Backyard Project: How Long Does it Take to Build a Deer Fence?

The line of the fence is marked out.

Fence post holes are dug into the soil and drilled where there is rock.

Metal posts are cut to length.

The posts are cemented in place in the holes.

Branches and shrubs need to be removed or cut back in places.

The supervisor checks the width of one of the gates in the fence.

Heavy gauge wire mesh is tied to the fence posts.

In the steeper areas, it is more of a challenge to get the wire in place. Skirts are tied to the bottom where there are dips in the ground.

Cross bracing is added at the corners.

The supervisor checks one of 4 gates in the fence.

A temporary fence between the house and the studio is erected. After the new conservatory has been built and it is linked to the studio with a more decorative cedar fence the temporary fence will have done its job and be taken down.

The last job was to Bambi-proof the fence. I went around the whole perimeter inside and out and stacked all of the rocks and stones I could find along the bottom of the fence where there were small gaps. We are coming up to Bambi season. I didn't want a baby deer to squeeze under the fence then the mother to go crazy trying to rescue her offspring. I want to avoid someone getting hurt or something getting damaged.

Ron and I also strung heavy fishing line from tree to tree, about knee height over well-trodden deer paths. The idea is to deflect the deer from their established routes before they get to the fence. They walk into the line and feel it at their knees. Not being able to see what it is that they feel they turn back and take a different path. It is going to be interesting to see how long it takes for the deer to establish new grazing paths in the areas we have not fenced.

How long does it take to build a deer fence?

It depends on the terrain and how long the fence is.

This deer fence took the team a month to construct.

Fencing Donnington Food Forest

The dear deer are wondering what is happening. 

They are creatures of habit and their foraging paths are being disrupted. They are confused.

The Nordic Fencing team is doing an excellent job.

Cutting pipe to length.

The fence needs to be 8 feet high to keep these agile jumping deer outside.

An impressive array of specialised shovels, diggers, and other tools is carried on the back of the truck.

The back of the truck tray has an ingenious concrete making set up.

They are able to make a small batch of concrete, tip it into a wheelbarrow or bucket then carry it to the fence post hole for filling. This method results in minimal disturbance of the forest underground. We really appreciate the care they are all taking.

This looks like a graffiti artists kit but it is what a fencer uses to mark post locations.

The fencing project continues and we see the progress being made each day. It is getting closer to the day when I will be able to plant something and wake up in the morning to find it is still there.

Back Yard Project: Fences and Mulches

It was an exciting day when the Nordic Fencing team arrived to begin building the deer fence. Over the 6 years we have lived here the deer population has exploded. The deer eat every new shoot that comes out of the ground preventing all plant succession happening in the forest. I had given up buying plants because it was like laying out a buffet for them. They are particularly hungry in the spring and eat everything, the whole plant, not just a nibble like they used to.

We took our time making the decision about a deer fence because we didn't like the idea of being fenced in.

The design of the fence incorporates the buildings - my studio and the house acting as barriers to the deer entering the fenced area. We have placed the fence so it can't be seen (much) from the house.

This is Mike doing the hard job of digging holes for the posts.

He uses a manual digger, but not this one because it is Matt's, and so named.

The fencing team is very good about the minimal disturbance of the forest vegetation and understand we are fencing to protect the forest.

Meanwhile, the green manure crop is sprouting and covering the bare soil in the rock garden beds.

We got a delivery of straw bails to use as a mulch to cover the soil after the green manure crop is dug into the soil. We don't want hay because that introduces grass seeds to the garden beds. In the forest ecosystem, we are working to eliminate bacteria supported grasses and encouraging fungal dominant soils.

Cutting Down Trees - a Safety Issue

We called in Evergreen Tree Service once  it was pointed out we had 2 leaning trees north and near the house. Their roots were being lifted out of the ground. They were a safety hazard.

This is Cam suiting up with his tree climbing gear and chainsaw.

And up he goes using his spurs to dig into the trunk.

You can see here the angle of one of the trees. It is rubbing on and probably being supported by the Maple tree beside it.

This is Tyler, the ground man. Here he is making sure Cam's belay line is not tangled in the branches that fall down after being cut.

This is Gord making the tree into a wildlife tree after cutting all but about 20 feet down. He has roughed up the top to allow rain to penetrate and accelerate the decay process.

Gord bucking the logs i.e. cutting the log into lengths that will fit in the fireplace. They will be split and stored for a couple of years before being burnt in the fireplace. Some of the logs will be cut into rounds to make paths around garden beds in the backyard.

Tyler has been on the job only a few weeks. Here he gets a lesson from Gord on how to buck.

Watching the tree felling was an exciting way to spend the morning. I learnt a new vocabulary. Now we will keep an eye on the remainder of the trunks to see if they get visited by the pileated woodpeckers who are the first bird species to open up a tree to other creatures.

Backyard Project: Prep for Next Room Construction

Preparation for the construction of the next room included Tom doing a few tasks while he could still get the excavator into the areas.

