Billy Goat

 We continue to hit the ground running concerning all things with the land. I am terrified that another emergency will happen in our personal lives and we will lose time again, though I willingly take care of my family first. I long for the days when the land will be in maintenance mode and we can enjoy it more than just work on it!

The weather on our latest trip was sunny, but that damn wind was cold/cool again, and our morning began with everything covered in frost. Woodchuck rented a Billy Goat machine to start taking care of some of the brushy areas throughout the land, so we drove to pick that up first. We were only going to have it for about 6 hours, so hubby needed to get going on his thing with it and I needed to get going on cleaning up area of fallen limbs so that he could get into it with the machine. We walked the areas first together to talk about where he could go with the machine and what to leave alone. 

I was all ready to go! I could do this! And in less than two hours, I was dragging. That was partly due to having to walk away from the area I was working in to create piles for the branches, where I would have saved steps and energy if I could have piled them closer. My original idea was to have Woodchuck park the tractor by the area, and I would fill the bucket with branches to be taken over to the burn pile, but he pointed out that I would be filling that bucket quickly and it would be up to me to drive the tractor back and forth. I just didn't have the mental capacity for that on this day an the ground was still very wet and muddy and I didn't want to deal with tearing that up and slipping around. 

I am really hard on myself when I struggle physically, because my brain is telling me, "LOOK! Look at all of this stuff that needs to be done and you only have so much of a timeframe to get it done! And you are capable!", while my body is telling me, "Lady. Stop it." My hip does really well after the injection, except for certain movements, and apparently cutting and bending and carrying out limbs and fallen trees is a thing it doesn't care for. Neither does my ankle, which still has a tear in it after ten years of doctors waiting for it to heal. I was also working in the shade, and sweaty but chilly. I was grateful when break-time came!

These are the before pictures of a corner that is kind of divided in half long-ways by a property line. I would have just gone in and cleaned the whole thing up, even what isn't ours, but I've got my hands full enough without doing other peoples work. 👇

There was a monster of a honeysuckle that I needed to take down, but some of its limbs were holding up a dead tree that I literally could have just pushed over myself. Had to think before cutting and make sure I wasn't standing in the wrong spot! I took the limbs off a little high first, then started chopping away at the trunk itself. I would say this honeysuckle was about 10 foot before I started cutting it. 👇

I was struggling and needed to keep taking breaks. So I stopped and just listened to the birds and stood in patches of sunlight. I was grateful when 11:00 came around and we had someone meeting us at the land to talk about fixing the leaking side of the pond.  He was running behind, so we pulled out some chairs and sat in the sun to eat lunch. I looked around me, partly overwhelmed at the scope of everything still left to do through the nearly 16 acres, and partly in awe that I am charged with taking care of this beautiful place. 

The contractor showed up and was a really nice guy. Gave us a quote but was also honest about concerns that the new bank won't work if it's a muck soil area that the leak is occurring in. I remembered that we were given a soil map and dozen page report from the NRCS and just looked it over.....and ugh. Muck soil. So I sent the map to Woodchuck so he could send it to the contractor. The guy got right back to him and said that once the water tables lower and we are more in a drought stage, say around August, we will come out and did the pond to find out how far down he has to go to hit sand. Honestly, I am getting closer and closer to the mindset that we just need to start completely over with that pond if he wants to keep it. In looking for all of that paperwork though, I did find I had spoken incorrectly previously about not being able to work the watershed from April 1-October 1..it's actually only until August 1!!! So that was a great reminder that we have more time out there than I remembered. So much to keep track of! I even have it written in my little land project notebook and still forgot. D'OH!

While walking the contractor around, I noticed the pipe coming from someone else's property North of us was leaking again because the brace holding it up and fallen into the water. I went in and propped it back up. We HAVE to start nipping these kinds of things in the bud if we are going to control the water levels in the pond. We have at least four other areas OFF of our land that are affecting it, yet we are the ones paying the price (literally!) for it. I mean, let's start at point A, shall we? 

Once that meeting was done, we got back to work. Woodchuck had to help me finish picking up wood from my area because he was ready to go in with the machine and I didn't have it ready for him. Plus, some of the pieces were too big for me to lift on my own. While he worked the machine in this area, I went into the forest to start pulling garlic mustard. Yes, that battle has begun already! After pics of the tree line 👇

We will go back into the area in a few days to cut down the larger dead trees on our side. We plan to use this strip to plant the elderberries we are getting next month. With a little time to spare before having to return the machine, we went for a walk to one of Woodchuck's wooden log benches he made and stopped to catch our breath. I still needed to walk the watershed to grab an ootheca that I left out there thinking that it was a Carolina mantis, and I was wrong, and I wanted to check for evidence of trespassers. We must have gotten a lot of precipitation since we were out here last Friday, because water tables were high in the ditches and pond, and there was a lot of standing water.

