1 + 1 = 3 (hummingbirds)

We have a new addition to the local hummingbird family. We've been watching them now and determined that there is a new youngster visiting the feeder!! I'll try to get a picture of it and post. And as if this isn't enough excitement, last night, when i went out at about 9pm to bring in the feeder, a rather large black bear bounded out of the bushes and away from the house to the east. Who knows...it may have been sitting there waiting until our lights went out to come and partake of the feeder. Well, that is exactly why the feeder comes inside each night!!! Clearly the bear was quite scared as it didn't even look back -- just took off when I opened the North door.

Taking the afternoon off

We did a lot of work in about 3 and a half hours this morning. We're taking the afternoon off. We cut some more red maple firewood logs, cleared a path blocked by some fallen red maple, and trimmed some conifers that were blocking access to the sun for oaks and birches in a spot about 1000 feet from the house. Here are some pictures of our busy day.

The good blend of sun and rain have made for a lovely wildflower season so far. These are just two on the hill near the house:

We received more wind and rain from Hurricane Arthur than originally expected. This white pine must have twisted when it fell, causing the splintering of the trunk.

The Saudi Arabia of wood

In defense of a school's decision to switch to biomass heating, a man in Northern New Hampshire recently suggested the region should stop buying oil from foreign sources. He called our region "The Saudi Arabia of wood." Here are some recent pictures of our wood work as we prepare for the next few heating seasons with our favorite type of fuel, grown on our own land, as well as cut and split with our own hard work.

Of course, trees are great in their own right. Here are a red maple and paper birch doing just fine in our still pleasant early summer. Lows some mornings in the last week were below 40 degrees.

Hummingbirds

We have a very active hummingbird couple who are enjoying the feeder and hanging plant on the back deck.

Wood everywhere!

Some weekend work with the chainsaws is shown in the first two photos. We split about half of the big wood this morning. That will end up being close to a cord of good red maple for the stove. The small saw completed the work on the branch pieces that will also help out with lots of heat. The third picture shows our new frame for barrels meant to hold our sand/salt mix. This will be placed near our driveway hill before winter. Three neat forest photos conclude this latest collage. A huge sugar maple, lovely paper birch, and photo of the deep woods near our north lot line are featured.

A great start to June

From 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. today, we were under a frost advisory. The cool start and wonderful sunshine meant a work day was in store for us. We've made good progress in firewood and kindling, as you can see. Some trees enjoying the afternoon sun are also pictured, including a young red oak.

Frosty start for a turkey

We're having our first sunny morning in a while. Overnight temps were cool enough for some frost. This turkey didn't seem to mind.