; we'll see.
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