2020 has been a very different year. Essential and front line workers, thanks for keeping the world working during a trying year. Most difficult, a devastating number of our fellow citizens have died. Living in a remote rural setting in a national forest is an advantageous location during a pandemic and worrisome during a dry wildfire season. Most of the time what is happening in the outside world seems far away and most of the year has been the same as before, except few trips out and few visitors.
Cleaning up and touching up the landscape scars from logging was a fun spring chore. Who doesn't love playiing in dirt? I imagined a vast sunflower bloom with interspered wildflowers as lawn grass established, instead I grew a wonderful salad for the deer and elk. About the only thing they haven't learned to eat yet is marigolds. I also learned clear cut grazing increases the elk visitation.
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Todd came over with the front loader and made quick work of leveling the field and contouring the bank. I spread out mature grass clippings mowed for seed and Mark volunteered to rototill. I only had to do some raking to plant flower seeds.
I planted dahlia seeds and starts from seed along the future mowing margin. The elk even grazed those to the extent I don't know what their bloom color is yet. By August the grass was filling in, the marigolds showed well enough, and all the other flowers were closely grazed on moonlit nights. Not one sunflower bloomed. Compaction is good too, elk like to run and jump in fresh tilled soil. In the fall when the rains began i transplanted small fir trees along both margins. The elk don't eat them, no wonder we have fir forests.
The elk and deer are getting more relaxed about my stalking them with a camera. That may be another reason they seemed to eat more of the landscape plants this year, they are less fearful because they see me more often too.
I'm enjoying the good wildlife lens. Close ups are a great way to appreciate your nearest wild neighbors. They look happy and healthy. Must be the great salads I grow for them.
Another wildflower patch survived and thrived, planted with Rick and Carla in their viewscape at the corner of the clearcut in front of their driveway. Perhaps having their two dogs nearby made the difference. This is what I wanted the backyard to look like, except with sunflowers too.
The mushroom crop is still producing, fifth year. Sara is holding one of the spring picks. I tried drying shitakes to crispy and powdering them in a blender. Sealed in jars they keep and make a great additive for soup or chili, long cooking recipes. Another stash filled a big stock pot, was prep cooked simmering on the wood stove, and then frozen in its juice.
I grew more food this year, lots more potatoes, peas, corn, beans, greens, tomatoes, and peppers. Also more pumpkins and squash. So I had fewer sunflowers, yet plenty of other flowers. Many of the flowers are now established or annual volunteers and bulbs and tubers flourish and reproduce over the years, filling in their space. Each year is different and a delight to watch.
Rick and Carla continue to care for the bees. Here they are after visiting the hives, checking out the largest lily. This bulb has grown for years, now two years in a larger planter it has become quite grand.
Late in the season in the fenced garden some dahlias from seed bloomed. I like this color and blossom. On the last night before frost I collected the remaining pristine dahlia blossoms. These are the cross pollinators for next year's seed.
The Oregon wildfires were quite a distance away, in drier parts of the state than our rain forest belt of the coast, but wind brought dense smoke this way for days. The experience was otherworldly, unhealthy, and a direct experience of what the first days of a volcanic winter would be like. This passed, but many people suffered devastation due to the fires.
Sara found a nice entry door for the solarium. I installed it and finished out two walls in shingles and trim. This Halloween the trick or treat candy sat outside in a self-serve basket instead of having a party in the solarium. The solarium now has a cushy recliner where Sara's three cats share naps with me on sunny winter days. Even in the middle of winter the solarium reaches ninety degrees and heats the schoolhouse some days.
This holiday season I hope everyone is staying warm, safe, and yet connected too. Here pumpkins are baking, berries are thawing, and chili is cooking on the woodstove as a new year with some positive changes awaits.
