October 8 , 2020
Dynamic Duo Turns Rough Land into Wonderland
Creative collaboration , muscle - wielding grit , and passion for works and animate being : that ’s whatTravis County Master GardenersJulie Nelson and Kay Angermann brought to their new homestead , dub Katie Bird Farm . A former teacher , Kay sources vintage collectable for her businessHipbilly Kay . Julie ’s a REALTOR ® and generator of just - releasedSuccess quicker On Fire Hot!When conductor Ed Fuentes , sound recording / lighting grasp Robert Moorhead , and I head out last October , we arrest a bountiful “ howdy ” from Howdy , one of Julie and Kay ’s three rescued dogs . Julie and Kay have done a lot since 2013 when they bought the almost three Akka property , then just navigable through overcrowded mountain junipers brushing hot oak . Over the next yr , they thinned and cleared while building the sign . “All of the sudden the blackfoot daisy started showing up , and some bluebonnet . Once we annul the canopy , it was like everything wake up up , ” Kay tell .
Then , on move - in week , the Halloween photoflood of 2013 wash out the driveway . They brought in a backhoe to scoop up soil and deposit it into berms around the property . Many of the berms also help control rain deluge overspill . After layer them with good soil and mulch , they began implant , enhancing nonmigratory species with other indigen and altered choices . The berms also serve as casual dividing screens between spaces . Already they knew how to figure out with tint and rocky land . As they added their touches , they were venerating of habitat for birds and other wildlife . “Everything was done in such an organic elbow room . Julie and I never wrote , drew a design out , or had a flora list that we wanted , ” Kay said . Julie build all the raise beds , the only hardheaded solvent on rocky soil . “Julie is really good at construction and I ’m really good at holding things while she build them , ” Kay laughed . They did charter out for their tough and good volaille coop — a mobile coop on rack . They brought it in from the street on their John Deere Gator UTV.They attached an old weenie kennel for more infinite . A tone cruise softens summer ’s ray , as do the stack junipers ( cedars ) . “ All of those cedars , that ’s protection for the poulet because it ’s less room for hawks or owl for predatory animal to pounce in , ” Julie say . Although they get the hen free reach in their fenced yard , they head to roosting safety at nighttime . They’re observe over by Our Lady of Guadalupe , render by graffiti stencil and mural artist Federico Archuleta , recognize asEl Federicoto his many fans . Then the chickens gravel company . Kay always wanted donkeys , and honestly , who can resist those sweet faces?Kay and Julie charm up every spot withHipbilly Kay’svintage finds . Sometimes it takes a few tries to pick a collectible ’s most advantageous spot . Many get put back to habituate , often as container . Kay ’s granddaddy once observe Phoxinus phoxinus in a prized old cast branding iron crock . One of their favorite find is an old windmill that inspired the barn ’s aim . This storage construction and wintertime dwelling house to heavy container plants had to be substantial enough to support the windmill ’s weighting and 10 - foundation girth . They lit it up to illuminate the whole garden at night . Then they added a greenhouse as a propagation station where they also overwinter cold tender plants . Since they pack it tight in wintertime , they volley ideas about going bad . But then , you know , “ nature abhors a void , ” and so they see quite well what would occur . On the day CTG get in , a dependable cold front with rain was coming through ( as opposed to this weekend ’s potential 99 ° ) , so we worked tight . After the interview , Julie and Kay speedily moved expectant containers to the b . you could see the true cedar rounds where one pot stood!Small heaters in the greenhouse and barn fond thing up nicely on super inhuman nights . Over the years , they ’ve invested a lot of time and sexual love into their container plant and do n’t want to suffer them in a savor .
Now , what ’s behind the homestead ’s name , Katie Bird Farm?Kay explained , “ My grandmother , Katie Burkhart was from Violet , Texas , a fiddling townspeople outdoors of Corpus . She was a rose gardener and a James Leonard Farmer , a farmer ’s married woman , and I just loved my grandma . ”Katie ’s logic gate , once the farmhouse entry and later on a lineament in her rose garden , now resides at Katie Bird Farm as a most darling memory . When Kay was clearing the place after body of work on her own , wielding chainsaws and such , a Geococcyx californianus followed her around . Even now , this fast little bird races to keep up with Kay , as if watching over her as Katie once did . So , they named their roadrunner Katie Bird . Julie sum it up , “ She is Katie Bird and we ’re Katie Bird Farm . ”Watch now !
Thanks for stopping by ! See you next hebdomad , Linda
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