One task was to lift the 2 Garden Towers off the balcony. Ron had removed all the railing in preparation for the conservatory construction which made lifting the Garden Towers easier.

For Tom, it was just a matter of lifting them off the balcony then rolling them off the bucket. Without the excavator, it would have been a major task requiring lots of preplanning and manpower (not girl power. I don't like doing those sorts of tasks).

The deer will be delighted when they discover these 2 picnic baskets set out for them. I am resigned to the plants all being eaten to nubs. We will replant the towers once the deer fence has been built.

In the meantime, the girl power is scraping up the last of the compost from the compost area and spreading it on existing garden beds. I didn't want to lose the compost we had made.

The critical task in preparation for the construction of the next garden room is the placement of needed materials where they are both accessible and out of the way of the construction.

Tom piled the decomposing logs on one side of the track downhill from the next lot of beds.

He piled up his specially mixed soil on the other side of the track.

More truckloads of rocks were delivered. Tom spoke to the driver each time. I think he asked for bigger rocks with every load. One truckload had only 8 rocks because they were so big. The rocks come from a construction site not far away where they are blasting out a mound to level the ground. With the rocks being local in origin they match perfectly the  rocks used in the original construction of the house.

Tom's next task was to remove all of the existing plants I had tagged with tape because I wanted to  keep them for the new beds. He put them out of the way of the construction area.

Let the construction of the Raised Rockbeds begin.

Backyard Project: Continuing with Scheduled Tasks

Task 4: Ron secured a line to the pontoon in the middle of the pond. Tom attached the end  of the line to his machine and pulled the pontoon to the edge of the pond. Ron is now cutting up the pontoon. I'll tell you more about this project later.

Sorting and Staging Materials

Tom has to always think ahead so as not to box his machine in behind his work, to not have materials in the way of where he needs to work next and to have easy access to the materials he needs.

Here he has sorted into piles transferred plants, decayed wood, a collection of found rocks and logs.

Tom scoops up a plant that has spent the summer in the temporary garden bed after being moved out of the studio footprint.

The large bucket is able to carry so much soil with the plant that I think some of the plants hardly notice the move.

The native plants are transplanted to Gunilla's Garden.

This is the last remnant of the garden bed that made way for the studio. Miraculously these plants survived the construction. Tom scooped them up and put them in Gunilla's Garden too.

While all of this activity is going on I am supposed to be in my studio working but I am fascinated by all that is going on and spend most of the day out on the porch watching and taking photographs.

Studio: Sorting, Organising, Cleaning

I have been very busy these past 2 weeks setting up my new studio. Each item I touch I make the decision to keep it or not. If it is to be kept it gets cleaned, organised then stored.

I have decided to store things in used paper and cardboard, like these grocery bags for painted papers.

I raided a shoe store's supply of empty boxes. I think the owner was pleased he had fewer boxes to flatten after I left. Yes, it does look like a shoe store but it is a most convenient way to organise my many collections of precious things.

Collections that I use more often I arranged in cut off boxes. I can easily take the whole box off the shelf to a table to find exactly what I need.

Fabrics and threads continue to be stored in clear (mostly) plastic containers. I went through every bin throwing out what no longer interests me. My fabric and thread collections are organised into a bin for each colour.

The shelving cardboard is being used to extend the new garden bed. When the paper and cardboard containers wear out they too will be added to the garden to make lasagna soil.

With my family, we are hosting an open house to celebrate the completion of the Green Shed. There is nothing like a deadline to keep one working hard. I am enjoying getting reacquainted with everything I have to work with.

Studio Construction: Another Roof Layer

Jeff  is getting up on the roof after a pellet of plywood was placed up there by a delivery truck with a large arm. 

A sunny day and the race to get the plywood layer on before the next lot of rain.

Next operation - digging trenches and holes for more foundations - this time for the porch and arcade that runs along the side of the building.

The resident 'retired, always-an-engineer' consulting with the digger operator, Aaron Yager, the owner of the construction company.

James is the 'look out' person or maybe 'spotter' is the correct term.

Dave, the lead carpenter, keeps an eye on operations as well.

There is a lot of cell phone consulting of different weather forecast apps to see when the next lot of rain is coming. These forecasts influence what can be done next.

The next lot of rain came. Now the building is covered with the ubiquitous 'blue tarp.' This distinctive blue colour is a common sight on the island. It indicates an issue with water whether it is keeping a pile of winter wood dry enough to burn or trying to keep an unfinished roof dry during construction or covering a roof damaged during a storm. 

Keeping water out of the materials and outside the building envelope is a major influence on building design in this rain forest environment. 

The Pacific North West rain forest ecosystem with its high rainfall and relatively mild climate produces the largest biomass in the world. The combination of conditions is perfect for growing huge trees then rotting and breaking them down in a self-supporting cycle of growth and decay. We are building a wooden structure within this ecosystem where the same processes will be active. All of the building's wood will naturally breakdown unless the water can be kept outside the building envelope.