Autumnal Observations from Bonno Road: A Photo Essay
Full orange maple and a bare birch in the (pond) swamp by the house.
The sun’s golden light seems even brighter as it hits the many and varied shades of foliage here in the hills and forests of Pierrepont. In the past week, the view through the woods changed daily, maybe even hourly. There are fewer leaves on the bottom branches of some trees and others, like my official “turn around” tree are completely naked, while the “scrub” bushes and beech trees still radiate summer’s vibrant green. There is something new to see around every corner or gentle curve in the road.
view of the sunrise through the woods
brilliance near the stream
a less obstructed view through the woods
The “nekid” turn around tree
berries near the stream
home
May your coming days be filled with gentle autumn sunshine and delight in all the natural wonders it reveals.
Harvest!
Well, despite appearances to the contrary (due to my inattention to this blog) life continues on at Deep Root Farm. The harvest was a mixed bag this year. Last season we were bemoaning the drought conditions, this summer it has been all about the rain and cooler temps when the hot weather crops were desperate for warmth.
As always cucumbers and beans were very successful crops. In fact, we still have a 5 gallon bucket of cucumbers in the shop. The chickens enjoy a couple for breakfast every morning. The peppers had a very slow start and at one point Mike was going to pull them up. Luckily that impulse passed, we have quite a mix of sweet and hot peppers. Although, the yellow wax aren’t hot at all. Tomatoes are coming in slowly as well. We have enough for meals but no surplus for canning. Luckily, Mike’s mom, Nana Bonnie, had extra, so I have a few jars of sauce in the pantry.
The winter squash were a disappointment, for the second year in a row; the two small delicata and one acorn on the counter are apparently it. So much for squash soup this winter. One five gallon bucket of smallish potatoes, will most definitely need to be supplemented with purchases from other local farmers. The carrots are beautiful and the beets are small but tasty. MacKenzie loves making raw beet salad for lunch.
Oh, and I can’t forget the bumper crop of shiitake mushrooms. They were possibly the only happy ‘beings’ this summer of wet and humidity.
Apples are the other crop that has been very successful, this year. We have an awesome deal with friends in Canton. They own a small orchard and have formed an informal cooperative of friends. Folks ‘adopt’ particular trees in the orchard and prune them in the spring. When the apples are ready, they have access to the apples on “their” trees. We “have” three trees. The Alexander had so many apples the branches were bent to the ground and most of them were, right off the tree, eatable quality. One Macintosh wasn’t nearly as prolific and the apples were not in great shape and the other barely produced at all. Most were quickly processed into the more than 30 quarts of apple sauce and slices in the pantry with plenty still in the bowl on the table for a mid-day snack.
Apple Press
We borrowed this press to make cider from apples we collected from trees along the road, wild trees on our land, and some of those undesirable macs. Mike picked it up last night on the way home from work.
windfall apples
We couldn’t wait until morning, so set it up by the back door and started processing the apples in the grinder attached to the front of the press, in the dark. The mush slid down the chute into the pillowcase lined slotted barrel. The luscious juice started flowing before we even started screwing down the press.
cider pressing in the dark
If you have never drunk freshly pressed apple cider it is like the nectar of the Gods compared to the pasteurized s— available for sale. In NYS, even the places who produce it fresh have to pasteurize it. For more on that rant, you can read this past blog post: https://deeprootfarm.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/culture-of-fear
sweet deliciousness
Harvest; just one more reason this is my favorite time of year! May your life be filled with apples, fresh veggies and delightful sunshine!
Two Youths Experience Deep Root Farm
Two eight year old girls from Potsdam participated in the first session of Deep Root Farm Summer Youth experience. Fortunately, they are very good friends and have known each other since they were one year old. At times, it seemed like they knew each other a little too well. If the amount of fun a child has had can be measured by the amount of dirt on their bodies at the end of each day…I would say this week has been a success.
The seventeen chickens and ten teenage chicks were the highlight of the week. Each day they went into the coop at least 3-4 times to collect eggs. Every time there was a loud ruckus coming from the hen yard, one would say to me, “I think there are more eggs in the nests. They certainly are being loud.”
We spent the first day painting an old toy of MacKenzie’s. Mike had built it as a doll house when she was four years old, however she never used it for dolls. It immediately became a horse barn and stables. The girls decided to keep it a barn and painted it red and brown. They also painted some wooden animals. It took a few days for the paint to dry, but they were able to play with the farm they had created by the third day.
On the second day we decided to do some experiments with baking soda and vinegar. We put the soda in an old dish-soap bottle and then poured vinegar in and immediately put the cap on. They took it outside and pulled the spout up and listened to the gas escape. Shaking it up created more gas. After two or three times it didn’t fizz anymore. Then they wanted to make some bubble solution. We filled a big metal pan with water and added dish soap and glycerin. However, we never got the mixture just right. We could get bubbles, but they always popped before they came off the bubble maker.
It was a very hot, muggy and wet week, but as you can tell from the following interview the conducted of each other, the undesirable weather did not inhibit the amount of fun memories they were able to create together.
