The Eagle Has Landed

Our nesting pair of eagles may have found a home just behind our point.  

Here's papa heading home. 

Honeysuckle Froze

'Tis the season!  Honeysuckle is blooming and we spent a couple hours harvesting blooms.  What a great fragrance.  Then we made an incredible Honeysuckle Sorbet, recipe from Bill Smith, chef at the famous Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill.  Here's the recipe. If you have honeysuckle nearby, it's well worthwhile.

Mobile Home

Last year I built a Wood Duck Box and put it on a tree next to our cove.  It didn't take long for a family of squirrel squatters to occupy it.

So, this year I've moved it out in the bay.  Didn't know how to sink the pole underwater, so I attached some pressure treated lumber legs for stability.  Unfortunately, all that meant was the whole contraption floated away.  Dropping some bags of concrete on the legs sunk it in place.

It will take a flying squirrel to set up home in there this year.

Fruits of the Labors

First Asparagus

All we expected first spring from the perennial vegetables were green leaves, and those we have.  So what a surprise last weekend to find blueberries, blackberries, asparagus, rhubarb and even some peaches. We're supposed to leave the asparagus for a year or two.  Not sure what will happen with the peaches.  But we can't wait until the berries come in.

As for annuals, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes are looking good so far.

Peachy Keen

A Spring Favorite

First 10 asparagus crowns arrived and are in the ground. Here they are before being covered, roots spread over little mounds. Another 25 should come this week, some different varieties.

It takes a few years before they put up shoots, and one is advised not to pick any that grow after the first year.

That will be hard advice to follow.

After maturing, they will produce for up to fifteen years. Nothing better than fresh cut asparagus!

Bee Busy

It's been about two weeks since we put up the Orchard Mason Bee house and bee cocoons. First trip back today and the bees are out working.

In fact, seven of the bee tubes are filled already.

Here's what's going on. A female collects pollen from about 75 nearby flowers. She deposits the pollen as a food supply in the back of one of the tubes. An egg is then laid on top of the pollen and she seals it off with a mud wall. Later, the eggs hatch, the larva eats the pollen and then makes a cocoon.

By early summer the egg laying is over and the spring bees die. Each female will lay about 50 eggs but will have made over 60,000 visits to flowers. We will remove the tubes and keep them cool through the winter while the larva changes into a bee, then put them out next spring to start the process all over again.

No honey from Orchard Mason Bees, but they work a lot harder than honey bees in the orchard.

'Shroom to Grow

Next task: Growing mushrooms. 1. Cut down small hardwood (we chose the hated sweetgum.) 2. Drill series of holes. 3. Plug them with shiitake and oyster mushroom spawn. 4. Cover with melted wax. 5. Stack in forest next to orchard. 6. Wait

Hopefully next fall we'll have abundant flushes of fresh mushrooms. Yum!