Landscaping

The Yellow Cottage Homestead

The Yellow Cottage Homestead has been sold, and the sale has now closed. With it closes another chapter of our lives, as we prepare to begin the next one, touring the country full-time in a luxury motorhome. Follow the new Sinclair Trails blog to see pictures and information from our new adventure.

With the closing of the house, I am also closing down this blog. It will remain permanently for future reference, but I don’t plan any further posts after this one. (Of course, I may decide to follow up later, so you never know.)

I thought I’d conclude this blog with a guided tour around the homestead.

Let’s start from the logical place, the driveway into the property:

Driveway and house

The front lawn and house:

Front lawn and house

Going around the back; the deck, gazebo, and gardens, with a glimpse of the swimming pool:

Deck, gazebo, gardens

Looking to the right, the upper falls pond:

Upper falls pond

Continuing on down the path, looking back at the house, deck, gazebo, and bird feeders off to the right:

House, deck, gazebo, bird feeders

Nearby, the stream leading from the upper falls, and one of its two stone bridges:

Stream and stone bridge

After crossing the bridge, looking over the stream towards the cat house:

Stream, stone bridge, cat house

Further down the path, the small pond, and cat house:

Small pond, cat house

A closer look at the cat house:

Cat house

The nearby fountain garden:

Fountain garden

Behind the fountain garden are flowerbeds:

Flowerbeds

Flowerbeds

The white gazebo:

White gazebo

A peek back at the gazebo through the arbor into the field:

Arbor

Apple trees in the field:

Apple trees in field

Arbor and the pond deck:

Arbor and pond deck

On the pond deck, with a view of the pond:

Pond deck and pond

A view from the pond deck of the ducks coming to see me:

Ducks in the pond

Ducks in the pond

From below the pond deck:

Ducks in the pond

Over the other side of the pond, with the duck house, and the pond deck in the background:

Duck house and ducks in the pond

Ducks in the pond:

Ducks in the pond

A weeping willow by the path from the duck house:

Weeping willow

Standing at the end of the duck house path, looking at the brown gazebo and chicken coop:

Brown gazebo and chicken coop

The new and old chicken coops across the back lawn:

New and old chicken coops

Chickens in their run:

Chickens

Chickens

Chickens

Beyond the chicken runs, the veggie garden:

Veggie garden

The berry cage part of the veggie garden:

Berry cage

The greenhouse behind the berry cage:

Greenhouse

The hoop house next to the veggie garden:

Hoop house

Beyond the greenhouse and hoop house, the beehives and bee shed:

Beehives and bee shed

Near the beehives:

Beehives

I hope you enjoyed this tour of the homestead, and the many blog posts over the years. Thank you for reading, and all the nice comments.

Feel free to follow my personal posts on my Dejus blog, and the new Sinclair Trails blog of our RV adventures.

Planting the front garden

Another garden project was to plant our front garden. It used to have a tall hemlock tree, but it died and had to be cut down several years ago — some large rounds of that remain at the back of the garden. We had a grand plan to add a stream and such, so left it empty for years awaiting that, but we finally decided to not bother with that, and do a simpler design.

Here’s the garden cart with the green Japanese maple tree, barberry, nandina, and Japanese forest grass, plus the empty garden:

Cart with plant and empty garden

We planted the Japanese maple tree in the center of the garden, then laid out the other plants around it:

Laying out plants

While Jenn did the planting, I installed irrigation pipes and emitters. Here’s the result:

Planted and irrigated

Manual water timer:

Water timer

Another angle, showing an overview of the finished plants and irrigation; the pipes will eventually be hidden under bark:

Plants and irrigation

A closer look; irrigation for the green Japanese maple:

Plants and irrigation

Wide-angle irrigation for three triangles of Japanese forest grass:

Plants and irrigation

Individual irrigation for barberry and nandina plants:

Plants and irrigation

The view from my office window upstairs:

View from my office window

Much nicer than the empty garden!

We might add a few more plants to fill in some holes. And as mentioned, later we’ll add a layer of bark to give it a finishing touch.