Celeste did you have fun? Yes I had a lot of fun.
Why? Because my friend Clare was here and we got to feed the chickens, collect eggs and play in the woods.
So what did you like about camp, Clare? I liked pretty much everything Celeste liked and I liked painting.
Clare, did you like being with the chickens? YES!!!
What was your favorite thing, Celeste? I like pretty much everything the best.
What did you do in the woods, Clare? I played with you, Celeste and a swung on the swing.
Celeste, did you see anything that you have never seen before, at camp? I saw Mike growing mushrooms and I saw an unusual spider and a beetle.
What did you do on your last day? We had a campfire and ate marshmallows and chocolate.
How many bug bites did you get this week? Celeste got eleven and Clare got a lot.
Did you finish the fairy house you were working on this week? No, because it was too wet to work on it.
It sounds like they had as much fun as I did.
*The girls took most of the photos in the gallery*
Adventures with Geese
Billed as the Annual North Country Goose Round-up, today’s adventure with the Nature Up North Crew from SLU was filled with an abundance of fun, sweat, sunburn and just a few ticked off geese, as well as a new understanding of the term Goose Round-up.
We started the day at 6:30AM in Parking Lot D on the SLU Campus. The Nature Up North Staff, four students, Emily, Nate, Kate and Abby, Pete, a SLU professor and I clamored into two vehicles, one pulling the canoe trailer with six canoes strapped on, and drove to the DEC Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area in Louisville on the St. Lawrence River, a remote section of Northern St Lawrence County.
With nary a goose in sight, despite my vivid imaginary visions of hundreds of Canada Geese wandering around on the river bank, we dropped off the canoes, paddles, and life vests next to the water. After waiting for quite a while, with probably about 75 other folks from all walks of life, some with experience, but many without, the round-up was underway. We all got into our water craft with minimal instruction as to what we were doing or where we were actually going to end up, hopefully with a flock of geese in front of us.
taking off
the boom
Despite our lack of knowledge, the forty or so canoes and kayaks moved cooperatively into a line to create a boom that swept the whole pond, which I should note, had previously been perfectly dry land before the dam was built in the early 50s to create the St. Lawrence Seaway. As we canoed past ghostly tree stumps, the canoes on the left slowly began to circle around, the canoes in the middle stopped paddling and several on the right stayed close to shore where we had started originally. Eventually, the geese were spotted, their heads just little straight lines sticking out of the water. We were able to circle around a family of confused loons, two babes and two parents, leaving the little group mostly undisturbed.
close quarters
An hour later, the canoe and kayak boom had closed in on the flock and gently pushed them toward their funnel like destination created by fencing all along the shore. We watched in amazement as they docilely swam through the gap toward the temporary holding area on shore. Just as the last few were filtering through, I watched in admiration as one one turned around and swam directly at the line of boats surrounding it, weaving and dodging past us all as he made his way through the gauntlet to freedom. Yes, I have always admired a rebel!
After disembarking and pulling the canoes up the hill and out of the way, we ate a welcome lunch of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs provided by the DEC. Eventually, I noticed the crowd had swelled and folks were lined up outside the holding area. I was still convinced that my chicken wrangling skills were going to be put to good use in the goose pen. However, the DEC has a much more tame and I must say organized way to deal with a large crowd that wanted to get their hands on the geese.
one of the pros
the real pro
The professional wranglers were in the mostly hidden yard with the geese. They drove a few into a net and grabbed two at a time by their wings. Each person in line (children and adults) was then handed a goose (some angry and ready for a fight others completely relaxed and compliant), suitcase style and directed either to the DEC employee who banded the bird and who then sent them to the real pro who sexed it, or directly to a person who read the band placed on the goose in a previous year. The geese were then dumped back into the water; some went gracefully, while others looked a bit disheveled and worse for wear after their ordeal.
This important annual event is just one more way regular folks in the community are invited to participate in the awesome natural world we have right here in the North Country. You can find more opportunities hosted or advertised by Nature Up North on their website. You can also follow them on Facebook and get regular updates on upcoming events.
*Photos by David Pynchon one of the Nature Up North Interns*
abby
love that goose
jack
David (this photo by Erin)
Not so cute anymore…
Curious tweens
The chicks are three weeks old and moving into their tween stage. They outgrew their cardboard box last week and moved into an old dog crate in the lawn during the day and back into their comfort zone box at night. Yesterday, we decided that moving them in and out of the crate twice a day was getting a bit ridiculous, so they have taken up residence in the original small chicken yard that is attached to the coop. The entrances from the coop and the other part of the yard are closed off so the ‘BIG’ girls won’t go in and pick on them and they won’t venture out into a world that is much to large for them.
ready for rain
Of course, as with all of our grand ideas, this didn’t just involve moving the dog crate in. We discovered that the chicken wire on the chicken yard had bigger holes. A chick most likely wouldn’t be able to get out, but there is always the possibility of one getting stuck. So, Mike cut the small hole chicken wire length wise and we put it at the bottom of the pen. Both of us were covered in sweat, dust and chicken poop by the time the job was done.
home sweet home
When we put them in, they crowded into their dog crate and remained absolutely still for about 30 seconds. Then they realized that the door was open and they could wander around a bug filled space, eating and flying to their hearts content. Last night after I closed them back into their crate, they were a bit disconcerted by open walls. They were really loud for a while, then as night fell they quieted down. This morning they were more than ready to break out and do more exploring. When I looked out the window, one was climbing on top of the tarp roof!
exploring their world
The Unveiling
Ian worked really hard on this one, with a few design suggestions from me. We need feedback!
