At some point, Mary or I will write a detailed post about the Yellow Starthistle found on our property. Our state government has declared that this plant is "one of the most ecologically and economically damaging invasive plants in California" as it is "a serious nuisance on recreational lands, degrades the value of private … Continue Reading ››
Rumor has it this building on the property to the north of us is called the "Indian School House". Whether or not it was, or what that even means, is not something I know.
One of the things we've enjoyed most is hosting friends for campouts (sometimes putting them to work, too). In June, I had the pleasure of hosting friends from my time in design school. Not only was it a fun reunion from our years together, but they also shared their wisdom from over a decade of … Continue Reading ››
As mentioned previously, we've been watching the water levels in the pond with interest this summer - assuming they would eventually go dry, but pleasantly surprised at how long they lasted! Here's some photos from June:
Pictures from some of our trips to the farm in July... beautiful, hot, dry. (the mist behind Molly's Oak, they say, is from the irrigation used in the valley)
In July, one of the projects that we got started on was removing (and repairing) fencing. After lots of discussion, we decided to take down most of the interior (cross) fencing, and separately Mary and Francisco are checking and reinforcing all of the perimeter fencing. Here's some pictures of Zach and Bruce wrangling some of … Continue Reading ››
And, elsewhere, the almonds are dropping to the ground, ready to be enjoyed. We've found these much easier to crack - one tree we harvested from was easy enough to open with just our bare hands. Molly enjoyed a good long car ride with a bag of un-shelled almonds by her side.
I had read that Gray Pines, which grow on our property, produce a delicious (if difficult to harvest) nut, rivaling even the Pinon Pine Nut. Most of the cones that we've found so far have already been scavenged by the (wild) locals, but last weekend Molly found a few pine cones with nuts still in … Continue Reading ››
No doubt, it's been a very dry year. We've been curious to see how long the ponds hold water, and we have that answer: they are empty by August (more or less). The southern pond is totally dry, and the northern pond has just a thin layer of mud left. Just enough to host a … Continue Reading ››
Sometimes you just need to stop and make sure we're all having fun. It's been a long, hot summer, and we're all anxious to get going, but things don't happen all at once. So this weekend we took the time to hang our swing and hammock and give them a try. I might switch to eye-bolts … Continue Reading ››
Rumor has it this building on the property to the north of us is called the "Indian School House". Whether or not it was, or what that even means, is not something I know.
