I do not wish to adopt an "us vs. them" mentality in any of my relationships, but it has taken some discipline to not resort to that with regards to chipmunks this year. Soon after we replanted popcorn with hot sauce and repellent, we saw evidence of fresh digging. A google search landed us a list of things chipmunks do not like the smell of and we found ourselves making a "chipmunk smoothie" from things picked around Tangly Woods to pour on the ground around the corn plantings. If it deterred them at all, it was not for long.
So, sadly, it looks like Alida and Terah will have very little popcorn this year. They have both handled the disappointment better than their parents. Alida took comfort in having saved plenty of seed back that she can plant next year. Thankfully Kali's stand looks decent currently and our flour corn has not been hammered in the same way. Both of their patches are near places where chipmunks have taken up residence - we have done a fabulous job of nurturing diverse environments here at Tangly Woods and some of them are perfectly suited for chipmunks. Can we blame them for moving in?! We are very open to any advise, counsel, sympathy, creative ideas, etc... for how we can welcome chipmunks at Tangly Woods AND grow popcorn and other grains in small amounts.
We were able to get most of the barley in before they decimated that crop so have threshed and winnowed the main crop and Jason is out right now threshing and winnowing the second harvest, including the naked barley (hull-less) we tried for the first time this year. We are hoping for a seed increase on that so we can plant more than a small test plot. If we can grow a hull-less barley that the critters don't get all of before we can get to harvesting it, that would be a wonderful improvement from needing to grind and then sift out hulls. We'll see!
We are still doing our best to stick with our Sunday sabbath commitment and thanks to that commitment, we have moments like this from time to time. I'm hesitant to put it on the blog as it looks so relaxing (and it was...for a few minutes), but does not give the full picture. Kali, Jason and I could probably be up on the hill for a few hours reading and napping but the younger two get antsy pretty quickly and enjoy flopping on any parents that are found horizontal. Added to that, we've got some real chatters in our family at present. I recall this particular outing wearing on my nerves more than settling them. But you gotta keep trying stuff, as sometimes it works (at least for some of us)...
I'm putting this in writing so it is here for the record - we are done incubating eggs in electric incubators for the season. We had one request/temptation to start it back up a week ago but thankfully turned down that "opportunity." The last incubator load of 80+ eggs ended up netting 4 chicks due to the turner never being turned on (an essential component of incubation - mother hens turn the eggs several times a day). So those are 4 amazing chicks!! It was a good learning moment for Jason to identify (and me to support) that once gardens are in full swing, we really should not also be managing incubators. I hope we can keep that in mind in future years or create systems where it doesn't fall solely on him. In short, broody hens are the way to go whenever possible.
And, finally, Jason had his first experience of donating platelets under the Red Cross. Virginia Blood Services did a method that only used one arm and took a fraction of the time. This time, two arms were used and he was able to watch a full length movie and have some time to spare. Currently they are testing for Covid-19 antibodies so this particular donation netted a negative antibody test for Jason, for whatever that is worth. I think I'll have to stick to whole blood for now, as I'm not sure I'm quite ready to have two needles in my arms for several hours (my mind might get the better of me). He's up for doing it again and this time will be better prepared for what to expect!So that about catches us up to the start of our staycation. That will deserve a post all to itself!
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