4CarpenterHouse

Just some pictures of what we have been up to the last several months.   Watching the Oregon state university women's basketball games.  We had a great time following the team, they made it to the elite eight in the NCAA playoff.     Laurel playing basketball, she has improved her game and had a fun season.     Dad and Kestrel out bird watching South of Corvallis.     Girls planting bulbs for summer flowers.     Pookie and Mark out for a snowy walk.                     Trimming off some Douglas fir branches. Noah a friend from yoga working away.     Pookie out exploring the farmland behind our house that we try to walk daily. Meeting friends from Sicily that live in Portland. Laurel catching herring for bait.      ...

   Our house and property borders a slough (old river channel) and is filled with wildlife and waterfowl.  Our favorite ducks are the Wood ducks that swim and feed in the slough. Wood ducks nest in cavities (holes in old trees)  In nature there are only so many natural cavities, to help the Wood ducks you can put Wood duck nest boxes along the slough.   Mark saved all the left over cabinets and plywood from the kitchen/bedroom remodel for a great winter time project to build 5 nest boxes.     After looking at many different designs, Mark made a box with a sloping roof away from the back of the nest box.      Boxes ready for nest box entrance.      Wire screen inside to allow baby ducks to climb out after hatching.     Ready for roof and paint.    Boxes numbered to help record keeping of which boxes the ducks used. ...

       Finally finished the berry growing area in our property.  Since I was starting from scratch I was able to put together a nice trellis system for Raspberries and Marion berries. Earthen raised mounds for the berries to help keep their roots out of the wet soil. Setting posts for high tensile wires      Placing cross braces to help offset the pull of the wires.           Cross bars to allow two wire lines down each side or the rows.  Post ready for wires. High tensile wires and ratchet tightener preassembled in the garage.  Ratchets waiting on the wires to be connected. Wires attached and tightened up Center support added to hopefully help hold up a huge crop of berries.