Transitioning to a New Compost Pile...

It is officially that time of year again, when I start a new compost pile and start preparing the old one to be spread on the raised garden beds. This summer has been considerably colder and wetter than most, and my compost is not as far along as it normally is.

The old compost pile...

I am no longer adding anything to this pile, and I will be turning it every few days, in an attempt to get it to break down as much as I can in the next 2 months, before it starts freezing outside. As I dig through it, I am finding a ton of very large earthworms, which is a happy sight! Most of them will be spending the winter happy and warm inside a worm farm. Between the worms and the more frequent attention, this pile will look very different, very soon.

Because I can't add anything else to the old compost pile, it is necessary, of course, to start a new one! Fortunately for me, my friend just cleaned out her chicken coop a week or so ago, so I had a couple of bags of old straw and chicken manure just waiting to be used!

The new compost pile...

I moved the fence to the new compost area, behind my vegetable garden. The straw and manure are simply heaped into a pile, and I've been dumping my kitchen waste on there for a few days now. I'll probably turn it in a week or so, and then once or twice before it frosts.

Here's a link to one of my most popular posts...  Why you should start a compost pile... right now! ... in case you want more information on starting your own!

As I was turning the old pile this morning, I heard a rustling in the fireweed along the side of the vegetable garden fence...

Can you see the little guy hidden up against the fence?

I have been seeing this little rabbit around the compost pile the last week or so. He is fairly tiny, and I don't see much evidence that he has been there, other than actually seeing him. He seems to be after the compost rather than the vegetable garden, and the raised beds are tall enough that he wouldn't get into them easily, so for now, I'm just watching him. All wildlife is welcome here, and I'm honored that he is comfortable enough to let me see him. I even made sure that a bit of fruit made it outside of the fence, so he can find himself an easy snack!

Are you composting this year, or planning to start a pile soon?

Providing a Space for your Wildlife...

It amazes me sometimes, the abundance of wildlife in my yard at any given moment.

I have birds everywhere. Not just at the bird feeder, which is really more of a squirrel feeder, but all over the yard. In the grass, in the flower beds, at the feeder, taking a bath in the fountain... everywhere! I love to sit outside and focus on one individual bird going about its business. Pick a bug here, investigate a flower there, dive into the fountain and then sit on the wattle fence all fluffed up and happy. I have been watching whole bird families grow up this year. I've seen Mama take all the babies around the yard and teach them how to forage, and watched the babies play with each other like your standard basket full of puppies! Birds have such fun personalities, and its a treat to have the opportunity to recognize that.

There are actually 4 or 5 birds in this picture, on the ground below the bird feeder. They just blend in EXTREMELY well!!!

The squirrels have been providing us with endless hours of entertainment as well. We have 3 (at least) that all tend to want to eat from the bird feeder at the same time. This results in amazing squirrel acrobatics, usually followed by a squirrel tumbleweed rolling around the yard, hilarious chatter noises, and 2 pissed off squirrels that didn't win feeder rights this time around.

The rabbits are a bit harder to catch a glimpse of, but they are definitely here. When I do catch sight of them, its usually near the fountain, and they disappear just as fast as you can spot them. That fountain really attracts the animals!

Foxes are always around, probably enticed by all the rabbits. I have seen Red Fox, Silver Fox, AND Cross Fox in my yard, all at different times. They are beautiful, and I consider myself blessed when they show themselves.

As I create this space, I find myself thinking more and more about how I can make it more of a sanctuary for the little critters. I feel exceptionally lucky to have them here, and that they allow me to mingle with them as they do their thing. Little details, like placing birdbaths amongst several of the flower beds, makes a huge difference. Next I will be turning my attention to building and placing bird houses, and maybe some bat houses also!

What do you do for the wildlife in your space?

Garden Friends

Just a quick picture of one of our garden visitors today...

Tiger Swallowtail has always been one of my favorite butterflies.  This one had an injured wing, but it didn't seem to affect it much.

A tough decision to make... (sorry, this post is a little graphic)

What do you do when one of your cats is a killing machine and its getting out of control?

One of my cats, Isis, has always been a champion mouser.  Problem is, she likes to skin them alive, in the bathroom.  We actually had to close off the dog door because we were waking up to a bloody massacre every morning.  She has more recently moved on to birds, so I have purposely never put out any bird houses or bird seed, which I really want to do.  Well, now she has added rabbits to her list of fun animals to torture.  Mind you, this cat is declawed.  This morning I woke up to a rabbit gutted in the middle of the path to the garden.  Half of its face had been eaten off.  As soon as I recover from finding this, Isis comes around the corner with a live sparrow in her mouth.  I managed to rescue the little bird and tuck it up into a tree to *hopefully* get over its shock.  This afternoon she has attempted to bring 2 other birds into the house.  I have been finding rabbits guts around the yard all week, and have found more than one rabbit with no head at all.

