(Unfinished) Pond in Winter

The pond project got delayed by my herniated disc late summer.  I am happy to report that I am nearly asymptomatic for almost a month now.  I am hoping to be able to work on hiding the pond liner, adding a stream, more pools, a waterfall, and a wetland.  Here's hoping my back holds out for all of that.   :)

Here is the pond in its current state.  I long to be able to post an AFTER shot. :)

Fall Planting

Yesterday, Wyatt wasn't the only one who enjoyed the sun.  I am so glad I got out in the yard!   I did some fall clean up, planted many of the things I bought or grew myself, and I mowed a large section of lawn (that I hope to convert to a short grass meadow).

Despite the grey of the goldenrod, there were some burst of color and other signs of life--one, a penstemon, should not be blooming now at all.  It is confused.  I'm sure the long period of warm temps (60s to 70°) account for that.

I was thrilled to find some things that I planted in the spring growing and thriving...including columbine and the alders I'd transplanted.  I cut some fencing to protect them from the deer; seeing that they will bloom for the first time in the spring, I would hate to have the deer "prune" them for me.  I am really looking forward to the cone-like structures that contain the seeds.  They are almost out of the reach of the deer--by next year, I suspect they will be tall enough for me to remove the protection. 

 Protecting my yellow birch from future deer rubbing.

I don't think I lifted anything more than 5 lbs. and made sure to follow pointers I got from physical therapy.  (I was diagnosed with a bulging disc, and have been mostly out of commission for three months or so.)  I felt good the whole time I was out...except for a brief pang in a muscle in my hip.  I took Aleve immediately after I came in...and took a hot bath/ long soak.

Working in Winter

With warmer weather during Christmas break, I was able to plant a few trees and shrubs two days ago.

I started the day reading on the couch, but got myself up to meander through the yard.  I ended up visiting some of the trees that I've put in through the years.  This ended up motivating me more than I'd expected.   I finally built a cage out of fencing for a hemlock that I put in the ground quite a few years ago.  In the past two years, the deer finally found it, or got access to it, and trimmed it for me. :(  I finally caged it.  It should probably be two or three times bigger than it is now.

That was enough to get me started.   I also put in two red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) that I bought in October (I bought three, but only got one in the ground at the time).

After this, I added a second hackberry tree to our woodland--this was given to me from our friend Beth who dug it out of her yard for me (it was a weed to her in their small city lot).  Thank you again, Beth.  :)

Lastly, I added a second silver maple (the stowaway in one of the home grown oak trees I bought at a yard sale).  I planted it within sight of our much larger silver maple that has made its presence known--and I am expecting it to shoot up and fill in nicely in the next few years (the new addition will be a younger version of the same...which will look more natural to me than two trees of the same age near each other).

 

I wanted to plant one of the oaks as well, but the soil in that pot was still mostly frozen.

All in all, not a bad day--and my back felt better being active.

Smothering Again

Despite varied success (and failure), I am, again, attempting to smother more of the field in my attempt to convert it into a native grassland.  Over the years, I have come to realize that I need a lot more native grasses to cover this area, and only intersperse them with wildflowers.

My goal has always been to keep each section in various stages of succession.  After twelve years here (we moved at the end of October, so our anniversary is coming up soon), the field is now in a late stage of succession.   I am happy to have the various goldenrod species; they are very beneficial to a wide array of species.  However, I need to create more biodiversity.

I took some time, last weekend, to clear another section and put down newspapers (many thanks to my husband, Jeff, for saving them for me and bringing them home from work).  I covered these with brown filler paper from our Chewy deliveries, branches, and (weed free grass clippings).

When the time comes, I will either sow seed or plant the plugs I will winter sow later.

It's small, but it's a start.

Getting There

Despite my continued frustration at my relatively slow progress trying to restore our property, I was happy to see how big one of our black gum trees (Nyssa sylvatica) is getting.  I am enjoying its fall color.

However, that is not what prompted this post.  While trying to get some shots of the fall leaves (with my digital camera, not posted here), something caught my eye.  My alder trees are finally making flower buds/catkins!  I have been known to get pretty excited when my trees become sexually mature!

These trees started as bare root seedlings that had been temporarily planted in a decaying mulch pile.  After too many years of not moving them to there final location, I finally moved them this spring.  The move seems to have been very beneficial to them.  They recovered quickly and are now about 5 feet tall...and making there first catkins.  I hope to protect them from the deer and see them bloom in the spring.  I am, also, looking forward to seeing their cone-like seedpods come fall and winter. :)

Late Addition

As things are getting ready to go dormant, I ended up adding a water lily (our native Nymphaea odorata) to the pond.

I have wanted one for a long time, so, when I found that I could purchase one from a native plant nursery (Edge of the Woods, in Allentown)--I jumped at the chance.  Actually, my dentist offered me some water lilies from his sound--I have yet to get them from him...and not sure if he has the native one.  (I do hope to get some blue gills and black nose dace from him eventually.)

Despite the weather dropping from the unusual highs of 70s & 80s for the past week or two to a high of 52°F, I waded into the water (with old shoes on) and put the potted water lily in place.  Hopefully, it will survive the winter and thrive next years--it is supposed to be remarkably hardy.

With the addition of the larger pond...and (the future) wetland, I have really expanded the variety of native plants to grow on our property.   I am so excited by this.  :)