It was time, on this last trip to the land, to start tackling the invasive plants in the CRP forests. During each walk we took when we went there, I was making a mental note of what was where and thought I had a pretty good plan on how much time it would take, in what order I should work, etc. Nope.
It was a beautiful day on Sunday! Close to 80 and sunny, light winds. My guys had their projects they were working on and not only did I not want to be anywhere around that, I had my own goals for the day. Specifically garlic mustard and Lily of the Valley removal. Anything else outside of that was just bonus.
Because the land is large and we are still learning its boundaries and our way around, we all make sure to have our cell phones on us. Luckily, so far, we've always been able to have a signal out there. We also tell each other where we plan to be, how we plan to get there. That way if we don't come back, the others can come looking for us. My goal was to hit the CRP forest first, since that's the most important to upkeep, but got sidetracked by the little area that skirts around the pond that we have to struggle through to get around to the other side of the land. Way more garlic mustard than I thought there would be, as well as purple dead nettle. I just could not take the time on this day to pull the dead nettle, I have to pick and choose my battles when it is only me tackling these things. Because the garlic mustard was already blooming, I needed to get it out. And carefully.
I have read various techniques and protocols that people have used to remove it, especially while it's blooming, because you don't want to spread the seeds. But I was taught to have a black bag with you to throw it into right away, and handle it gently. It is typically super easy to pull, especially when you grab at the base, but the larger it gets some times the root base gets thick and is a little more difficult. Garlic mustard changes the soil chemicals where it grows, making nothing else beneficial grow there. A non-native from Europe and parts of Asia, it can be eaten, potentially has some medicinal effects, and has spread like wildfire. You may have noticed many park system holding "weed wrangles", where they ask the public to help pull it. I consider myself that I will likely only have a few bags full.
With the recent rains and humidity, the purple dead nettle is standing tall. This spreading ground cover is up for debate among nature and wildlife lovers. It's extremely invasive, but also provides some of the first of Spring foods for pollinators. I just couldn't take the time on it today.
While in this area next to the main pond, I was able to find some interesting things, which of course captured my attention and kept me even longer out of the CRP forests. A new den, yet to identify who lives there. Very small though and I got one tiny foot print. Mink?
I am also still finding garbage throughout the lands. I had to crawl and struggle through various thorns to reach the edge of the pond and remove a couple of plastic beverage containers. This one was left by a fisher, notice the fishing line?
I needed to stop what I was doing in this spot. Time was ticking and I needed to get to the forest. Things were so much more rampant there than I had expected. I ended up picking two large lawn and leaf bags of plants, and then some more garbage.
The guys found me to take a walk around the land so our son could see it all. I warned him that it was wild, not easy to get through in some spots. Hubby was in such a hurry to walk that I kept getting left behind. My little legs can't go fast through all that theirs can. The watershed is so humid and hot with the sun blazing down that I got overheated, vowing never to walk with hubby again out there. I did manage to finally get a decent picture of the WRP (watershed preserve) pond. The frogs really like this one.
Once the walk was done, we went back to our projects and I was unable to get all the plants pulled and found more patches of the Lily of the Valley than what had been there before. I also cursed at the large barberry that was planted by the main pond.
I did allow myself moments of peace there on the land. There are certain parts of the forests that feel alive and so good, other parts feel barren. Even though this spot doesn't look like much in the photo, it felt so alive and intense and made me feel wonderful and at peace.
I found many feathers along the way...blue jay, crow, cardinal...lots of various kinds of fungi (which I always get excited by! This one is cup fungi, pezizacaea)......and I foraged for gifts for a friend. The first I found on the land will be dried and worked into a piece of art for when we build our house.
Of course, my next trip there has already been planned out. More invasive removal, check for more garbage and evidence of human trespassing, and then if that gets done with time to spare, I need to start marking invasive trees/shrubs/bushes on the non-program land for removal once we have a tractor. Again, so far it's just little ol' me figuring this out, but I am guided by my ancestors and the nature spirits! 💚
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