Renee Wilkinson's Blog, page 32

Duck Flock Decisions

Just like any garden, homesteading life never stays the same. There is always some new challenge, right when you thought you were finally getting the hang of things. Change was inevitable for our backyard ducks. Right before the raccoon attack, I realized we had a drake among us.

Drake is what you call a male duck. They are not illegal in the city, since they don't crow like roosters, but their value in an urban setting is still up for debate. After all, you are working in a limited space to produce food. A duck eating feed but not providing eggs is not really the most efficient use of urban homestead space. Drakes often have a weaker voice than their female counterparts and their tail feathers curl.

Perhaps the clearest sign was watching little Millie try to mount our other girls. At first I saw it happen and just thought, "Oh, she's trying to dominate them. How cute." Then I realized HE was trying to make babies. So our little Millie is actually Milt.

With the loss of Bertie to a raccoon, that means we have two females to one male. Not great odds. Milt isn't exactly going to be earning his keep by producing eggs. And I worry he might hurt the girls if his "love" is spread among just two of them.

Are we eating him? Not sure. Are we re-homing him? Not sure. We are considering adding a couple new girls to the flock and possibly saying goodbye to Milt. Introducing two will spread the bullying out a bit, so not just one gets the brunt of it. After combing online classifieds, it looks like raising ducklings might be our only option.

If this life were predictable, it probably wouldn't be as exciting, right?

Summer Solstice

Time flies and here we are already at the summer solstice. The sunrise was at 5:30 am and the sun will set at 9:00 pm. It's going to be 81 degree outside today. Boy, did this just turn into summer overnight?

The changing of the seasons is always time for me to take stock of what's happening on our little slice of homestead. There is a changing of the guard in the garden. The arugula has already bolted and I am now eating a second round of radishes (Cincinnati Market heirloom radishes pictured above). The spinach is getting taller and taller, ready to bolt, and I am eagerly chowing down on those last fat, iron-filled leaves.

We are down one duck, but are looking at raised another couple ducklings to round of the flock. Their enforced duck house is keeping them safe and the hot pink paint job looks awesome. I have been draining the water from their kiddie pool directly onto the garden beds. I think we have the biggest butter lettuce I have ever grown! Thanks ducks.

Our meals are being made up predominantly by our backyard harvests. Eggs are at every meal now and we haven't had to give any away yet. My shoulders and back are getting less pink and more brown. The strawberries are coming on and I have the itch to start preserving.

It must be summer.

Changing Weekend Plans

I have a book signing tomorrow (Saturday) in Portland at the St. Johns Bookstore at 10:30am that I have been looking forward to for weeks. It's a cute little independently owned shop and the farmer's market will be going on just a block away. Our original plan was to stay up for a long weekend with friends and family. After yesterday's raccoon attack, I'm going up on my own now just for the day.

I have a nice sunburn from spending all day yesterday reinforcing the duck house. I decided it was high time it get painted, so they are sporting a hot pick flop house now. I built a sturdier door with one of those "smart" hook fasteners. You have to pull back a spring on it to open it, which is strong and kind of hard for me to even open easily.

The rest of the day I spent near the ducks, trying to get them more used to me. I spent $25 bucks on these fancy dried mealworms, hoping to bribe their trust. It's going slowly, but I am determined to get them more comfortable with us. My initial reaction was to just "let them be", but that meant not forcing them into their house at night. And we all know how that ended.

They made it into the duck house last night after about 15 minutes of gentle herding. There were treats for them inside and I'm hoping they fall into the habit every evening with me.

I woke up twice last night. Once at 1:00am and could see the stinker out there, so I chased him off with a pitch fork. Lovely sight I am sure… Then again at 4:00am, but no sign of the raccoon. A friend offered us a trap to use, so we could release him into the wild. We'd still have to worry about future predators, but the successful one would be gone. Haven't made my mind up yet.

This morning I woke to find that Bertie had been returned. I didn't take a picture because it was too sad. She was still in one piece, but her bones had been picked clean. I don't get that? Why would a predator bring her back? To finish his meal maybe hoping to get a seconds? Ew, so sad and gross.