Our cat graveyard

Earlier this year wasn’t a good time for our cats; we had three cats die within a few weeks. Back in March, we lost the mother of the outdoor feral cats, Poppy. Then in early April, we lost Pepper, one of the two feral shop cats. And a few days later, our elderly pet Pippin rapidly declined.

We buried each of them in the little cat graveyard near our pond, around some grasses that were planted in memory of an earlier cat, Pixel, who loved them. Each of our cats is memorialized with an engraved stone:

Cat graveyard near the pond

It’s appropriately below a weeping willow. There used to be a katsura tree and catmint there too (yes, puns), but the deer destroyed those.

A closer look at the cat graveyard, with the three recent graves and others:

Cat graveyard

Cat graveyard

Here are all of the stones, from the most recent. Our pet cat Pippin, 2007-2021, buried next to his littermate Padmé:

Pippin 2007-2021

The shop cat Pepper, 2015-2021:

Pepper 2015-2021

The feral momma cat Poppy, 2016-2021:

Poppy 2016-2021

A non-engraved stone for a black alien cat that someone hit crossing the road in 2018:

Black alien cat

Pippin’s sister Padmé, 2007-2016:

Padmé 2007-2016

Our last cat from NZ, Pixel, 1999-2013; he was our oldest cat, which was remarkable since he had diabetes and insulin shots for half his life:

Pixel 1999-2013

Our first cat (who also came with us to the US, though isn’t actually buried here), Piwhacket, 1994-2007:

Piwhacket 1994-2007

It’s always sad to lose a cat, whether pet or feral. Giving them a respectful burial and memorial stone gives some sense of closure.

February snow and aerial photos

This morning we woke up to some surprise snow. It wasn’t in the forecast (other than for a much higher elevation), but we got about an inch of snow overnight. Which is melting quickly on a sunny day.

So, of course I felt an urge to fly my drone to capture the winter wonderland in the early morning.

Here are the pond, snowy trees, back lawn, chicken runs, and veggie garden:

Snowy pond, trees, veggie garden

Looking down a bit to see the whole veggie garden:

Snowy pond, trees, veggie garden

From above the veggie garden, looking towards the pond:

Snowy pond, trees, chicken coop

Looking straight down to the chicken runs, veggie garden, and berry cage:

Snowy veggie garden

A bit lower down:

Snowy veggie garden

Snowy covered chicken run:

Snowy chicken run

Above the back lawn, looking back to the grove, and chicken coop:

Snowy grove, chicken coop

Some pics of the pond:

Pond

Pond

Pond

Part of the field, flowerbeds, back lawn, and pond:

Flowerbeds and pond

Higher up to include veggie garden etc:

Veggie garden, pond, etc

From the opposite direction:

Pond, flowerbeds, etc

Looking up a bit at the trees:

Trees, pond, etc

Lots of snowy trees:

Snowy trees

This one might make a nice background:

Snowy trees

Mount Hood and snowy trees:

Mount Hood and snowy trees

Mount Hood, snowy trees, etc

Lower down, with the fountain garden in the foreground:

Snowy trees, fountain garden

Back on the ground (via my iPhone), the path to the chicken coop:

Path to chicken coop

Inside the chicken run; the new(ish) roof netting is holding up well:

Chicken run roof netting

The back lawn:

Back lawn

The pond and ducks:

Pond

Pond

Pond island and ducks:

Pond island and ducks

Sunrise through the grove, with the brown gazebo and the chicken coop:

Sunrise through grove

Sunrise through grove

Sunrise through grove

Finally, the cat house:

Cat house

Ice storm: icy branches, icicles, ducks, hummingbirds

We had an ice storm last night. This morning, everything is covered in a layer of ice, with some powdery snow on top. Only about half an inch of each, but it was enough to knock out our power (and for everyone else in the region).

