It's only you and me, and we just disagree...

There are workers in the part of the orchard that we own but can't yet manage today. They're throwing fistfulls (fists full?) of rodent poison everywhere to kill off the voles (who tunnel and make a hash of orchard floors and rudely gnaw on apple tree trunks).

Here's my plan: I'm about to apply something to the grassy areas called milky spore . It's a bacterium that is harmless to pets, people, beneficial insects ... well, in short, it doesn't hurt anyone but Japanese beetle grubs. See, the beetles will wake up soon, mature into adults, and eat any green matter in sight. The green matter that concerns me most is apple tree leaves. See, without those leaves, the tree can't collect the sunlight that feeds the apples. So I don't like Japanese beetles. You know who *does* like them? Voles. Voles like them when they are tasty grubs, sleeping in the dirt, waiting to become beetles. (You're with me so far, right?) So here I go with my milky spore, which will kill the grubs (so they don't grow up to eat the leaves). And where there are fewer adults, there will be fewer grubs, which means the voles will eventually have to look somewhere else for food.

Sometimes I feel like an evil genius.

It ain't easy, capturing green.

Well folks, what can I say? It's STUNNING in the Hudson Valley right now. Spring is busting out all over. And all I have to capture it on is a little phone camera. So I'll just tell you that we're sneaking beyond tight cluster and moving right into pink (these are the phrases/words apple growers use to describe the stages of development. I promise I'll let you know when I make stuff up.)

It's kind of funny how the mind gets used to the starkness of winter. I keep being surprised when I look out the windows. Green, green, green. GREEN! I might have to lean on a certain neighbor for some awesome images. Maple Avenue, here I come...

I thought it was an apple orchard. Why are there prunes everywhere?

Seriously - prunes are EVERYWHERE around this joint. Okay, I'm not sure they're called that, but what would *you* call the stuff leftover after pruning? I'm calling 'em prunes, and that's that.

Even though it's not the ideal season for pruning, we just had ours done. (Ask me about the timing if you're interested. I won't bore the rest of you with the details.) It was beyond necessary this year, as I skipped last year out of frugality and an absolute lack of ability and/or labor for hire. The guys who came were awesome - fast, efficient, and super friendly. One of the guys has been working on these trees for the entire time they've been here. I wish I could download his knowledge right onto my hard drive!

Once the crew has been through to pick up the big chunks of tree (er, rather, the big prunes), someone will swing through with a chopper to dice up the rest. Once that happens, I'll probably start the permaculture plan. That's likely to entail planting fun things like chives (to confuse pests!).

It's getting incredibly green around here, so I'll try to get some good pictures soon...

More death and destruction

Sumacs will take over if you let 'em. They're nicer about it than the multiflora, but they're just as determined. Happily, it's pretty easy to pull 'em out by the roots. The roots snake all over the land, and the process would make me sad if we had a "lawn" or anything that we're growing on purpose, but for now, it's all good.

Hail the conquering hero:

Out, damned spot!

In these parts, you can make friends just by talking trash about the multiflora rose. They're evil for many reasons: They're vicious and thorny, they grow like (pardon) weeds, they spawn all over the place and they will take over your land if you let it. Jody discovered on the internet recently that the favorite method for multiflora removal is a bulldozer. Well, we don't have a bulldozer. But we have loppers, and we're not afraid to use them! Here's the before photo:

And here's the after:

The next step is for Jody to get out there with a shovel and dig out the root ball. And then we'll mow with religious fervor. Wish us luck! The next victims are the staghorn sumac...

So much chaos, so few posts

Apologies, my friends, for not keeping you up to date on the Little Dog daily doings. Winter was so quiet and calm and then BLAM! Spring exploded all over the place. Things are in serious flux over here, but it's all very exciting. We're getting things done and making plans for a brighter future. I don't want to say too much, for fear of jinxing ourselves, but the word for the day is "permaculture". Google it, if you like. Or, check back in here at the blog, because I'm pretty sure it's going to be coming up a lot...

Why We Need a Better Camera, or Is this Your Momma?

A couple days ago, as I was running the little dog out for his morning constitutional, I stopped in my tracks, one foot out the door. Why? Because there were three llamas in my driveway.

Llamas in my driveway.

On days like these, I don't miss the city at all. (I still miss good Thai food, though.) The only thing that could have made it better would be a camera with a zoom. That and the presence of my friend Zoe and her daughter.