Lovely little things: wooded eggs and lovebirds

Lovely little things: wooden eggs and lovebirds

by In.Her.Own.Write

Sunday was quietly great. Some sunshine flitting in and around Water Street Bistro and the Turning Basin, going out under it. Met a friend at Water St., was a B-Day going on so champagne flutes and little cakes all around! Engaging conversation at every table far as I could see and hear. Adorable babies who were not around last year at this time. Precious – and noticed what good kids these are. Sharing apple slices, giving back as well as taking temporary gifts (a shiny scarf from a pretty young thing posed with, walked with, given back).

Then walking the Turning Basin. Always a joy, we went down the Yacht Club ramp, up the other end, noting what boats are present. Few now but they fill up at holidays including some our little city creates. Miss the great egret who used to show up for fish heads, but then there are few fishermen these days. Too much pollution? Bet that will clear up with hard work from the Water Ways people – another feel good story.

Stretching legs around the Turning Basin works best when you make stops and extensions. This day, Rivertown Feed, to buy little wooden eggs so our Rhode Island Red chickens won’t scold me when I take the last egg from their straw nests in the barn. See attached. From first minutes eggs introduced, a coupla hens nested, cooing atop the fakes, oblivious to my filching their golden yolk eggs, the rich cholesterol high ones I still eat, irregardless of high blood pressure. (This, too, will probably need adjustment).

End of a Rivertown visit is always for me checking out the creatures for sale and permanent residents. Koi fish peacefully floating around in their tanks outdoors, a few fluffy bunnies, now no baby chicks, sometimes mallard ducks, turkeys, wide variety of chickens. Then the pet birds, the loud small parrots, cockateels (very sweet), and the purple headed guy who plucks his own feathers out (noticed some doting friend gave him a little cloth cave he can nest in.) Especially engaged with the pair of orange lovebirds, photos attached. Silly how they crowd each other again the ends of the cage, cuddling postly, sometimes arguing, then back to cuddling. Sometimes upside down.

Noticed the great canoe/kayak? resting on the planter at the entrance to the Petaluma River Heritage Center on McNear Peninsula. Looking forward to a beavy of tiny pink roses in a couple months on the tall, healthy and long row of Cecil Brunner roses. Smell like pepper and dry as perfect buds that smell good for a year. Also look forward to launching our two kayaks off the new dock there, built with help from local teens who built the stairs to the dock.

Then off to the ongoing poetry appreciation event, Nancy Long and Geri DiGiorno’s People, Places and Poetry at the Apple Box…more on that.

Lovebirds at Rivertown Feed, sweet and sociable

Spring is Busting Out All Over at Oasis Farm

Spring is busting out all over at Oasis Farm

by In.Her.Own.Write

Just about a year now we’ve been country folk (I’m a city/suburb girl, Chicago, Berkeley, San Francisco) and then here…in a warehouse 11 years. Still a bit of a lovely shock to see farms all around when I look.

Coming up on time to plant but its smart to wait until after last frost.
Old Farmer’s Almanac says last frost is Valentines Day, but Mother Earth News veggie planner says March 20…so when do you plant your tomatoes? Very different question from when we had zero garden space behind our warehouse Cave on Water St. Some rosemary in a wine barrel made it through the frost each year. Roses in half wine barrels barely.

Here? Wayne just started over 1,000 chamomile plants and I’m trying to track where all the veggies are in MotherEarthNews Vegetable Planner online (but may have to settle for graph paper). A MAP is definitely needed if I’m to help care for all these babies! Chickens now, goats soon.

So many daffodils and paper whites I’ll never even count them, garlics, I think I know where those all are, celery, cilantro, verbena, do you bury the cover crop fava beans as compost or should I pick those to feed the chickens their daily warm snack? Quite confusing without a map.

But this is about signs of spring. Bulbs springing up everywhere. I think that was the mockingbird that came back and pinion jays come often. Most birds though, will wait till there are some more blossoms on the trees. Trees – there’s another thing. We have 30 more trees I haven’t become acquainted with. I know we’ll have three redwoods in the corner near Cinnabar School. Three redwoods! And the Baker’s dozen willow cuttings Wayne stuck in the ground along Skillman Lane all have leaves!

A spectacular aspect of Spring is sunsets this year. See attached. We did luck out with a panoramic view on our hill that looks out on Sonoma Mountain with a bit of Mt. St. Helena in the background, horses all around where people don’t have sheep, Black Angus or peacocks.

Haven’t actually seen the peacocks, but they woke me the other night. Though don’t think that wake up call WAS peacocks. Coyotes was what I heard. Can’t prove it but will listen for them – and the raccoon that I suspect came into the kitchen the other night to attack the cat food bag.
Glad I walked in fast. Want to keep my cats!