Some icy branches:

Icy branches

Tree branches weighed down; they’re normally high enough to walk under, not touching the ground:

Tree branches

Tree branches

Icy willow branches:

Icy branches

I lifted up a sample, looking edge on: a layer of ice with a layer of snow on top:

Snow and ice

The pond is starting to freeze. Just slushy at present, with some liquid on the edges:

Slushy pond and ducks

Slushy pond and ducks

The ramp into the duck house is icy, but they can make it, so still have access to food:

Slushy pond and ducks

Icicles on the duck house:

Icicles

The ducks:

Slushy pond and ducks

Slushy pond and ducks

Icicles on the bird food box:

Icicles

And the gazebo and deck:

Icicles

The hummingbird feeders were frozen; I brought this one inside to defrost:

Frozen hummingbird feeder

Since we don’t have power now, and thus can’t use the heater, I’m alternating the hummingbird feeders. We can heat water to make the sugar syrup using a kettle on our gas stove. They’re very hungry, unsurprisingly:

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds

I’ll go out to the chicken coop every few hours to poke at their water dispensers, to break up the ice.

Our internet is working for now, powered by a UPS, though we’ll probably turn it off soon to preserve the battery. Fun times!

Duck island installation via cams

Yesterday I posted about installing the new floating duck island. Today, some additional pictures of that process, as captured by the two cameras that watch the pond.

To start, here’s me easing the cart and island down the bank into the pond, as seen by the cam near the duck house:

Island down the bank into the pond

Island down the bank into the pond

Another angle, from the pond deck cam:

Island into the pond

Island off the cart:

Island off the cart

Adding the two extra buoyancy buckets:

Adding extra buoyancy buckets

Moving it to by the duck house:

Moving it to by the duck house

Removing the upturned boat:

Removing the upturned boat

Removing the upturned boat

A wheelbarrow of dirt (look next to the datestamp):

Wheelbarrow of dirt

Adding dirt:

Adding dirt

Adding grasses:

Adding grasses

Digging up grasses next to the duck house (it was encroaching a bit too close, so I wanted to remove some anyway):

Digging up grasses

Wading in the pond again to plant the grasses in the dirt:

Planting grasses

Anchoring the island:

Anchoring

Ducks investigating the island from a safe distance, an hour after I was done:

Ducks beyond island

Ducks near the island this morning; I haven’t seen any go onto it yet, but at least they aren’t totally avoiding it:

Ducks near island

While on morning rounds, I propped up the old boat with a couple of logs:

Propped up boat

The thought is that they could use it as an additional shelter, e.g. for laying eggs:

Propped up boat

Here it is from across the pond. It isn’t super attractive, though has a certain aged rustic charm. I might move it elsewhere, but that’ll do for now:

Propped up boat

Some more pictures of the island:

Island

Island

Island

Island

A glimpse of ducks on the bank at the back of the pond:

Ducks

Duck island installation!

Having completed construction on my duck island project last weekend, today I installed it in the pond.

I started by gathering up some tools, the two extra buoyancy buckets, and an empty bucket, and pulled it out of the workshop (remember, it was already sitting on my cart):

Duck island pulled out of workshop

I also attached a couple of bungee cords to the cart, to make sure it wouldn’t slide around too much:

Bungees

I added a couple of eye rings to attach the anchor cord:

Eye

Then I dragged it all to the pond, the long way around the veggie garden (as it was too wide to fit down the most direct path). I took a breather halfway there:

Halfway

Near the edge of the pond:

At pond

I then put on my waders, and lowered it — cart and all — down the bank and into the water:

Into the water

You can also see the anchor cord in that picture, a plastic-wrapped wire with spring clips on the ends (actually a dog tie-out cord, that I bought for this purpose). I also added a short piece of pool noodle to the cord, so it’d float if unhooked, though I later decided it was ugly and removed it; I can re-add it if and when I need to unhook it.

As I got deeper, it floated off the cart:

Off the cart

Floating high out of the water, just as expected:

Floating

I then inserted those two extra buoyancy buckets under the island, and used the empty bucket to add some water to the island to test weighing it down a bit.

I moved it over to near the duck house, and hitched the anchor cord to it temporarily:

Hitched to the duck house

Then I got out of the waders, and went and got a small wheelbarrow load of dirt:

Wheelbarrow of dirt

Then a second larger load of dirt:

More dirt

It was then floating lower with the weight of the dirt; just about the desired level:

Floating lower with dirt

Next, I dug up some of the grasses that grow like weeds next to the pond, and tossed them onto the island, with a larger one in the center:

Grasses

The island could be a little lower, but I wanted to err on the side of a bit higher, to allow for the dirt to get saturated. I might add more later, once I see how it stabilizes.