I found the ootheca, it was still in the same spot and had not been damaged by the rain, snow and winds. 

I came back to the bench from my walk to find Woodchuck napping 😂

 We were looking forward to returning the machine and getting home. This morning finds me panicking that we will have to spend so much money on fixing the pond and ditches that we won't be able to build. I also have things at our current home to fix, like the roofs. The price quotes for such small roofs are insanely high, but it's not a job that Woodchuck or I can do ourselves anymore now that we are older. Thank goodness I have therapy today so I can get all of these thoughts out of my head, and fling my anxiety at some pillows in frustrated rage. Hope you have a release today too!

 

Pepe Le' Pew

 Another amazing day of weather yesterday had me running for the outdoors! Of course I did some stuff around the inside of the house, but honestly, when the weather is nice I "schedule" my work dependent on the weather. I.e. if it's nice, I try to do a lot of outside stuff, or just get outside for at least an hour to read or I'll take my computer or some art with me to work on. I leave non-essential indoor stuff for when the weather is bad. If I could, I would be outside though on nice days no matter what needed done inside, lol.

I was pulling dead leaves from my plants that have been inside all Winter and nearly grabbed this guy! European paper wasp. I let him be, he was just trying to lap up some moisture from the soil.

Once Woodchuck got home, we headed for the land, straight for the land, and decided against any other stops that we had been thinking about making on the way there. We had an important, time-sensitive task and I didn't want to mess that up and not get it done! As soon as we made the turn on the driveway that leads into the forest, he noticed our crow friends waiting for us! I am hoping to build on that relationship once we move out there!

We got our supplies together and headed for the pond! It was time to try something new for the water quality! You may remember from a previous post that I ordered this barley extract from TSC because it was WAY more affordable that the chemicals Woodchuck bought from a pond company, and those didn't work the first time and we couldn't afford to do it again. Plus, this is natural. We HAD to get this stuff in the pond because the water meal was already showing back up. Although it was nice and warm, it was windy, which made application a little tricky. 

I bought 3 gallons for our main pond, which holds about 215,000-217,000 gallons of water. If we like how this works, I'll buy some for the watershed pond this Fall. But why, oh why, did nobody talk about the smell?! I read a lot of reviews, all of them were good, but no mention of the scent of this? We opened the bottle and had to turn away really fast! Think fermented cooked broccoli, and a nasty baby poop after eating vegetables. No time to be a sissy about it though! Breath through the mouth and get going! 

Our sprayer holds 2 gallons, and in my head I divided the pond up into 3 sections and watched the sprayer level so that I would know when to move on to the next area. Unfortunately, since I was not willing to go in the Jon boat, it didn't get sprayed there, but the water meal seems to come from the edges anyway, and the most important bit was getting it where the flow of water starts so that can naturally carry the product out. The leaking side of the pond was an absolute adventure to try and traverse. I was carrying a heavy pump sprayer while trying not to fall in the water, was getting snagged with thorns, etc. My favorite kind of adventure, so this nature girl didn't mind too much! I ran across this cute little fellow, a wood frog, and we heard the first Spring peepers! We didn't hear any last year, so it was a welcome sound!

Once we sprayed the three gallons, we went for a quick walk to the watershed to grab a praying mantis ootheca that I had found on Monday and forgot out there. I also wanted to see if anyone had trespassed. We have the best views of the sun overhead from that place and it always makes me smile.

I ended up finding three oothecas! I knew the more round ones were the invasive Chinese mantis, but the other one stumped me and I thought it was a Carolina mantis. I asked in a bug group and was told that the two were indeed Chinese and the other was a European Mantis, which is also invasive. I didn't even know there was another invasive kind!!! Most talks I've seen are about the Chinese vs. the Carolina and I find identification picture and charts less than helpful for me. With the winds and storms we've had since leaving the land yesterday, I doubt it would be in the same spot I left it in (I removed the two Chinese ones), but I will look when we are out there again. Still so much to learn!!!

