Starting the gardening season.

Boris stood out in his yard and felt the morning breeze, which carried the flowers from the maple trees like a cascade large yellow and green snow flakes.  Looking down as they reached the ground, Boris noticed that the tiny flowers were a bright contrast with the leaf humus from the previous fall.

 

 Above him, Boris saw the emergence of the tiniest of maple leafs, this was the signal that he could start planting the cold weather crops into his garden. Hoe in hand and seeds in his bucket, Boris headed out to his garden humming a happy song.

 

Parasites

Boris was a bear that liked to keep well groomed.  He worked in the food industry and clean food handling was important to his business.  As a bear he was susceptible to various external and internal parasites, the worst of which were wood ticks that would burrow into his fur and latch on to his skin in spots that he could not easily get to for removal.  The tick had a goal of a blood meal and then reproduction, Boris had a goal of removing the tick and inhibiting that same reproductive process.

When his family was out of hibernation and living together during the summer months, they would groom each other with claws and teeth to remove the ticks and other biting insects.  Luckily, this spring had remained cool enough to keep most insects from emerging early, but Boris knew that it would not be long before he would be scratching again,

If the parasites became too numerous at any time, Boris would put in an order with the Loupe Falls Chemical and Pharmaceutical for a treatment, but for the most part, he preferred natural grooming over the harsh chemicals that upset his stomach and caused his skin to burn for a few days. 

Hope for the next generation on the farm

Boris had come out of hibernation after only three months of sleep, he was a male black bear and did not need to stay in the den as long as his wife did.  She still had the two cubs that had been born last year with her and it was best for the three to stay in their den until more food was easily available.

With the turn into full spring, his family would be awakening soon, though Boris knew it was best to stay away from his young children until their second year, when they were big enough to fend for themselve, he had his hopes for the future of the family farm on one of the cubs of this litter.  Last summer the littlest female cub began to show interest in how the plants grew in the garden rather than just eating her share and moving on. This is how Boris had started and was noticed by his grandfather.  Where most bears ate whatever they found that was good to eat, a few were curious about how food grew and how to grow more for themselves and their community.

Light

As the days continued to get longer with more available sunlight, the maple trees on Boris' farm started to bloom.  Still a little too cool for the bees to pollinate this spring, the maple grove would have to depend on the weather, birds and chance for fertilization and the production of seeds.

 

Spring rains

It had been raining for several days and Boris was happy.  At this time of year the rain would soak into the ground and fill the local aquifers.  Along with the spring runoff from the snow melt in the mountains, the groundwater was being quickly recharged this spring.  The weather had turned cooler and the leaf sprouting had slowed a little bit, but with the increasing sunlight this wouldn't last for very long.  Once the leaves were out and the trees began their full cycle of growth and photosynthesis, taking up all of the water from the surface around them and as deep as their roots, which for some was quite deep.

A forest needed plenty of water during the growing season and could quickly put an ecosystem into drought conditions if the ground water wasn't replenished earlier in the spring.

In a world where survival depended on the amount of water available, it wasn't always survival of the fastest or the fittest, but of the one with the deepest tap root.

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Some reviews on Amazon for my book PigBadWolf

Spring planting

Boris spent the last few days getting some early greens planted in his garden. With  weather being warmer than normal for this time of year, any opportunity to work in the garden was welcomed.  Boris was happiest when outside in the garden or woods, making a connection to all of the life and land around him.  It was a special feeling, he was a part of a whole, and an important part too.

 

A bear takes a break

Boris the bear had been busy this week turning over his part of his garden and starting more seeds in his greenhouse. With maple sugaring season over, he had spent the week getting a jump on the farm products of the next season. Tonight though, he was sitting back and taking a much needed rest. Relaxing in his favorite chair, Boris was enjoying a good book while he snacking on jelly beans out of his new jelly bean pot. He thought to himself that life on the farm was good, and he was happy.

Seasons begin with maple sugaring

Late Winter – early Spring

On the glacial carved mountains that divided the Loupe Falls watershed from that of Point-du-Farme there was a large and prosperous farm owned by Stanley Boris Bear.  Boris, as he was known in the temperate forest, was a large black bear who provided communities on both sides of the mountain with a wide variety of products.  As season followed season throughout the year, his many customers purchased a variety of sweets, and summer crops provided by Boris, all produced on his farm.

            The farm had belonged to Boris’ grandfather, for whom he was named, and keeping with the example of his grandfather, Boris was a bear who took his den to hibernate for only three months of the year.  He had tucked into his bed late last fall, after the last of the leaf drop in his maple grove was covered by the first snow.  Waking now as the season was beginning to change again, Boris stretched, yawned and began to move around to get his systems going again.           

