Blackberry Removal Days

This week, throughout all of the warmer, still soggy weather, we have been removing blackberries. It feels like it was just yesterday we were on this mission, but alas, it was almost a year ago. This strong, invasive species is relentless, and if the canes establish in a sunny spot, they will take over. We did persevere this week in accomplishing a long swath of clearing out by Griffin Creek and in between all of our greenhouses. It is very satisfying to pull the entangled vines out of the ground, cut them back, dig up the roots and then burn them to fully ensure they will not re-establish. It is a ton of work, but well worth it. We usually have to take back the blueberries, as the blackberries will engulf them, but this year our efforts have been reclaiming in and around buildings.

We have had a group of snow geese migrate in and hunker down in the small pond at the deep center of our fields. Their calls are haunting and beautiful and remind us how big and majestic these geese are. They are a much smaller gaggle this time and there are only 2 immature birds within their group. They are quite protective of their space and quick to fly off at the sign of coyotes, but usually return right back to the water and chime their ethereal guttural sounds.

February is upon us, and we will look to brighter days and less rain. We are taking stock and inventory of seeds, cleaning up the seeding bench and soon will embark upon the start of 2020! Our small patch of tulips has already come up, and many other perennials will soon emerge. Let’s hope the frost stays mild and the rains subside.

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