Plotting and cutting and planning

 With our first major trip out to the land this year under our belts, we feel a bit better about the amount of work that we got done in one day and made some plans for future trips. My only concern was that things (plants) were waking up much sooner than in previous years. I've made notes about that and hopefully we can get on top of things sooner next year. This trip was mainly to work on the watershed, since I had looked at the calendar recently and realized we had less one month to work out there until October. We knew we had some invasives left to cut, but weren't exactly sure how many. We stopped working on that project when we cut nearly a dozen invasives, mostly Autumn Olive, and moved on to the next one. 

Woodchuck has been wanting to make a path on the South side of the watershed, so that would enable us to walk it starting from the North end, walk West, turn South, and now we would be able to turn East. His plan is to continue that path along the entire property line to meet up over by the blueberry bushes, just sightly Northeast of the watershed. Eventually we would also like to clean up along the West edge of the watershed pond. Various spots we want to be able to walk thru are an absolute mess of fallen trees, thick patches of invasives, and weird property lines. They did not make it easy on us when they divided the properties.

While Woodchuck took the tractor out to the watershed, I walked on my own so that I could look at areas along the way, and I was greeted by two hunting hawks. We usually hear her at the same time each day that we are out there and I am assuming it was the mother hawk teaching her juvenile to hunt. The juvenile landed in a tree directly above me! Once again I was in awe of all that I am witness to out there in such a wild and natural place! I caught the juvenile taking off from the tree! 👇

We used a GPS map I have of our property to walk where he should flatten. He did not mow it, only flattened it. This was before he started, while I stayed about halfway down the path so he knew what direction to come. I am looking West towards him.👇

I'm looking East here, where we are headed. 👇

He loves using his tractor, Ginny 👇

The new path looking East! 👇

The new path looking West! 👇

While we were making our plan about the path, I saw some garbage in a matted down area of tall grass in the watershed. Unfortunately, someone had been out there hunting yet again and doing some target practice on a plastic jug. I did find some feathers and bird poop by it too. We have signs, boundary markers, etc. but do intend on stepping up our signage and getting cameras out there. I just don't understand why people mess with what isn't theirs. 

On our regular land that is not in government programs, we plotted out where we will be planting new trees next month. Although I don't have the land as set up as I would like to be planting new stuff, I jumped on the opportunity. That way they will have a couple of years growing time before we move out there. Later on, once we are out there, we will plan on doing more. I ordered elderberry, service berry, and arborvitae. The arborvitae will go at the front, just outside of the forest line, to help give some privacy. The service berry will go along two ditches (I'm thinking that it will eventually help with erosion), and the elderberry was the hardest for me to place, since Woodchuck loves to mow everything down. I've got a couple of places in mind for those, but need to clear those areas up first and am running out of time to do it. Rush planning seems to be my new norm.

We also cut down the the existing fruit trees. The apple tree wasn't providing fruit, and the two pear trees looked like they could have been Callery Pear and the fruit was always rock hard. We will start over in the next couple of years. I am ordering some stainless steel tree tags, so there will be no guessing what we planted. I am also making notes about where they are going and how many, so that we don't have to try and remember and then guess later on.

 We started making plans on cleaning up some trashy areas of invasives and fallen trees, and talking about the pond. We have a guy coming out on Monday of next week to talk with us about getting some clean fill to build up and fill in the area of leaking, and Woodchuck and I are going today to treat the pond with Barley Straw Extract. It's our first time trying this and I don't intend on doing it every two weeks like the bottle says, just the Spring and Fall. We are already behind because the pond meal is showing up already, but I want to give this a shot. I am still worried that we are going to continue to spend money and time trying to fix this thing, and will fail or a neighbor will mess with the ditch that runs from it and back us up again. But I guess it's worth this last try before throwing in the towel. 

We recently went to get our taxes filed and she has a pond and has a windmill set up to aerate it. No electricity, which is what we needed. So I will add that to my list of things to research.

Big storms are on the way late tonight into tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see how the pond holds up when we go to see it in a few days after! Always a plan, always an unknown, and always an adventure! 💚

Nature waits for no one

 As our son continues to heal physically, we are able to make quick trips to the land every once in awhile to check on things, or do a quick project. It's terrifying trying to get back to any semblance of normality...what if I give him too much space? What if, what if, what if....but I am learning that I have to let him live his life, and our lives have to keep being lived too while also supporting his recovery from the accident mentally, emotionally, and physically. We are nearing Spring, and if I had to walk away from the land for months on end to care for him, I would; but thankfully he is doing well and nature waits for no one. 

Woodchuck had to fix the man door on the garage recently, as some shifting occurred and the door wasn't latching closed. Not only did we not need winds blowing the door open, or people easily gaining entry, but we didn't need wild animals in there either! I also need to get some wood filler into areas on the frame and repaint it, it's already chipping and rotting in some spots.