I'm just to shaken still to leave them overnight, but am hopeful things get better and we can rely on neighbors to close them up and let them out when we are gone. It's disappointing to cut my time in Portland so short. But I am happy to still have a fun signing tomorrow morning and spend the afternoon picking strawberries with a friend, then head back and stake out that raccoon for another night. If you're in town, stop by and say hello!

Raccoon Attack

Last night I went to bed and started to feel terrified. It was a really spooky, windy night. But I wasn't terrified about the weather – I was worried about the ducks.

Our original intention with our backyard flock of ducks was to lock them up every night in their duck house. Unfortunately, after a week of that they became completely frantic whenever they would see us – quacking and fearing for their lives. So we stopped. Then we were locking them up in their shared run every night instead. But we missed a night here and there, and lately we've gotten altogether complacent about it.

So last night when I was laying in bed terrified, I was thinking about the ducks out there sleeping in the fenced backyard. I kept hearing my friend Denise's farm stories run through my mind and her warning that eventually a predator will find them. I decided we really needed to lock them up again in their coop, but I would worry about that tomorrow. I told myself that I needed to just relax and go to bed. So I drifted off to sleep and dreamed about u-picking strawberries with Justin Timberlake.

This morning our neighbor knocked on our door at 6:30am to let us know two of our ducks were in his backyard, which was fine, but he just wanted to let us know where to collect them later. He mentioned he only saw one in our yard. Immediately I sprang up out of bed, threw on pants, and rushed into the backyard.

This is all that remains of Bertie. I never wanted to write a post like this. And it's so clear that it's all my fault. I wasn't careful with our flock and now they had to live through a night of terror. They are even more skittish this morning.

Where do we go from here? The raccoon will be back tonight, possibly even before dusk. I hate that I rewarded a predator with food when we have neighbors on two sides with backyard chickens. I'm so worried about how determined it will be.

The ducks will be locked up tonight in their house. The chickens will have their run door closed. And the shared run will be locked up. But we have decisions to make now. When we leave town, does someone come over every morning and evening to open the duck house? Is the shared run predator proof? Do we want to really want another pile of feathers to tell us the answer to that?

Ugh. I failed them.

Charming Seattle

I am smitten with Seattle after my fun, albeit short, weekend up north. All of these years I have known there is something cool going on up in Seattle, but my trips up there have missed it. Maybe I was in the wrong area or with people who also didn't really know the city. But this time I finally got to meet the Seattle I've heard so many good things about.

My old high school friend Jim and his fiance Elizabeth were gracious enough to show me around Capitol Hill. He told me about these great pocket parks that Seattle is creating on just single city lots, turning them into little community gardens. People were there hanging out, gardening and using the communal barbeque. It looks like such a great way to use these little slivers of space and you can see such a wide array of creative garden ideas.

We stopped into this great apothecary called Sugarpill that carries all kind of cool goodies, including dozens and dozens of different salt and herb mixes. I also went to the perhaps the best Value Village ever and loaded up on new-to-me trendy clothes. My poor backpack was busting at the seams on the train ride home from my loot.

My signing at Elliot Bay Book Company was Sunday afternoon, which left a little time for ogling at the farmer's market across the street. The signing itself went well, although it was hard to compete with a cloudless, 80-degree day in the northwest. I saw some familiar faces and some new ones as well.

The best part of the weekend for me was reconnecting with old friends. A mutual high school pal happened to be in town at the same time, so we got to pal around as a group. He has this awesome, really successful electronica band called Starfucker and spends the better part of the year touring. It was inspiring to realize that being restless youths in high school produced some really creative, smart grown ups. Thank you Seattle for bringing us all together!

BEA Recap

Book Expo America 2011 was quite a whirlwind! I left our homestead for a few days to fly to NYC and have a couple signings at the event. It was the first time I have ever been to BEA and it was crazy! I was staying right by Times Square and the city was hot and buzzing with people.

This is the biggest book event in the country and basically every publisher and publishing-related company is there. Hundreds of authors filter through over the course of a few days talking about their new book, doing readings and signings. The thousands of attendees are book lovers, bookstore owners, librarians and anyone with their toe in the industry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I met equal parts people who were personally interested in modern homesteading and the other half people who were in the industry and wanted to check out the book for their library or bookstore. They kept stacking books up next to me during the signing, but the line just kept coming. It was such a successful signing that we ran out of books!

