Oak Insights

At dawn, in the eerie light of the snow, I went out to empty the ash bucket so we could scoop some more from the wood stove. The snow went up over my boots. I measured it out in the… Read more ›

It was nose-hair freezing this morning when I went out in my long underwear and slippers to warm up the car—about six below. I stepped out onto the porch, and something in the turkey pen caught my eye. The birds… Read more ›

Wendy organized a great birthday party for Mom this year. She and Tom invited us all to their place to celebrate the Saturday before Mom’s birthday. Bob and Cheryl were visiting from out west and Stuart picked up Jeff, so… Read more ›

This summer, I resisted the urge to kill the tomato hornworms in the garden. Instead I let the braconid wasps, tiny delicate creatures, lay their eggs on the backs of the worms. I counted about six infected hornworms the day… Read more ›

Four or five volunteer tomato vines came up among the peppers. They produced lots of flavorful, long-keeping tomatoes.

I saw this fence lizard laying eggs next to the front walk in a hole she dug out. You can see the gravel she pushed out on the walk. When I returned a bit later, she had cleaned everything up… Read more ›

Many, many thanks to Charlette and Jack for inviting all of us to their home for a fabulous party. Charlette’s gardens are beautiful, full of inviting spaces and interesting objects.

That’s how long it’s been since we tied the knot. Nothing fancy. We called our folks the night before and family who could come met us May 1st to witness the event. Mary Anne was very thoughtful and took pictures… Read more ›

Snow started falling yesterday in the afternoon and kept up off and on till late this morning. About six inches accumulated before warmer air undid the whiteness.

Last night it rained steadily and heavily. Early this morning, I set off to get pictures of the neighborhood streams as the water level peaked. Then I spent most of the day doing maintenance on our roads to stave off… Read more ›

Dennis invited Andy up from Richmond to brew some beer with the kit his sister gave him a couple years back. He and Katie and Tom came out for the occasion. We had a nice spaghetti dinner Friday evening and… Read more ›

John took pictures with my camera today. Lots of pet shots and pictures from a walk through the pines, down to the river, and up the stream trail. Schroeder focused on catching sticks.

Since we moved to Amissville, we were never satisfied with the location of the storage shed next to the graveyard on our property. So this fall I looked into having it moved. We decided to place it next to the… Read more ›

Queenie, our Speckled Sussex with keet-raising experience from last year, and Black Australorp Auntie (short for anthracite) are taking care of the first six of ten guinea keets to hatch this year… Update November 23, 2012: This morning the dogs… Read more ›

This is a daylily I developed; I call it “dark sunrise.” By developed, I mean threw a bunch of weeds and seed heads (including daylilies) in a brush pile and this one seeded itself. It is not like any planted… Read more ›

Turning onto Poes Road on my way home I saw figures in the road. A doe leapt into the brush on the east of the road. I slowed the car and saw a brand-new fawn, tiny and speckled, awkwardly scurrying… Read more ›

We put the chicks and poults in house 1 the night before last since yesterday was going to be rainy. This afternoon, I let them out into the poultry yard.

This year, I decided to invest in incubators to help hatch turkey eggs. In 2011, I borrowed incubators for eggs the setting turkey hens could not handle. Some from a crowded nest and some because of heavy rain in an… Read more ›

Five of the turkey hens took advantage of us while we were having coffee by the fire in the living room this morning; they came in through my office door, which was open for the dogs to use the backyard.… Read more ›

August 17 and 18 Late in the summer, it appears our stream dries up. This comes as no surprise, since you can follow the streamcourse to its various sources in about the time it takes to drink a fairly hot… Read more ›