We are looking toward unseasonably warm temperatures for the next week or more. Still bright sunshine, very beautiful but concerning. The first measurement of snow pack at Phillips Station was almost dry.
The thistle still comes out of the ground easily and deeply. I spent more time on the hillside creating my warning track next to the wall and removing the overgrowth from past years. The application of the fireplace ashes appears to be helping to keep that overgrowth off the wall.
I have also mounted a campaign to keep the grass growing up through the flagstones in the summer house. I applied Roundup with a mixture of the pesticide that reaches into the roots. I expect I will need to follow up with actual weeding.
The goal is to raise the summer house to its original purpose: a place to sit with a cup of coffee or glass of wine looking out on the land. even now, I get great satisfaction from stretching and standing to admire the view from the summer house corner.
I started to prune the rockrose on the front slope. The goats will eat the thistle but love the rockrose cuttings. Second only to their love of bread. I am pruning to avoid sprawl, but will see if pruning encourages blooming.
A Year at the Snake 