Air, Land and Water Observations

Sunday, November 18, 2007

It was 15 degrees this morning and as I looked out the kitchen window I saw my friend the barred owl land in a tree above the trout pond. I took this picture of him several weeks ago and have been more than pleased with his local presence for more than three weeks. Barred owls don't seem to mind flying in daylight and this one moves back and forth between here and the top of the hill. When he is sitting in a locust tree as in this picture, it's easy to walk or drive right by and not even notice him. This morning he landed in a white birch and was no challenge to watch. A couple nights back I heard it call which is uncommon this time of year as locating a mate is not on an owl's "to do list" this time of year.

More than a month ago now on October 15th, I missed an item I wanted to write about. Some would question the topic's relationship to our new gardens but you can make up your mind and let me know. October 15th, 2007 was the first ever Blog Action Day. The day was intended to raise an awareness of environmental concerns and people were encouraged to write and share thoughts and resources. I did not. Back then I was still spending time planting daylilies and finishing up odd chores. Regardless of missing that day, I think about environmental issues almost every day.

Owning property bordered by the beautiful Winooski River has encouraged Gail and Alex and me to think more about the environment that surrounds us. We have walked the river and its banks and have visually searched the area for new plants and animals we need to learn. I'm familiar with the Friends of the Winooski River and volunteered this summer on some water flow studies. This is a dedicated group with a mission to protect and teach.

The Winooski that flows by us has a lot to tell. It is small in comparison to when it enters Lake Champlain in Colchester, Vermont but just being the state's largest watershed offers big expectations. Between the Friends website and the Nature Compass site
which includes the Winooski River Paddling Guide, you can quickly learn a great deal. Thinking about Blog Action Day and then the Winooski I am reminded how important it is to protect such a fine river and watershed.

Despite the cold this morning, I took Karl the wonder dog with me when I went to work on the last of the clean up work. I parked the truck and we just sat there at the top of the land admiring the new gates Gail and Alex helped hang Wednesday night. Karl sat tall in the truck as if guarding the river and I watched as a flock of geese flew overhead and four mergansers headed down the river at top speed. Come spring we will plant some new trees along the banks and we will get flowers planted in the gardens along the bank. During the winter as I rebuild our Vermont Flower Farm website, we'll add sections on the native flora and fauna. I'm even hoping that Alex will take over this project in between helping Gail and customers.

Although the barred owl is mostly silent this time of year, it reminds me that we shouldn't be when it comes to our environment. Maybe next year you can join in Blog Action Day as we will and try to help keep Vermont green! In the meantime, do all you can to keep things green.


Writing from the cold mountain above Peacham Pond where Mrs. Deer and this year's twins work their way up the bank outside my office window. It's just 8 PM and 17 degrees outside, and spirea stems and black raspberry leaves are apparently on the Sunday evening deer menu.


George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
http://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com
hppt://vermontflowerfarm.com

Business Progress on Route 2

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Yesterday afternoon I was here at Vermont Flower Farm giving Gail a break from customer duties and shipping packages. She headed down to Marshfield Inn and Motel to see Tracy and Diana and see how last fall's planting of daylilies was maturing. She hadn't been gone long and a car drove in I wasn't familiar with. Two ladies got out and one looked at me and said "You must be George." It was more definitive than questioning and I almost wondered if I had gotten myself in trouble along the line and didn't remember.

"I'm glad to see that you are looking well.", one lady said. "I was worried about you." Now I have to say that it's nice to know that people care about you but for the life of me I couldn't figure out who this woman was. Then she explained. "We've never been here before, but we both read your two blogs and Vermont Gardens has been motionless for almost a month. The Vermont Gardener has been slow too and we wondered if you were ill or something happened."

I was immediately relieved to know that a blogless month had caused the concern and that I really hadn't done anything wrong save for forget to keep my readership posted on garden life in Marshfield. I apologized for the hiatus and emphasized there would be no promises for improvement as we were really entering a very busy time for us, not a gradual end to the summer business like most nurseries. The ladies laughed and said they figured as much but they do so enjoy reading what I write and miss it when I get out of sequence. We talked flowers for some time and then I gave them an orientation to the gardens. They finished their tour and shopping just before Gail returned, promising to return soon and volunteering that they would help with the move to Route 2 if it was not such a long way to the ground anymore. With that we all laughed and departed company, knowing for certain that we would meet again.


During the past month I have worked diligently here and at the new property. Michelle's friend Mark has been helping with the fence and as of yesterday all the 4X4X10 foot pressure treated posts were cemented in the ground, Alex's mandatory "Please give me a door to the river" gate has been framed and cemented in, and 1320 feet of fence has been hung, with 990 feet of it secured to the posts.


Hanging 7.5 foot fence the entire perimeter of a +4 acre parcel of land is no easy task, especially for one set of hands. I was really happy to have Mark say he could help and happier still that he didn't complain about lugging and mixing the two 80 pound bags of cement that went into every post hole. The posts are placed every 30 feet so this was no easy task and amounted to moving tons of material.

