Wednesday 10 October 2012

Thinner

We have reached a new landmark: we have more trees than we want, and the emphasis is on thinning, both back in the woodlot and near the house. They're shading out the garden, they're impinging on the path, and they're choking one another! From this point on, culling takes precedence over planting--except in the Five Thousand, where we might have 50 of the 5000 still alive.

Monday 28 May 2012

My Tuesdays with Valla

I've been seeing more of the woodlot lately.  Valla, the new dog, is quieter when she's tired, so I make about three trips a day back to the campsite.  She was pretty well trained--when she's not chasing something, she stays right at my heels.  I'll post dog pictures later.  Meanwhile, the green ash is in leaf (before the end of May--pretty good!), and the maples are putting on real girth.  So far, Valla has bitten Frey on the foreleg (he was very downcast for a day) and Ollie on the tail (badly--Pam's been over twice).  Does not play well with others. . . .

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Valla Begins

Two more years have passed with not a post--marvellous how time flies! We have a new dog, the mighty Valla, formerly Vanilla, straight from Oromocto SPCA where she languished for about a year. Not much languishing--they have some fortunate deal with a dogfood company, so Valla was fed to bursting. She hasn't lost much since arriving, in spite of Sally having taken a few good bites out of her rear. Valla started it, of course.
She is difficult to restrain; if you advance, to cut her off, she advances. The only tactic that works is running away wildly in the hope she will follow. This is not very dignified.

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Moderate Winter

In spite of some ice storms, the trees have fared quite well. I was most worried about the red oak; twice, the leaves have dragged it down, bowing it to ground level. This year, it kept erect through even the worst weather. It is finally stiffening up. The snow level in the woods is very low; I can see by the stumps near the big pine that we had about 30 inches more accumulation in 2010. The spring melt should be pretty unspectacular. Note: while I was out in the woods with the dogs this Saturday morning, a man named Gullison was killed nearby while snowmobiling. He mounted a snowbank, hit a tree, and died. We do not have a real lack of snow--just not as much as we grew used to over the last five years or so. I haven't had to shovel off a roof this winter; though this suggests a change, I recall that I did not shovel a roof for the first five years or so of living in Cross Creek.

Saturday 14 January 2012

Valla in Snow


 I don't know that we can say Valla fits in well--too much biting of the other dogs for that. She is enjoying the woods, though.