Then back into the waders and into the pond, where I poked the grasses into the dirt:

Grasses

The grasses are pretty dormant at present, and some may not survive the transplant, but hopefully some will. They’re pretty hardy. I can always add more later.

That done, I moved the island to the desired position, near the center of the pond, and anchored it by stringing the anchor wire through a couple of cinderblocks, that are sitting on some spare pond liner (to protect the pond floor):

Anchored

Here are some more pictures of the island in position:

Island

Pond and island

Pond and island

Pond and island

Pond and island

It’ll probably take the ducks a few days to get used to it there. Hopefully it won’t freak them out as much as the upturned boat did (which I have moved to the pond bank for now). It looks like it fits much more than that did.

My waders seems to have sprung a leak around my knee; I could feel cold water seeping in, and the leg of my work overalls and sock was wet. I guess I need to try to patch it, or buy a new one:

Wet leg

That concludes the duck island project, at least for now. It may get tweaks over time. I hope the ducks like it, once they get used to it being there. It was a fun little project, started almost on a whim, and mostly using materials I already had on hand.

January snow and aerial photos

Last night it snowed a little for the first time this season. Less than an inch; just enough to give a winter wonderland feeling around the homestead.

So this morning I flew my drone to capture the snowy landscape from the sky, plus some ground-level pictures on my morning rounds.

Here’s my DJI Mavic Mini drone hovering in front of me on our deck:

Drone

An overview of much of the snowy homestead:

Snowy homestead

Angling up a bit to capture the lightly dusted trees and mist:

Trees

Closer to the trees:

Trees

Our pond from above the back lawn:

Pond

Another angle of the pond, and a better look at the ducks:

Pond and ducks

Looking straight down:

Pond and ducks

From further back, you can see the pond, back lawn, and flowerbeds:

Pond, back lawn, flowerbeds

Back a bit more, adding the shop, hoop house, veggie garden, and chicken runs:

Pond, back lawn, etc

Looking down on the white gazebo and dormant flowerbeds; the cat house is also visible in the top-left corner:

Flowerbeds

The back lawn, brown gazebo, grove, and veggie garden:

Back lawn, grove, veggie garden

Down on the ground, here’s the greenhouse, with a sheet of snow sliding off the roof:

Greenhouse

Our beehives; they’re all huddled inside, keeping themselves warm. We’ll see in a few months whether or not they all survive the winter:

Beehives

By the pond:

By the pond

The duck house and pond — the water maintains its temperature well; it needs to be cold much longer to freeze:

Duck house and pond

The white gazebo and flowerbeds, with a glimpse of ducks on the back lawn in the background:

Flowerbeds

Finally, looking across the fountain garden towards the cat house:

Cat house and fountain garden

Aerial photos in November

I flew my drone today. Previous flights this year included October, August, June, April, and March.

This time, we’re done with the fall foliage, so there are just the millions of evergreen trees around us.

Lots and lots of trees, to the misty horizon:

Trees

Here’s a glimpse of Mount Hood:

Mount Hood

Zoomed in a bit:

Mount Hood

Our pond, flowerbeds, etc:

Pond, flowerbeds, etc

Pond, flowerbeds, etc

From lower down:

Pond, etc

The junk area in the corner of the property; there’s an old dinghy (that I occasionally think about putting by the pond as a decoration and duck shelter), and a bunch of rocks, pipes, wood, and other stuff, mostly buried under weeds:

Junk area

That rectangle near the bottom is an old potting shelter, that I plan to enclose to make a beekeeping storage shed. Here it is again, along with the beehives:

Beehives

An angled view of the beehives, hoop house, veggie garden, etc:

Beehives, veggie garden, etc

Looking down on the veggie garden, berry cage, and chicken runs:

Veggie garden

One reason for flying today was to investigate a gutter that has come loose:

Gutter

After flying, I got out a ladder and fixed it; all better now.

Here’s me and Rory on the main deck:

David and Rory