Our most recent trip was to cut the blueberry bushes. We didn't cut them down far enough last year and they grew crazy and tall again. So we put our fears aside and just did it. I've come to realize how scared I am of the trial and error method in some things. Most likely that comes from a financial point, but honestly, it's the way that most humans learn. So we went in easy the first time, hoping to not mess up and lose the bushes, and that didn't work for the proper growth. So this time we went in heavy and in the recommended way! We cut 8 bushes this year. There were a couple of more but we couldn't get to them because of the water from the leaking side of the pond.

                                                                        Before 👇

    

                                                                            After 👇

Then we talked about this area. It has a monster of a bittersweet vine in it and has killed a lot of stuff. I tried getting into it to start cutting things back and treating it last year, but I am going to need help. He also wants to take the trees down right here, but I am always more for working in steps. 

On our walks over the past couple of years in areas we don't normally get into, we found MORE blueberry bushes. They are a distance away from the original ones we always work with, and with the property lines being so wonky in spots, we weren't sure how many of these are on our side. It is out in a lot of vegetation in the middle of nowhere, and more easily accessed from our property than the neighboring one, but since we weren't sure, we just cut back two that were sure were on our side.

There's at least 4 or 5 of them in a row! Once we start working at establishing the boundary line on this side, we will now for sure if we can utilize them all. 👇

If we have the chance to work the land more, bigger projects this year include cleaning up the edges of the pond, hauling in clean fill on the leaking side, getting stone on around all banks, putting in the barley straw extract that I bought last year to try, and figuring out how to get movement in the water to help keep the that clear. With a Monday of nice weather coming up next week, we are going to work on finishing removing invasives from the watershed preserve. I was shocked when I looked at the calendar recently and realized that we have less than a month left to be able to work out there until October of this year! I know there are a few autumn olives left that I had tagged, and I need to do some research on when a control burn is the right thing to do. The mat of grasses is so much thicker now than when we first bought it and I know the previous owner did at least one controlled burn out there. We also recently ordered trees from a water and soil conservancy....arborvitae, serviceberry, and elderberry! Those will picked up in April.

Here at home though, I am still focusing on cleaning out! I have a very large pile of things that I have been working on listing on eBay and we will be doing an indoor rummage sale with next month. While I've shelved the art business for now, I have been making some lists of things that I would eventually like to put some time into. Changing the name, getting new business cards, finding a different platform other than Etsy so sell on, etc. I have also checked into a couple of markets. I am not going to pressure myself! I am done with pressuring myself and life has me under enough of that as it is. The only thing I can manage right now to work on is some cross-stitch in the evenings. My brain just can't handle anything else creative right now.

Vehicles still tend to be a sore point around here. I have had a sensor go out two or three times already this year. We have taken a little time to hit some car lots and the prices for new cars are out of our range and Woodchuck has been resistant to buying used again. So we are down to one decent car (mine) that I use for getting our son and myself to medical appointments, and Woodchucks work car that has 300,000 miles on it (but also a forever warranty). Again, I am not pressuring myself to make decisions right now about vehicles and although my boundaries are constantly being butted up against, I am standing strong at this time.

I start therapy for myself tomorrow and am really looking forward to it. There are days that I am under so much pressure from my guys and life circumstances, that I feel like my heart will explode. I am ready to let in the feel good stuff and the beauty and the joy and the peace. I am ready to heal and thrive. I hope that you find all these beautiful things for yourself in your life too 💜

(this picture is from where I currently live. I had to walk back home after dropping my car at the mechanic down the road to get the sensor replaced again). 👆

Walk some, work some, love lots

 It's been awhile since I've posted because we've been focusing on making numerous trips to the land and I've been focused on preparing for craft shows and the holidays! We were so lucky to have had mild temps and dry weather for as long as we did, in the sense of being able to work the land longer into the season and get more projects done! As it stands right now though, the weather is more seasonably appropriate and I am fighting the urge most days to hibernate. 

A lot of my late October/early to mid November projects focused on the invasives like burning bush and phragmite and at least getting the berries off of the honeysuckles that I knew we weren't going to get around to cutting down. But with the days being shorter, our trips to the land on the days that Woodchuck works are limited to under two hours of daylight. Now that it is  after Thanksgiving, we are in Winter weather and once the snow comes, we will be done on the land for awhile.

