A day to just walk and learn

 Woodchuck and I went back and forth about if we should go to the land this past weekend. With heavy rain and powerful storms off and on all week, I wanted to see how the land held up. Woodchuck wanted to go too, however, he has been struggling with an onset of vertigo episodes lately and being out in the heat isn't helping! Not a great time for this to kick in with the tractor being delivered in about a week. 😬

Running later than we planned on, we headed out. Woodchuck threw a last minute request at me to stop at the Home Improvement store and knew I wasn't going to say no when he tempted me with the idea of looking for a tool to pull out invasive saplings with. So we made the trek to the town just past our land, dealt with many an idiot driver along the way, and then got in to the store where there were hardly any employees. I can't hold the store responsible, we are struggling with that where I work too. 

We found a tool that we thought might work, (update: it didn't, and bent the first time we tried it) he proceeded to add to his mental list of what he wanted to look for and we must have wasted a good 15 minutes just trying to locate the stuff, only to waste another 15 minutes trying to locate an employee who could climb the rolling ladder to get something off of the top shelf. We waited 5 minutes and true to his Aries nature, Woodchuck grabbed the ladder and did it himself.

Back out on the road again, and heading to the land, we talked about how hard it is to leave there now. It's not even the case of always having something to work on, it just feels good to be there. The only part of it that I wasn't looking forward to seeing was the pond. It's already essentially overflowing, and with the several inches of rain we've gotten, I was worried it had taken over areas it wasn't meant to be in. We had no plans to do any work at all, we just wanted to walk around and check things out. I am so glad that we did!

I've mentioned before that being out on the prairie is my favorite place to be out there! Good energy, wide open, kind of the central spot where all of the nature gathers around. The skies were ominous and the turkey vultures all took flight above our heads. We checked the tripod frame hubby put together last time (see previous post), and it was still standing! We checked the blueberries, which are getting more plump.

We had to wear our rain and wader boots to get to them. Every time I made a step, pulling my boot out of the mud made a sucking noise and I wondered if that would be the time that it came off!

But HUZZAH! Finally saw a great plant and I am glad that we found it on this day because this area will be mowed soon!

Swamp rose! A native! And I have three or four plants of them that I was able to see! So, in order to save them from being mowed down, I will be taking some chicken wire and making a cage around them and then tying some survey tape to that cage. I was so excited to find and photograph them that I forgot to smell them! On the list for next time!!!

We did make the decision to walk to the watershed preserve. I can't say that Woodchuck was all that comfortable with the idea. Going to it from the side that we were, it's the one spot on the land that he's always worried he'll get lost on. It's so overgrown, with no real clear indicators, it's easy to get turned around and confused. It's also another spot where we have to walk a small amount of it on a neighbors land, to be able to get around to where we can enter the watershed. It's on our radar to clean up once we get the tractor, but right now it can kick your ass. 

So I lead the way, stopping frequently to take pictures and ohh and ahhhh about plants and insects. He was much more patient with that this time than usual. He probably needed the break to let his head settle down! After climbing over some downed trees, we made it out on the watershed preserve. And holy sheep shit. You could totally get lost out there! Ferns and grasses as far as the eye can see, with a multitude of Autumn Olives standing tall above them. And an occasional MFR (multi-flora rose) mixed in. And right there, where you step out on to the preserve, is lots and lots of deptford pinks. We worked at pulling them, since I always try and carry a bag with me now anywhere I go on the land. 

We could hear the ground was a bit squishy out here, but the dense vegetation kept us from sinking in anywhere. No standing water though, it's been so amazing to see how everything responds to the water! We didn't go too far out this time, it was making Woodchuck nervous, so we turned around. I had to lead the way again, though got a little a confused in one spot right off of the preserve. Do I keep straight or go a little to the right? We got it all figured out and made it back to civilization. Obviously. I'm not sitting in the weeds typing this up right now.

Next up? One more trip out before we get the tractor! I feel like we've waited so long and now it's going to be a mad dash to get things prepped for it! We each have our lists of things to get done before its arrival, so stay tuned!

Some adventures! Two days in one posting!

 Woodchuck and I realize that we have been all work and little fun, whether here at our home or on the land. So on our latest work day trip to the land, we made a list of things we wanted to accomplish and that had to include some fun things too! It was going to be miserable again in temps and even though we headed out at 7:30 a.m., stepping outside was like hitting a brick wall while trying to breathe thru pea soup.

