Yes, another copy and paste year has passed, same place, yaya, yata, but I have some news and new photos plus the surroundings have changed immensely due to more logging. The tall forest to the south of the schoolhouse is harvested and for the first time since moving here seven years ago the solarium and schoolhouse aren't in the shade during the cold half of the year.
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I spent some time sealing air leaks in the solarium and this fall, when previously the place would be in the shade, we've had up to 100° afternoons in the solarium with up to 20° of heat gain in the 2800 sq. ft. building just by opening doors and windows. Plants are overwintering in comfort during frosty nights and the added light is more than welcome. Garden starts in the spring will thrive better.
With the tall forest shading the property on two sides gone we have great views of the surrounding ridges and big timber stands in the Siuslaw National Forest. The change is dramatic.
I started salvaging firewood from the first slash piles, then the logging schedule slowed so I got permission to precede the clearing and take out the small diameter cherry trees. I didn't realize how much wood that would be. I got literal tons of exercise and cords of high BTU firewood not requiring splitting. I brought home van loads of logs and by hustling every morning got all the cherry trees extracted just ahead of the equipment. I lost my winter fat quickly this year and feel as fit and healthy as a 70-year-old can expect.
The driveway to Ron and Sallie's runs throught the clearcut, so all I had to do was drag the logs to the road. In the back yard I cut them to length for finish drying. It got dried, but this wasn't an ideal year for drying wood, the wet weather started early. We enjoy a steady coastal breeze almost every summer afternoon, so even cherry wood with bark cures in one summer. With plenty of extra wood, the largest diameter pieces will cure an extra year in the shop. All this wood was destined for the slash piles, so another year of carbon neutral firewood accomplished.
I also salvaged wheelbarrow loads of ferns, moving them to shade areas around the yard before the machinery entered the woods to trample them. Previous occupants here had dumped yard debris in the woods which transplanted lots of daffodils. I saved all those bulbs too, filling a large bucket.
With the help of neighbor Todd and his front loader, more of the back yard—the old football/baseball field, has been improved by clearing out brush and leveling soil around the perimeter. The previous owner was a great recycler and a lot of overgrown materials needed clean up along the far property edge. The back yard is gradually becoming more park like and now has great views too, albeit I'll be planting fir trees along the margins and the new tree crop will grow fast. One of the three areas we cleaned up, the one in the schoolhouse viewscape, became a late sunflower and wildflower patch. I wanted to cross pollinate the more colorful sunflower varieties so I cut out, with very willing help from neighbors Carla and Anjel, a lot of the yellow flowers for bouquets. Plenty of daffodil bulbs have been planted along the margin of this viewscape area with ferns added in the shady border.
During summer 2018 I collected as many flower seeds as possible with the idea that I'd cover last year's clear cut in wildflowers. I ended up with over five gallons of seeds and early in the spring as a heavy rain event loomed I scattered the seeds across the road, expecting to brighten the view from the schoolhouse. It turns out the elk will eat just about anything, all I'd accomplished was to add some spice to their diet, that and now I know which few flowers they don't eat. The best success was the red corn poppies so I've collected and scattered a lot more of them this year. They are doing well over winter where they naturally reseeded. The unusual bright red areas stopped more than a few passersby, but the other wildflower colorspots were hardly traffic stoppers.
In mid-May I noticed the bees were swarming. Rick and Carla are the beekeepers, so I called Rick. He suited up and we moved the three swarming masses into a new box. Now there are two bee hives.
The wildflower patch in the garden did great, especially the wildflower mix Sara brought from Texas. Here's neighbor Rick enjoying the colors at their peak in late July. I really like the tall red dahlias towering overhead on strong stems because they don't need support. I'm splitting and propagating them and collected a lot of dahlia seed. There are about a dozen dahlias cross pollinating in the garden now. I'll spread seed in the clearcut and see if some magical cross grows instead of becoming just more elk food. So far the dahlias outside the elk fence aren't getting eaten, just tasted occassionally.
During the summer we got a third freezer, one retired by a neighbor, and started filling it. The vegetable garden was productive again, albeit unusually late hard frosts around May Day set back the berries, grapes, and early potatoes. The grapes barely produced but apples did great this year. I've been making cider since summer and put twenty-five gallons in the freezer. The wild blackberries were unaffected, so I collected lots of them. In the fall, the tomatoes had to be harvested early due to unusually early frosts.
The front porch terra cotta garden is getting well established. I've been splitting and repotting some of the large lily bulbs and they put on a great show in June. Yes, I get photobombed a lot. This is Achilles.
In July and August the dahlias are in full bloom. We are fortunate to have a mild enough climate to leave tubers in the ground over winter, and after a couple of years the giant tubers produce massive plants. Notice I mounted elk antlers on the shop.
For the last four years sections of the giant maple which fell across the road have been curing in the buildings with three log sections spalting slowing in the front yard, intermittently getting wet and usually tarped. Friend Spruce helped cut the larger diameter trunks and we've been trying to find a place to mill the wood. Spruce got that organized this fall. Todd came over with the front loader to help load the three big trunks on Spruce's truck, two loads.
I loaded some smaller dry sections from in the buildings into the van. We took five loads of material over the mountain to Yachats valley where friend Mark did the milling. Another friend Roy owns the sawmill, so we hauled him a few loads of firewood. Mark gets some of the wood plus I helped him with a computer graphics project. All this collaboration and trading resulted in five big stacks of milled maple slabs now stickered, compressed, and drying in the garage here, a good portion intended to be part of the schoolhouse—a mantle, countertops, and shelves. I'm interested in architectural wood, Spruce and Mark like the big figured and spalted maple slabs. There still are numerous smaller bolts in a dry shed if we can just find a big band saw next, but for now a 12" power planer is the top new tool priority.
Sara's grandson Corwyn, a frequent visitor, keeps learning new skills. This year we made ceramic tools with some of the wavy grain maple bolts. He's growing fast now but I was still able to toss him atop this wheelbarrow load of leaves. Once again, the garden is winter mulched in maple leaves.
Sara and I tried to get all three cats in one photo, not an easy task but here they are, the three brothers, Cochise, Achilles, and Bushi. These cats love to follow me around and interact when they aren't busy with mole hunting and rodent control. Their response to verbal commands is improving and they still accompany me on hikes. They have a very comfortable new Lazy-Boy recliner in the garden shed, one I found in the middle of the highway, and their loft just got carpeted. Sara feeds them rain, shine, or snow, but they follow me around, especially in the garden where they still tear around like they did as kittens.
As the year winds down only a few chores remain, like posting year end updates online. My research news is in the ArchaeoBlog and I announce major website additions via Twitter. I have two gallons of daffodil bulbs left to plant—late plantings extend the bloom season, and some pruning and cleanup in the yard remains. I'm looking forward to the longer days with flower and vegetable starts in a warm, bright solarium. Most likely, we'll have a snow day or two before then. Here's one last look at the schoolhouse with the wooded backdrop from before the clear cutting, during a February snow.
From this beautiful patch of the earth on Five Rivers to yours, Happy Holidays. Enjoy the new decade.
