Rhythms and Patterns

Saw the first Swallowtail Butterfly of the year. In the journal that we keep, last year I wrote down the first Swallowtail sighting only one day later. Is it possible that their rhythm is such that they appear on the similar date due to the amount of light. Last year at this time we were much warmer and having thunderstorms. The day lilies were blooming- they aren't that far along this year. However, the peonies opened about the same time.

There is another part of the property, a place that we call Spiral Mound that is showing lots of color this year, but didn't last year. It is a place that long ago was a garden but had become shaded by taller trees and covered by blackberries. This space is now opened up and lots of different plants are showing themselves: irises, columbines, Sweet William.

This deer kept chasing the turkey. Seemed real strange behavior for a deer but then noticed that it has cataracts in one of its eyes. Who knows what the young buck actually sees. We now have four hens wandering the property. One day I noticed the turkeys eating the dandelion seeds and realized that this must be the reason we haven't had many dandelions showing up this year. The "lawn" had hundreds of dandelions last year. Also noticed that the lawn has a lot of clover this year. Since the lawn mower has been in the shop for a few weeks, the grass got really high. Got to cut it last night and could really see how dense the ground cover had gotten with clover.

We had a visit from a garden consultant- something that was won at a silent auction for a charity. She said that the lowest maintenance (other than just letting things go wild) is to mow it. Weeding, mulching, fertilizer, etc. take a lot of effort and that effort requires a lot of energy. The lawnmower takes just a few hours and a little bit of fossil fuels- it probably is less energy use when it is all added up. At least it is something to think about- then it is always less costly to do nothing.

If you are interested in reading another blog- some friends who live on the west side of the coast range are writing about their land too. They have some cool video on a bobcat that visited their property. You can "Musing on Beaver Creek Marsh" at http://beavercreekmarsh.blogspot.com Good writing and good links to be found there.

It has been wet here. Though the temperature and rainfall haven't been record setting- they have been in the top ten. Apparently, the Willamette River has risen 10 feet over the last week. (Last week we set a rainfall record for a single day in June). Our creek is running strong and has me thinking about getting a water gauge to follow the water flow... for curiosity sake.

For some reason I was thinking about an incident that took place around 30 years ago. I was living in Bellingham (post- undergraduate school). A friend and I were driving in the Fairhaven District when he said, "What a shame this land is going to waste." There were blackberries, trees, rabbits- to me the land was going to good use. But to him it needed to be developed to be useful. In a way it is amazing that we all get along as good as we do with all these different viewpoints, beliefs, and values.