Now admittedly, we have a very different idea of what we consider fun. I find sitting on the ground surrounded by plants and insects to be fun. He likes cutting, burning, caveman activities and just being all around difficult. Take that with how he is on the land, a fire blazing out-of-control while riding a steamroller, and I knew that I was going to be in for some tense moments. It is a continual battle to get balance when it comes to Woodchuck. He is full steam ahead and doesn't care who or what is in his way. I am not ashamed to say that he has made me cry and feel like what I want doesn't matter and that I am just in the way. I know we are not the only couple that traverses this high-wire, so that's why I bring that up here. We are all different and we all have to put the effort into interacting with each other in as gentle a way as we can. There is no "I" in team.

Of course, leaving off from last time, my goal was to finally finish digging out the Lilly of the Valley. I am not saying that I got all of the root system, nor found all of the patches, so I will continue to keep an eye open for it each time that I am out. I dug up around 12 patches of it throughout our second CRP forest, the last two times whilst being attacked by mosquitoes. I put the word out on FB that if I didn't make it home, my friends needed to let the police know that the mosquitoes did it. Woodchuck stayed with me this time, though did not help dig. He did help pull my wagon, and got himself overheated doing so!

He was chomping at the bit to get to what he wanted to do and I am being very serious here when I say, welcome to our shit-show! We loaded the smallest Jon boat on my wagon, which is now all scratched up because nothing was laid across it first. This is why I can't have nice things! I know, I know. It's a work cart for the land, but it was mine and the only thing that I asked for so far in this land adventure and if it got damaged, I wanted to be the one to do it. But what is done is done, and I digress.

Hubby wanted to get out on the main pond and drop a line in. Why? I asked. It was very clear that no fish could have survived this many years in that water. He wasn't having any of my less-than-enthusiastic behavior and went full steam ahead. I started having a panic attack when it came time for me to get in the boat. I have been in a boat with him three times previously. Three different boats, three different times in three different places and none of those adventures went well. Woodchuck does not admit his limitations.

 While we were both wearing life jackets, he is a large Slovak that doesn't know how to swim and I would have been fighting for us both if he had gone in. There is so much plant life, that anyone getting in that water would be wrapped up like an aquatic burrito and probably eaten by the big-ass bullfrog sitting on the edge of the water. Not to mention, the water smelled horrible. Did I mention that Woodchuck has a very big nose? That nasty water would have had a field day in his nostrils.

But, getting there was important for me in other ways. When we first looked at the land, I was thinking that this would be a wonderful place to hold a drumming circle, a small festival, classes...but now that I own it, I don't want to share it. Yet. I am quietly listening and watching. Learning about the land and what it needs in order to get back to healthy. Feeling its energy. I know for sure that events such as the ones that I originally envisioned, are not meant to happen here yet and I am not ready for them either.

Since day one, before we even made the decision to buy the land, I have been making a comment about the back ditch being more full (of water) than the front ditch. Why I zeroed in on this and couldn't let it go, I don't know. No matter how many times I brought it up, I was kind of ignored. I wondered if the vegetation was too thick and blocking some thing? The guy that hubby will be using for various projects like cutting the driveway and clearing the land for a house, made mention that we shouldn't cut the vegetation out because the banks are steep on the front ditch and the roots are helping to hold to hold those up. We've been kicking around the idea of a controlled burn there instead. 

Being out on the pond helped me to see a whole other side of the pond and from other angles. After much hyperventilation and curse words, we push off the bank and the water starts making weird movement. WTF is happening?! Frogs. Lots and lots and lots of frogs running  hopping for their lives from the battle ship being rowed by the sweaty Kraken and the damsel. So freaking cute! But hmmm, I wonder if this is an indicator of water quality?

While in the pond, I notice bushes heavy with white blossoms. Oh my. Elderberry! And all nearly in the water now. Nearly all edges of the pond are "leaking". This was beyond leaking, I know this to my core. Some thing else is going on. As when I find any issue, I feel a sense of urgency to fix it. How long has it been going on? How much longer can it continue before it causes another issue? My fear now is that this pond will merge with the watershed pond and I don't want that. This pond we are on is ours alone, privately owned, not on any government program. I want to do what I want with this pond and not have it interfere with the watershed pond. I start feeling a panic attack coming on. What am I not seeing? What is going on here?! I also notice the tree stump in the water that the seller told us they tried removing when they dug out the pond, but it wasn't budging. There's something purple growing on it. So we rowed over and wow. Bittersweet nightshade! Well now, if there was ever a doubt that poison was persistent, here ya go!

After a morning of heat, humidity and clouds, the sun came out and started to boil us on the pond. It was time to make it back to the bank, hyperventilate some more, cuss some more (there's always time for that!) and get on to other things! I needed to get back out to the watershed pond to try and identify the grass that I saw last time. THAT was no easy feat!