I found some lovely mushrooms growing on dead trees in the phragmite patch on the land area. It was something right out of a fairy tale! 👇

I also got new boots that are very flexible to replace the very stiff and uncomfortable ones that I had been wearing for years. My feet and ankles are grateful!☝(less than $10 at Rural King!)

As we continued in the drought and the water levels went down, I was able to get farther into the watershed pond to treat the phragmite. ☝I still need to get some seed heads off that are on the land area.

The area of burning bush at the property line is now gone after about two weeks of working on it, collectively. 

I will still need to monitor the area for a number of years to stay on top of sprouts. While the leaf cover was thick, it was hard to see those sprouts since they looked like leaf stems. With the lighting of the season and time of day, I had to keep rechecking spots. 👇

The roots of the Burning Bush seem to loosen the soil, making it easier for the seeds to get sown deeper down. I am always grateful to learn more about the behavior of invasive plants, because that arms me with knowledge on how to fight against them better. To me, it isn't just knowing about how they respond to herbicide that's important, it's also about understanding the behavior of the plant in growth, spreading, etc. 👇

As usual, every walk we take out there is a feast for the eyes, the soul, and the spirit. There is something to see all around you and while these things may seem boring, mundane, or silly, they are magick to me.

A grasshopper I saved from the tractor, though his friend was not so lucky and I think he may have been stepped on the garage floor. 👆

I am trying to get better at harvesting and foraging, and using what I gather and only taking what I know I will use. This is a Bur Rose bush that is getting ready to fall into the pond because of slumping. So I gathered the rose hips that I could reach, even crawling down to the bank that would have normally been under water (because it had receded to so far!). 👇

I have dried the turkey tail and am in the process right now of grinding it down. It doesn't look like what I thought it would being ground, so I am holding off moving forward until I verify with a professional that I did the right thing. I am absolutely fascinated with turkey tail! 👇

I am so grateful that I had the courage to make the leap to quit my job and spend what time we have left in our current home being gentle, and mindful, and quiet, and alone. While I have not gotten done around the current home what I thought I would these past few months, I'm grateful to be here and not running myself down for everybody else's dream while I get treated like crap. No more of that. I have spent hours processing pumpkins and squash....they are some of my favorite things to smell and look at! I also cleaned their seeds and let them air dry before packing them up to hopefully use at the land....👇

Making bone broth in the Crock Pot. I love to let it cook for a couple of days and I add scraps of veggies in. My most recent batch had organic apple peels added in. Once I strain the solid matter out, I save it to sprinkle around the land. There's never a scrap left.... 👇

I also tried a new recipe for cassava flour and carob chip cookies (was supposed to have regular chocolate chips in them).....they were super easy and even Woodchuck liked them....👇

 A girl and her tools! I have been working on a new Yulemas ornament for sale this year. Sadly, they have not sold thru shows or Etsy, but I did get some close friends order some as gifts for family members. 

UPDATE FEBRUARY 2025: In full transparency, I started this post in late November/early December 2024 and would work for short amounts of time a few times week on it through late November/early December. The holidays got busy, I tried a few craft shows, and finally gave up. I assumed I would be able to get back to it after the first of the year! But as life does, things kind of went astray and our youngest son was involved in a serious car accident on January 7th. He was airvac'd to a trauma center a state away and taking care of him and helping him heal is what my life is gladly about right now. He's already had one surgery and over the next couple of months, we will find out if he needs more for other injuries.

I brought up the prospect to Woodchuck about selling the land. The accident, being so far away from larger health facilities, and the fact that we all brought home Influenza A from the trauma center and were sick for 3 weeks with it, showed me what I was already peeking at. That the land might be too much, and too far out, for us now that we are getting older. How will we be able to juggle taking care of our youngest, building, moving, etc. all within two years? I am searching for ways to simplify my life and that just all feels like a bunch of complicated stuff. My son comes before anything else.

I'm trying to not make big decisions right now though, like they are telling our son not to. I'm trying to stay in the moment, while also scheduling medical appointments (some weeks have up to 6 appointments). How do you do that? How do you stay in the moment while also having to prepare for the future on some levels? Some days I fail at it. I'm getting migraines every day that are progressively getting worse. I can't take the medicines for them because of my kidneys, and so far the supplements aren't working. My marriage is suffering because I'm not being the person I want to be, the person I worked so hard to be before our son got hurt, and because everything annoying that my husband did that I could (some times barely) blow off before the accident is grounds for divorce in my mind now. 