Whole different life than downtown, our old haunt. But Jungle Vibes, Wayne’s store, will have a cafe in April – so I’ll be a country girl/city girl once again. See you downtown – or stop by the farm for eggs from the happiest chickens I’ve ever carried around.

Big Sky at sunset

[caption id="attachment_10795" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="New hoop house for baby veggies and flowers"][/caption]

Oasis Farm from Margy's plane

Overlooking Oasis Farm Jan. 2011

Oasis Farm, 280 Skillman Lane outside Petaluma, CA, from the sky is amazing especially after the rains have covered Sonoma County hills with emerald grasses and wild flowers. We're blessed with some of the most beautiful and bountiful landscape on earth; we start from that.

Our friend, Margy Boyle, has the greatest 4-seater Cessna (I call him Marvin) at Petaluma Airport and she's often revved up to go flying so we did a fly over (and stalked our friend, Julie, who has another small farm nearby) about half a year ago, again just recently and this time - wow! I got pictures. Huge changes in the landscape. See attached photos for all the developments in the roadway, completion of the septic system, terracing of the fig grove and more...

Will keep you posted! Barn raising within a year...can barely wait to invite friends and neighbors.

How to build great soil

I discovered that I was growing a giant berm of great topsoil almost by accident. When we planted the grapes on the southeast facing hill we dug in about 4 inches of duck manure into the eight terraces running 100 feet along the hill and planted it to an organic soil builder that featured peas, vetch, barley, and lots of bell beans, (also known as fava so more on that later.) This was not to cover the soil but to build it from the top down, using our own free energy source, the sun to grow soil. Sound to good to be true. Just see what one year can do!

Our first crop of cover was planted in February and was arm pit high in about 120 days. In June we mowed and turned it under and planted again. This time aggressively irrigating it for and even faster 90 day crop which was again mowed tilled and planted for the winter. Now in January after feeding batches of fava to the chickens for winter snacks we have another giant pile of biomass waiting to be used.

Each time we till a little more topsoil sloughs off down the hill so to our surprise just below the vineyard is a growing 15" berm of super rich, fluffy, sandy loam top soil. How big is that? About 14 cubic yards of soil, enough to fill a large 10 wheel dump truck.

It arrived via gravity just in the nick of time as we are planting more blueberries just below this mountain of soil and have used it to amend the planting holes adding a bit more high test compost from Sonoma Compost. Our hillside of blueberries should be very beautiful as the year warms up as the are known for colorful leaf and blossom displays. I will post photos as it progresses

Quince, mulberry, feijoa in the spotlight

Quince, mulberry, feijoa in the spotlight

This fruit smells wonderfully tropical and looks exotic but can grow quite small and manageable like a little natural hedge of fruit. Makes a good landscaping bush as it is very ornamental and evergreen

Spring 2010 on the Farm

The sky was too beautiful today to miss these shots. Please join us on June 13 for a build your own pizza party and live music on the hill. Call 707 364-9769

Oven Building Video

Just got to add Miguel's video

350 Garden Challenge Cob Oven Building at Oasis Community Farm

Connie and I are riding high on the energy of old friend and new that came to share the work on our new farm project. Here are some photos of the day. What Miguel says about grounding power of getting your hands in the mud is true -- speaking as one with many years in the construction trade, cob just feels heathy. Enjoy the show and see you soon.

Update to 350 Garden Challenge on the 15th

It seems that projects just naturally grow. This one is no exception. In addition to building our new adobe earth pizza oven we've added an opportunity to pitch in and plant a salsa garden. We think 15 to 20 families can join in this coop effort with over a hundred tomatoe and peppers plants, maybe do some weeding from time to time and come back in 80 days for a canning party and take home a supply of personalized salsa. We supply the land and water, you supply the love.

In addition the our scare crow workshop, we have added fanciful face painting by visiting artist Natalie Dale. Lest we forget little educational walking tours of the orchard and discussion about our fruit production.

This is a small little farm but still big enough for lots of friends and family. Although we will start with chicken eggs for only about 10 or 12 families, we expect that within 4 years as our fruit trees mature and we add livestock and a hot house, that we will supply 40 families with 30 tons of fruit and fruit products, 100 families with eggs, 20 or 30 with vegetables and10 with milk and a little cheese.

I warn you, our place is a little rough around the edges, a bit like frontier, but that makes it a ground floor opportunity.

Wayne

Connie, thanks for the Bill McKibbin interview. Not only is he one of my heroes, the content of the talk is totally related to the 350 Garden Challenge. Some may not know that 350 stands for 350 parts per million of carbon in the atmosphere. McKibbin's been on this since the 70's and although he did not invent 350 as a number he works full time now promoting it's importance with his organization www.350.org

Unfortunately I can't open and play it so I will include another interview here from a while ago but related to another favorite book "Deep Ecology". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5YVXnnfS28

Enjoy.