Chico Canyon Ranch Blog

Thursday July 13th 2017

I stopped and picked up the usual Safeway Deli sandwiches for lunch with Juan before heading up the hill to the Canyon. I arrived at the Canyon gate at 11:05 am. I gave the combo lock on the chain a shot of lubricant ( WD-40 ) and re-set the combo to 1-1-1-1 for this coming weekend in which Tai, Ross, June, & Harrison are bringing up a group of camping friends ( “their tribe” as Tai puts it ). Sounds like a hoot!

As is often the case when I arrive at the house instead of starting on the list of things I have been planning for on the way up, Juan has “una cosa” or two that needs fixing. Today it was the “Weeder” ( string mower ) which was spinning off its plastic cords as soon as it started up. So I had to take off the plastic head, take it apart clean it and put it back together. It will take 2 or 3 more cleanings before the head needs to be replaced. Last week it was the air filters that needed cleaning so the unit would run well enough to get work done. The week before that is was a big one. The Billy Goat mower blade clutch wore out. That is out of my limited mechanical ability to complete in an expeditious amount of time. So I took it down to Chico for repair. It’s in the back of the pick up now and I will take it up tomorrow. But back to today. The other “cosa” was a leak in the main water line up closer to the spring head. When it’s too hot to work Juan will sometimes take an inspection hike up the water pipe to the spring head. The path is through the forest so its shaded and quiet and the sound of the brook accompanies you most of the way. Yesterday on his water pipe inspection hike he noticed two places that were leaking, slightly. So after fixing the Weeder we hopped in the Zuki and drove back up the road to the spring head. The first trip out I just wanted to get an idea of where the leaks were and how bad they were. What would I need to fix them. Fortunately they were close together and both looked pretty simple to fix. Each leak was at the only two places in the entire pipe that are joined by rubber couplings held on by hose clamps. These are at angles in the pipe that don’t fit a standard rigid coupling. I was able to loosen the hose clamp a few turns and reposition the coupling and re-tighten. Leaks fixed! I think one leak was caused by a curious bear. Not sure how the other coupling shifted out of position. Below is a picture of the Billy Goat mower all fixed and ready to go back to the canyon, to help make the house wild fire safe, and to slowly with good timing control the star thistle and other things.

Rats! Got to stop now before I finish the story of the day. Got’s to go pick up Kim. Juan and I drove the Zuki to the creek and blew up the rubber rafts for this coming weekend and checked things out, and…

Laying the 1.5″ ( Little Pipe )!

These photos show the “new” Little 1.5″ pipe, going from where the old 1.5″ pipe used to join with the big pipe ( the junction), to the garden and the orchard. This new little pipe is now fed from the two 2,500 gal tanks that are filled from the overflow from the big pipe ( and the to be rebuilt this summer second stream bed intake ).

Winter Cover crop in all garden beds. Hoshigaki in bedroom window!

Making Hoshigaki at Canyon in casa grande upstairs window.

Took the easy route and just planted a cover crop in all beds.

Sunday Nov. 27th – Cover Crop

Cover Crop in lower portion of fenced orchard

This Sunday I worked on the small gate to the poultry palace by the shop. I’m building it so the gate can be opened and closed without having to “disconnect or turn-off” the electric fence. Kinda a slick trick but does take some extra tinkering.

Above are photos I took of the cover cropped area of the orchard – the lower part of the fenced orchard. I can grow cover crops now that we can keep the deer out!! I also kept the chickens off it for the first 6 weeks to give the seeds and sprouts some relief. I will now pull up the chicken barrier and see how the chickens like it. When most of the cover crop plants begin to flower, I will mow and then shallow till, add some supplements, and then plant with sunflowers in the spring. Bees and chickens LOVE those sunflowers!!!

I also spent a bit of time pulling up broom!!. This is like the pulling of milkweed of our youth. ( Only much more pleasurable for some reason. ) Pulling out broom can only be done when the soil is really wet. So this year is a good one for continuing the interminable battle of the broom.

We lost the pecan tree!

The old pecan tree sorta by the big walnut tree by the house had grown reaching out over the ravine too far, and just snapped off at the truck. We will miss the shade. But the view of the canyon from the house is nicer. We will have a lot of good firewood. ( As if that was a problem ).