 Everything is still growing unchecked and the spot that I needed to get was, of course, being blocked by a downed tree. I waded through a sea of sensitive ferns, and then crawled under the tree, which has obviously also been used by a deer by the fur left on the branch that also caught by my backpack. 

I finally make it over the mud to the ponds edge and what do my wondering eyes see? Damn. Phragmites. This shit-show just keeps getting shittier!

Time to make back to the regular land and leave this issue until morning when I contact the NRCS. 

I had also harvested some wild garlic that is going to get mowed down soon! So incredibly tiny that it was almost more work to harvest it and prepare it than it was worth. But I don't like to see anything go to waste! So much so that I cut the stems and tops off and asked Woodchuck to make a wreath from them while he sat in the shade to catch his breath and cool off a little. Woodchuck is a wonderful wreath maker, usually making them from our grapevines!

I can't remember what other things we did that day, because we were so hot that my brain fried like an egg inside of my skull. And considering that I work all week in a small store that has no a/c, and Woodchuck in a machine that has no air and he has to keep the windows rolled up, we are slowly killing off brain cells every day this season!

Fast forward to the evening and I tell my husband that I have a theory about what is going on with the pond. The ditches again. Why is the back always so full but the front one isn't, even when it is more than capable of holding even more water than the back one? I have seen a trickle of flow in the front ditch in one section and it's flowing the other way, away from the pond and back ditch. I look at these ditches nearly every time I am there. It's all just not sitting right with me. I wonder, I tell him, if the front ditch is being blocked of the majority of the water and that pond isn't leaking, it's actually overflowing? Now I'm not saying that some bank work doesn't need to be done, or that I completely understand this whole process of how the ditches and pond work, but I've got ideas and guesses and need to try them out.

We were planning on going back to the land anyway on Tuesday to meet with the forester, so that was going to give us a chance to also check that front ditch out. The meeting with the forester was much anticipated, and went by too quickly, but we now have a better idea of what we need to focus on and when! I'll receive his plan in a couple of weeks. My main focus needs to be getting the MFR (multi-flora rose), AO (Autumn Olive) and bush honeysuckle taken care of . BUT. As usual. The Mr. is causing some issues. The best time for me to treat those plants is Fall. Hubby doesn't want to wait that long. He wants to open the canopy up, allowing more sunlight, and then allowing more of those things to grow. No matter when I do treat them, it needs to be a couple of days after of no rain and it will take a couple of weeks to really affect the plants. This is something that he and I still need to hash out.

So we try and test out my theory about the ditches and ponds. We could hear the trickle of water going from the back ditch to the pond. We could just barely see the part of the front ditch that comes off of the pond, because the vegetation is so thick now. That water is looking higher than the very front part of the front ditch. I can see the watermeal in it this spot too. We walk over the other side of the culvert and it's so completely overgrown that we can't see anything. He hacks away at some vegetation all while trying to not fall down into the ditch, because as I mentioned, those banks are much higher. It's not working to help us see much. I inch forward. I'm terrified of heights, even though this might only be no more than several feet down. And I see stagnant water. So stagnant that it's almost black. No movement at all. Have we figured it out? Now what do we do?

According to hubby, we wait to tackle this once we get the tractor. I'm worried that we have several days straight coming up of rain, and another couple of weeks before we get the tractor. And expects me to be able to direct him at the edge of the ditch once he's on that tractor. Should I just file for divorce now? Start packing up my things? I don't want that kind of responsibility! I don't know enough about tractors and distances from ditches! Ugh. The stress! We needed to shelf this for now. 

It was such a beautiful day, sunny, but also with clouds and breezes. I always find myself wanting to be on the prairie on such days, so I told Woodchuck that I was going to harvest and pull some plants. I did this, but was also so distracted by finding previously unseen plants and tiny little hover flies with rainbow iridescent wings kept landing on my hands. I always take the time to say hello and thank creatures for visiting me!

While I was being Snow White, hubby was cutting some wood to build a temporary outdoor shower. His idea is to use a tripod frame. I have my doubts about this, but am willing to give it a shot and let him play around with his idea.

He said that if he hangs about 5 gallons of weight from it, and it holds up, it's ready to be used. Again, I have my doubts on how safe and long-term this going to be, but we'll see what it looks like the next time we check it out.

