This year we tackled the first line item of our timber management plan. This involved removing brush and alder from previously logged areas and replanting them with conifers. Anytime a logging operation occurs, at first it looks like devastation. Here's what it loooked like in January:
That very old stump that you see in the picture above is the left-over from a former clearcut. Next we used a mulching machine to chip the brush, spreading the chips on the ground.
It looked a little better later that month. with the mulch spread about.
For those of you who enjoyed Tonka trucks as children, here are a couple more of shots of the heavy equipment:
Over the next couple of months, we replanted conifers: Douglas fir, red cedar, sitka spruce and hemlock. Here's the planting crew (minus John who took the picture) after one afternoon's work:
By the end of the year, the new trees were established and growing. Shielding the seedlings inside the plastic screens protect them from "herbivory" - a 50-cent term for "deer's lunch".:
The conservation easement protects a wildlife corridor; however, we see signs of wildlife more than we see the critters themselves. We're not sure whether this is the territory bobcats, cougars, bears, or some combination of the three:
Then back to work, finishing up the historic-house restoration that we began in 2009.
Here's a couple of before-and-after pairs:
And a couple of views of the interior:
Mowing the reed canary grass, pulling tansy ragwort, uprooting Canada thistle kept us busy throughout the summer. Still there was time to enjoy a walk or two in the woods.
Then in October, with Mischa we journeyed to the other Washington - D.C. - where John joined members of his Vietnam unit in a commemoration of their 40th year. The following two pictures are courtesy of C.L. Griffin, of "The Old Guard Association".
As a special feature this year, I'm copying something our local newspaper does each week. They reprint some small news item from 25, 50 and 75 years ago. I can't quite do that, but, digitizing equipment has become inexpensive and relatively good, so this year after purchasing a slide scanner, I resurrected all our old slide film. The following pictures are all from the 1980 - 1981 time frame. Can you guess who they all are?