Various Things Worked On This Sunday

Today was Sunday Oct. 16th 2016. Sunday is the day of the week I typically go to the Canyon to get a few good hours of progress or catchup. Today was a nice overcast day, threatening to rain all day but never did. The previous few days of this storm has given some rain, so it sure feels like the beginning of our winter. The wild fire threat in our area is pretty much over. However it is expected to be sunny all next week and things could dry out again, it’s just unlikely to be a wild fire threat. I was carrying the chainsaw back from the shop with a new chain, so on the way down the driveway I could not resist stopping to cut out a few smaller pines and firs that would likely not survive if we had periodic wild fires, as was the case pre-1800s. By taking them out pro-actively we leave more water and nutrients for the rest of the forest life. and reduce the forest fuel load so lowering the chance of catastrophic scorched earth wild fire.

I need to speed up the reporting here. I worked on the small gate in the new beer fence ( that is a combination deer and bear fence, it has nothing to do with drinking beer – really ). I had expected to finish the gate but as so often happens some equipment failure intervenes. The mower got a flat tire, ugh! Juan is beginning the mowing of the fields. We wait for the fire danger to be very low, and for the dust from the plants to be settled.

I get the tire fixed and continue with the gate. Time for lunch. After lunch I decide to secure the beehives against stronger winds in winter storms. This takes much more time than expected, and the bees are MEAN! Are they more aggressive because they have more honey and brood to protect, or did they get some wild queen take over! Either way no more working the bees in t-shirts and shorts!

Winter Wood Supply Harvested Just In Time

Yesterday, was Canyon Thursday, Oct. 13th. I met White Glove Chimney at the Forest Ranch Store so I could guide them down to the Canyon to clean the “House” wood stove and chimney and the “YAHB” wood stove & chimney. Part of the winter check list. Also last weekend we finished our 2nd load of short dried manzanita logs and stacked them under the pole barn. Manzanita burns long, and warm. It actually has a bit fewer BTUs per cord than Live Oak* – but at the Canyon we have LOTS more of Manzanita than Live Oak. ( I did not know this but here’s a chart)

firewood-btu-charts-btu-of-firewood-cord

So Juan Arturo Gutierez is set for the winter.

We are “harvesting” the Manzanita to the north (up canyon) from the pole barn on the road to Juans’ Trail / Dipper Pond.

Winter 2016 wood supply under the pole barn.

The First Pistachio Harvest!

This Thursday visit I had to put off, finishing off, the gates to the orchard, again! I have been testing the pistachios for “readiness” to harvest, and today it happened. I squeezed a fruit between my thumb and forefinger and the nut slipped out of the hull!! Everything I’ve read to prepare for this years crop says there is a short window period of a few days between ready to harvest and too late to harvest, so I felt I had to drop everything and harvest those pistachios.

Juan & I used wooden poles and plastic canvas to knock the nuts off the tree. — Juan & I used wooden poles for knocking and plastic tarps for collecting.

Then we carried the nuts up the hill in the wheel barrow to the cleaned off parking apron of the shop and danced around on them ala Zorba The Greek to “hull” them – ( It was the quick solution. I think it worked pretty good. I’ll think up a better option next year. ) – and spread them out to dry. We will have to cover them up in the evening to keep the critters from eating them. Deer LOVE them.

The protection system!

The downhill side of the Bear & Deer fence around the orchard/apiary/poultry pasture.

Deer and bear were damaging the fruit trees every year!! There was just no way to “share” the orchard with them and have any reasonable success at orchard health. A 7′ high fence now encircles the orchard, vineyard, & chicken coop. It now successfully excludes deer from the orchard. We are adding a 3 wire electric fence to the 7′ deer fence. It is nearly complete. I am hoping it will successfully exclude bear from the orchard. It is a race against time to get it up and working. The bears start coming around when the figs begin to turn blue. I have a few weeks left.

A good year for wild flowers.

The Lupin is going crazy this year! This is the field below the orchard. Mowing down the star thistle after it flowers has helped the other grasses and flowers get a better sprout in spring.