Dam It!

EJ and I are always tweaking things. We do something, observe it, and then either continue it, stop it, or make adjustments.

Last year at about this time, EJ made a couple new birdhouses to add to the three we already had. We then used each post that the birdhouses were fastened to for one of the three posts that hold up deer-proof fencing around our apple trees. The birdhouse posts are wooden and the other two posts around each apple tree are t-posts. Last Spring, I eagerly watched to see how many birdhouses were occupied by birds. I think bluebirds moved into two, but they seemed to fight each other and other birds for territory so I thought, “Hmmm. I need to move the birdhouses further apart.” I had to wait until this time of year when the birds had raised their families and their houses were empty.

In order to get maximum enjoyment out of birdhouses, they have to be placed where we can actually see them. For days as I sat in my place on the couch, I looked out the window and considered where to put the birdhouses so I could see them but the birds wouldn’t fight over territory. I finally developed a plan.

Moving the birdhouses was hard work. We use t-posts for many purposes. They hold up fencing in the garden for vegetables to climb up, they enclose fruit trees to protect from the deer, and they line our driveway to mark it so we don’t drive off it in winter deep snow. You wouldn’t think we would lose our driveway in the winter, but it can happen. I had to scrounge up t-posts and removed some from fruit trees that had died. Digging up t-posts is hard work because the posts are driven deep into the ground. I use a shovel to clear away some of the dirt at the post, then wiggle the post back and forth to loosen it, and then slowly pull up the post with all my strength. Once I had the t-posts I needed, I pulled up the wooden posts. Then I replace the wooden posts with the t-posts. I drove the t-posts into the ground with the post driver, which is very heavy. I put the driver on the end of the t-post and rammed it up and down, up and down to drive the post into the ground. Once the t-posts were in, I wrapped the fencing around the posts surrounding each apple tree so the trees were once again protected from deer.

After I finished installing the t-posts around the apple trees, I carried the wooden posts to the places I wanted them. When I thought I had a good place, I temporarily drove the post-hole digger (a different tool) into the ground, then walked back to the house and sat in my place on the couch to see if I could see the birdhouses through the window. I had to make adjustments and walk back and forth several times to find the perfect locations. Then I used the post-hole digger to dig a hole a foot deep. It’s not easy because our soil is sand and sometimes the sand runs out of the post-hold digger like sand through an hourglass. But when I had the hole deep enough, I lifted the post, settled it into the hole, and packed the dirt around it. I used a level to make sure the post was straight.

If you are unfamiliar with what t-post drivers and post-hole diggers look like and how to use them, here are some quick videos: t-post driver and post-hole digger. They are handy tools. In looking up these videos, I discovered that a t-post driver can also be used to remove t-posts. I’m not sure I have the necessary strength to use this method, but it’s worth a try.

When I had gotten all the posts in place, I put away my tools and went into the house and settled into my place on the couch. I can see all three birdhouses. One remains up close among the apple trees. The other two are across the driveway. One of those can be seen to the left of the apple trees and one can be seen in a gap between two apple trees. They are rather far away, but I can see them clearly with binoculars. I placed a fourth birdhouse at the edge of the forest on the other side of the property. I have to walk to the window to see it but it’s close to the house so I don’t have to use binoculars. The fifth birdhouse is just outside EJ’s vegetable garden. Hopefully, the birdhouses are far enough apart that the birds won’t fight. I’ll have to wait until next Spring to find out.

We bought four bags of poultry feed last Friday. I was able to get a bag of feed in the metal trash can that we are using for a feed bin, but I was concerned that mice would get into the other three bags. EJ and I sat and considered our options. We can’t afford to buy a mouse-proof large feed bin (aka “metal trash can”). EJ checked online to see if he could find used ones for not much money. He did find someone selling them locally, but then he remembered that we already have some large plastic drums–the size of burning barrels. He cut the top off one and has been making a wooden lid for it. It looks great, and I can’t wait until it’s finished.

When we first moved into our house eight years ago, our driveway was a mess. Erosion had created deep and wide trenches along and across the steep driveway. I think that’s why our house didn’t cost more than it did and wasn’t snatched up by others. No one wanted to deal with the driveway. We spent our first summer shoveling (literal) tons of gravel and stone into the trenches. Thankfully, besides delivering gravel and stones, the “gravel guy” gave us advice on how to fix the erosion. I spent several years building a series of rock dams across the filled-in trenches along the driveway to slow down the rush of rainwater that would wash the soil away. After a couple years, plants began to take root which also helped slow the rush of water and hold the soil in place. Problem solved.

At least the problem was solved for several years. Although my dams slowed the run of water, the sand gradually began to bury some of the dams so that the water is not slowed by them but rushes over them. We have no problem with erosion in areas where the plants are thick, but it is occurring where the plants are few. So once again, I am building some dams. Mostly I am digging out buried rocks and rebuilding the dams, but we also have a pile of potato stones (rocks the size of potatoes) that I’ve been using. It’s going to take me several days to re-dam the driveway, but I will dam it.