I have thought about making her stay indoors, but if she wants outside, she sits by the door and meows so frickin loud that no one in the house can sleep, or even hear themselves think for that matter.  This cat will never be happy as an indoor cat.

So, what do I do?  Do I continue to tolerate it, because I am the one that welcomed her into my home to begin with?  Am I failing her if I find her a new home?  Is she worth the lives of all the animals she is killing, purely for sport?  What would you do?

The ground is thawing!

I just made a quick trek out to the raised beds.  The soil is about 1/2 thawed already, and the compost pile is thawing too!  Most of the snow in the yard is melted, and the sun feels warm again.  But the best news of the day?...  The Sandhill Cranes arrived this morning!  I heard them at 6:30 this morning, it woke me up out of a dead sleep!  What a way to announce the return of spring in Alaska!!!

No luck this year...

Rob is still out hunting, but is getting ready to head back home. Looks like no moose this winter. Its a bit disappointing, but since this was his first year hunting, it isn't all that surprising. It would have been nice to have moose in the freezer, along with the salmon that we depend on every winter, but maybe we'll have the opportunity next year. Rob did say that next year he is entering for the permits for the land close to our home, so he can go every evening. We see so many moose on our road, it is much more likely that he will get one that way. That is one of the things I love about living where I live. My road goes back into the wilderness for several miles before you see any sort of civilization. There is wildlife everywhere! I see fox, moose, bear, owl, eagle, porcupine, spruce hen (stupid road chickens), or hawk etc etc, most every day that I leave the house. In Alaska, you don't have to go far to find the untamed country, and many of us, like me, are lucky enough to live right in the middle of it!

I got out most of my "fall" decorations this weekend. The subtle colors in my house have changed to the oranges, browns, reds and greens of the season. I don't go overboard, but the little changes make a difference in the feel of things. Everything is just a little more cozy today than yesterday. And I even turned on the fireplace in my bedroom for the first time since early spring! I turn my heat off completely in May every year, and the first time the fireplace comes back on is a sure sign of things to come. It will still be a few weeks, however, before I turn the main heater back on... have to conserve energy as much as I can!

I baked the first pumpkin pie of the season last night, made from fresh pumpkin rather than canned (of course.) Pumpkin is something I would eventually like to grow in my garden, but I think I will have to build a raised bed designed especially for this lovely orange orb. Next year I am building the raspberry beds, so maybe I will put in a pumpkin patch the following year. One step at a time, my garden will get bigger and bigger! Living on gravel like I do gives me the unique opportunity to situate my garden exactly how I want it, where I want it, which is kind of exciting! I wonder what my yard will look like ten years from now!

Bear Scat and other fun stuff...

When we got home from Stephen's school event yesterday, we were greeted by a HUGE pile of bear scat at the bottom of the driveway! I'm talking "there's no way that came from a black bear" huge! I know that bears live here on my property, even over-wintering in places, but this reminded me of just how close they really are. It doesn't worry me, but reminds me that Stephen needs to stay close to the house when he plays outside, and that we need to be aware of our surroundings. (Like day before yesterday when I was out in the thick bushes picking rosehips for my jelly) Rob, on the other hand, freaked out a little bit, being the city boy that he hates to admit that he sometimes is.. (hehehe)

A little background on this particular piece of property... My father purchased 40 acres from the original homesteaders, who are close family friends. He then sold 10 of the acres to my sister, who eventually decided that she was more interested in city life. When she told me she was going to sell the place, I immediately sold my house and bought hers! So, although I have only owned this land going on 2 years, I have literally lived here my whole life. The bears were just part of the land, my father always being more interested in providing a sanctuary for wildlife, rather than hunting it. There are bears, moose, fox, Sandhill Cranes (that come back every year to have their babies in my back yard), porcupines, coyotes, wolves, lynx... etc. etc.

I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to be in such an amazing place... just look at what I get to wake up to every morning!!!




That's a photo of Denali... the tallest mountain in North America, which I took from my front porch this morning. She greets me every morning, reminding me that its a big world out there. Look at that photo and tell me that I'm not the luckiest person in the world, to be able to raise my children in such an amazing place!!! This is the piece of land I was meant to be on. My heart is here. My life is here. I can't imagine being anywhere else in the world.