evan's ant village log

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Fred, Sara, Kai, and I all went morel-hunting. We went to where a forest fire had swept through last year. Besides finding a few morels, it was a nice little trip and we saw lots of interesting lifeforms.

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Interesting lifeforms...

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The morel-hunting place turned out to have fewer morels than some areas on the lab, but we got a good little haul anyway, and it sure was a pretty spot to spend a few hours.

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So much planting and so much growing!

Kai's been experimenting with different kinds of seedballs, trying out various soil types and methods. These turned out more like seedbombs.

The rye and vetch cover crops that we threw all over the berms last fall are really taking off. Especially the patches that were heavily mulched.

Jacob Wustner, (Sapphire Apiaries) came out and delivered a new hive of honey bees, (apparently the last hive didn't survive the winter after all and what we thought was the hive was really just robbers raiding their honey stores.) The new hive seems to be settling in nicely, I've seen them buzzing all over and visiting the many blooms.

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Fencing the perimeter of Ava is going well. The fence should keep the ducks in, the deer out, and provide lots of habitat for bugs and climbing growies and lots of hunting grounds and perches for birds.

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Not sure what these species are, but here they are.

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A few more interesting ones. Some of these might be repeats, but I'm not sure.

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The little hand-crafted hugels I built more than a year ago are really starting to blow up this year. Nearly a full canopy! Makes me want to hurry up and do all my earthworks so the devastation I wreak can start healing sooner rather than later, but I have lots of ongoing projects that still need work before I tear up more earth again, so a piecemeal haphazard approach it is for now.

Another skink! This one was over on Sean's plot and it's tail wasn't quite as blue. Still gorgeous though.

Kai noticed a crab spider that had caught a honey bee. Apparently crab spiders can change their color between yellow and white to match the flowering plants they inhabit, and this honey bee probably thought it was about to gather some nectar from a mustard flower... turns out it wasn't a mustard flower after all. Poor little bee... but crab spiders gotta eat too...

Y2, Spring (38)

Sean had me operate the excavator for him. The soil he's got over there was easy as pie for digging through, and Rex was able to chomp through it in no time.

I'm really impressed with Sean's earthwork designs too, I think they're gonna do an excellent job of blocking wind and redirecting cold air, while simultaneously catching sunlight and storing water! He's started planting and mulching them already, and I can't wait to see how it all turns out.

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Kai made some super badass gates! Kai's creativity, ingenuity, and work ethic are a constant source of inspiration and awe! I'm so fortunate to be able to share a plot with him! You're the best, Kai!