Early in the year Cochise disappeared, a not infrequent and not unexpected event in the midst of the national forest with cougars, bobcats, lynx, bears, and eagles all around. Sara's three cats had turned six years old before all disappearing in a few months, so the new year began with some sadness, foreshadowing the loss of family and friends this year. This has been a difficult year as old age, illnesses, and accidents dramatically diminished my circle of family, local friends, and great neighbors.
The solarium provides a great space for a few winter flowers to brighten life. Crocus, daffodils, and tulips bloom early here, beginning in March, and I really look forward to spring flowers. Moles eat tulips, so I have to grow them in planters. This spring there will be even more tulip planters filling out the front steps.
In March I set up a seeds, bulbs, and tubers table in the garden shed, so neighbors and friends could grab what they wanted when they wanted. I continue taking panademic precautions, and this was an easy way to still share seeds, etc., with some social distance.
Planting vegetable and flower starts begins early, in February, with peas going out into the ground on the equinox. By May the rest of the starts are starting to really grow with more sunlight and even warmer days in the solarium. Just before the trees leafed out, the county road crew brought a truck full of fresh wood chips, all hardwood and almost all alder. They know my preferences and appreciate my contributions to blackberry control and mowing at the covered bridge, so I got the very best chips at the best time of year.
Weather was a real factor this spring, wet and unusually cold days delayed rototilling and planting, so most of the raised beds section was done in a day. A lot of plantings failed as seeds spoiled in the ground. Even potatoes failed to come up this year and required replanting, then many of those failed too. Corn had to be planted three times.
Finally in July things warmed up and the plants took off. That's when Sara brought home three garden terrorists. Nonetheless, the harvest was plentiful, the dining was enjoyable, with enough bounty to fill the freezer with goodies.
Kittens love chasing each other around "their" garden.
One day I walked into the garden and a yearling deer was sleeping on the lawn patch. He was just resting, the garden was undisturbed. I had been leaving the gate open during the day, so I changed that routine. The fawns who ate the fallen fruit from my hands last summer are quite tame and were showing up routinely, often along with their mothers. Check out these beautiful lawn ornaments.
As the plums begin to ripen and fall onto the ground I collect them daily and move them out of the fenced garden/orchard area so the bears aren't attracted. I feed the fruit to the deer and that symbiosis has tamed the deer and eliminates the scent of spoiling fruit. Last year's fawns, now yearlings, were shy about eating from my hands and not sure about the kittens. When I started rolling some plums towards them the kittens gave chase to the plums. Long story short, the kittens spooked the deer, learned that chasing deer is fun, the deer became accustomed to the kittens playing with them, and they are good friends now. One kitten disappeared, Finn and Einnar remain. One evening after dark I called out "Where are you guys?" and, to my delight, four deer and two cats came running out of the woods together.
It did not take long before they were eating from my hands again, and this year's new fawn does too. Here's Sara's grandson Corwyn feeding the yearling doe, the tamest member of the deer family who runs right up to me and nudges me for apple slices.
After doing arborist work around the yard yielded near a cord of firewood, again this year the main supply of maple and alder came from clearing/maintaining the roadsides up Crab Creek valley. Some of the fir trees I've planted are from along that road. This year I had to replace only a couple of starts which did not survive. I really enjoy watching the small volunteer trees I've collected around the neighborhood thrive in the back yard. Last year I was hauling them water in April already, this year they enjoyed the abundance of rain. It was so wet and cold some emerging maple leaves molded and those maples shed their few surviving leaves really early.
I completed replacing all the mismatched patches of vinyl siding on the schoolhouse and attached garage with recycled boards from the covered bridge. This solarium entrance now also has a finished look. Yet to do, place a storm door next to the solarium entrance to create a dry storage closet where now wind blows in the rain. Sara has done a great job of repainting, double coating everywhere.
So now it is winter and I'm tucked away in the office most of the time. Research is going well, I'm building useful databases, and I've gotten a lot of year-end chores done as I prepare my annual online data updates. The garden is quiet, cleaned up, quite bare, and quiet except when I go out to dig more fresh carrots. The elk are keeping the lawn mowed and the deer visit every few days to beg for apples. And Finn and Einnar, well time to quit calling them kittens, they overflow their basket now. They didn't just take over the garden, they took over my garden basket too.
Once in a while I point the camera at myself, and this lily in bloom seemed a perfect occasion. Years ago when this bulb grew a few feet tall I was surprised. I had no idea that some lilies are "tree" lillies or that they can grow this tall with two dozen blossoms.
Have a great and happy holiday season everyone, and a prosperous and healthy new year.
Stay safe and cherish your family, friends, and neighbors, you never know for certain if you will see them again.
