We are located in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia at the north end of the Shenandoah River Valley, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian mountain range. Our area consists of open farmland as well as forested areas. Due to a number of rock ridges in the area, some land is unsuitable for farming and so has been left in woods. Crops grown in the area include corn, wheat, soybeans, and apples. Dairy cows and horses are also raised in the area.
Our 3 acre lot is mostly open land with trees and shrubs at various stages of development. To the east of us is a rock ridge with a small strip of woods. Wild blackberries, raspberries and mulberries grow at the edges of the woods and provide food for wildlife. Going to and fro from neighboring woods and fields we see deer, rabbits, occasional foxes, woodpeckers, feral cats, hawks, squirrels (that bury acorns from elsewhere), mice (that sometimes end up in the house), and various birds. Living on our property are groundhogs, toads, our own poultry consisting of 2 ducks and 3 chickens, and a dog (Cocker Spaniel). We have also seen box turtles, garden snakes and black snakes on occasion. Once we saw a black snake in a tree by the house moving up towards a nest with baby mockinbirds (we were able to scare it away). Indoors we have a worm bin (containing pill bugs, fruit flies, red worms, and many other kinds of bugs), houseplants, and seedlings in spring, as well as a mushroom kit.
We see cardinals, sparrows, mourning doves, woodpeckers, blue jays, juncos, crows, cowbirds, finches, swallows, and more. Vultures are common in our area and are seen on the road eating carrion. Possums, raccoons and skunks are also common. We have seen Canadian geese flying overhead as well as the occasional heron or wild duck pair (we are 3 miles from the Potomac River about a quarter mile from the Rocky Marsh Run creek).
Now it is winter, and the “web of life” is largely dormant, but there are signs of life. The bird feeder attracts birds which sing and fertilize the garden bed below. Kitchen scraps are composted indoors in the worm bin and the worm castings have been made into potting soil for the upcoming seed starting season. The ducks and chickens give us eggs, and sometimes we have enough to sell to the piano students coming to the house. Charlie (the dog) watches out the window and is ready to chase deer away from trees (or, in the warm weather, vegetables). He and the ducks and chickens also provide companionship and entertainment!
In warmer weather, the number of birds and insects increases. Perennial flowers, herb flowers, clover and flowering fruit trees attract insects such as honeybees, bumblebees, butterflies, dragonflies and a large variety of small bees and flies. Hummingbirds come and drink nectar from native honeysucke, Jerusalem artichokes, and many other flowers. The ducks and chickens are let into the vegetable garden at times and keep the bug and slug population down. Otherwise they are in the orchard both fertilizing the ground and eating insects. Straw bedding is used in the henhouse which is periodically cleaned out and the fertilized straw put on the garden bed as mulch. The henhouse we have now is moveable (a “chicken tractor”) and in spring is moved outside the fenced orchard to an area where a garden bed is desired. The chickens eat the grass, weeds, and insects, scratch the ground, and fertilize the plot. Later they are moved away and corn or other crops are planted. A neighbor with goats and horses dumps some manure over the fence for us to use as additional fertilizer for garden beds.
A small water feature near the house was set up last summer. At first mosquito larvae were seen, but then goldfish were introduced and ate them. Birds also came and drank from the water. We hope to add a larger pond at some point to maximize the connections to plants, animals and insects.