The Route 2 part of the job on the village side was the most difficult task because the holes had to be hand dug through stone laden road fill, thick grass and tree roots. To top it off this was on a hillside that at times would have made a billy goat replant its feet. Then there was the poison ivy along the Winooski River and the variety of weeds along the way which invited sneezes and itchy eyes. In one more day, this job will be finished, and I'm really thankful for that!!

The entry gate from Route 2 is left to install and I am still pondering the best approach. I have been watching travelers as they turn into the drive to reverse direction. There haven't been any accidents yet but just watching the antics makes me remind would-be business people to consider road access long before you decide to buy a piece of property for your new endeavor. In our case the Agency of Transportation was involved in picking the access road. This is mandatory in Vermont but would have been my choice anyway. The engineers choice and mine were the same. A speed limit sign that reads 50 mph doesn't necessarily mean people will slow down or use caution when they see vehicles turning. The ease with which cars can turn into your business and exit it has a lot to do with how successful you will be. I may ask the Transportation folks for a safety sign for traffic coming from the east so people understand traffic will be slowing at the crest of the hill for left hand turns.

Besides the fence I have been using the New Holland tractor to move large quantities of manure from a pile to the new flower beds. This is a giant pile of manure brought by large trucks from a popular and well known East Montpelier dairy farm. Since last fall the price went up 20% and I am really irritated by the gouging. Fuel certainly rose since last fall but 20% is a bit much by my book. They have the market cornered and they obviously know it too. I'll find a new supplier as soon as I can and I'll post the availability. Fall is a good time to obtain a pile of manure for next spring's planting.

Tomorrow I'll rototill everything a couple times, and then begin trucking compost I have at the flower farm. Within a couple weeks things should be ready to plant. We have some good planters lined up but how many thousand plants we can deal with before the soil temperature cools too much is yet another question. We'll keep you posted.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where August sunshine encourages kind thoughts and happy smiles.


George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com

Willows and Riparian Plantings

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Just after 6 AM and I already feel like I'm "behind" for the day. Arthritis has a way of slowing down even good gardeners and after helping plant 375 gallon pots yesterday, I can feel some unused muscles getting back into shape. My right hand has finger joints I can count by the degree of pain but after I get going here they'll loosen up and I'll be ready for another day of planting. I hope!

46 degrees here on the hill and probably colder down on the new property. I keep forgetting to buy a max-min thermometer to put down there so I can begin tracking the way the rise and fall of the Winooski River affects the temperature. There are good and bad points to having the river border part of the property. Its inherent beauty over weighs other points but the almost daily increase in water flow by about three feet is something I don't care for. Green Mountain Power owns a power plant on the Lower Cabot Road in Marshfield. Water from the watershed that includes Peacham Pond and the Marshfield Reservoir flow down along Route 2, up to the water tower and then down the hill through the pent stock to the power plant. Many afternoons after 2:30 the pent stock is opened and water rises rapidly. When that happens, more and more river bank is carried to Lake Champlain a little at a time. As you travel Route 2 and look towards the river, you notice oxbow after river oxbow washing out and it becomes clear how serious this is. The Friends of the Winooski River is sponsoring a guest speaker from Green Mountain Power May 9th and I'll be asking some questions about this problem. Here's the lecture info:

Hydropower on the Winooski River on May 9th at the Cabot Town Hall at 6:30 PM. Jon Soter, Manager of Power Production for Green Mountain Power will be the focus of the presentation on GMP's operations on the Winooski River. Jon will cover the company's overall operations and capacity. The presentation will also cover the historical development of hydropower as well as GMP's focus on other renewables such as windpower.


Regarding bank erosion I am going to do a little preventive work myself. When Gail went to the flower show in Essex earlier this year I asked her to buy me a couple bundles of pussy willows. There's always a booth that sells a large variety of different willows for spring home decoration. Few seem to know that if you stick them in water they'll root in short order and compound your investment if you have a place that needs planting. Gail came home with a bundle of yellow and a bundle of black willows which I gave a fresh cut to and placed in water. Willonw have an inherent chemical that makes them root easily. In fact many folks take willows and cut them in small pieces and throw them in a bucket of water with other harder-to-root items. The chemicals dissolve in the water and enhance rooting.

I took these pictures two weeks ago and at that time gave the whips another fresh cut and changed the water. The roots are twice this big now and are getting ready to put outside to harden off a little before planting. The yellow willows have thinner leaves than the native varities common to wet areas around Vermont. The black willows have interesting catkins.

The black willow bundle Gail purchased was a little more dehydrated than the yellow and have been slower to get started but this would not ordinarily be the case. Some catkins went into full bloom as soon as they hit the water. The raven feather I've included in the picture is only intended to show size as its 12" long. In another week or so I'll plant these along the river bank about 5 feet from the high water line. Just another way to keep Marshfield soil in Marshfield.


Have to get going here!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where a fine rain falls and loons call from the reservoir but receive no replies from their friends on Peacham. Can loons hear when they are underwater having breakfast?

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com