The Peckerwood's Go to Africa

On May 24, 2012 we travelled with our dear friends Chris, Mark, Sue, Eileen and Barb to Kenya & Tanzania.  It was an incredible experience and we had such a great time.  On June 11, my birthday,we ended our trip,flying from Nairobi to Istanbul to Chicago. We celebrated on 3 continents and the day lasted 32 hours with all the time changes.  Here are some photos from our trip:

The Peckerwood Travellers

Cheetah

Lilac Breasted Roller

King of the Beasts

Masai Mara, Kenya

Black Rhino

Masai Dancers

Little Bee Eaters

Sunset at Klein's Camp

Leopard

Momma & Baby

Crater Lodge: Ngorogoro Crater

Lion Cubs

Lightening Strikes....

On the morning of Friday April 6 a brief thunderstorm swept into southwest Michigan off from Lake Michigan.  Although, Sprout was the only resident of Peckerwood Farm home at the time, the evidence of an electrical storm awaited us when we arrived that evening.  In the darkness, we didn't realize exactly what had caused the bark of one of the tulip trees that  line the driveway to fly across the yard.  However, by Saturday morning it was obvious that the tree had been struck by lightening. 

As we looked closer, we realized that some of the remnants scattered around the yard were of the bird house that was attached to the tree about 6 feet off the ground.  The power of the lightening had completely exploded the cedar nestbox and pieces of it flew over 50 feet into the back yard.  Luckily, the birdhouse was unoccupied at the time. However, it did reinforce the power of the electrical pulse that caused the bark to fly off the west side of the tree.

As you can see, the lightening caused the bark to peel off in a long strip and extended about 30 feet up the side of the tree. Additionally, it blew a hole of dirt out at the base of the trunk.  Amazingly, the delicate blossoms of the daffodils next to the tree were untouched.  As we picked up the thick heavy chunks of bark scattered around the yard, we wondered what kind of sound was created at the time of the strike. Poor Sprout was probably terrified.  We hope that the tree was not damaged beyond the point of recovery.  It really is a beautiful tulip tree and trust in the resilience of nature that it will repair itself and continue to provide shade for the hostas planted under it's branches on Peckerwood Farm.

A Cat for Peckerwood Farm...

We had the best cat in the world. His name was Oscar.  Oscar was a sickly little kitten loaded with earmites and worms when he was left at Clinton Trail Animal Hospital, the site of my first job in the veterinary world.  He and his 4 brothers and sisters didn't look like much, but the little orange and white one was something special.  He spent the summer getting healthy and returned to MSU with me in the fall to begin my second year of veterinary school.  He didn't realize he had volunteered to be the living anatomy, behavior and physiology model.  He took it all in stride, learning to put up with all kinds of manipulations and examinations.  He continued as the golden boy for over 19 years. His retirement years were spent in  Chicago, living with Geordan and I in our condo. When he became so old and frail that he felt more pain than joy, we helped him by ending his suffering painlessly together.  Geordan wrote the best obituary ever written for a cat.  His ashes sit on our bookshelf in the bedroom, maybe someday they will be sprinkled at Peckerwood Farm. 

Oscar Capes-England

So, when our mouse problem got out of control at the farm, Geordan consented to adding a new cat to our family.  After all,  I justified, wouldn't a cat rather have 4 days a week living in it's own home or be euthanized namelessly at a shelter?  So I have begun our search for kitty #2.  The first task has been to complete the logistics for cat care.  A cat sitter for midweek has been hired, her name is Robin and she sounds perfect on the phone.  She comes highly recommended by the realtor, Cathy Smith, who was our agent in the purchase of Peckerwood Farm.  Now, we have to sort out litter box location, diet, a warm place to sleep in the sun and all the other cat requirements.  Once we have things in place we get to start our cat search.  One thing is certain, the bar has been set pretty high for the next cat who enters our lives.  Oscar was one special cat.

DELILA at Felines Inc.

