Liberty Hillside: Hunter Moon 2010
Liberty Hillside (formerly known as Heavy Duty Acres) is a 4-acre property in driftless Wisconsin. It is primarily a wooded hillside on a south-facing slope, with the base nestled down in the hollow. When we took responsibility for the property in 2001, everything that wasn't woods was mowed lawn. On our first weekend stay (we lived in Milwaukee at the time), we got out the spades and dug out a fire pit. It didn't take long to see the property as a canvas, with the gifts of nature as our palette. Here you can view the documentation of our sculpting of the earth.
Hunter Moon 2010 update
In the previous journal entry here I wrote about the chronic Lyme disease diagnosis I received in April and how I'd use this space as a forum to talk about what I'm going to do about the diagnosis. For now I'm taking a handful of herbal supplements twice a day and trying to make healthy choices every day. Beyond that, here's what's up at Liberty Hillside.
First let's look at some of the summer blooms in the prairie.
Gaura biennis, i.e. Biennial Gaura
Solidago rigida, i.e. Stiff Goldenrod
Helianthus divaricatus, i.e. Woodland Sunflower
Mystery Plant!
Sorghastrum nutans, i.e. Indian Grass
Panicum virgatum, i.e. Switch Grass
The East prairie, which was a mess of invasive non-native species only two years ago, is now blooming with several species of native prairie plants.
This Yellow Swallowtail on the Biennial Gaura among the Cup Plants, Brown-eyed Susans, and Indian Plantain in the East prairie is sweet satisfaction. The butterflies are here because these plants are here, and these plants are here because we put them here. It's so nice to know that we really can make a difference in this world. Imagine if everyone would pitch in to bring back the natural landscape. It's enough to keep a guy optimistic.
Vicki takes on the Canada Goldenrod in the East prairie. This is the kind of maintenance it takes to beat the invasives. It feels great because, even though it might take years to see the results, it's a winnable battle. It's good, slow fun!
Clearing up the brush around the cabin was a top priority in 2010.
Where there once was a thick stand of old lilacs for the bugs to take refuge just three feet from the cabin, there's now room for a temporary trampoline. We're adding a screen porch here next year.
And below the cabin, to the south, the bank that has been thick with dogwoods, lilacs, and Canada Goldenrod has been cleaned off and prepared for woodland edge prairie seeds. We will also wrap three sides of the cabin in decking sow we can all have more tick-free leisure time.
Speaking of ticks, the guinea coop sure didn't get finished in time to bring in the flock in 2010. But at least we got the windows screened to keep the birds in when they finally get here in 2011.
Finally, we picked up a decent lawnmower with a 46" cut, which means the lawn gets cut twice as fast, which means 50% less time on the grass with the ticks. Hey, every little bit helps! And after nine years getting by with the property's existing buildings, we finally bought an Amish-built shed to help get things organized.
It's all about getting organized.
Archive
BUCK MOON 2010 Intro to Lyme Disease
CORN MOON 2009 A Pretty Good Summer
PINK MOON 2009 Holy Thursday
BEAVER MOON 2008 Prairie by Plugs
HARVEST MOON 2008 Early Summer Growth
STRAWBERRY MOON 2008 An intro to Heavy Duty Acres