(Nov 2021)
It's funny...we lived here for 4 1/2 years and I'm not sure I have been to the back edge of our property more than once or twice when we first bought it.
I mean I guess it shouldn't be that surprising since I have never really been an outdoorsy sort of gal in the past. In fact, the family joke is "I don't do outside. The air gets on me."
That quarantine business though! I had to find something to do before I burst! After mindlessly wandering the halls of YouTube in a several months-long couch surfing funk I stumbled on a bushcraft website. Hmmm. interesting. I kept watching and then I got hooked.
I went out and tried to find a spot in our mini forest (we only own a couple of acres) where a girl could set up camp. I could barely get through! I had to duck, and push, and turn, and close my eyes to get through the mess! I needed Hubby's help just to find the edges of the property.
We started talking about how so many of the trees I was fighting were actually dead. We had had a drought a couple of years before we arrived that weakened a lot of the trees, which let bugs and other stresses take hold. Coupled with overcrowding, our mini forest was not thriving.
Lots of dead standing trees with an excessive number of down trees. A fire hazard and unhealthy.
It was (past) time to take action. I wasn't sure if I would lose interest in the whole bushcraft thing or not but I could at least help clean up the woods. Soon I was out almost every free day pushing over small trees with my bare hands and dragging them allllllll the way out to the clearing for burning. It was surprisingly exhilarating and made me feel tougher, if not stronger.
We weren't looking to take out everything, a little deadwood is important for animal habitat, bugs for the birds, and to decay and provide nutrients for the ground. It just needed to be brought into a healthier balance.
The worst of the deadwood cut out and picked up. Now fresh air and light can come in and there's plenty of room for new growth.
I kept to the back acre of the property where I intended to hide away. Hubby worked up front by the house and the road. We were blessed with good weather this winter so, with some long-johns on under some heavy woolen army pants, it was easy to get out most every day. In just three months we had her cleared up. Just in time for the January cold snap!
Can't wait for the warm-up and the next phase!
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