This is my third winter in Michigan. Since I’ve moved here, I’ve been struck by the fact that the weather seemed perfectly synchronized with the seasons. As the seasons changed, temperature ranges changed immediately. The last two winter solstices, temperatures were well below freezing. So I made sure I was ready. My friend Sarah came to help.
Zone Two: The Interface
Sarah scooped up all the hoses, drained them, and stored them in the shed. Here she is in front of the rain garden.
She turned the compost, dumped the maple leaves from the deck on top of the mix, and fenced it to protect the dogs from the goodness, which makes them sick after they indulge. After two seasons, my first batch of compost is almost ready!
Zone One: East Meadow ’23 and ’22
2023: Sarah gathers fallen maple branches that will eventually be biochar.
The photo above gives us a good look at the meadow after its first season of bloom. Below, a photo of Sarah in 2022 broadcasting our biochar on the newly seeded meadow.
Comparing ’23 with ’22, you can see the increase in habitat for insects and birds. Basically the meadow is now a 1 acre bird feeder.
Beautiful Red Buds!
I’m slowly adding trees to the farm. This is the second year in a row we’ve transplanted a red bud from my neighbor Linda’s yard into the east meadow. Here is this year’s tree:
I’ve got the red buds marked with flags or I’d never find them. Can you see the tree? One stem will brave the winter and grow into a tree. Note the biochar mixed in with the soil.
Redbud ’22 had quite a few leaves this year before they fell. It’s looking good to survive another winter and continue exponential growth next year. Much easier to see the tree!
Now the farm was buttoned up for winter with two weeks to spare. But the solstice came, and fall temperatures remained. Highs in the 40s and 50s past Christmas. January forecasts also show much higher than average temperatures. Stay tuned for updates on rewilding and farming in the era of acute climate change.
Grateful for Help
I am so grateful for Sarah’s help, and here I share with you some news that’s not so good. I’m going to need more help, from Sarah and others. I need a new shoulder and that’s a big deal. I just discovered this in October, and it was quite a blow. It’s also why my arm broke last June. What couldn’t bend due to bone spur growth simply snapped when I fell in the soft clover. No surgery is recommended now because I’m not in chronic pain and the outcome of this surgery is not usually the greatest. The expense is also an issue, since I’m an ACA person. I’m hoping I can make it four years until Medicare kicks in. I’ll use that time to get in the best shape possible so the surgery is as effective as it can be. Maybe then I will regain full use of my right arm.
If you want to help fund the Whimsy Farm transformation in light of my increased gimpyness, I’m grateful. Click on the Patreon link below to make monthly contributions (either small or large), or the other cash app links to make a one time donation. As you’ll see, you can direct your support where you’d like. And if not, please keep reading and rooting for me. I was very discouraged about my rewilding and permaculture plans when I first got this news. I thought of calling it a day, and giving up on my future plans for the land. But I just can’t do that. I need to finish what I started here and restore this land to its native grandeur. And that’s going to take several more years. It’s my passion and my purpose and I simply won’t give up. Several friends have signed on to help, and I’ve granted a paid permaculture internship to my awesome student Sawyer for 2024. We will persevere!
Here you can see the bone-to-bone action of the shoulder joint and the bone spur beneath it. It was that bone spur that kept my shoulder from rotating when I fell in the garden last summer.
I vividly remember when the doctor showed me this. “There is only one fix for this,” he said, “and I’m not recommending it right now.” I will soldier on, slowly and carefully, and get by with a little help from my friends.