So on a cold January afternoon I visited several Chicago Cat Shelters on the mission of meeting our newest family member.  Felines Inc. was not the easiest place to find according to my maps app. on the iPhone.  It kept telling me that they were located in a senior center two blocks from the actual location on the north side of city.  I walked in to meet a sweet woman surrounded by 30-40 free roaming cats in the shelter.  Our conversation evolved into a description of our ideal cat.  I described our future cat as 'a big personality in a smallish body.'  She quickly directed me towards a newer addition to the shelter who had recently arrived from southern Indiana.  Delila, as she was named at the time, was resting on the desk observing the herd of cats surrounding her.  I was told that she loved people, but was unhappy with so many cats around.  Her blue eyes and her calm personality stole my heart.  After looking at several other potential candidates for Peckerwood's Head Mouser and beloved feline, I returned to Delila knowing that she was 'the 1'.

SPROUT



We quickly completed the adoption process and our newest pet was on her way to Peckerwood.  It became clear, that Delila didn't recognize her name and we were not smitten with the moniker as well.  So we started a search for a name that reflected our love of the outdoors, gardening and her petite size.  We finally decided on the name 'SPROUT'.  Just as she has adjusted to her new home, we know she will adapt to her new name. She has searched out all the warm cozy and sunny spots in the house, and has claimed her cat tree as a fine place to catch some rays.  Although she is a 'farm cat', she won't have access to the outdoors at the farm.  The native birds will be safe from her hunting prowess and she will be safe from the roving coyotes looking for a snack.We look forward to many years of fun and companionship from our newest family member. She is starting to show her true personality; sweet, affectionate and always ready for a snuggle.  She even hammed it up for the camera during her first photo shoot.

COME MEET SPROUT!!!!

A Gator at Peckerwood....YIKES!!!

The Peckerwood family of power tools and motorized equipment has recently expanded.  We are excited to have a new, to us, John Deere Gator.  Geordan had been lusting for a Gator for some time. When we recently picked up our lawn tractor from it's annual visit to the dealership for a tune-up, I mentioned to the owner that we might be interested in one, if they ever got a trade-in.  On a cold January Monday, we got a phone call offering us an opportunity to buy one.   A road trip was quickly planned for a visit to the dealership in Michigan City Indiana.  It just so happened that the owner of the Gator arrived shortly before I did and was very willing to share all it's details.

Dan, from Dan's Landscaping in Michigan City, had bought the Gator the previous fall and had it refurbished by his mechanic.  He added a snowplow and cab for winter driveway clean-up. He also rebuilt the engine and put new tires on her.  After a quick test-drive, I was smitten with the idea and quickly called Geordan to confirm that the Gator was a 'must' for the farm.  Dan, all too eager to help out, offered to deliver it the following weekend. He also guaranteed it to be in good working order by offering his mechanic to service it for any future problems.  With that kind of service, we sealed the deal.

Saturday arrived and we found Dan waiting for us at his business in Michigan City.  He was eager to show us around his impressively organized and clean facility.  He really takes pride in his business and the organization behind it.  It made us confident in our decision to purchase the used Gator, after we saw how meticulous and thorough he was with his business and equipment. The Gator was already loaded on his trailer and he followed us to the farm. By the time we arrived, it was after dark, so we unloaded and promptly parked 'her' in the garage.  Thank goodness for the headlights!!! 

Sunday morning started with some nice blustery flurries which turned the farm white with snow.  It gave us our first opportunity to plow the drive, which Gator performed beautifully. As we get the hang of it, I am sure we will push more snow and less gravel.  We look forward to years of fun with our new Gator.  Not only for winter snow plowing, but with the doors off and the plow removed, giving tours of the farm and hauling equipment around the property.  Come take a tour!!!

A Break from the Gloom of Winter

Winter in the north can leave us all longing for the sunny days of summer. Luckily we had a chance to get away for a week to sunny Florida.  What a treat to sit outside and swim in a warm pool under the warmth of the January sun.  We had an early flight to Orlando from O'hare airport on Saturday January 14, the day after my Dad's 70th birthday.  It has been a busy month for the England family, my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on December 29 and Dad began his 8th decade of life two weeks later. It was nice to spend time with my family and celebrate both Christmas and the golden anniversary. 

