Wins and Losses
One of the great things about our farm maturing (almost five years out here) is the trees are getting bigger. I was talking with my sister and she commented how nice it was to see them getting so large in pictures. It is! And with the larger trees comes more birds.
As I have mentioned in previous posts we had a VERY dry winter and spring. This year I have noticed more birds eating fruit than last year. They are thirsty and the peaches for example are full of water and sugar that they want. So this might be construed as a loss. We have maturing fruit trees finally bearing some fruit but we also have attracted birds in the area who want to share our bounty. I am not totally opposed to this. But I find sharing is a relative concept for the natural world. Due to this dry year we also have a dry pond. And so we have a lot less deer pressure than last year. Last year we got a downpour end of May which filled the pond. So we had water way into late August. This year our pond went dry first week of June. So is that a win or a loss? Well having less deer due to no water is a win if you want things to grow beyond a stunted infancy. But having a dry pond means the birds are searching more for water sources. Deer were coming back each and every night and exhausting small shrubs and trees last year. This year not so much. Last year the birds left the fruit alone more due to water in the pond. This year they can't. The ebb and flow of the natural world.
So we have maturing trees which is good. We have some bearing fruit, good. We have much more wildlife especially birds which is good for biodiversity but not so good for the fruit we want to eat. BUT we have birds eating other things like Elder. My elder tree is 9 feet tall and it fruited a lot this year. Hooray! because I love to make elderberry elixir. But the birds love the berries too. I have never seen so many Kingbirds feasting on it. It was going to be a great year. And it is, for them. Not much left for me. But just the other day I was in the garden poking around. There was a new plant that didn't look like a cucumber or tomato. What was it? I hate pulling things out which is why I am a bad vegetable gardener, so I left the mystery seedling. And now? What do I find has germinated in my veggie patch? An Elderberry!!!! The birds pooped it out and there it flourished. I have not had much luck germinating elderberry seeds. They like the digestive tract of birds and veggie garden soil. But I find this a great piece of the puzzle. More birds spreading more seeds which might mean more plants and trees growing that I neither planted nor purchased. That is how it works in the forest and that is how it should work on a more mature permaculture farm. I thought I had to wait for scrub jays to start planting acorns, which I am still waiting for, but at least other birds are planting other things. And amid the apparent wins and losses of life out here, natural finds its own way.
As I have mentioned in previous posts we had a VERY dry winter and spring. This year I have noticed more birds eating fruit than last year. They are thirsty and the peaches for example are full of water and sugar that they want. So this might be construed as a loss. We have maturing fruit trees finally bearing some fruit but we also have attracted birds in the area who want to share our bounty. I am not totally opposed to this. But I find sharing is a relative concept for the natural world. Due to this dry year we also have a dry pond. And so we have a lot less deer pressure than last year. Last year we got a downpour end of May which filled the pond. So we had water way into late August. This year our pond went dry first week of June. So is that a win or a loss? Well having less deer due to no water is a win if you want things to grow beyond a stunted infancy. But having a dry pond means the birds are searching more for water sources. Deer were coming back each and every night and exhausting small shrubs and trees last year. This year not so much. Last year the birds left the fruit alone more due to water in the pond. This year they can't. The ebb and flow of the natural world.
So we have maturing trees which is good. We have some bearing fruit, good. We have much more wildlife especially birds which is good for biodiversity but not so good for the fruit we want to eat. BUT we have birds eating other things like Elder. My elder tree is 9 feet tall and it fruited a lot this year. Hooray! because I love to make elderberry elixir. But the birds love the berries too. I have never seen so many Kingbirds feasting on it. It was going to be a great year. And it is, for them. Not much left for me. But just the other day I was in the garden poking around. There was a new plant that didn't look like a cucumber or tomato. What was it? I hate pulling things out which is why I am a bad vegetable gardener, so I left the mystery seedling. And now? What do I find has germinated in my veggie patch? An Elderberry!!!! The birds pooped it out and there it flourished. I have not had much luck germinating elderberry seeds. They like the digestive tract of birds and veggie garden soil. But I find this a great piece of the puzzle. More birds spreading more seeds which might mean more plants and trees growing that I neither planted nor purchased. That is how it works in the forest and that is how it should work on a more mature permaculture farm. I thought I had to wait for scrub jays to start planting acorns, which I am still waiting for, but at least other birds are planting other things. And amid the apparent wins and losses of life out here, natural finds its own way.
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