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Last summer, during one of our many wind storms, a few large poplar branches in the orchard area broke off. In order to maintain strict site safety, we hired a company to come in at the end of January to prune vulnerable branches and trees throughout the orchard area. It was a big job, but we can rest easy now knowing that hazards have been removed.
Our thanks to MEGlobal for bringing in the snow moving equipment! Cynthia Pohl, our Head Gardener, was on site during the Big Prune and got these pictures.
On Saturday, Feb 18th, a small but enthusiastic group of Lacombe Scouts helped haul some of the bucked up wood out of the woods. On hand to help was Shelley Macauley, Denis Hainsworth, Ron Biel and Rick Zemanek. We loaded up several half ton trucks with wood, which will be used for woodstove/fireplace burning. We will finish hauling more pieces out in the spring. Some wood will be left to rot (for butterfly hibernation logpiles) and some will be rolled to the water for spring beaver munchies.
Here are some pictures of the day's work!
Rick Zemanek hard at work!
Ron Biel counting tree rings on one of the large Northwest Poplars that had to be removed. He calculated that the tree was 40 years old. It would have been planted by Charlie and Winnie in the early 1970s.
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Thanks to the genius of our "IT guy," we have some high tech owl cams set up on our Great Horned Owl site. With the expert help of "Nest Builder," our trusty Site Foreman and guy-who-can-do-everything (Ron Biel), IT guy was able to get his new camera system installed and the old side-view camera better positioned.
Here is the new camera system (wtth two cameras in one box) showing the top view (colour in day, HD black and white at night).The other, side veiw camera, is shown on the pole to the bottom left.
Here is Nest Builder (Ron Biel) up at the owl nest, helping get the new camera system in place.
IT guy and Nest Builder were able to position the cameras using a laptop up at the nest. Notice the bones from mammals fed to last year's young!
The owls have been hooting up a storm and we hope that they will start nesting in earnest any day now!Stay tuned!
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E and Husband Photographer and I all went to the festivities on the EBF's last day of 2011.
How could we not? It was a beautiful summery day, perfect for being outdoors.
And besides that, we had friends from Calgary with us, for whom this beautiful day was their first time at EBF. We were so proud to show off our favourite attraction of Central Alberta...to show them the flowers, the pond and, of course, the martins.
We were serenaded on our visit by a band, playing a whole variety of music, including polkas, and we just barely resisted the urge to get up and two-step or waltz or something.
But the martins had already danced their last summery dance and left the scene, leaving empty nests and an oddly quiet landscape. The resident amphibians were released to find winter homes as well, attended by fanfare and a group of very excited kids.
Martins or not, we had a lovely visit. We got two scoops of ice cream for the price of one and on such a hot day, it was the best ice cream we'd ever eaten. And the highlight of the day for little E was chatting with the goats and sheep, just before they were taken away to their winter home.
It was a lovely summer of exploring at EBF. Little E and I can't wait until next season, when we can explore some more and learn all sorts of new things. |
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The evening event at EBF was the perfect setting for a Friday night date. Little E was left at home with her grandparents whilst Husband Photographer and I basked in the setting sunlight at the Farm.
It was an absolutely perfect evening for the event. The mosquitoes were minimal, the desserts were delicious and the wine choices totally apropros.
We enjoyed the food and short program, visiting with the other guests and the tours.
But most of all, we enjoyed quietly walking amongst birds and flowers in the evening light.
The golden glow over plants, people, birds and buildings alike was even more pronounced than when we visited in June and we stayed as long as we could to partake in the magic of it.
EBF in the evening is truly a sight to behold.
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Little E and I jumped at the opportunity of a relatively sunny day to visit the Bird Farm again.
What relief for both of us to escape the indoors...it's hard being one and not-yet-walking when your Mama won't let you crawl in the mud.
But things aren't muddy at EBF...just soggy.
The creek is absolutely rushing, keeping the beavers very busy engineering and re-engineering their dam.
And with all the rain and wind, several trees have fallen over, wreaking havoc in flowerbeds and forest.
In other words, much has occurred since our last visit! There was much to investigate and plenty of exploration required whilst practicing walking.
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