Dragonwood Chronicles: July 2010

Wecome to Dragonwood Chronicles

Tucked away deep in the woods at the southern edge of the Tug Hill region of New York. Dragonwood is our off-grid sanctuary. Six acres of pond and gardens bordered by forest on three sides.

The project began in 1995, when after a long search, Debe and I purchased the property from a local logger. To date we have built a cabin, a bridge, out house, two sheds in addition to expansive gardens and stone work. We have a generator, propane lights, refrigerator and grill, a wood stove and modest solar system. A dug well and small stream suitable for watering gardens and other needs and a nearby spring for drinking water.

The Dragonwood Chronicles will serve to document the project with photographs and notes. Future projects will include additions to the cabin, a root cellar and a studio building.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Summer at Dragonwood

One of the many butterflies and moths that we see daily during the summer. The second photo is a hummingbird moth that likes the Bee Balm or "Oswego Tea" and at the bottom is a Lobelia Cardinalis, a.k.a. Cardinal Flower that grow wild around the pond. This year we have had a real problem with Deer eating our prized Hosta collection. In the past they have browsed the Hosta in the fall at the end of the season, so we really didn't mind, but this year for some reason they started munching in June. Not good. Deb is trying a variety of concoctions to dissuade them from eating our babies. "Senator Muskie" our new resident in the pond this year is a young male muskrat. He ate all of our pickerell and I think most of the arrowhead as we have hardly any this year.