I already showed him the more permanent outdoor structure for the shower that I would like. Not only will it match the naturalness of the land, but it will also utilize wood from trees that are felled. We went round and round about it. I admit that we're barely two months in and I'm already exhausted from the brick wall that he is! Wish me luck, I've got my hands FULL with flora, fauna and one stubborn, thick-headed Slovak!

Another toy edition!

 It was going to be another scorcher of a day, and so we headed to Das Zem (The Land) early again and this time with our youngest son in tow! By now you should have guessed that we had a plan of attack for our time out there, and mine was to work alone. Again. Le Sigh. Thus far staying on the outskirts of the second CRP forest, it was time to make my way in and start attacking those patches of Lily of the Valley that I've been seeing on our quick walks thru. This was going to be my first time taking the work wagon in! Little did I know how difficult it would be for me!

Pulling a wagon is difficult enough when you've had a shoulder surgery just over a year ago and the other one needs it. Not to mention that the humidity is making me hurt everywhere! And then the weight of the wagon and everything you are hauling. But if I didn't trudge on alone, it wasn't getting done. The best I could do was take breaks when needed and try not to injure myself. It was extremely difficult for me to try and pull that wagon over the downed limbs, but she performed like a champ!

                                            

The above picture shows Lily of the Valley surrounded by various other plants.

You'll also notice poison ivy in a lot of my pictures. It is everywhere on the land right now! I ended up finding 6 patches of LOV, the final one being the biggest one that was the original one I had found last month. I was about 6 plants short of getting it completely torn out when the guys let me know that they were done with their project. It seems that the toy posts I do get more love than the plant posts. I can't blame you, I agree that pulling invasives isn't much fun.

Hubby and the boy used some oak to build a boat saw horse to store it and elevate it. They ran out of twine to build the second one, so that will be done next time. This keeps the boat up off the ground, and they are portable as well.

I still needed to make it out on the watershed though, to identify if the tree/shrub I found last week was multiflora rose. Indeed, it is.

Pictures have been sent to the NRCS and I'm waiting to hear back from them. The growth on the watershed, at last the part along the pond that we walked is INSANE! The amount of ferns on the land anyway is just mind-blowing, and on this area the sensitive ferns are loving the ground. They are as tall as my waist and go as far as the eye can see! We also have more willow along this pond that we also have along the main pond. Although native, it can easily take over (what would be referred to as "aggressive"). I'll have to find out more about those. Right now, I am making as many observations about the land as I can so that once we get the okay from the government, and we get our tractor, we can start working on really getting things under control.

While we are grateful to become stewards of this land, and have a plan in what we'd like to see it become, we are extremely overwhelmed right now and not able to do too much until we start getting the green lights. Even then we will be overwhelmed at the amount of work to do after so many years of the land being let go. Breathe in, breathe out.....breathe in, breathe out....it's going to be a process and not something done quickly! I hope that you are enjoying seeing the posts along the way!

Out of the forest and into the field

 Woodchuck and I headed to The Land as early as we could this last time. Temps were in the 90's and it's been muggy, and the sun was going to be blazing. Blazing sun. I will reference back to that later!

The plan was for me to continue to pull Lily of the Valley from the second CRP forest and to keep assessing it. Woodchuck was going to cut up some limbs and move them all out of the way from the beginning of what will be our driveway, for a pick-up truck to be able to drive back to the pond area. Then together we were going to try and access the WRP to assess the water quality on the pond there. It was my hope that we would not be dealing with the watermeal on that pond as well. (see previous post about toys!)

I felt the need to release on this day. A crazy schedule and feeling overwhelmed left me wanting to go cry in my forest. But as soon as I stepped on to the land, the urge went away and I was revitalized again. When parked and turning around to face the road, this is the sight that I see. 

I ended up deciding to help Woodchuck move the limbs before heading out on my own. I was greeted by one of my favorite tulip poplar trees!

But my glorious moments turned to disgust just minutes later. I finally got the positive identification on some plants I've been watching. Multiflora rose. Elch.

Telltale signs of MFR are frilly little appendages coming off of the main steam where the leaflet clusters come out. Downward facing thorns are another telltale sign as well. Interestingly enough, the blossoms can look different all on one plant! I've seen three different looking blooms on one plant, assuming that they were in different stages of bloom, but I honestly don't understand the plant enough yet to know what that's about. Once you see one, you are checking everything for all of those factors! This bush stood at least 7-8 foot tall, with another one very close by and on the edge of the ditch where we will have a hard time reaching.

 Sadly, I found several more of these plants throughout The Land. I was able to find some of their small saplings growing by the pond that I took the time to dig out. That was no easy task! But look at that healthy soil! 

