a land-based logbook

Two of three. We call them the Peanut Butter Boys.

I brought the mushroom logs outside yesterday hoping they'd benefit from the mild weather and rain. Reishi. Lion's mane. Shiitake. Nine logs total. They've spent the winter indoors with moderate humidity. I've propped them up off the ground on the stumps of felled trees so that they have good air flow. I forgot to take a photo, but I took this one. Oak moss. A bit of a misnomer because it grows on deciduous trees. This one had fallen off a maple.

Unseasonably warm today. It reached 17C.

The dry creek looks a lot better after raking out the leaves.

Where has the time gone? Spent all today and yesterday on boiling the last sap of the season.

This is my favourite tree. I've named him Canoodle. He is a canoe birch. The bottom half is not in shadow. His lower half is a dark striped grey. His top, a majestic snowy white.

Winter has been taunting us. Every time we get our hopes up, there's more snow. Grey skies. Wind and freezing rain. But the rhubarb wouldn't risk it, right?

Maple syrup season has started. There isn't one outdoor photo that captures all the labour that gets bottled into this one jar. This process will occupy our weekends for the next four weeks.

I had to brace myself when I saw the thermometer today. Winter is not over (yet).

The difference a day makes. Today brought rain and the fog of war. The first good run of sap and me wondering if we're all making things so much more complicated than they need to be.

More snow today. We continued cleaning the lower branches of the conifers along the property boundary in the hopes of being able to make sense of it all. The creek is flowing. A sign that spring hasn't forgotten her promise.

I was excited for spring. An ice storm rolled through on Wednesday. It seemed safe enough to go check the damage today. A number of smaller branches. Glossy trees that I hope don't reach any further towards the ground. This one made me a little sad. It looks small and broken now but it stood 35ft. It had reached for the light where it could. I was determined to save it. I thought maybe if it was clear of obstructions, after a season it would stand straight. Now it's just more wood to manage.