Bopcha Blog

Scarey hole in the ground!

Posted by Diana on Saturday, September 24. 2016

I got back from camping with sister Kay this afternoon. As I was putting stuff away, I saw a big hole (about 1' in diameter in all directions and about 18" deep). I thought someone had come to test soil for the septic tank as it was in the area of the old septic tank. Once I investigated further, I found that something (????) had dug up a yellow jacket nest! Angry bees were swarming and chunks of nest were scattered! See photos below:

This is side wise, but shows the hole from a short distance.

If you look closely, you can see the dirt and the bee hive that came out of the hole.

This shows the depth of the hole. It goes at a slant.

Close up of hive fragments.

Smaller holes nearby. No bee debris in them.

Day at the Farm

Posted by Diana on Saturday, September 10. 2016

When we arrived yesterday, we walked the trails to see what obstacles may be blocking the way.

Me, fake-cutting. I really did do some actual cutting!

The only obstacle of substance was this tree that fell across the loop trail.

Looking for fish in Rock Creek.

Farm activities

Posted by Diana on Monday, August 22. 2016

Noah and One-eyed Jack snoozing on the porch at the farm.

Kay watering the blueberries as directed.

Sid, Sandra and the Philly crew

Posted by Diana on Wednesday, August 10. 2016

Amazing work accomplished by those energetic folks!

Sid bought these tasty brews for George, but forgot to take them to the airport. Oh darn.

The soil here is rock hard, but Sandra (with help?) managed to plant some pretties anyway.

Two things to notice here: first, the old tractor shed has been dismantled and the old wood saved. Whew... that was tough work! The second is that additional gravel, carefully applied, had made it possible to drive vehicles in and out of the new garage.

Inside the new garage. Yes, that is a motorcycle off to the right.

Borzoi paddock is nicely mowed. And, it is truly nice to note that Rick mowed the fields once, and then a few weeks later, Sid mowed them again. Really kept the Queen Anne's lace to a minimum.

I was thrilled to find Sid and his crew removed all of the old, nasty barbed wire fencing that used to be along the cow lane. All gone and hauled away!

Chicken house down!

Sibs at the farm

Posted by Diana on Saturday, July 23. 2016

Missing you, KC!

The gang at the farm on this day.

Goings-on at or near the farm

Posted by Diana on Thursday, July 14. 2016

Judi and I drove to Newport to visit Kay at her solo camping site at Beverly Beach. Here is Judith and the Pacific Ocean.

Kay with the wind in her hair.

My foot after about a day and a half.

Nooooooo . . . stung again!

Posted by Diana on Tuesday, July 12. 2016

Poor toe next to my baby toe. It wasn't bothering anything but apparently was too tasty to ignore. OUCH!

July and the new fence

Posted by Diana on Monday, July 11. 2016

The fence between the cow lane and the neighbor's property is now complete. Deer leap across it effortlessly.

The swimming hole water is crystal clear.

The mowed fields look lovely, but the weeds have shot up in the interim. Sigh!

Final June photos

Posted by Diana on Sunday, June 26. 2016

Bill and JB came down Wednesday night and spent the weekend helping with Gavin and the Mercer Island bb team's visit and performing other chores. Here Bill is filling in holes left when the loggers removed a few of the scraggly trees near the house a few years ago.

Yellow jacket nest in the ground near the path to the bridge. Not a safe location!

Just after dusk, JB and her eradication crew poisoned the nest with eco friendly spray. A morning check up of the nest seemed to indicate that all inhabitants were dead.

JB and Bill bushwhacked their way down the bank to cut down a few scotch broom bushes that had attempted to sneak in.

Plants and Animals

Posted by Diana on Sunday, June 19. 2016

Kay and Luis see a giant, dog-eating snake in the grass!

45.jpg' alt='' />

Alien invaders or wild cucumber?

Mowing in June

Posted by Diana on Saturday, June 18. 2016

Rick and Miss Tym. She runs hot, but Rick has her purring most of the time.

I am simply posing. Miss Tym and I have an uneasy relationship.

On his break, Rick shows Kay how to fire up her camping stove.

Mowing and Septic Tank

Posted by Diana on Wednesday, June 15. 2016

The septic tank folks were out marking what I think will be the drain field for the new septic tank (see white stakes).

Rick got some mowing in before the rain started to fall. It looks great!

Trees and Fire

Posted by Diana on Tuesday, June 14. 2016

The burn deadline is June 15th, so I called the fire department for the daily burn advisory and then proceeded to burn the pile of limbs that had accumulated.

Neighbor Doug asked if he could fell the two dead cedar trees you can see in this photo. They are on his property, but would need to be felled onto ours so that they wouldn't hit his garage or house. The trees would not hit our new fence. He was super nice and I said he could proceed.