Mar 26-27, '10

I was off for spring break, so first thing I did was go by the Farmer's COOP. I got bird seed, one bunch of Walla walla onions, and this 12" x 10' culvert to go behind the barn. The culvert will replace the bridge I built with a concrete pad and railroad tie pieces. These span the ditch I dug to drain the water from the north/bluff side of the barn. (Before digging this the barn wood flood every time it rained.) I worried every time I drove across this make shift bridge, so I had been planning the culvert replacement for some time and was glad to find just what I was looking for. $95 for this piece of steel.

The city had failed to pick up these limbs for two weeks, so I decided to just take them to the farm and throw them in a hole where the hill slid off. I've been throwing all kinds of limbs in there for years now.

Short Cut
Since we had an early start, I talked Sally into trying a dirt road through the Wildlife Management Area I had found while looking at google maps. (This was instigated by Cindy's comment that she thought she had seen a short cut.) There was no road number at all, but there was a sign indicating entrance into the WMA. I also knew where it should come out, having seen the same road from the other end. Sure enough, it worked out and was a beautiful drive. The weather was gorgeous with partly cloudy skies and temps in the 60s. Its a one lane dirt road and we could only drive 15-20 mph. We also had to drive through a creek, which was flowing good with beautiful clear water over a rock bottom. (We planned to explore the creek on the way back the next day.) I guessed the dirt road was 5 miles, and the total difference in distance was 7 miles vs 20 miles going through Eureka. Time wise though I think it only shaved 5 to 10 minutes off the trip -- but its a nice alternative. Hard to believe we've been coming out for over 6 years and just now discovered a shorter way.

Unload
At the farm I unloaded and dumped the limbs, and then took the culvert down to the barn. I'll tear out my bridge, dig out the ditch, and bury it on at a later trip.

Garden
Next up was turning in the rest of the compost I had brought out two weeks before. It took awhile since there were still lots of weeds in that section of the garden. In fact that last corner I tackled is where the mint is, and is also the area of the worst intrusion of the bermudagrass. We planted the onions all along this south side and corner. I'm hopeful they will turn out as good as the walla wallas two years ago, and will hopefully be harvested by the time the mint and bermuda completely take over. Sally also planted some beet seeds, and the broccoli and collards had survived the 13 inch snow just fine.

Beaver
Saturday morning we walked to the pond. I had thought it looked a little high, but we could tell water was pouring out of both culverts so weren't really worried. But sure enough the beaver are back and had some huge limbs/trees jammed down both culverts. Thank goodness they weren't completely plugged, but it was sure difficult getting them cleared. I almost thought this was done by smarter beavers because both culverts had limbs where a fork had been left on the trunk -- making them extremely difficult to pull out. I walked around the pond but found no sign of a den (for me to destroy). This is very frustrating and just makes me sick thinking of all my trees those guys are killing.

Work
Later in the morning I took my loppers and adz down the hill. I cleared the ditch next to the road -- it tends to fill in with mud/dirt from the hill, grass grows over it, and then when a big rain happens it will run across the road (eroding it). I loped the rest of the cedars on the west side of the road; and then worked back up plume creek and back down the north slope in the woods. Another 1000 down. I also sharpened the Stihl and trimmed the holly (doing a neater job than the deer had).

Firsts

1. Saw a cat stalking something down by the barn.


2. The nectarine was the first tree to bloom. There were only two or three blooms open when got there
   Friday, but dozens open by Saturday afternoon.

Return
Saturday was extremely windy, and a storm was beginning to blow in when we left. With just a few light sprinkles falling, I decided to go ahead and return via the short-cut. Shortly after getting on the one lane dirt road the bottom fell out and we were pelted with hard rain and even small ice pellets. Couldn't even hear the radio. The road held up remarkably well in spite of its wet condition. Needless to say we did not stop and explore the creek.