Notes from the Farm

Spring 2006

On Barns and Birds

We are only a few days away from completing the construction of our new barn and already a barn owl is trying to move in. Barn owls are one of the most beautiful and graceful birds in the area and are much beloved by farmers because of their diet of pocket gophers, rats and mice. They are seldom seen during the day and, unlike screech owls, are very quiet at night so they often go unobserved. They like tall buildings with nesting areas which barns typically provide..

We already had plans to make the barn into a habitat for birds and bats, but nature has gotten the jump on us. We will be installing a large cupola which will be specially designed for bats and a number of nesting boxes for various bird species including our friend the barn owl. Using the scrap plywood left from building the barn to create nesting boxes will be a rewarding pastime!

Now that few old growth forests are left standing, there are not as many nesting sites as there once were, so adding nesting boxes often enables birds to raise a family that would otherwise be homeless. Bluebirds are also endemic to the area and like to nest in hollow apple trees. It is a pleasure to see them out in the garden during the day collecting insects. They like to perch on top of the caterpillar roll bar, which unfortunately leaves it covered with droppings, but this is a small price to pay for their astonishing beauty.

Speaking of apple trees, there will be a light crop this year due to all of the rain in March, but the quality looks excellent. We look forward to using them on salads as soon as they are ripe. And speaking of ripe, the first strawberries are being picked this week with more to come all summer. They too are late in arriving, but they are already sweet and succulent.

Raspberries are a few weeks away yet, but this year we will have plenty. The wild blackberries are in bloom and the late rains will yield a bumper crop. I am dreaming of the duck breast with wild blackberries that Stephane made last year! The bees are madly working the blackberry blossoms for this summer's honey.

While building the barn, we have also been working intensely making new beds, running irrigation, planting seeds and trying to keep ahead of the weeds. Experimentation continues with our new/old tractors. The precision seeder that I built over the winter is working well after another revision that fixed a problem with the seed hoppers. I still have trouble with carrot seeds because of their small size and irregular shape, but onions, beets, spinach, chard, leeks, radishes and other seeds work great. The seeder makes planting a joy and gives a much more consistent spacing than can be achieved by other means. This is critical to good yields and to weed management that comes after planting. (See the article about precision seeding for more on this topic.)

When the barn is complete we will have a cool place to wash and box vegetables, store supplies and house the six tractors and other equipment that make up our rolling stock.