Stork 1: We navigated through the Sahara desert, dodged missiles over Gaza and drones over Ukraine for this?
Stork 2: Climate change my cloaca, it used to be warmer*
* It was not. Storks aren't good at fact checking and don't have access to historical average temperature records.
This again.
Same as last year, just a few days after the trees all started pushing leaves out. Not great.
Still a big mess back here. Stupid virginia creeper infestation. I massacred everything down with the decapacitator blade last autumn but the roots are unkillable and it will come back soon.
It climbs up the trees and chokes their branches, causing them to die off. I cut off some dead ones so I can at least pass through there for now. Before it was just jungle.
Not sure how to get a grip on this, perhaps remove all the junk from the ground and then rotavate it.
Loooolllll: "DOGE Mandates Power Tool Manufacturers Use Single Battery Platform" - https://www.protoolreviews.com/doge-mandates-power-tool-manufacturers-use-same-battery/
Good luck with that: "DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency) has directed both the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to mandate that all power tool manufacturers in the United States adopt a single, universal battery platform. Even more stunning, DOGE has tapped Positec, the parent company of Worx, Rockwell Tools, and Kress, as the manufacturer to eliminate the current state of “battery chaos.”"
This was definitely thought up by a nerd who went to use his Milwaukee drill and only had Makita battery and was mad he had to buy a $150 battery.
Have a handful of sunchoke tubers here from @MCDuncanLab (thank you!), so I am googling odd facts about them before even planting them, as one does.
Seems they can do nearly anything, including produce alcohol, for drinking or fuel.
Any thoughts on that?
Stork stalking around the garden, carefully picking the best piece of hay for their nest. Must be expecting!
Other choice nest building materials got flown in from at least two different directions. Not easy finding quality furniture these days.
Some of the concrete beams got a new job. Keeping firewood off the ground and well ventilated.
This firewood store is superb, wind blows through it from one direction or the other most of the time. The stacks were aligned the wrong way though and leaning against the barn, plus the wood had just been stacked on the ground, so the bottom layers were rotted away and the next few were moist.
All fixed now! Plus some stacking done.
There's even tasty grapes on the roof.
Well, this sure is a lot easier and less back breaking than previously.
Some of the concrete beam harvest from the garden is going for a ride.
Really need a thumb for the excavator to grab stuff like that though. Using only the bucket works only if they're spread apart, which they mostly weren't.
Storks enjoying the last sunbeams of the day.
Also enjoying the pre-egg time. They're circling over the fields together, hunting mice, bringing in big chunks of grass to upholster the nest and shag at least 4 times a day (probably more).
And that's despite me chainsawing and impact drivering pretty much next to them today (the firewood store is almost under their nest). Don't seem to mind. At least I didn't hear any complaints. Good neighbours.
Fixed up the roof supports of the firewood store. The old were sitting on soil and rotting away.
Jacked up the roof beam, cut out the rotten old support and pulled it out. Filled the hole with smashed up concrete debris and drilled a hole through a large chunk, hammered a piece of rebar through and left it sticking out to fit into a hole I drilled into the new log. No more rotting.
Then new supports cut, shaped and installed x3.
The mallet I made two years ago from firewood logs is returning to its original purpose, splitting after lots of hard use.
Made a new head from green applewood. Heard somewhere it's clever to make the handle from dry and the head from green wood so the head shrinks onto the handle. We'll find out if this works. I suspect it might just crack. Or shrink away from the handle. Time will tell.
Anyways, I can whack stuff again!
A strong arm with claws arrived. Small enough to drive into the living room, strong enough to dig holes or lift logs. With extra trenching and sand bucket.
Had some practice digging and then reinstalled the roof, which to my delight fits through the barn door.
Filled the grease gun and gave it some lube as it's been sitting outside all winter.
Only came with an engine manual, none for the machine itself, which is probably against some EU law.
Went south to retrieve wife and buy excavator.
Wife is dubiously inspecting the new living room arrangement, excavator should get delivered tomorrow.
The B&S Petrol engine would've been a six month wait, so I grudgingly went with the KOOP 1 cylinder air-cooled diesel, a copy of a Yanmar design. It's got a year warranty in case it goes wrong (they tend to go wrong early on or not at all from my research).
Bonus: Wide and trenching buckets included!
It's sunny and warm air is rising over the fields. More storks arrived, gliding on the thermals. Our two stand in their nest and scan the horizon. When another approaches, they throw their necks backwards, clatter with their beaks and stare the intruder down.
This seems to work, as none got close enough to start a fight.
The noisy cranes have yielded the area to the newcomers and can only be heard trumpeting from the distant wetlands.
Found a bunch of Uwaga! in the garage.
Not sure what this was even used for. It's relatively modern stuff. Prices seem to be in Lita.
One is some kind of hydrophobic coating for minerals and the other a cleaner to prepare them, I think?
Perhaps from the southside where there was a partial, halfarsed attempt at renovating the foundation. Or perhaps it was just something someone brought by.
Drama! Another male arrived, or I think male, because they fought and chased each other. Unfortunately they look much the same, so I can't tell which is which.
There was a lot of back & forth about occupation of the nest, swooping and staring down the other guy, but now the old couple is back in control. I think. Unless new guy moved in with new wife. Or there was a partner swap.
How is anyone supposed to get any work done around here with stork telenovela playing in the garden.
The chickens are our #homestead 's unsung heroes. Just getting on with their important business and leaving eggs. Here are 2/3 (Griddle and Mr. Flashy) of our aging, fox reduced, flock and their incoming reinforcements. I'm skeptical about geese, but they'll be here next week so I'll find out!
Flies (of the lord?)
We've gotten the inside under control with the UV fly attractor + roaster lamp and meticulously killing every single one we see in the house.
But outside is another story. Any warm surface is covered in them. I don't think the colour matters, they just sit where it's sunny.
There's not even any livestock around, so not sure why. The neighbours cows are a decent distance away too. No manure either.
Need more frogs! :)
Replaced this electric lantern in the barn with a LED projector. Much less romantic yellow light, but I can actually see something in there after dark. Also I won't have to sell a kidney whenever I forget to switch it off over night.
It's actually a pretty robust and well designed housing, so I want to restore it and eventually hang it on a lamp post somehwere, with a yellow LED bulb inside.
The first garlic is sprouting 
Garlic is usually planted in autumn and comes up in spring. It is then ready for harvest in late spring or early summer, depending on the climate.
Before the bulbs fully plump up, the garlic will attempt to flower. The flower stems, or scapes, make for a delicious harvest on their own. If the garlic is allowed to flower, however, it will lose energy and the bulb will not develop as well. Since garlic is generally propagated from cloves, it makes sense to cut the scapes off and eat them instead of letting the flowers open.
