WHAT'S NEW IN OUR NECK OF THE WOODS

And we did it!

With the help of brothers and a hard-working nephew, we planted a thousand hardwood trees. The first 500 was completed during that cold and windy weekend. Then the rest were done over the next days with the last 175 trees planted yesterday, March 29. For details please click on the Tree Planting tab or here.  

We also have a cool aerial video of the tractor drilling holes where we planted the trees. 

And another video of that planting weekend here for you to enjoy.

Our local forester explained a few years ago that one of the challenges of keeping our trees alive is nutrient competition from grass and weeds.  We refused to use artificial chemicals on our land, so we are stuck with mechanical means of  keeping weeds low. It was a good thing we found out that clover roots can choke out weed roots, and therefore slow down weed growth. This makes grass cutting less terrible. Although these are still really long and tough days, we know it can be done. Cordelia, our Kubota tractor, was our most reliable partner.

This year, we thought we'd diversify while continuing to help the environment. And so we started beekeeping. Our environmental impact with these bees may not be significant because our hives are artificial. But these bees will still help pollination. 

And, full disclosure, we love honey.