Radogast's Non-420 Garden Creation Thread

[Radogast]

Loved the read MassMedMan. I can imagine.

Sometimes woodpeckers peck just for the sound - you might have a resonant house.

My small forest is somewhat isolated, connected to other wild areas by the river, but not connected by land.
Some of the nearby areas I drive regularly are loaded with deer, rabbits and turkeys. They are infrequent in our yard.

 

[SweetSue]

Is it like having a moat? Dale would have loved that. I seem to remember us talking about that when you posted the sketch of the property. I enjoy your observant nature Rad.

 

[Radogast]

Is it like having a moat? Dale would have loved that. I seem to remember us talking about that when you posted the sketch of the property. I enjoy your observant nature Rad.

The moat only keeps out the bunnies because they are scared to cross the car bridge.
Squirrels, groundhogs, and turkeys use the log bridges as well as the car bridge.
Deer prefer to cross and recross the moat at every shallow spot


Only the water animals like to travel along a river, so the forest is isolated to about 10 wooded acres surrounded by roads and houses from a land animal perspective.

P.S. This also keeps most of the people out

 

[Radogast]

So... after claiming deer are infrequent in our yard, and working on the car yesterday, I went outside around 6 AM to do some stretching.

As I finished, I was hearing some strange vibrating noises sounding like monster crickets and cicadas. As I stood there listening, a spotted fawn came speeding down a path towards me from the back of the island, through a pair of trees about 15 feet in front of me, and crashed it's way down the hill to the lower meadow and across the brook. About 3 seconds behind it, bounding like a hound dog at full run, was mama deer. They both ran towards me at full speed, veering off at about 10 feet away. Close enough that I was planning how to deflect and push off if the spotted fawn crashed into me.

About 8 seconds later I heard 4 - 5 medium loud deer barks and saw a flash of a deer moving back and forth at the point of the island where the fawn and mama had come from. Then I heard 1 -2 deer splash across the brook on a potentially intersecting path. I had never heard deer make those clicking/cicado noises or bark before, but I googled deer barking and other deer sounds - yep, those were the noises.

This might be old hat for some of you. As a lifelong inner city boy, this encounter excited me

 

[Radogast]

I took a walk in the yard this afternoon.


I came up with a game called 'Frog Skipping': guessing how many times the next startled bullfrog will skip along the surface of the water before disappearing under the surface. You can hear and see as they jump, but also check by the number of puddles they form in the duckweed.

Walking past pond today the frog skipping counts were 4 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 3 .

The Pileated Woodpeckers created some birdhouse holes in a rotting tree

There were 4 types of mushrooms growing on the same fallen log

I also:
watched jays and smaller birds pester a crow,
picked up and moved some debris,
honored a tree, and
spotted a couple of tents in a neighbors back yard across the river.

It was a good walk.

 

[SweetSue]

You know what Rad? You live in paradise. Amazing. I adore your descriptive nature. I feel like I'm standing with you when it happened. Those different types of mushroom are fascinating. Each one so very different.

Thanks so much for sharing. And I thought I lived in a slice of paradise. If that's the way I feel about it then I suppose I do, just a different style.

 

[Radogast]

Lots of paradise out there - mine comes with Rednecks and very little sun. Yours has a river with walking paths, flowers, and a labyrinth

 

[Radogast]

Today was an enchanting day to watch the great outdoors.

Baby bluebirds hovering and stabbing at the suet feeder like humming birds - then squatting on the railing and yelling for mom.

A pair of spotted fawns browsing and gamboling for about 2 hours.

Baby downy woodpecker about the size of a shotglass.

Bird drama between grackle and jay, betwee grackle and squirrel.

Hand feeding 3 different gray squirrels (2 young uns.) Watching others hand feed them.

Suprising a fisher and having it run away across the log bridge.

Watching squirrels flatten and sun themselves on railings, porch, and chairs.

Deer using the corduroy road that creates the pond.

- There was probably much more, but I was too busy gardening to notice.

 

[SweetSue]

Delightful and full of wonder. Two hours? You must have been mesmerized! I find it easy to imagine being there and witnessing it myself. What a great day.