I will be attending a workshop in July at North Star in Amherst, MA. This is what I want to replicate (with a few modifications for the North Country) here in Canton. Stay tuned for news and updates. In the meantime, here are a few more links to watch and read: Hole in the Wall Experiment in India, AERO. and Mosaic School Blog.
Don’t miss out…
Deep Root Farm Summer Youth Experience
swinging from the trees
A place where kids have the freedom to make
deep-rooted connections to the earth and each
other through exploration, creativity and play.
Ages 8-13
art supplies galore
Activities Available
arts and crafts
hands-on activities and toys
imaginary and cooperative play
forest exploration
carpentry
gardening
time to observe and discuss nature
fern wonderland
Sessions:
1. Week of July 1st Mon., Tues., Wed.,
and Friday.
2. Week of July 16th Tues. Fri.
3. Week of July 29th Mon. Thurs.
4. Week of August 12th Mon. Thurs.
*limited to 9 youths per session*
Schedule:
9:00 AM 3:30 PM
The foundational philosophy of
Deep Root Farm Summer Youth
Experience is based on our deep
and abiding trust in children.
Location: Deep Root Farm, Pierrepont, NY
arts and crafts central
For more information or to request an application,
contact Maria: 270 Bonno Road, Canton, NY 13617, 3153790196,
mariacorse@gmail.com or check out our blog:
deeprootfarm.wordpress.com
Blessed are the Shiitake
When one thinks of farming the mind doesn’t go directly to Shiitake Farm, if ever. Right now, our screen-house resembles a strange alien land filled with leaning shiitake logs.
inside the screen-house
Farming shiitakes has a few special requirements, a forest, humid or wet conditions, and warmth. We definitely have the forest, in fact that is the main reason Mike decided to grow the “King of Mushrooms.” The beginning of this season has been nothing but wet and the last couple days have finally provided the warmth those buggers needed to pop out.
popping!
special drill
The process of growing shiitakes is an interesting and lengthy operation. First the maple and beech (oak is ideal and used in Japan) logs get cut and pulled out of the woods either on a sled or by hand (if there is no snow, the trails are usually to wet and muddy for the four wheeler) in the late winter. Between March and May, Mike drills holes in about 50 logs about 6 inches apart in a diamond pattern and puts plugs infused with shiitake spawn into the holes. The first two years the plugs were actual wooden pegs that he pounded into the holes. They resembled the toddler “work bench”, we all grew up with that had the colorful wooden pegs and in my day a wooden hammer that was used to bang the pegs through. Those sunken pegs were then covered with melted wax, to seal in the moisture. Recently, he has used sawdust pegs that he pushes into the holes and then covers with a Styrofoam pad. These are not an ideal environmental choice, but for Mike it is a trade-off. Melting the wax requires energy and brushing it on adds a significant amount of time to the whole process.
stack of logs
Those logs then get stacked in criss-cross piles in the woods. These stacks are organized by the year they were inoculated. The logs under perfect conditions can produce for 8 years. It usually takes 18 months before mushrooms are produced from the newly made logs.
ready to soak
When logs produce a white star like pattern on the ends, have actual mushrooms popping out, or if he feels they should be ready, Mike puts them into water to soak for 24 hours. Our system for soaking them is a bit unique; we have a canoe that is filled with rain water collected from the eaves.
canoe and leaning logs
After their alloted soaking time, they are taken out and leaned upright against something sturdy. When the mushrooms start poking out (pinning), they are placed inside the screen-house to protect them from insects and slugs. Depending upon how warm it is, the generally are ready to pick in a few days.
the slugs got this one
When they are available, you can find Mike’s Mushrooms at Nature’s Storehouse in Canton.
pile o’shrooms ready for the store
Breakfast! Talk about local food. Everything pictured came from within 100 feet of the stove!
A Place to Create…
a castle, a spaceship, or…
with nature
a drawing, painting, collage, or…
a riding stable or
…a parallel universe
a city, a farm, or…
Deep Root Farm Summer Youth Experience is a place where creativity is celebrated, encouraged, and nurtured. Your child will be given the space and the time to be imaginative, playful, restful, and to explore their world.
A Quiet Place To…
contemplate…
sit in the sun—well, if you’re a cat…
play a game…
discover how many stones it takes to build a wall…
climb a tree…
read a book…
or write a story…
At Deep Root Farm Summer Youth Experience
deeprootfarm 