The Deer are Back

I was working on The Farm yesterday when I noticed that one of our fruit trees had been browsed.  At first I thought it was insect damage, but then I noticed the steaming pile.  Yep.  It was the first fresh deer poop of the season.  There was just one pile (one deer?) and none of our other trees were damaged, but the war is on.

There is a ceasefire during the hot weather every summer when the herd goes up the mountain, but the rest of the year features one battle after another.  In the spring, I even caught one—pinned it in the corner of the six foot garden fence—but couldn't think of what to do with it—stab it with my pocket knife?—so I let it go.  It was still dark, but my neighbor was up and, apparently, saw the encounter.  Later he said, "You must have been a track star in college.  I saw you chase down that deer."  (And that was in the backyard, you should see me in the open field.)

In any case, for trees, the best offense is a good defense.  A solid cage made of wood and wire works best to protect the tree.  The problem is that we've planted dozens of trees in the past couple of years, so it is a lot of work to hold the fort.  Plus, the tree cages don't protect all the other plantings.  Valerie uses commercial deer spray on those.  The spray works, but it is temporary, and needs constant re-application.

Have you noticed that when someone wants to tell you how lovely and peaceful their vacation was, they'll say, "Oh, and at sunset every evening we could watch the deer from our window?"  I always roll my eyes.  Yeah, what a treat.  I enjoy watching maggots, too.  I like having my house full of rats and the sky darkened by locusts.  The war is on.

Eusebio's Graffito

As my reader knows, Rural Ways has an interest in old arborglyphs, or aspen tree carvings.  When I am walking in an aspen clone, I keep my eyes open for the interesting ones.  In many areas, all you get is silly, half-witted vandalism:  Dave was here; J.T + L.M.; For a good time, call; etc.  In some areas, however, there is a history of tree carvings by cowboys or shepherds that can be up to 80 or 90 years old.  Some of these include detailed drawings, others include enough information about the carver to be able to place him in context.  In the area of the Little Snake River on the Routt National Forest in north-central Colorado there is a wealth of tree carving done by Peruvian shepherds—dating from the mid-1920s through today.  During the summer of 2012, I spent five weeks working on the Routt, and I had the opportunity to make a few pictures of these Peruvian arborglyphs.  The one above says it all.  It was made—from what I can tell by looking at other carvings—by Eusebio Benites in 1988.

View from the Office

We've been working, once again, in dead lodgepole pine on the Routt National Forest.  This week, however, it is not the pine that has been holding our attention, but the aspen.  It seems a little early, but the autumn colors are on full display.  We've had some overnight frosts, some spectacular sunny days, and all the golden color you could want.  It is a nice time to work in the woods.

Solar Fruit Dryer

We've had such a strong apple crop this year—not to mention all the pears, plus some peaches from a friend's tree—that we've had to come up with a way to preserve the fruit.  Along with freezing and some bottling, Valerie has been drying a lot of it.  Using an electric fruit dryer loaned/donated to us from the in-laws, we've accumulated bags and bags of dried apples.  Of course, what the true hippie-greenies say is that we are using more energy—generated from the combustion of fossil fuels—to dry the fruit than the fruit is worth.  I don't know if this is true, but I read about it in one of these how-to-live-off-the-grid type magazines.

In any case, it is true that we have very strong solar radiation and very low humidity in southern Utah, and that we are heating the fruit dryer in the house on the same sunny days that we are running the air conditioner to cool the house.  To get around this contradiction, I have created a solar fruit dryer.  Tada!  See picture, above.  Using a design recommended by our friend Kelly Buemer, I clamped two window screens together with simple wood-working clamps.  The fruit can rest between the screens, and we've decided to set the whole thing inside the car during the day where it gets really, really hot.  Of course, while I can take credit for the sophisticated engineering and construction, it will actually fall to Valerie to do all the work of processing and drying another 40 pounds of apples.  How does that saying go?  Genius is 1% engineering (me) and 99% perspiration (Valerie).

County Fair

I would never want to be a carney.  And, far be it from me to criticize their practices.  They are, after all, rational profit maximizing creatures.  But, what they can get for ninety seconds of vomit inducing disorientation in a clattering human centrifuge defies belief.  I'm talking, of course, about the midway at the county fair.  They can ask a dollar a minute for their services—which is probably plumber pricing—but they can service twenty people at a pop—which is more like brain surgeon pricing.  You would think that the average joe would look at the asking price and simply walk away, . . . but you would be wrong.  The midway is packed with people carrying stacks of "tickets" worth hundreds of dollars.  When you wait in line at the ticket window, it gives you time to read about their policies:  They accept cash, Visa, and Mastercard.  They also accept auto titles and home equity loans.  Well, OK, not the last two, but I wouldn't be surprised.  It takes a good chunk of the weekly paycheck to run your three kids through the twister, the ear-bleeder, and the wall of death.  Which is why we prefer the free petting zoo.