 

[Radogast]

I realized I never posted the faun photo

My wife came down with Lyme disease (maybe on vacation) and we live in a hot spot for Lyme disease. I am concerned about having to move in the next two years. I am also disappointed at the lack of flowers and herbs seeds that are growing after a really tough winter. Togther these have really sapped my enthusiasm for outdoor gardening this year. Last weekend I got to thinking about how, if I could only have a car for two more years I would drive the *** out of it, so maybe I should just love the *** out of this land for however much time we have. I think I'm over the worst of my outdoor neglect.

Only 4 out of 2 dozen Liatris have sprouted and begun to bloom.

A few scraggly day lillies have bloomed

A dozen out of 1/2 lb of wildflower seeds are flowering

But wait .. there is a cute bug on the this flower.

and a little wasp polinating... and marmot came out to play... and I hand fed several squirrels ... maybe things aren't so bad.

 

[Radogast]

I saw some funny looking ducks on the river Friday

 

[Radogast]

This is cut scrap metal from Hurricane Katrina wreckage in New Orleans, cut by NOLA artist Jack Wittenbrink. Katrina is on their mind and lips this month.

The twin mermaids are about 2x1 ft and hanging with pride of place above the fireplace and TV.

 

[Radogast]

I had some times in New Orleans where I wanted to smoke Kinnikinnick in honor of spirits.
I made Vegetable Glycerin Kinnikinnick vape juice with various smoking herbs vaporized instead of smoking from a long pipe.
Worked like magic

 

[Radogast]

There was a bit of chainsaw work required after a week away.

This is one of the last of the birch trees not overrun by trees or vines.

I removed some shadowing branches

 

[Radogast]

My camera phone was drawn to focus on the rose and refused to focus on the dragonfly.

 

[Radogast]

This long piece of tree trunk was bent down in a wind about 2 weeks ago

The tree was bent but not fully broken, leaving a deadfall trap.

I left a 6 foot stump for the woodpeckers

 

[Radogast]

When I first met my wife and stepkids in person, 7 years ago, we went to Medieval Times near Chicago. It was great family fun and adventure. My wife and I had a long distance relationship for two and a half years. This broken wooden sword is a fond reminder of our first good time together while becoming a family.

The day before vacation we stuck this broken wooden sword upright in the back yard. A Morning Glory vine found it while we were away.

 

[bobrown14]

This is cut scrap metal from Hurricane Katrina wreckage in New Orleans, cut by NOLA artist Jack Wittenbrink. Katrina is on their mind and lips this month.

The twin mermaids are about 2x1 ft and hanging with pride of place above the fireplace and TV.

Nice
That would make a nice tattoo on someone!!

 

[SweetSue]

Thank you Rad. I feel honored to have been able to listen in on your family celebrations. The mermaid sculpture is impressive. Sweet find.

I have respect for anyone who can use a chainsaw. Maybe someday, out of necessity. ... I don't know. They freak me out.

 

[Radogast]

Thank you Rad. I feel honored to have been able to listen in on your family celebrations. The mermaid sculpture is impressive. Sweet find.

I have respect for anyone who can use a chainsaw. Maybe someday, out of necessity. ... I don't know. They freak me out.

More than just a find... My wife and Jack have been friends on facebook since we were last in New Orleans Christmas of 2012. My wife had been talking with Jack about meeting up for a couple of weeks to buy some art, Jack kept saying he wasn't selling on Jackson Square or anywhere recently. So the afternnon before we leave the story comes out. Jack rented some warehouse space indoors with some air conditioing, but only enough to work at night, so he has been working nights and sleeping days. Producing a lot but no time for retail.... So they come up with the perfect solution, meet at 5AM in the hotel lobby before our 7AM train. Because they are both awake anyway. . My wife asks to look at stuff with mermaids, moons, stars, left facing fishhooks, or pelicans. He bicycled to the French Quarter with a few pieces with mermaids, moons and stars but had never done a pelican and his only fishhook was facing right. While working all night, he was thinking of pelicans , their presence on the New Orleans flag and varous monuments and my reason for wanting a pelican, so he gifted me two pelicans in two designs that he made over night.

I could not be happier with Jack Wittenbrink, in person and on facebook


P.S. Chainsaws have a few simple cuts for most things. The key seems to be keeping your chain oiled and sharp. I keep a spare chain for those moments when the chain goes dull, a wedge for when my brain makes the wrong cut, and Kevlar pants for anytime I will be cutting with awkward footing.