Chico Canyon Ranch Blog

Plans for the vista point.

So with about 30 minutes of grunting and puffing ( and having to take a few breaks to catch my breath ) I moved enough rocks, and a few little bitty boulders, to open a road down to the point, and here is a photo of the truck at the point to prove it. So after this photo Juan and I dug 20 holes along both edges of the vista rim. We will plant table grapes in the holes. Of course the first few years of life the plants will need deer cages. We gathered the materials for the deer cages and dug the holes today. Next time, this coming thursday we begin the planting. Then will come the arbors, and with a little luck a nice deck or at least a nice spot to enjoy the vista in the summer, as well as the winter.

The 3rd Trail

Just a quick post for now. I will come back to this post and add and edit later. I am creating a 3rd trail to the creek! There is the trail/road we all know, the one we use to go to the campground near Bear Lake, and there is the trail/road that Juan & I just finished re-establishing last Sunday ( 01/19/14). We drove the truck to the very end and turned around and drove back out. Juan & Alina built a foot trail from this roads end down to the creek last summer.

Now we in the process of building a 3rd trail. This trail will go to the creek directly down from the homestead and be just a walking trail. I have taken several adventurous and strenuous hikes through the bramble and rock outcroppings in search of the “best trail”. I still don’t have it figured out, but I am getting closer. On this last exploratory “dive” into the canyon I ran across this old wagon wheel hub!!! Pretty cool.

Micro Event Center – Grape arbor provides shade

A wonderful spot for a long view of the canyon is the point down below the YAHB and the pole barn. You may recall that this area was completely over run with scottsbroom. Well after years of cutting and burning and cutting and burning and cutting… the broom is pretty much gone!!! Of course we have to keep the pressure on, but it is a relief to know scottsbroom can be defeated (without chemical warfare). Now the point is an easy walk from the YAHB, and is a great spot to hang and contemplate the universe. Especially on a moonless night! The night sky is gorgeous! However much of the summer the spot is too hot to hang for much time. But with a nice deck and grape arbor it would be an awesome micro event center. So that is the plan. Since grapes take a while to get get big enough to offer much shade I want to get those started first! There will be the whole protection from the wild critters issue but that will be easy with protective cages for the first couple of years. More on how to protect our plants and animals from the wild critters later, I have a plan. One photos show the vines that will be planted on the point. They are at this moment heeled in, in the garden. The other photo shows the point where the grapes and deck will be.

Old pressure regulator & leaking shut off valve

For several months there had been a small leak in the water pipe to the house. It was not really bad and was out past the patio away from the house so I put off addressing it. A few weekends ago I did replace the old leaking shut off valve, and while I was at it, replaced the pressure regulator.

Building a bear proof apiary.

We had bees once at the ranch. They only lasted a year or two before the bears had a lovely time eating them with out so much as a thank you. Bears do so love honey, and grubs too. While walking around the canyon here and there I run across spots in the ground where a bear has dug out a yellow jackets hive. Yum bears love yellow jacket hives too! I have been thinking about how to have bees again on the ranch. Of course there is the option of putting an electric fence around the hives. But then I think about those yellow jacket hives and wonder how long an electric fence would last with persistent bear pressure. Though I’m sure the bears dug out the yellow jacket hives at night so the counter-attack by the yellow jackets was muted. Yellow jackets aside, my plan is to have an apiary in the fortified carport of the YAHB. My good and most helpful friend Dave Burkland has supplied the talent for the project. The photos below are from the two Thursdays spent on the project so far. The first Thursday ( Oct. 17th 2013 ) we built a wide bench along the outside wall of the carport that faces the canyon – ( and installed the nice swamp cooler for the YAHB ). Then last Thursday ( Jan. 16th 2014 ) we hung the large wooden gates that used to be the doors to the entrance of the basement of the house. ( See I do sometimes save useful stuff to re-use, I just like to hold it to a minimum ). So the gates are up! I will finish off above the gates with heavy wire to allow plenty of ventilation for the swamp cooler, and add heavy wire all the way around the bottom of the YAHB. That should do it. Or at least we will see. The bee hives will sit on the bench facing the outside wall and I will create a small hole in the exterior wall for the bees to come and go. The carport will also offer some protection from sun and wind and rain. I am planning on starting with one hive this spring when hives are available for sale. I will keep you posted. Yum honey!

Proud member of the Chico Canyon Crew

Juan wanted me to take a photo of him in each of the bedrooms so he could send them to his family in Mexico. The rooms are lovely and ready for guests. What strikes me is that there could be just a bit of something on the walls and nice curtains on the windows. Its on the list.

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Shop Work Bench

The practiced eye will notice that what looks like 3 milk cans stored under the blue work table are actually three music stools just waiting for a little work out. Notice the wooden frame on wheels holding the power hedger ( bottom of photo). This will take an even more practiced eye, but can you see the moveable power tool rack that is to be created on the rolling frame? Little by little the shop is evolving to be the organized tool center for the essential operation of the ranch. Which is; forest improvement practices, irrigation system, road & trail maintenance, orchard & garden improvement, house & YAHB maintenance, chickens & soon to be added bees.

Fall Garden

So here is a panorama of the fall garden.

I planted the pumpkins in the middle of July. Hmmm. Too late. Next year it should be about the middle of June. I thought I counted the days right.

Tomatoes are just now really kicking in. Strange year for our tomatoes. We planted in the very same spots as last year along the garden fence and did not feed them well enough to start.

It is dusk in the photo below. Juan and I are gathering some tomatoes and discussing where the garlic, onions, & potatoes should be planted. We will rotate among the boxes. Hopefully I will get a chance to construct another box or two.

I am waiting till dark to see how the deer arrive. I plan to harvest a buck this year. I will post you more about how that adventure goes.

The painters missed a few spots so I had them come back.

I arranged for the painters to return to touch up a bit of painting and cover some flicker holes. – Nasty birds that love to peck holes in your home high up in the eaves. They are quite beautiful to look at up close, but real pests when it comes to keeping your home or barn in good shape. Why the heck they prefer houses over trees is beyond me. I also had the painters nail up some reflective ribbon along the roof edge. These are supposed to bother the flickers so much they decide to find a less bothersome place to build a nest. – Boy that was a long digression. The main news is that the house has newly painted trim and newly oiled shingles on the second story! We kept Sarah’s blue. It’s beginning to grow on me. No one else has a house with quite that color combo. Plus I have made it the color theme for our hand tools. It turns out it is a very good color to be if you are a tool left lying around and want to be found.
As it turns out a 28′ extension ladder fits perfectly from the center of the peak of the roof on the South facing side of the house ( by the back deck) down to the bench brace of the deck. You have to take the 2×6 seat boards off that portion of the bench but then you have built-in ladder support. ( see photos ).

Take the seat boards off the deck bench and you have a perfect spot to secure a 28' extension ladder to reach the center of the peak of the roof on the south side of the house. — Take the seat boards off the deck bench and you have a perfect spot to secure a 28′ extension ladder to reach the center of the peak of the roof on the south side of the house.