I feel like I've become that story that I read/hear so often. The kids grow up, the mom decides that it is her time now, and she goes. I'm tired of repeating myself numerous times a day because it's easier for him to ask me again than to pay attention and remember, I'm tired of the stupid talk and him acting like he's 13. I'm tired of jabs at me being disguised as joking around and then when I react I am the unreasonable one. I'm tired of having to think and do for four people. I'm tired of being the mommy wife that he SAYS he doesn't want but SHOWS in his behavior that he does. I'm just tired and trying to solely focus on my son so that I don't make any rash decisions right now, but at some point this will have to be dealt with.

On the days my son and I have no appointments, I am listing our personal belongings on eBay to help clear the house out and get some money towards medical bills and to eventually get him another car (his was totaled in the accident). I haven't seen my mother since Christmas and I have to be the one to remember to stay in touch or I usually won't hear from her. We live in a very small community, and that community usually rallies around its people in need. But not us. There was nothing. No announcement, no meal train, no benefits, no nothing. I am blessed to have the couple of friends/acquaintances that I do that ask if I need anything when they are heading to town? My ex-MIL sent our son a new flannel shirt (he was wearing the one she got him for Christmas, for the first time, the morning of the accident and it had to be cut off of him). Even though my son is the patient and suffering in his own ways, we are suffering in our own ways too. We are upset, we are traumatized, we are tired, we are overwhelmed, we are scared, and not being gathered around by this community triggers feelings for me from my past that I will always be the exception, and it makes me so sad that me being the exception is also spreading to my family (is how my damaged spirit interprets it). For someone who is always about others, seeing so many others not be about us in our time of need is so disheartening, but I put my head down and walk into the storm as I always have. I will always take care of my family and do what needs to be done.

So I don't know when I will write again, when things at the land will or will not move forward. I'll try and update when I can, it might even be a good way to cope with things as writing seems to help me in that way. I thank you for being on this journey with us so far. Who knows what the future holds, but I hope at least it will have my completely healthy, happy, and recovered son in it. My son before it all 💕 

Allowing and efforts

 Now that I've been home for three weeks, I am finally allowing myself the grace of letting go. Or at least the practice of it. I thought I would have my house whipped back into shape right away, things packed up, etc. and the rest of the year would be spent having fun, having adventures, and doing things my way. Nope. The more I try to clean out and organize, the worse it looks, lol. BUT, that's where the letting go happens. I am one person, and it took time for things to build up and it will take time for them to get simplified! I am a human, not a machine. It feels good to finally exhale, loosen the tension, and start the process of slowing my mind down.

With not working anymore, it's opened up the options of going to the land more! Recently out of a 5 day stretch, we were able to go four days--even if just for a couple of hours each evening after Woodchuck gets off of work. Like he pointed out to me, that is the equivalent of another full day out there!

Unfortunately, my physical issues have put a damper on things for me and made moving around much harder. I was recently diagnosed with a partially torn Achilles tendon, planter fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, and posterior tibial tendonitis and some sort of deformity on each foot. I start physical therapy for that in a couple of days, as well as meet back with my hip surgeon about the hip that hasn't been fixed yet because it huuurrrrts after falling on it a couple of months ago.

The weather has been PERFECT for working outside, and being outside. Recently, Woodchuck and I had a date day and went for a walk in a cemetery that I hadn't been to yet. We LOVE cemeteries, they are peaceful, usually have the most beautiful and unique trees, and the architecture is to swoon for. The day was sunny but chilly, so ideal for a hand in hand walk outside in the Fall....and Woodchucks hands are always hot while mine are always cold, so I am always stealing some heat from him.

I parked not far from this stunning chapel. This was the reason for me wanting to come here in the first place! Perched on top of a hill in a rolling cemetery, when driving on the main road, I could see it and was always curious. It did not disappoint, though I was so sad that this, and many other elements to the burial plots, were in states of neglect. Not to sound morbid, but this building has a bit of the look we were going for when designing the new house. 😬

After showing some of these pictures to my step-dad, I found out that he worked at this location for 3 years when he was a young man, digging graves and doing landscaping, etc. He said the doors were not painted when he worked there. Yet again, this was the look we were going for on the front doors of the new house.

The weeds and invasive plants growing up around the building were a nightmare for someone like me to see. Someone like me who works every week at removing invasives, and to see that this building had several Tree of Heavens, a bunch of other crap, and ivy growing up the side of it, was painful to walk away from. I don't know if contacting the owners of the cemetery would do any good, as it is evident throughout the grounds that certain things are not a priority.