 Even more sad is I potentially found one next to the WRP pond, but Woodchuck was running so fast across the land that I barely had time to snap a picture of it! We had another talk about slowing down for me. He doesn't want me out on The Land alone, but then when he's with me he won't give me the time to identify plants. As land owners working with the USDA and NRCS, it is our duty to do this, and we knew that taking this land on. He just needs a constant reminder and pretty soon, a swift kick in the ass. 😉

While he gave me the time to snap pictures of the WRP pond, he stood so far away that I could have fallen in with my backpack, phone, and walkie on and he'd be too late to grab me. I should have tied myself off to the potential MFR, since it was another tall one! I do not believe we are dealing with watermeal on this pond, however, there's something there. Either debris from the willows and surrounding trees, or duckweed. Pictures have been sent to the NRCS, and I will get a water sample if need be. I have to go back to this spot anyway to identify the damn tree. If Woodchuck would just give me the chance the first time we head out, it would save me a trip or two......

I also found birds-foot trefoil, though because we had to detour off of our land a little and onto the neighboring land to be able to walk (because there's spots on ours that aren't cleared enough yet), I don't know yet if it's on our WRP, or the neighbors land. Another thing I have to work out the next time we go out there, because yes, Woodchuck wouldn't slow down for me to take care of it this time.

I only made it into the CRP to walk our friend around the land who had made the lengthy trip from where he lives to deliver us two used Jon Boats! 

He even brought a little hitchhiking friend with him, who sadly had a couple of damaged legs but was still running around. We'll need these boats on the main pond to treat it for the watermeal, use sonar to see if there are any living fish left in it (doubtful), and to eventually place the solar fountain to keep the water from stagnating again. Compared to the boats, the oars were what really cost! And you don't buy them in pairs, you have to buy them individually. With a name like Woodchuck, it would have been nice for him to be able to make us some! 😁

I spent the rest of the time working in what I refer to as The Prairie. It is the only part of all the acreage that we own that isn't on any land programs. But it is just as much of a mess as the rest of the land. I dug up some MFR saplings, mullein, campion, and harvested some willow from the edge of the pond, and identified some other plants that will need to come out eventually. The sun blazes on this part of the land, and is where we would eventually like to plant a sunflower screen, pollinator garden, garden, have a greenhouse and more.

                                            And this leads me to the blazing sun reference!

                                                                            OUCH!

It's the toy edition!

 It was only a matter of time before we started bringing in the "toys" to help us with our land work. I, for one, think it's pretty cool when you bring one thing into the situation that makes a world of difference. One thing can answer a question or save you hours of wear and tear on your body. Let's see what kind of toys today's episode will include!

A pond rake as toy number one!

 Built by Woodchuck, this rake was going to help us either clear off what is on the pond surface, and/or help us figure out what exactly is on the pond surface! Built from hardwood from a vintage loom that was given to us in pieces and missing parts, and a pool noodle. Fun hoarding fact: when you save the kids' pool noodles for years, then donate them to your wife's place of employment (a resale shop), and then have to go buy a new one to make this rake because you JUST donated the ones that you held on to for years. The aluminum handle came from something in our eldest sons garage! I wonder if there's a broom head laying around there now...

Anyhow, he also used some rope...which I also had to use. I will never, ever go into the forest again wearing a pair of pants that are too big without a belt. I even tucked my shirt in thinking that would help, but nope! And when you've had your gloves in poison ivy, you really want to refrain from constantly having to pull your pants up! So I stole some rope from him.

But back to the rake! Here's a little video of how it works. 

Damn! It truly did help us figure out what was on the surface of the pond. Watermeal.

                    And as you can see, it is covering nearly the whole surface of the pond. 

So we will now have to get a pond company our to assess the situation. Once we can get this under control, we will start researching solar fountains to keep the water moving. Add it to the to-do list!

And now for my toy! A work cart!

I have always wanted one! Who's a good little cart? You're a good little cart! HEY! That's not how it's supposed to be used!

This little cart not only handled the rough terrain, forest, and thorny paths, but it enabled us to move several bags of weeds to the front of the property. What did we work on this time? You guessed it! Removing Lily of the Valley. We finally have two patches removed from just inside the CRP and now can start heading deeper into the forest to remove them. I also pulled a couple of more Dame's Rocket along the way. 

But I also made sure there was time to enjoy the land, even if for just moments at a time! I saw many beautiful butterflies, spiders and other insects and we took a little bit of time in the open sun field that is not on any programs to grab some water and a snack, light some incense and talk about our future on the land together. 

 We've got a couple of more "toys" heading our way, so stay tuned!