The Animals Signal Spring

Looks like the animals are finally announcing the arrival of spring (I hope!)

Saw my first robin today, that’s always a good sign. Started seeing (and hearing) red-winged blacks birds about 3 days ago.

Another promising sign seems to the return of coyotes and turkey to our property. After seeing no signs of either all winter – I saw both together for the first time today!

 

 I don’t remember turkey tracks being so big! It was like coming across dinosaur tracks :)

 

The coyote tracks came along the main path from the other side of the pond and came quite close before they appear turn around and double back towards the pond.

 

Trail Cam Victory!

After capturing many deer on the trail cameras we decided to set a new goal. The new goal was to get a marten (or fisher, though they are apparently more rare). So we got some foul smelling attractant (aptly named “Skunk Junk”), set the scent on a tree, placed the camera and waited 3 days.

We honestly didn’t expect results so soon! And we certainly didn’t expect a fisher!!! We were stunned when we reviewed the photos!! There was a round of cheers and high fives! :)

Too bad the photo quality isn’t very good, but we’re happy. We’re going to try and get one on the video trail camera next!

Making a Basket

So I decided to try my hand at basket making. I liked the idea of collecting materials from our land and, through sheer determination, turning it into something I could use – for free!

I originally thought I would try using cedar bark (like the Native Americans) since we have cut down quite a few for the pasture. After some research and planning I was excited to get started. But the cedar are still too cold/frozen so getting the bark off was an exercise in frustration (I’ll wait till it warms up to try that). It turns out that it’s the perfect time to collect Red-Osier Dogwood. We have lots near the pond and its a beautiful colour so it made sense to try using it. After a quick trip to the library and 2 basketry books later I got started.

It was a little hard to work with. The pieces I collected were a bit too thick. I have now learned that the thinner they are the better!

Despite its “loose” appearance it is actually quite strong and sturdy.

The finished basket (about 11″ diameter). A little “rustic” but not too bad for a first try :)

Maple Syrup Progress

Got the snow machine working again so we got to the back to start tapping the trees. The whole gang came to help/watch.

Saturday (March 7) we got 6 up at the back – then the drill battery died.

Sunday (March 8) we got the final 4 up in the front.

The cold weather kept the buckets dry for the first week. But the sap is starting to flow now – slowly to start. We checked them again yesterday and we had a steady drip, drip, drip in 5 of the 6 buckets at the back!

Only 1 of the 4 in the front has any sap in the bucket. Looks like the front trees are taking longer to warm up.

We checked them today and gathered all the sap into one of our 5 gallon buckets. Looks like so far we have about 1 gallon of sap. Not much yet, but a good start!

Goodbye Ugly Duck Blind!

We decided that it would be a good time to remove the crappy old duck blind – before the pond melts. We inherited this eyesore from the previous owners and since duck hunting is certainly not on our list of hobbies, it was time for it to go!





Now we just need to break it apart and burn it! (Or reuse the wood like responsible “homesteaders” :)

First Sap Bucket

We just hung the first maple sap bucket! A little early, but it will be our test bucket to see when the sap starts flowing. With the days finally warming up maple syrup season will soon be upon us! We hung it on a maple tree closer to the house to make for quicker checks. Once things look good we’ll hang the other 9. 



We will be collecting the parts to build our outdoor “evaporator”/stove soon – some cinder blocks, maybe some fire bricks, metal duct as the chimney (already have this left over from changes to garage heating) and some steam trays should do it! 

I will post more once production is in full swing!

Deer Video From Trail Cam

First video captured on our new video trail camera! I love seeing the movement – adds a whole new dimension! We have this camera set up in the back half of our property in a hardwood area. There are tons of deer tracks back there. We have captured many photos with our still trail cameras (bucks and does) but this is the first video, exciting! :)

Skating on the pond

This gallery contains 6 photos.