Autumn at Rancho Wilhelm

In case you were wondering, the rats are still providing lots of entertainment.



It's been a couple of months of soaking up those solar rays and billing them back to the power company. I have to say it's been very satisfying. And now it looks like the weather is moving into Autumn mode. I notice it is still dark when I wake. And now it's dark and rainy. It puts me in the mood for soups, tea and possibly knitting.

As my knitting is packed up in storage still (as well as many of my books) there will be little of that sitting around. In fact, the rain reminds me that I have a HUGE Bermuda grass issue in the new garden. I wanted the Garden of Eatin' and instead I have the Garden of Weedin'. Dang! I have plans to trench around the garden and do some serious sheet mulching. I've still got cardboard boxes left over from the move and I'm entertaining the idea of bringing in a truck load of municipal compost and wood chips.

In the mean time, I do have a garden planted! It gives me great joy to look out the back (beyond the weeds and last of the goat droppings across the barren landscape) and see onions, lettuces, chard, kale, brussels, mums, pansies and lots of bermuda grass. Well, it doesn't give me great pleasure to see the bermuda grass. But the fact that my veggies are thriving in spite of the invader, I'm stoked.



Friday this week is "Arbor Day" at the Rancho. See the bare weedy space behind the garden above? That is the site of our future orchard! We have 28 fruit trees being delivered! Barren landscape no more!!! Here's what's coming (along with a back hoe to dig all those holes!!):

FUJI APPLE
GALA APPLE
PINK LADY APPLE
2 YELLOW NEWTOWN PIPPIN APPLES (for cider!)
BING CHERRY
LAMBERT CHERRY
MONMORENCY SOUR CHERRY
VAN CHERRY
BLACK MISSION FIG
JANICE SEED-LESS KADOTA FIG
ACRCTIC STAR WHITE NECTARINE
FANTASIA NECTARINE
OH HENRY PEACH
FAIRTIME PEACH
GOLD DUST PEACH
MUIR PEACH
BARTLETT PEAR
20TH CENTURY ASIAN PEAR
SHINKO PEAR
SANTA ROSA PLUM
STSUMA PLUM
EMERALD DROP PLUOT
DAPPLE DANDY PLUOT
AMBROSIA POMEGRANATE
EVERSWEEET POMEGRANATE
FUYU PERSIMMON
MEXICALI AVOCADO

Along with all those guys we're getting four grape vines too.

In the meantime, I have fenced off the chickens (so that none of them gets squished by the backhoe) into an area under the fruitless mulberry giant tree in the back. They seem pretty happy over there. I haven't electrified the fence yet. But I do have a solar hook up should the need arise.



In other news in Chicken-Land, our little Buff Orpington dubbed "FAT" by the kids (really? Fat?? She is so not fat!) has settled on a couple of eggs. I'm guessing it's been about two weeks for her. In about a week to ten days I'm thinking those guys might hatch. And if they don't, the guy at the feed store says I can put some day old chicks under her in the middle of the night and she might think she hatched them. Now, that sounds like fun! Here's a pic of our broody girl. She'll make a good mom I think.



Out front we are in the process of killing our lawn. We were taking advantage of the high temps and really trying to burn out the grass and go with some lower maintenance landscaping. I should see the concept for the front yard later this week. Our friend Eve is putting it together for us. I'm excited!

Now all I need are several more hours in each day so I can get all this work done!