Blog & Field Notes

Our walnut tree is loaded this year, so we're keeping a close eye out for walnut husk fly larvae. The adult flies lay their eggs in the green outer husks, and when the larvae hatch, they tunnel through the husk, turning it black, soft, and messy. While the nut inside is often still edible, damaged husks are much harder to remove and can stain the shell. Trust me, processing them is a nasty job when husk flies have invaded.

Since we raise honeybees, spraying the tree to control the flies is a challenge. Protecting pollinators is a priority, so we're looking for ways to manage the pests while minimizing the risk to our bees. 

Our property is home to a healthy population of wild rabbits, and it's always a treat to see them grazing on the lawn in the early morning or evening. So far, they seem perfectly satisfied with the grass and have mostly ignored our garden beds, although our luck may not last forever.

Our property is also regularly visited by owls and hawks, which are a natural part of keeping the rabbit population in balance. It's another reminder that a healthy ecosystem depends on the relationships between plants, wildlife, and predators.

This pretty little dove nests right outside my studio. I stop by and visit her every day. 

Mourning doves are some of the most common birds around our homestead, and their gentle cooing is a familiar sound throughout the warmer months. They usually lay two eggs per nest, and both parents take turns incubating them for about 14 days. Once the chicks hatch, they're fed a nutritious secretion called crop milk before gradually transitioning to seeds.

One of the reasons mourning doves are so abundant is that they can raise two to six broods in a single breeding season, and sometimes even more when conditions are favorable. 

During lockdown, I spent a lot more time walking around our property and noticing the small details of the natural world around me. One day, I saw the many pine needles scattered beneath our Scottish pine trees and wondered, “What could I make with these?”

That curiosity led me to learn the art of pine needle weaving. What began as a simple experiment turned into a creative journey, transforming fallen needles from our own trees into handmade pieces. 

Our homestead sits between several large, flat agricultural fields where irrigation waterers are constantly running throughout the growing season. Combined with our 20+ trees, gardens, and small pockets of habitat, this creates a welcoming environment for a surprising variety of birds.

The nearby fields provide open feeding areas, the water sources attract birds from the surrounding landscape, and our trees offer shelter, nesting spots, and places to rest. Over the years, I have been amazed by the diversity of feathered visitors that share this little piece of land with us.

Some of the birds we have observed include:

White barn owls, great horned owls, doves including mourning doves, robins, swallows, finches, goldfinches, magpies, hummingbirds, killdeer, ducks, geese, crows, blackbirds, starlings, pheasants, quail, hawks, eagles, woodpeckers, and ravens.
Western kingbirds

Living here has given me a deeper appreciation for how important even small areas of habitat can be. 

We have a small stand of bamboo on our property, and I became curious about how I could use this fast-growing plant in a creative way. That led me to experimenting with making my own bamboo paper.

From processing the bamboo fibers to forming sheets of handmade paper, I gained a new appreciation for the craftsmanship behind this ancient art. I then used the bamboo paper to create a lantern and a mask, allowing the natural texture and fibers to become part of the finished piece. It was a rewarding way to transform something growing in our own landscape into a functional work of art.