Mom & Dad

Our trip on United Airlines to Orlando was unfortunately marred by the diversion of my suitcase to Jacksonville Florida.  There are no direct flights from Jacksonville to Orlando, so it took about 36 hours for my bag to catch up with me.  We had a great room at the Gaylord Palms and got to enjoy a balcony into the atrium, with views of tropical plants and the waterfall.  Geordan and I spent time staring into the koi pond and selecting our favorite varieties for our future pond at Peckerwood. The conference was fantastic as always, with many educational opportunities to improve my skills as a veterinarian.  The best part of the conference was catching up with my classmates and friends. Bruce, Kris, Chris, Mary and Matt were all in attendance.  What a great time we had spending our evenings catching up on our lives and dining at some great restaurants.  One of our favorites was Cafe Tutu Tango, a small plates tapas menu and good sangria made the meal very memorable. http://www.cafetututango.com/( Check it out if you are in Orlando)

Sandhill Crane at Orlando Airport

We also got a chance to go birding when in Orlando.  We visited a great county park with a large wetland area. We viewed a large variety of birds including some new species for me.  Wood storks were abundant as well as many members of the heron family. I got some great photos of a bittern, which are notoriously difficult to photograph.  Additionally, we saw a huge flock of fish crows that had gathered in a stand of trees along the edge of the lake.

American Bittern

After the conference concluded we packed up our bags and moved to the Sheraton Vistana Lakes.  We were joined by Anne, Brian and Devin to enjoy a few days of sunshine and Disney.  Our trip to the Magic Kingdom was fantastic. We had a full day of rides, parades and junk food. What a great time. We also visited the Animal Kingdom park on Saturday, which proved just as fun and the weather couldn't have been any more perfect.  I think the highlight of the trip for Devin was spending time in the pools at the resort.  The water was perfectly warm and the pool was a great place to hang out between all the busy park hopping and dining.

Cinderella's Castle

Alas, our time in Orlando came to an end and we had to return to Chicago.  The flight home transported us from bright sunshine and warmth to an overcast and snow covered world.  While our winter has not been particularly cold or snowy, a getaway for some sunshine therapy and vitamin D production makes the winter seem bearable.  The plans for garden planting and springtime projects can resume. More importantly, we have many Peckerwood tasks to undertake in preparation for the warmth and sunshine to arrive back to Southwest Michigan.

See you @

Seeds, Seeds, and More Seeds....

In 2011 we had several major projects on the farm.  A large berm along the road planted with conifers to give us some privacy was installed by Gee Farms.  We had chosen several species and cultivars to give us a variety of textures and colors. These included weeping Alaskan cedars, Arborvitae, Hemlocks, Serbian spruce, Stone pine, Fraser firs, and Concolor firs.  We had visited Gee farms early in March of 2011 and picked out the individual trees to be installed. One of the highlights of the trip was finding a short eared owl nestled among the conifers in the field. 

Short-eared Owl

One other major project was the kitchen garden. We had planted a small raised bed with tomatoes, squash, peppers and cucumbers at the farm in the spring. What we really wanted was a larger area to grow more varieties and new vegetables. After visiting many homes on house walks and summer events in Harbor country, we decided to build a kitchen garden behind the existing house. Geordan spent most of the summer designing the space and the location of the various beds, gates and pergolas. We started construction in late summer. A huge truckload of lumber had arrived and was placed in the middle of the driveway. We spent many weekends working at cutting, drilling and screwing the boxes together. 

The Kitchen Garden in early construction phase

Our friend Kieran assisted on several visits, as well as our friend Tom Dunn.  Additionally, we had visits by many friends during construction, Steve & Jerry supervised for a Sunday afternoon.  Our neighbors Rick and Sandy made sure we stayed hydrated by announcing 'Beer Break' and arriving with the traditional Miller Lite each weekend.  Many hours and sore Monday mornings later we are in the final phases of construction for the kitchen garden.  Our winter project has been measuring the box tops for trim and finalizing our selections for planting. We anticipate that construction will be complete in time for planting season. The final touches of gravel walkways and an irrigation system will be installed once the soil is stable enough to allow heavy equipment to be driven on the yard.