A lot of the wood is rotting away, as shown in this picture at the bottom of the windows. The stained glass is on the inside, and there's a solid glass pane on the outside. Because the wood is rotting away, it let the middle glass panel slip down a few inches. It was disheartening to see.

We walked around for awhile, becoming more distressed at the condition of the older headstones. Sinking, sliding, tipping over, becoming more and more illegible. We could tell that the grounds were being mowed, but why then are other things let go? When I showed my step-dad, he said they would never let things go like that back when he was there! If something needed fixed, they fixed it; if something fell over, they placed it back. There's such a sense of duty and purpose, and devotion and respect when it comes to taking care of places where the dead lay, and the longer we were there, the more sad we became.

Not to disappoint though were the trees! This cedar was monstrous! Tall, bushy, and with the most odd limbs that looked like they could have been sitting perches and swing holders for the spirits of the children there. It was beautiful day and peaceful walk together, where Woodchuck shared stories from his childhood about the death and funerals and cemeteries. 

In between land trips, I have been trying to work on art. Most was to prepare for a craft bazaar I did yesterday (and bombed at! NO SALES!), but I have had soooo many ideas rolling around in my head for months while I was working that I needed some time to work on things and get them out into tangible pieces! This wreath is completely hand-made, as in, I even made the wreath! One of those moments that I was standing in my forest removing grapevine from a tree that it was trying to kill, and then I decided to take a break and make a wreath, lol. It's a grapevine wreath, synthetic sinew in black, some paint, moss, I painted wooden mushies, attached a pendant that was going to get thrown away because there's a barely noticeable crack at the bottom of it, and some ribbon to hang it by! $45 and it didn't sell and it's a good size piece, not tiny, but about 12 inches tall by 11 inches wide. It is available right now in our Etsy shoppe at www.soapwoodartstudio.etsy.com

The Autumn colors and smells always inspire me! Ever since I was a child, this was my favorite season and the color of burnt orange has been one of  two of my favorite colors since then too! I think we are finally getting one of those Autumns that I had as a child that held on longer than what we've had in more recent years, and the child in my heart is loving it! 💛🍁🍂

Another art project that was finished were three wood carvings of Woodchucks! These had been hanging on our wall on some driftwood, but he wasn't happy with it and told me to feel free to sell them. So I painted some wood discs that I had, and they went to the show with me! They didn't sell, obviously. They are in the Etsy shoppe as well! (link above by the Halloween wreath).

The weather has been so nice that I am finding myself juggling three or four projects at the land. I base which one(s) I will work on off of weather, how much time we have out there on the trip, and what stage the plants are in. I'm behind on getting to the lily of the valley because they have berries right now! EEK. And although I knew there was a mature burning bush immediately to our side of the property line, a chance moment of working on honeysuckle at the edge of the front forest had me finding many, many burning bush sprouts. Luckily, most of them were at the edge, but I did find some farther in as well. While the colors of burning bush are admittedly striking, they are a major threat to the healthy forest eco-systems! I have recently seen picture after picture of them overtaking the understory of the forests, and at this time of year they are easily picked out in the crowd due to their color (and of course now I can identify them easier since working with them by their stems, leaves, berries, etc.) The adult one I found at the property line is a good 10-12 feet tall with hundreds of sprouts and juvenile plants coming up in the immediate area. Just like most other plants, there are various species of them, and they luckily were so young that they didn't have their berries yet. I verified the identity with professionals in an invasives plant group, but I had already pulled the sprouts because I felt pretty certain of what I had found. That little bud on the top tip is always what helps me solidify that it's a burning bush! It's those little things that some time help me stop second guessing myself, lol.

After working for a couple of hours (Woodchuck worked at knocking down a dirt hill at the front as well. He LOVED it at first, until he had to push mow it, lol. Plus an animal had made a burrow in it at some point, with several entrance and exit holes all over it.) we went for a walk. It's always a great way to end whatever time we have there. He has been a bit dismayed that a squirrel uses his bench for its dinner table! Woodchuck built the bench directly under the branches of a Black Walnut tree, because that happened to be the spot with the best view to the watershed, as well as it's right across from the foot bridge he recently built. I find the usage of the bench by the squirrel to be so endearing, and honestly, it's a short-term thing. Woodchuck would just be happier if the squirrel stained the bench evenly instead of all in one spot 😂

While walking on the watershed, I saw something light colored in a small divot in the soil. It looked like some little critter had started to try and bury this, but maybe they made a snack out of the occupant in this spot? Either way, the shell came home with me as I adore these little nature trinkets.

