Our CRP contract has come due, so Mike and I traveled to Nezperce this morning to sign papers at the USDA office. It was routine but had to be done.
Since we were within 20 miles of the farm, we drove on in to check on
the house and grounds. Today was a calm day – lovely and sunny at 37 degrees –
but yesterday a regional windstorm blew through, so we were anxious to see if
we had sustained damage. We didn't see much snow, but our rep at USDA said they had had a lot of rain.
Everything looked good at the farm, though apparently the wind blew
the bark off the dead tree in the grove, and that’s not a big deal. Perhaps 2021
will see us taking down that huge “stump.” We’ll probably have to wait until after
harvest.
We’ve been using pinecones as fire starters, so I filled a crate with them. I packed another crate with more food from the pantry. I used to think it was better to keep the cupboard stocked, but now I see the wisdom of rotating it out and bringing in fresh stuff in the spring.
We had two mice in traps, and those were in the storage closet under the
stairs – the same closet in which we found the nest some months back.
Obviously, we needed to make another effort to discover their point of egress, and
Mike said it should be today. So, we removed enough stuff that he could crawl to
the back of the closet where the ceiling meets the floor, and when he pulled
back the carpet, he could see holes where the ceiling meets the floor. We had
sealant but couldn’t apply it at that angle, so Mike packed in more steel wool. Naturally, we again left traps in the closet.
After a light lunch, we drove back to town, opting to return the way we had come (Hwy 95) and avoid the Gilbert Grade, which would be wet and muddy. KW
4 comments:
Whoever would have thought...the wind blew the bark right off!
Well, of course, I wasn't there when it happened, so I can't say what caused this phenomenon. Perhaps the wife of a tree pathologist will come here and be able to enlighten us. It seems clear that the bark had loosened and either by moisture or by wind, it fell off the trunk. I did not venture to the back side of the tree either.
The doctor says it probably had bark beetles which killed the tree and loosened the bark. The wind was then able to blow it off. If it was bark beetles, there should be beetle galleries (wiggly grooves) on the inside of the bark or the outside of the tree.
Hmmmm. Thanks for the info, Chris. Bark beetles are not good. I will investigate for wiggly grooves next times I'm there.
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