2022
-
2023
9.22-1.23:
- great tit (parus major)
- eurasian jay (garrulus glandarius)
- house sparrow (passer domesticus)
- eurasian blue tit (parus caeruleus)
- great spotted woodpecker (dendrocopos major)
- willow tit (poecile montanus)
*
rare sightings:
rare sightings:
- grey-headed woodpecker (picus canus)
- eurasian tree sparrow (passer montanus)
- eurasian blackbird (turdus merula)
- eurasian tree sparrow (passer montanus)
- eurasian blackbird (turdus merula)
ways we support wildlife @ TUO TUO
-include plants that provide nutrition
(pollen, seeds, berries) so animals
may freely forage
-encourage the growth of native
trees and shrubs (also food)
-provide supplemental food (in winter)
-maintain 6 water features:
from large steel basins to
small clay bowls
-keep areas of dense foliage,
thicket, stone piles, brush piles
to offer creatures cover
& hiding place
-build bird and bat houses
-leave dead trees
which provide shelter/
abundance of insects (food)
FEBRUARY 23
- saw aurora borealis or revontulet (a reference to Finnish mythology about the great fox in the sky)
- the second half of feb saw the return of winter: a cold snap and more snow
- a storm had fell a dying tree (kelo) in the forest behind the sauna
- spotted some willow trees blossoming
- snow depth ~ 40 cm (compared to ~110 cm in feb 22)
- baby blue february skies are a welcomed sight ~ conditions waver between cold/crisp and thaw/icy
- unseasonably warm nights have been good for stargazing
- seed inventory/ strategizing
JANUARY 23
- snow work ~
- maintained winter compost & bird feeders
- spotted plenty of animal tracks in the snowy forest: rabbit, fox, lynx, mink, squirrel...
- a family of endangered willow tits (poecile montanus) has become a regular visitor on a feeder
- made skii tracks in the forest
- a new load of bone dry firewood from Timo
- keept the fireplaces clean
- average temp -3C
DECEMBER 22
- maintained winter compost
- keept bird feeders and ground areas clean
- average temp - 4C
NOVEMBER 22
- extensive clearing of fireweed
fields located on SE side of the barn
- used the fermented/rotten plants for compost and mulch
- composted and mulched heap by the sauna, composted and mulched Joss’s heap
- permaculture design/planning for the spring (tended to garden beds next to the sauna, created smaller sections with rocks as borders)
- seed research for native plants/ cover crops/ edible perennials
- design phase for mini-greenhouse planning/ list for acquiring recycled materials
- observational perimeter walk on 2ha
OCTOBER 22
- built heap along the outside border of the bird fence, built a snake heap on the NE side of the house and a semi-circle heap in from the barn
- raked fallen leaves to use as mulch for garden beds and heaps
- stored some fallen leaves in the barn for winter to be used as compost
- researched leaf mold*
*leaf mold is a soil amendment – essentially a soil conditioner that increases the water retention; leaf mold improves soil structure and provides a fantastic habitat for soil life: earthworms, beneficial bacteria, etc., it doesn't provide much in the way of nutrition, so we will still need to add compost or other organic fertilizers to increase fertility
fields located on SE side of the barn
- used the fermented/rotten plants for compost and mulch
- composted and mulched heap by the sauna, composted and mulched Joss’s heap
- permaculture design/planning for the spring (tended to garden beds next to the sauna, created smaller sections with rocks as borders)
- seed research for native plants/ cover crops/ edible perennials
- design phase for mini-greenhouse planning/ list for acquiring recycled materials
- observational perimeter walk on 2ha
OCTOBER 22
- built heap along the outside border of the bird fence, built a snake heap on the NE side of the house and a semi-circle heap in from the barn
- raked fallen leaves to use as mulch for garden beds and heaps
- stored some fallen leaves in the barn for winter to be used as compost
- researched leaf mold*
*leaf mold is a soil amendment – essentially a soil conditioner that increases the water retention; leaf mold improves soil structure and provides a fantastic habitat for soil life: earthworms, beneficial bacteria, etc., it doesn't provide much in the way of nutrition, so we will still need to add compost or other organic fertilizers to increase fertility
SEPTEMBER 22
- removed the white picket fence in the inner yard to allow trees to grow/ encourage filling in and new growth (used materials to build a front gate to prevent cars from driving onto the 2ha; stored remainder in the barn)
- thinned pioneer trees (willow, aspen, alder, rowan, spruce) whose quick growth had filled the spaces where larger trees had previously been cut before our time: surrounding the house [this work revealed just how poorly treated/managed the 2ha has been]
- thinned trees were used for: construction of the bird fence by the spruce line, spruce were used as protective coverings on garden beds, branches/trunks used as heap/raised bed material, we made small tidy piles on the floor of stretches of forest around the house, placed more strategically so that walking among the trees is easier and new growth is still encouraged; also, firewood
- built a keyhole heap on the N side of the house
- added compost to fruit trees/ added protective fencing
- installed birdhouses (5)