|
Here and There…Now and Then |
Silo and Barn
It was snowing this morning. Quite lovely. There’s a big oak tree on Rt. 108 that I’ve thought dozens of times, as I drive by, I really need to stop and take a picture of that tree. So, today I went and I did. But they aren’t as good as I’d hoped, partly because of the power lines running behind the tree. Then I drove around and came across this barn and silo that I think are pretty nice.
Spring’s Farm
At the corner of Sugarland and Montevideo Roads, just south of Dawsonville is Spring’s Farm. Looks like soy beans this year.
Farm Skyline in Winter
We didn’t have time for a long walk today but wanted to get out for a while. There’s a loop at the Montgomery County Farm Park the goes around this good-sized corn field and we walked around that. It can be entered from a few different places but we came in on the Upper Rock Creek Trail. We saw quite a few birds, including eastern bluebirds, a blue jay, and lots of crows. We also passed a group on horseback (people, not birds). It was cool and pleasant and good to be outdoors.
Josh, Abba, Dorothy, and Friends
Abba and Josh flew down today to spend a long weekend here. Sadly Cathy had to work late this evening but Dorothy, Josh, Abba, and I drove out to Rocklands. Abba’s been there before but Josh had not. They were closed but since Dorothy is on the payroll (and is almost family) we went to see the animals. Dorothy isn’t crazy about the pigs, at least not when there isn’t a fence between her and them, but I’m a little more bold, as you can see from where I’m taking this photo. We also enjoyed a beautiful Poolesville sunset before heading back home.
Ram
We were out at Rocklands today and walked over to see the ram. He was just chillin’ in the sun. We also visited the chickens and a little later Dorothy came and we went in to see the kittens. They leave this week for their new home, so it was our last chance for a while. It’s good to get outside, even in the winter when it’s cold. We’ve found it especially important the last two years, as we don’t commute to work. For me, in particular, with my office in the basement, I need to get out once in a while and see the sun and the sky.
Ayam Kampung Rooster
Chickens are thought to have originally been domesticated from the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) native to multiple regions of southeast Asia. The Ayam Kampung chicken is a breed from Indonesia and Malaysia. It is a dual-purpose breed, raised for both meat and eggs. They are considered poor performers in terms of their egg laying ability, providing somewhere under 100 eggs per year. Of course, this one, a male (rooster) won’t lay any eggs at all. He’s a handsome bird, though, I think you’ll admit.
The Pond
Tony, Thea, Anna, and Andrew
Dorothy organized a work day today at the farm. If you haven’t heard about the farm, then you should know that, although we call it that, it’s probably not what you are picturing. My parents bought the property almost 59 years ago and it had been part of a working farm, with five fields. Since them, however, although we’ve continued to call it the farm, it’s never really been one. Three of the fields have entirely grown up with trees. Two of them are filled with trees specifically planted by my parents, including Japanese larch, white pine, and Norway spruce. One field was my dad’s ‘orchard’ and even that title may be misleading. In this part of the country there are orchards all around. But those have rows upon rows of trees. Dad’s orchard had a little of everything, with half a dozen apple trees, a few peaches, plums, pears, and various other fruit trees and shrubs. He also planted nut trees, including Turkish and American hazelnuts (Corylus colurna and C. americana, Persian walnut (Juglans regia), and Chestnuts (both Chinese, Castanea mollissima and hybrid Chinese and American, Castanea dentata). Since dad’s passing, the orchard has become significantly overgrown. The final field, which we usually call the picnic field, is still mostly clear but dad planted specimen trees of various sorts.
Today’s work day was focused mostly on clearing the orchard and we made a really good start. There were ‘weed trees’ four or five inches in diameter that needed to be cut down, along with lots of vines, multiflora roses, and Elaeagnus. We did our best to cut back the hardy kiwi (Actinidia arguta), keeping much of it but not wanting it growing up into other trees. While this was going on, we had a tree guy cutting a few larger trees, including one large maple tree that was leaning over the cabin.
The first picture here is of the pond with the cabin in the background. The second is four of the 36 or so people we had working here today.