We caught the tail end of an unusual July cool front - low humidities and morning temps in the 60's. I think the Driveway SICKamore thought it was fall. (...or maybe it's sicker than I thought) It was really dry, and that is what is most likely going on.
The other signs of summer, blooming trumpet vines and crepe myrtles. This crepe in the back yard looks like it could use some serious trimming...but that's a task for the winter. Add it to the list.
Another sign of (early) summer was still hanging on...wild blackberries. They seem awful small - maybe because of the lack of rain. Another project is to establish some bonafide blackberry/dewberry patches. Anyway, I forced the mower through some of the thatch in the fields to make a few trails. The girls love to explore down the trails and have been hitting the berry patch pretty hard.
The above pictures are from the North Pasture. I cut a spur to the woods on that side - very open in there (that's where I've been taking Buck for his "walk in the wild" - he goes crazy sniffing the ground in there). It's obviously part of the property that was logged back in the 90's.
I did blaze another lawnmower trail through the South Pasture...was it some kind of thick and tall. It takes us to the south property line, where it's easy to hop over the old fence and get on the logging road. Scott was able to come put the mechanical sewer to the test (it passed) and also to look around in the woods. I hadn't been to the back of the property since the first day I saw it back in April, so Jack grabbed the loppers and Scott grabbed the old brush ax, and we headed out to see what the surveyor marked and to work on a property line trail.
We found a really nice white oak on the logging road. They make fantastic trees and the squirrels and deer love the sweet acorns they drop. It'll be a great spot to post up on autumn afternoons and wait for the aboreal rodent feeding frenzy.
We found the section marker and plunged into the heart of darkness. With trailblazers like this, who could have any fear?
There were tons of Huckleberries along the fenceline (more than I remember from the initial excursion) and we took care to clear around them. With a little attention, we should be able to exploit huckleberry heaven and once again enjoy some of that special jelly next May. There's a good mix of trees and some really nice spots in the bottom towards the creek. We first worked on widening the rough trail blazed by the surveyor when he marked off the 10 acres that are tied up with the house.
The next order of business was to continue the trail. With the muscles and optimism of youth, Scott and the lumberJacques forced through the tangle knowing we would make it to the North property line.
Hey, wasn't Scotty's shirt a lighter color when we started? Anyway, we spotted several drainages, large hardwoods, sunlit glades, tree stand hotspots, hollies and hickories...but no north fence line. We ran out of water and decided the rest could wait for another day. It was still very nice to get into the woods, and no one was disappointed with what we saw or what we accomplished.
That should hold you over for a little while. We are looking past the next few weeks to where transition is complete, and our home is ready for guests. Anybody that shows up before that is still welcome, but you may be handed a brush ax, a scraper, a sanding block or a paintbrush...so don't say you weren't warned.
hasta la vista, baby.
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