            Spring was a busy time of year, with maple sugaring first on the list, trees needed to be tapped and buckets hung to collect the sweet sap as it ran through the stems and trunks of the large grove of sugar maple trees that grew on the higher slope of the farm.

Over the first few days since he woke from hibernation, Boris walked in the maple grove, clearing branches and trees that blew down over the winter to make gathering sap easier for all involved.

            Boris hired students from the Temperate Biome University, to help with the work. Most of the students were studying forestry, botany or were interested in earning some extra money and class credit, with an opportunity to work outside of the classroom walls.

This morning several students were arriving as Boris finished his breakfast and cleaned up his porridge dishes.

            Stepping outside to greet his helpers, Boris noticed a young wolf among the group.  He had never had a wolf on his maple sugaring crew before..

Turning over the garden in the temperate forest

Boris stepped back from his digging and scratched behind his ear. The first really warm day of spring had him turning over the sunniest section of his vegetable garden, getting it ready for planting in a few weeks. The unexpected warmth brought out a number of biting insects, that were getting a jump on their reproduction cycle with the blood of any mammal available, Boris just ended the life of the one that bit his ear. He felt bad about this for a minute, but knowing that biting insects can carry diseases, he didn't feel bad for too long, and got back to his digging.

Foggy morning in the temperate forest

Boris, the bear, woke with a yawn, stretched his big body and scratched his black fur by rubbing against the rough beams of his den. Today was the day to take down his maple sugaring buckets, the season was over as the buds of the trees had begun to swell with the warmth of the past few days. In preparation of the long day of labor, Boris ate a good helping of porridge and a large mug of strong coffee, with cream and a drop of syrup.

Opening his door to step outside, Boris was faced with a fog so thick that he could barely see the barn that was only a few feet to the left of his den, today was going to be an interesting day...

Spring itches to awaken in full

Still now, the forest was hushed and silent with anew coating of snow.  The night seemed bright as the full moon reflected off the snowpack, almost as bright as dawn.  Silently, under the snow the season stirred, restless and eager to begin.

Tiny plants in their seed coats ached to stretch toward the sun.  Buds of deciduous trees awaited the first warm days to swell with new flower and leaf growth.  Winter had lingered far too long this year, days were lengthening and Boris was eager to start turning over his garden and begin planting.

Ducks

 

After the Spring snow

Morning broke brightly upon the new fallen snow, Boris had risen before the sun and put his paw up to shade his eyes as the first rays of morning sun lit up his farm. Blinking and squinting in the glare off of the white snow, Boris quickly surveyed his farm and the forest beyond. A foot or more of new snow covered the ground from yesterday's storm, heavy wet snow that continued into late last night.

Boris had slept through the storm, as any black bear would, though he awoke several times to the sounds of branches creaking, breaking and on one occasion the sound of a whole tree falling not too far from his den. The first order of business today was to clear the snow from his doors and the path leading to his sugar house, and he got started right away. Once done, he went inside for a hearty breakfast of porridge, which he covered with warm syrup made from his labors this week.

After cleaning up his breakfast dishes, Boris headed out to his woods, he was eager to find the tree that fell and to check that his maple grove was not too badly damaged by the storm.  The early morning was still cold with a nip in the air, but the rising sun warmed Boris' back and he had a feeling that the sap in his maple trees would be flowing well very shortly.  Walking past the first few trees, he pushed the snow off of the lid and peered inside.  Nothing yet, so he closed the lid and moved on continuing to brush snow off the hanging bucket as he made his way up the slope.

Here and there, Boris spotted downed branches from a variety of trees, both leafless deciduous and several large coniferous branches, one that looked like the whole top of a large pine tree.  Stepping carefully around some young birches, that were bent all the way over due to the heavy snow the top branches, Boris was aware that they could snap back quickly if the snow suddenly slid off.

Reaching the top of the hill, Boris spotted the tree that fell overnight, he could see it well from this vantage point and was saddened that it was one of the oldest of the maples in this grove.  He remembered the first time that he tapped it with grandfather bear all those years ago, the tree was big then and gave many gallons of sap over the years.  Boris had not tapped this tree for a long time, it was too old and many of the branches on top had died back.  He left it in the woods as a habitat for the local birds and small climbing animals.  Woodpeckers had drilled holes in the dead branches, and a host of squirrels and song birds had built nests in the still living branches.  The tree also shaded the undergrowth and kept the younger trees from growing to fast and overcrowding the forest.

Today the tree was stretched out across the forest floor with a coating of new snow upon its length.  Having uprooted as it fell, the exposed soil and root ball was already being investigated this morning by several birds and squirrels, for the insects and other food sources that might be there.  Boris knew that no tree ever went to waste in the woods, over time this one would nourish many animals and plants that live here.  More sunlight will get into this area of the forest and the young trees will start growing quickly in the years to come.