Renee Lynn

No, I know that winter is maple syrup time, not summer!  

Katy Rose wrote:Gah, yes, it's been desperately dry--up until the past couple days! And now we're getting so much rain so fast that it's just running off the dry, parched land in rivers. Sigh. Better than nothing, though!

I wonder if you could tap your maple?? I've heard they are real water hogs, though, and send out lots of shallow roots, so that will make things tough for you as far as planting underneath it. You could remove it of course, but it's always a bummer to take down a healthy tree. We had a bunch of dead and dying trees (mostly elms) removed earlier this year--it is amazing the difference it made in opening things up, but I would have had a hard time doing it if they were all healthy!

I've gone back and forth about taking the tree down....pros would be more sun in the backyard for food production, a huge woodpile, lots of tree mulch for the garden; cons would be losing a fantastic, healthy shade tree, unhappy kids, and cost to take it down.  I have thought about tapping it for maple syrup (along with the other two maples in the front yard), but haven't attempted it yet.  What I *am* going to do, however, is post photos of my property somewhere on this forum and ask for advice!

Katy Rose wrote:
Renee, we're practically neighbors!  What are you up to over in Belleville? Any projects planned or underway?

*waves* Howdy, neighbor!  

I don't really have anything planned at present, just a lot of thinking and ideas.... This year I put down a layer of cardboard topped by a layer of tree mulch, and my beans, cukes, and zucchini/yellow squashes are growing nicely (though the plants seem a bit small, probably because we haven't had as much rain this year).  I have a gigantic silver maple in my backyard that shades most of the yard so I'm not sure what I can really do back there.  I'd love to have fruit and nut trees, like you're going to do, but I don't know where I'd put them!

It's not a physical book, but a series on his blog.  Here's the first installment:  http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2015/08/retrotopia-dawn-train-from-pittsburgh.html

Hey, fellow Michiganders!    I'm brand new to permaculture and this forum, though I have done a bit of reading on permaculture.  I'm in the Belleville area (halfway between Detroit and Ann Arbor, off I-94).  Looking forward to getting to know folks and learn some cool stuff!

Is there any way to change the location of my pin?

What a lovely farm!    I miss Colorado (I grew up in Fort Collins).