Although we had a snowstorm this week, I could still do some essential work.
I did finalize the location where I am piloting the garden.
The size of this space is about 16ftx12ft=192 square feet.
The center bushes are the wild blackberry. It’s WILD. 🙂 the bushes seem to be everywhere. I never did anything to it last Summer. I let it overgrow.
But the vine seems to be going strong. I hope that they will come back this Summer?
I also investigated the two nests that I noticed last week. While I still did not see any creatures in the nest, I looked into what animal species would most likely use this nest. The dried leaves with twigs seem to point in squirrel nests. I am not surprised as I know a few squirrels live in the trees.
Around the bird feeder, I see that there is much traffic. 🙂 It has been below freezing, so I am not too surprised to see birds are coming for some food. I did not notice any new birds. However, the red-bellied woodpeckers and the Northern Cardinal couple have been regular. 🙂
This is the update for this week. The weather supposes to be nicer this coming week.
For the reflective part:
I was reflecting on the dialogue I had with my interviewee. He reminded me that we expect to experience some loss when we grow plants every year. He explained that we produce one yield for ourselves, one yield for seeds next season, and one for the animals when we grow. We will only eat one-third of what we grow and should expect the loss.
Thinking about it, I do not believe that it should consider lost. Instead, I believe that it is a “fair share.” Animals need to eat too. More so, when they eat the crops/fruits, they give back to our garden system by providing ecological services: bio-pest control or spreading seeds.
I believe that this is the mindset that we need to maintain. If we can share with our friends or next-door neighbors, why cannot we share with the wild animals on our property?
Maybe this is the question for this week to think deeper into it. 🙂