Satellite update

There is this old senile fart that lives a couple hundred meters away who seems to think the forest is his backyard. Every once in a while he comes to Mr. O`s plot and digs away looking for bamboo shoots. I asked Mr. O about him and he said although he knows who it is, he hasn`t given him any permission or so. He said it was sad that some people acted like his land was their own. But he didn`t tell them anything cause he thinks it will be more bother than just to let them be. In addition I learned that specific old fart doesn`t hear well, and whenever he comes out looking for shoots he doesn`t wear his hearing aid so there is no point in trying to talk to him anyway. He just ignores whoever approaches him. Add to that me being a "scary" foreigner, and it explains why he doesn`t even answer my hellos when he crosses over my property to get between Mr. O`s and Mr. K`s plots.

Anyway I got fed up with having to think about him, and as a gesture that he is not welcome I made a small fence where he shouldn`t cross. At least that way if I see him climb into my plot I can tell him to fuck off without him pretending not to know anything. It`s actually pretty nice, so I probably will make similar fence around the whole thing.

De fence

While working on the 3rd row, I can follow the progress of the first 2 rows. I figure that if I dig during weekends, I should be able to complete the 3rd row within this year easily. The ground cover in the second row is growing nicely. Clover, grass and vetch look healthy, almost covering the lower branches of the saplings so I clear those away.

Still can see the mikan though

On the first row the ground cover is not as dense, I suppose cause I didn`t broadcast as much seeds. It is now dry season, and a couple of weeks without rain. But thanks to the ground cover my rows keep their water. Another dry week after the above picture I took the below one. The mikan are still healthy, but gradually their leaves are turning yellow and dry out and fall off. I am not sure if it is normal because of them being transplanted or if it is too little water. Last time I saw mikan do that was because of too much water. For now I just observe, and keep spiders from spinning webs around the remaining leaves. New leaves are sprouting too so I guess that is a good sign. Hopefully the locusts (yeah there are a lot of them around. Almost ate my mikan sapling in the backyard.) will munch on the grass instead of the new leaves.

Grass as tall as the mikan now

The bamboo attack of this year has subsided. I can keep them at bay by just going over the north side twice a week, and the shoots I kick over are fewer and fewer. I will start cutting the tall grass in the rows soon, but right now I think they are more beneficial if I leave them. Just have to make sure they don`t get in the way of the saplings.

Two days ago one of my chickens laid the biggest egg I have seen so far. Not even in stores when I used to buy LL size I saw this size. It must have hurt real bad when it came out. It`s easily twice the size of the rest...

Eggzilla

Oh, and I noticed that Google Earth has finally come out with a new version of the satellite image of my plots.

Meh for the quality though

 

It must have early in the morning in winter cause the sun is real low and trees in south are shading almost the whole plot. I can see by the two long piles of dirt on north east that the picture is taken just when I had started to dig the path between my rows. So, pretty recent. The last image was before I bought the land so... full of bamboo basically.