Kitchen Garden final phase

This winter we have begun dreaming and selecting the seeds to grow in the garden. Geordan has been enthralled by the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog. He has chosen seven varieties to order, as we have decided on growing a total of eight. His choices are Green Zebra, Violet Jasper, German Lunchbox, Beauty Queen, Tigerella, Black Cherry and Tess's Land Race Currant.  My choice, Sun Gold, has been a traditional variety we have grown in our Earthboxes in the city for several years.  They are sweet, juicy and delicious.  They taste like everything good about summer captured by the sun in a little fruit.  We plan on starting the seeds under grow lights in the basement at the farm. Between birthdays and Christmas we have acquired the lights, heat mats and timers needed to start our seeds.  Additionally, we will start cucumbers, basil, zucchini, and butternut squash.


We decided to order from 3 additional companies to round out our seed choices.  Gurneys was the traditional choice of my Grandmother.  I loved looking looking at the catalog when I was a little boy. They even sold chickens through the mail.  One of my favorite spring expectations was the 1cent seed packet they offered.  It said it was just for kids and contained a collection of all sorts of garden seeds.  I envisioned a loyal Gurney employee carefully selecting 1 or 2 seeds from each large bin of seeds in the Gurney factory.  They would gently place them in the seed packet and ship it with Grandma's order. In retrospect, a weary employee probably sweeps up the floor after a long day of seed packing and places a portion of the sweepings in the paper envelope that I anticipated each spring.  Territorial Seed Company was another company we supported.  I liked their catalog and they had an interesting section of grafted vegetables.  Finally, we ordered from R.H. Shumway's Garden Guide.  Their catalog has an old timey feel which made me envision a sweet family farm sited in the dells of Wisconsin.  Don't disillusion me if you know they are a division of Monsanto, bent on the destruction of the earth.  I need that little bit of nostalgia.

All these seeds and all the catalogs are a definite sign that spring is coming.  It gives us all hope that the green leaves and spring flowers are just waiting to burst forth when the opportunity arrives.  I will keep you posted on our seed planting mission and hopefully have a full report on our tomato choices once they provide us with their fruit.

And So We Begin....

 I am not sure why I decided to start a blog. I guess I like the idea of documenting the adventures I have had in my life journey.  I am not much of a blog reader, I haven't subscribed to any in the past.  So feel free to press on if this is already boring you.
So, a little more about me.   I am 47 years old. I have always been interested in nature, animals, plants and people.  I have a partner, Geordan,  who supports me in my pursuit of collecting and organizing the objects of my obsessions.  I suppose that it is a form of OCD with a touch of hoarding.  However, I think it is the fear of becoming a full scale hoarder that keeps me from going completely over the edge. We will touch on my collections in future blogs. Suffice it to say, most of them are the interests of senior citizens(plants, antiques, books) with a few quirks(I love newspaper articles involving bad drivers which end in the line 'police investigators found the vehicles brakes to be in complete working order.')

Why Peckerwood?  Well, I get a bit depressed in the winter. Geordan is a good sport and puts up with me.  In the winter of 2009-2010, I had a bit of a meltdown.  I had sold my veterinary practice in Michigan and with it my garden, which I had worked very hard at developing over the prior 15 years.  Lacking my usual winter thrill of perusing the garden catalogs and dreaming about what I would plant in the spring, I got really depressed.  Geordan to the rescue. He consented willingly, to begin a land search with me in southwest Michigan for a place we could build a future home and garden.  We luckily found a beautiful piece of property with a depressingly ugly brick ranch home in Three Oaks Township, which was the beginning of our big project. Since the day we purchased the property, we have invested many hours and lots of money to carve out a future on the 6.5 acres we have christened Peckerwood Farm. The name Peckerwood is appropriate on many levels.  The property hosts a number of woodpecker species including downy, red bellied, red headed and pileated.  Also, Peckerwood was the old family estate in the movie Auntie Mame, starring Rosalind Russell, and a favorite movie of Geordan and mine.   Aside from those very justifiable reasons, it is also entertaining to watch people blush and giggle when we tell them the name.

 'Darling, you simply must come out to Peckerwood.'