evan's ant village log

Thanks for 'taking us along', Evan! Looking forward to your adventure. And thanks also for your tagline... will be pursuing it ;)

Thanks for keeping us up to date Evan. Looking forward to following your adventure from the other side of the planet,(NZ).

Day 4

I woke up this morning to above-freezing temperatures and a gentle drizzle of rain. Barely enough precipitation filtered through the tree canopy to wet the grass below.

After hiking up the dry creek bed and weaving my way through thick underbrush, I finally found a spot where the creek was still flowing. The crisp cool water was refreshing after the hour-and-a-half journey and then I found a shorter route back that only took about forty-five minutes. The creek seems like it's about as far away from ant village as basecamp, but I could be wrong. For now, I may continue to fill up my water jugs at basecamp rather than the creek, since I often head down there for one reason or another anyway.

On the other hand, the walk to the creek is full of wild beauty, and while the deer and birds didn't hold still long enough for me to snap a picture, this shelf mushroom did.

Are those mushrooms edible? In my area craft painters use them as a canvas.

Evan, I think your little yellow flower is a yellow bell, not a glacier lily.

Day 5

There was a lovely dusting of snow on the ground when I woke up this morning. It continued to snow off and on until the afternoon, but it melted faster than it accumulated.

I made some progress on building my first hugelkultur wall along my eastern border. There was tons of old logs just to the east, many of them charred as if somebody had tried to have a big spread-out bonfire several years ago. Paul said it would be fine for me to use them for my hugels, even though they weren't on my plot.

It was naive of me to assume that I would be the first ant here. Thousands, perhaps even millions of ants are already hard at work gardening in antville.

Just wait until the grasshoppers get there...

hi evan, sure is fun to read your daily journal. i know its early and you've barely begun, still in my book you are a first class bad ass. good on ya.

Wyatt Barnes wrote:Are those mushrooms edible? In my area craft painters use them as a canvas.

that's red belted polypore, super common in the pnw.. makes a great energizing tea, less mushroomy than most polypores..

Hi Evan, I will be coming out in July. You are the person who will be answering the logistics questions for the super weeks, so let me know your email and I will ask my questions. Glad you are there. You will be a local guru by the time I get there. Best of luck. Enjoy your journey. Thanks, Natalie Manor