A recent check of trail cam cards reveals once again the wildlife can co-exist in a way that most humans cannot. But I digress. Let's look at animal pictures, shall we? A fox or two, and what I think might be a falcon? I still have to learn the differences between falcons and hawks. Not pictured here were numerous does and bucks, raccoons, a black cat, woodchuck, etc. All utilizing ONE area for passage, food, rest, and more.
As much as I want to join the wildlife and leave the real world behind, there's shit that needs to be done. Like this door frame, for instance. Why are we paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars for stuff that just doesn't hold up? So we bought paint, I taped it all off, climbed up and down a ladder a gazillion times. Numerous coats, because I tend to do light coats, and this better stay nice for a long, long time. (shaking my fist).
It's warmer today than usual, and there's mixed clouds and sun. Of course, I think it's just the two of us and take my t-shirt off so I could be cooler in my sports bra......and that's when someone unexpectedly shows up. Stop that. Stop unexpectedly showing up.
One of the first things to turn fiery red on the land, and pretty much one of about three things to turn red at all, is this Winged Sumac. We don't have a lot of them, and I am trying to keep them from the tractor sights. 👀
A tiny little tree-line has big invasive energy and we keep chipping away at it because even just the seedbank is horrendous. One of the multi-flora roses I found. Notice the little frills at each stem base?
But there was also honeysuckle and autumn olive as well.
But it's satisfying to see it cleaned up for now.
I also bagged the berries from the honeysuckles right now. I'll go back in later and cut and treat the bushes.
I know some of this stuff is just over the property line, but since it's a concentrated area, and we are the only ones doing anything about invasives, and the seeds falling will still affect our area, I am cleaning it all out.
No more bittersweet wrapped around this tree!
I've got my trusty chainsaw with me today
What it started looking like...
Oh look! A feather! I consider this a gift from Mother E for all of my hard work.
And the after for now....
Unfortunately, the vines are so established high up in these tall trees, and that is where the berries are. This will be a multiple year project.
We will keep fighting, little friend.
We have to move on for right now though. It's time to start wrapping things up for the day, and head back home. Starting with pumping water to put out the burn pile. I am always amazed and grateful when I see water coming out of the hand-pump. We did that ourselves?! This is coming from deep in the ground?!
We also need to take an autumn olive down that resprouted from a previous cut and treat we did. It had an Ootheca on it.
And then I needed to treat some fresh phragmite that is popping up from the excavated areas. I had wondered if there was a den of sorts over here. While no hole in the ground was found, it was the area that the "witch's hut" was.....a brambling, twisted pile of bent over branches, and debris that resembled the shape of an igloo. These bones, now piled by me, were found on the ground where that once was. I told Woodchuck that we need to replace some of these natural structures that gave the wildlife safety, warmth, and rest. We can't just strip the land of all of these things, making it look cleaned up and pristine, like some sort of park, and expect these creatures to stay on our land where it is safe. It is one of the things that we disagree on.
And it was as if the land heard me and said, "Show this child what she is protecting, and that these things appreciate her."
**It took me weeks to finish this post, and I am hoping to get caught up on the new ones over the this weekend
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