I would normally be at work at this time of day and I am SO incredibly grateful to have these chances to see the things that I would normally miss out on, and to see them with the love of my life. 

I am also grateful that the government granted us permission to mow this fire break. It not only gives us more peace of mind during this horrible drought, but enables us to get out there easier and check on things during the times of year when the brush is high. (remember the sky lantern I found recently out there?!t

Everything is struggling right now in one way or another. Plants, animals, humans...I'm just trying to do my best to support it all.

If the drought continues, the watershed pond will dry up. We see it evaporating at a very fast rate, sometimes a few inches within a couple of days, and can see evidence of the deer and other animals traveling to it to drink. I know the rains will come, but some times it's hard to not worry about all that depend on this most precious natural resource in the meantime.

We ended the day by taking a little time, and precaution, to build a small contained fire at home. We used leftover cinder blocks and patio pavers and I always keep water nearby. Woodchuck likes to get his fires started with newspaper, however, as that burns down,  it releases a lot of smoldering cinders into the air that I worry will catch something on fire. So, I'm in charge of getting the fires going now, especially when we just want a tiny one that will burn for about half an hour while we are sitting there. These people who live around us that are open burning leaves and branches, just a few feet from the back of our workshop and under trees, are only asking for trouble. I look forward to the day where I can leave this place and become the forest witch I was always mean to be. Don't get me wrong, it won't be easy in some ways to leave this house. We raised our boys here, squeezed SO MUCH life into the 24 years we've been here and there are things about my yard that I adore, but it is getting closer to the time of letting someone else enjoy it and I am ready for some peace, that's for sure.

The next trip back to the land found me working again on the behemoth burning bush. This is it, about half way down.

And just a sampling of all of the sprouts under and by it.

But I am gifted with reminders every time I go out there of what I am fighting for. Like this adorable little Amanita Muscaria, my most favorite mushroom species! I must be part faery 😚

 And this one looks like it was already the meal of a faery! Look at that perfect pie slice that was removed! I did not do this, but found it this way!

Again we walk to connect with each other and our land, and to take in all of the blessings of this place that we have been chosen to be stewards of. Sunset through the blueberry bushes and mature trees.

It's a whole other world out here as the sun starts to sink. I am not afraid to be out there after dark, though I do always have pepper spray on my keychain and a larger can in my backpack. It would destroy my heart to ever have to use it out here, but precautions are smart.

The next day we came out so that Woodchuck could meet back up with the guy who poured the concrete in the barn. We had been waiting months for him to come cut it, but of course Woodchuck couldn't wait to fill the barn up with stuff and that all needs to be wiped down now (I will not be helping with that, as we had talked about NOT filling the barn up in the first place and then when he did, we talked about him covering things with tarps--which he did not do. So, since I have pressing projects that I am having to do on my own, he can clean up after himself. Snap! Word!) With the cutting of the concrete, that finishes the barn up...but I'm sure Woodchuck will think of things to do with it along the way, lol.

I've neglected my own yard, outside of occasionally dead-heading my flowers, gathering marigold seeds, and Woodchuck mowing. I got out to the garden boxes, which have become more of a haven for native flowers, and I found a volunteer tomato plant growing! I also saved the life of a wooly bear, who seemed to be showing that we will have a mild winter. 

Back at the land, I was able to get the burning bush down! Only to reveal honeysuckles on the other side of it, grapevine, bittersweet, and more and more sprouts of burning bush. That's ok, I will continually work on this, and will have to keep checking back to take care of any seedlings that pop up. I am really proud of the work that I do, especially since I do most of it alone. It is not always easy due to my physical conditions, but it is always worth it.

Can you see how nothing else grew under the bush except for more bushes and other occasional crap?

All of the bare ground is where I pulled the sprouts from. Anytime I found berries on the ground, I picked those up too and black bagged them. There is what is called a "seed bank" that has already been established from previous years and fallen berries, so I will continue to monitor this area, and my forests.

 But I still have sprouts to pull and then I will spray the area down to hopefully help kill of any seeds that are buried in the soil.

Working out here doesn't feel like work at all. It feels good, it feels healing, it feels empowering and beautiful.

It is VERY rare to be out here so late, and I enjoy seeing this slice of our world in all seasons and at all times of day. Always something new to learn and see! Stay tuned, because as the drought continues, we are continuing to use it to our advantage to get into areas that we normally can't reach to get them cleaned up! And do a girl a favor, please, and visit our Etsy shoppe! If you like what you see, please share us! Thank you :)