It was strange being back in the city when almost a year ago at this time I was pulling in with my dusty Subaru after a cross country drive. I lived there with Jay for a few months, which I spent editing the book, making slow food and getting involved in the local foodshed in Brooklyn. The streets felt very familiar and I once again admired New Yorkers ability to bring plant life into the city.

It felt really good to be around such diversity again. You see it in the people living there, but also just the colors and food of the city. I had dinner one night in Koreatown. Portland barely has a Chinatown, let alone a whole neighborhood for Korean businesses.

The last night there I ate in Hell's Kitchen with marketing team from Fulcrum Publishing. It was so great to meet more of their staff since I primarily worked with my editor through the process. The food we enjoyed was fresh, local and delicious. The restaurant even brought out a special little dessert for me to congratulate me on the book – how sweet!

It was hard to get away at the end of my term like that, but I think it was also just what I needed. It got me out of this small world of design and into the city that never sleeps. The event was successful and I would love to go again some day!

Elliot Bay Book Company – Sunday 6/12

Elliot Bay Book Company in Seattle will be hosting me for a signing this upcoming weekend. The event will start at 2:00pm on Sunday June 12th. I am really excited to be there at such a great, independent bookstore and I'm hoping to see some friendly gardening faces!

I think I will be taking the train up and back, which should be a really gorgeous ride. I should have time to stop by the market and pick up some great local goodies. With summer unfolding for me, I am really looking forward to a leisurely weekend up there chatting with folks about plants, harvesting and getting dirt under our nails.

If you are in the area, please come by and say hello! The best part of these book events for me has been trading stories about our modern homestead projects. It has been a great way to swap ideas and talk about new projects. I love meeting people on the same journey as myself and hope to make some new homesteading friends this weekend.

Mendocino Woodlands Design

Spring term of my graduate program is not officially over, but it's 95% over for me. Yesterday was my final review for my spring design studio and it went really well. The project this term was the Mendocino Woodlands, which is a historic camp in northern California.

The camp was built in the 1930′s and early 40′s as part of FDR's New Deal. It is considered a national historic landmark, so the design project balanced historic preservation with introducing new elements.

I am really pleased with how my design evolved over the course of the term. My concept was based on time and change, like the redwood forest where the camp sits. Some design elements are intended to last as long as the forest while others are meant to wash away every year.

I am completely exhausted after the combination of the New York City trip to the BEA last week and then spending 16 hours in studio every day trying to finish my term project. I'll be back next week with updates on the homestead, but for now I'm planning to rest and repair. I am so ready for a relaxing summer!

Hello Book Expo America

Hello again New York! I am here for just a short stint to attend the Book Expo America, or BEA event. It is the biggest book event in the country and I will have a couple signings tomorrow. The first one is at the "author table" from 11:30a-12:30p and then at the Fulcrum booth in the afternoon from 2p-3p.

I am so excited to be part of this huge event! It will be a great opportunity to meet some new green thumbs, fellow authors and just take in the world of publishing. The event is suppose to be kind of a zoo, so I'm not really sure what to expect. I just packed my cowboy boots and my favorite dress and figured that makes me prepared.

It seems like just yesterday we packed up the car in Brooklyn to start our cross country drive back to Oregon. And here I am with a view of the beautiful Chrysler Building. Thanks welcoming me back NYC. I'll be sure to give you all the full report on the event.

Garden of Plenty

We visited our house in Portland this past weekend, which we are renting out while I finish my grad program. We planned on spending all day there working on weeding and pruning. The garden is in such beautiful shape though that we spent the morning doing light pruning and admiring what a healthy, lush garden it has become.

It's amazing how a few years of carefully separating plants, taking cuttings from friends and carefully choosing colors and textures can totally pay off. Everything is just exploding! The apricot tree has fruit on it for the first time. It's a late blooming variety that does well in the PNW.

The currants are just dripping in fruit right now. In just another couple weeks they will be turning red and black. We have about six of them in the front and back gardens. The neighbor boys get the ones in the front while we focus on harvesting the backyard plants for ourselves. I know our renters are excited to reap the harvest this year.

The fig tree is just now leafing out and I hope our current tenants get a nice harvest. They are falling in love with spending time out there puttering and it really shows. It feels so great to know it is being lovingly tended while I finish up school.