Month: July 2019

The activity in our local forests amps up during the summer months, with an abundance of wildlife moving around the landscape, including this Black Bear, who’s tracks are pictured above. A domestic dog’s tracks parallel the bear’s, and they happened the same day. Did the dog spook the bear and run after it? Or, did the dog smell the bear’s recent passing and investigate the tracks? These prints are about ten feet off a logging road that is frequented by joggers and hikers in state forest. People come to the woods more in warmer months with less rain. The age of the tracks could be roughly determined by a light rain earlier that morning. Neither track has signs of that rain, yet the undisturbed ground around them did.

In this closer picture, with my hand as a size reference, there is a very fresh grass stalk well pressed into the mud by the animal’s broad foot. This bear’s hind foot is a medium size for a western black bear, so I would guess it’s a yearling, which is larger than a cub, but not fully mature. Looking closely at the distance between front and back feet, the bear was moving quickly, lunging across the muddy wetland towards the cover of thick brush, away from the road. Usually, wildlife is moving away from people, and having a dog helps, though it should stay leashed; for both the safety of the wildlife and the dog. An encounter with a black bear is possible, and startling them is the worst, so keep up a clear sound as well as visibility when hiking in the woods. Some people wear bells, I was talking actively with my friend as we traversed the landscape, and we were together with my young Aussie.

Because of our great rains, which have continued generously into July, keeping the temperatures dreamy and cool, (like a normal summer) fungus is thriving. I would be a great time to take a hike into the mountains on a shroom hunt. You can also still find a few in the lowlands, so keep your eyes open, even in planted landscape beds along sidewalks and buildings. The most diverse selections will be thriving in the forests, so take time to wander under an intact canopy if you can.

One other summer observation in the landscape- berries! Many are out early, so check your thimble berry and huckleberry patches sooner this year. I even saw blue elder fruiting out on a 4th of July visit to the east side of The Cascades. My apple trees at home are putting on fleshy fruit rapidly, and I worry for the branches of some overladen in the orchard. Peaches are ripening up fast too as our fruit year continues on epic proportion. If you know of any blueberry bushes nearby, start checking for the first fruiting flush. I’ve knabbed from my few shrubs and look forward to more. Though I’ll have to check out another secret patch in the area, an old farmstead that’s become a city park, because the sheep got to my mature bushes this year.

Alpine Lakes are great trout fishing hot spots. I always recommend live worms from the compost. In the elevations, you can still find minimal snow, which is a good sign for keeping the forests damp and streams flowing through the driest months of August and September. The Snoqualmie Tree Farm, where the above picture was taken, boasts two large alpine lakes, both of which I’ve caught my limit in. There is also older growth trees around these remote bodies of water, and on Lake Hancock, pictured above, old logging families have established summer cottages along its shores. This alpine wilderness offers great fishing, hiking, bird watching, and other wildlife encounters. I’ve seen loons, black bear tracks, cougar tracks, and bobcat in this area, and look forward to more adventures in the mountains this summer.

Our herd of awesome goats clears land and keeps blackberry at bay. They are a hand full to control, one of the most difficult systems in the landscape, yet their contribution and hard work are invaluable. For years these hard working stock animals have moved around the property eating invasives and keeping our freezer full of delicious meat. This year is a milestone, as we are working with 5 animals through the summer, and planning to breed 3 does next fall, which will be the largest gestation hosted on the land.

In the picture above, you see a wall of thick green bramble and ferns, a forest floor without much diversity, languishing in briar. There is a thick green mat of vegetation, but little diversity to recommend to wildlife or the greater ecology of the area. When goats move through. they open up the landscape to new opportunity. It also becomes easier to access parts of the landscape that might otherwise be neglected. This stand of forest is slowly being cleared of red alders, opening the canopy to new plantings of western white pine, wild Nootka rose, and native crab apple. These species are native, productive as fruit baring, and offer good pollination opportunities to insects.

When the bare ground is exposed, reseeding can occur, allowing the introduction of ground covers like knick-knick, elder, and twin flower. Wildflower mixes and shade loving under-story crops can be directly seeded into the landscape, through irrigation through early plant development (several weeks), will be necessary in our dry summer climate. In shad areas, like the one above, its more successful to plant out roots stalk instead of seeding, but I always throw something down, just to offer a foot hold.

Goats brows hard, leaving little in their wake of appetite. This is not a system I would recommend to sensitive ecosystems that are fully intact, not without a lot of supervision. Tethering goats takes a lot of work and good planning. Most people who raise goats, keep them in well fenced paddock systems. Chain tethers are used to maintain strong boundaries on the goat’s destruction zone. Many areas of the property are scattered with fragile young trees and shrubs, which the goats would gladly chow down on if they were left unchecked.

The challenges of goats revolve around negotiating strong individuals with iron will. If a goat wants to go somewhere, and you don’t have a good hold on her, she’ll drag you along for the ride. She’s usually heading for the nearest fruit tree when she escapes, and she knows their location by heart. A goat will panic when alone, so you can’t have just one. They are prolific breeders, so if you do have a stud in the herd, you’re going to have a large herd in no time without proper planning. Goats are sensitive creatures, and cannot handle extreme temperatures- meaning most of the winter is spent under cover, eating expensive hay. In summer, extra oversight is needed to make sure goats do not overheat.

The herd plan for our goats is all about mixing two wonderful breeds; the Boer, a meat breed, and Nigerian Dwarf, a milking breed. Gamble is out first product of this crossing, and she’s already showing the slightly smaller frame of build, along with good muscle mass. We’ll breed her this fall in her second year, after she’s finished growing. Our new buck, Valcore’s Dream, is a papered ADGA Nigerian Dwarf. He and Gamble should produce the perfect homestead animal, something duel purpose but not too big. Next spring, we should have around five kids, a lot of genetic material to work with as we shape our ideal goat for a smaller forested landscape.