Fernwoodsy » Indianola

HoneyOla! The bees are working it

fernwoodsy — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:11:47 +0000

I look through my studio window and it’s a joy to see so many happy bees buzzing about. Last year they didn’t do so good. But it seems this year they’re thriving. Because of the cold, damp spring they got a late start, but the blackberry blossoms seem to be full of nectar (unlike last year) and the bees are making up for lost time. Soon @beegeek will pull some of the capped honey. It should be a good harvest for HoneyOla.

Christmas sunshine at the Indianola dock

fernwoodsy — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 04:28:01 +0000

What wonderful weather we’ve enjoyed this Holiday season. I’ve been venturing out of the woods to see the sun. It’s so low in the sky it slices through the trees, but we don’t get too much of the direct stuff where we live. It’s an invigorating walk down to water, there the sun shines directly in your face. The Indianola beach faces south, it’s a wonderful place to absorb some light and, if it’s clear, gaze at Mt. Rainier and the Olympic mountains. The long dock, once a stop for the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet ferry to Seattle (1919-1951), is the ultimate platform for maximum light exposure. Well, the forecast is calling for rain, we didn’t get any today, but it’s coming.

Persephone Farm CSA Bouquet

fernwoodsy — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:13:46 +0000

This was our first year as CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscribers. Every Wednesday we walk down the street to Persephone Farm and pickup our split-share of veggies, and every other week we get to also pick out a bouquet of colorful, fresh flowers. What a treat to have fresh flowers in the house. At Persephone they grow a wide variety of flowers, and do arrangements for weddings and special occasions, but the flowers planted among the rows of veggies serve another purpose, they attract pollinators and beneficial insects, and add diversity to the farm. The CSA is almost over for the year, I’ll miss our weekly visit to the farm, all the super fresh veggies, and our bouquets.

Creative Kids — Sleuths Want a Mystery to Solve

fernwoodsy — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:45:03 +0000

As seen on the Indianola Post Office bulletin board. (Phone numbers blurred for privacy.) These 12 & 11 year old sleuths will “handle your case with care”. Persuasive copywriting, I love it, it’s so Indianola.

The bulletin board is the place to get the latest scoop. Need a handyman? Pilates at Wise Acres? Community meetings, fundraisers and kayaks for sale, it’s all on the Post Office, IBIC Kiosk and Country Store bulletin boards.

So for a mystery… a neighbor is dying to know whose dog is pooping in her yard. (She didn’t say pooping.) But I think these clever detectives are looking for a bigger challenge. Any ideas?

The bulletin board is the place to get the latest scoop. Need a handyman? Pilates at Wise Acres? Community meetings, fundraisers and kayaks for sale, it’s all on the Post Office, IBIC Kiosk and Country Store bulletin boards.

So for a mystery… a neighbor is dying to know whose dog is pooping in her yard. (She didn’t say pooping.) But I think these clever detectives are looking for a bigger challenge. Any ideas?

Ivy Pull at Indianola Waterfront Preserve

fernwoodsy — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:04:46 +0000

I spent a couple hours this damp morning pulling invasive English ivy. The Great Peninsula Conservancy, owns and manages the Indianola Waterfront Preserve and organizes the Ivy Pulls (Kate makes great cookies for the ivy pullers). It’s satisfying tugging and rolling up long ivy vines and roots, freeing ferns and cedars of the smothering ivy. Ivy grows too well in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, it crowds out native plants, and climbs up trees. If left unchecked the forest floor becomes a ivy monoculture. Volunteers have cleared much of the Preserve of ivy and native plants are flourishing, its a beautiful spot for all to enjoy. Still there’s plenty of ivy left to pull, I’ll try to be at the next pull scheduled for Nov. 28.

P.S. What a beautiful sign! It’s a fairly new addition to the Preserve. Jay Zischke and his son Karl found the wood on the beach and constructed the sign and kiosk. That’s a beach rock in the center. A sign painter added wonderful lettering.

Not a cougar, but our wild cat

fernwoodsy — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:45:18 +0000

The forest is a dangerous place for domestic cats, I believe cats should remain indoors, for their safety and for birds sake. This sleek black cat has been visiting Fernwoods regularly since April. He’s gorgeous, but very wary, we can’t get close to him. He’s comfortable enough here that occasionally we’ll see him rolling around basking in the sun, or taking a little dirt bath in a warm and dusty spot. We wonder what his story is, none of our neighbors know. We’re sure he has a diet of mice and sadly, birds among other little critters. We haven’t fed him. But who knows, as the weather turns and we witness him getting skinnier, likely we’ll break down and aim to make friends with “Blackie” or will it be “Smudge”.