The temperature today rose to a chilly 40 degrees, made much colder by a strong wind and overcast skies—reminding me that the hornets this past summer made many more nests than we have ever before witnessed, the majority of them on the ground, which may turn out to be the best barometer of the winter ahead. We hope that neither hornets nor frigid temps are a harbinger of what’s to come, and we pushed on with some major projects regardless.
A sign of things to come?
Over the past week we have begun clearing a couple of hundred yards of an old fence line along the front of our farm. This is in preparation for putting up woven wire around the perimeter of the hayfield. Having that 5-7 acres fully enclosed in field fence will allow us to graze cattle and sheep more securely, and both will help increase the soil fertility and the hay yields in summer.
Installing woven wire is part of a larger pasture rotation system in the works for the past couple of years. Implementing the master plan started with new fencing for the back 40 acres, a project that is 75 percent complete. The lower 30 is primarily home, gardens, orchards, hayfield, barnyard, and pastures. Although reasonably well fenced, it previously lacked enough cross-fencing to allow us to rotate our cattle and sheep more intensively.
So we have invested, with a grant from the National Resources Conservation Service, in a substantial electric fencing system that will allow us to subdivide the farm into multiple paddocks of either electric wire or netting. Tomorrow, with the temperature projected to reach 50, we will install the charger and first cross-fence in one of the larger sheep paddocks.
As a compliment to that fencing, and with other NRCS funding, we are finishing up a 1,500-foot field watering system tied into our well that, when complete, will give us seven watering stations across the 12-acre pasture behind the house and the four-acre pasture north of the barn. The process involves first using a riding trencher to dig a two-foot-deep channel, then going back and installing PVC water lines. The trenching is now complete. Tomorrow, with the help of a neighbor, the lines will be installed. Another 24 hours to “cure” the connections and we will turn on the water.
If all is successful, what remains is the fun job of back-filling the 1,500-foot-long trench. Fortunately, we have an 18-year-old neighbor with a strong back, time on his unemployed hands, and an eagerness to earn some cold, hard cash.
This evening, as I write, the wind is still blowing hard and the temperature has begun to drop. And, with what I hope is a far better barometer of things to come than hornets or cold blustery days, Cindy is in the kitchen baking more shortbread cookies.
Cold winter, be damned.
An NRCS grant – good on you.
Did you get snow yesterday (Sat) or is that a stock photo?
Jeff Ollerton should be impressed with your increase in hornets. But I wonder where one marks the tipping point between Ecosystem service and disservice for hornet abundance??
And while I do really like shortbread cookies, the weather and outdoor work you’ve described makes me think of a healthy pot of soup simmering on the stove.
Warm thoughts, and cheers!
Hey Clem,
The snow picture is of a peach tree from last January. But it was so raw out yesterday that I felt that that reality was close at hand. As it turned out we just had flurries all day.
Ollerton is a new one for me. I’ll leave it to you to elucidate further as a quick glance at his Biodiversity blog left me wishing to head back out in the cold.
No soup last night. Instead I fixed an Alsatian dish we love called “Choucroute”. Lots of variations but principally it involves lots of sauerkraut, potatoes and several cuts of pork. I used link sausages, ham hocks and short ribs in mine. All principle ingredients used were from the farm, of course.
Cheers,
For some reason I thought you might be familiar with Jeff’s blog. He isn’t exactly Small Farm material – he is an academic (University of Northampton); biodiversity is his shtick. He is particularly interested in pollinators… so bees, yellow jackets, hornets, they keep him buzzing (sorry). Over the summer he ventured into the realm of the ecosystem service debate.
Anyway – hornets can be seen as valuable for the ecosystem, but in moderation. Too many (and you be the judge for how many is too many) cause issues.
So – Chourcroute sounds pretty tasty. We’ll often have craut with pork chops – so not too far off. One of my favorite concoctions (when the cooking falls to me) is more like the Cassoulet (though the traditional cassoulet uses white beans). I use whatever is at hand. Mine typically finishes up as a very thick soup. I make very large batches and take it for lunches. Warmed in a microwave it still manages to be hearty.
Anyway – here’s wishing the snow waits for Thanksgiving.
Cassoulet is always up for a bit of improv.
Last weekend brought that same rough weather to N. Georgia — our first real cold of the year, and that amazing, relentless wind. Sounds as though you got a lot of work done, though, in spite of the weather.
We’ve had hornets here, too, including a nest about 15 feet from our back door. Sometime in the next couple of months they will all (except any queens) die, and we will fill that hole in. I didn’t especially like last weekend’s wind, but some more of that cold can be a big help in clearing out the hornets. Hope this weekend is as satisfyingly productive for you as the last! -Amy
We were a bit stunned by the number of hornet nests around the house and outbuildings, a good dozen. Only one was above five feet!