With the bridge complete, my efforts have turned to the repair of some of the forest roads (ie. skidder trails) that traverse our woods. Our property was severely cut about 12 years ago with little regard to much of anything except getting as much wood out as possible. Deep skidder ruts are frequent as harvesting took place on unfrozen ground. I have spent some time pruning the trees on the sides of these roads, making brush piles for the critters and leveling and grading the trails so they drain water. It's too cold for seed but come next spring, I will put conservation mix (basically grass seed and clover) down where there is now bare soil so that I can keep these roads mowed and looking nice. Saving this work for spring is not an option. The ground here freezes deep and in the spring, it takes a long time for the ground to thaw and to become dry enough to be workable. I have found that trying to work in the mud just makes more mud. So, my options are limited to dryer times which means typically summer and fall. Some of my trail are through naturally wet areas which narrows my work time even further.All of the birds have migrated save the chickadees who twitter about the branches and give me advice while I'm out working. I've seen lots of deer tracks on our land but hunting season started this past weekend and I have a suspicion that a few of our "neighbors" have walked right by the POSTED signs onto our land with their guns. I'm neither for nor against hunting but I do feel that animals should have pockets of land that are a safe haven against human predation. I'm also an advocate for property owners rights which includes the right to decide who can access your land. For me, it's all about respect. Unfortunately, this basic value seems to get displaced by a certain amount of senselessness which coincides with the arrival of deer season. 'Nuff said.
The roads (skidder trails) on our property were at least placed with some sensibility. My goal is to repair and maintain some of these roads which will allow tractor access to most of our property. On our 55 acres, we have a centrally located developed gravel road that runs pretty much up the middle of our rectangle-shaped plot. This road has stone wall bordered field on much of either side of it.
Out of the far corners of the fields, there are secondary roads and
it is these which I am repairing. There are breaks in the walls where skidders have broken through leaving scattered piles of rock. These walls are being rebuilt to create nicer looking breaks and the trails repaired and graded. These secondary roads will allow access for sensible timber harvesting for both the hardwood and softwood on our land (read: firewood and lumber).
One stretch of particularly wet road is getting a layer of corduroy (see previous blog). This is an ongoing experiment as I have no idea how long the poles I am setting as corduroy will last. The road continues to get filled with fir poles and topped with a layer of fine gravel. The "paving" of the road progresses as I get to clearing more of the fir trees from old field areas.Update: October has ended with an unusually warm spell and a bunch of rain. I've fixed two of the worst roads but still need to harvest more fir poles to finish about 25' of corduroy in my wettest area. I've spent my budget of gravel for the year and still need to top the newest 25' of corduroy. I may also need to purchase a culvert to complete drainage of this area. This will wait till next spring at least. I will be able to place the rest of the poles this winter as I'll be clearing more land once things get colder.
In anticipation of a snowy winter, I have also begun creating and opening up some trails for cross country skiing. These are low on the priority list but they are part of the grand scheme of things as well. I'm hoping for a nice window of opportunity, with cold weather and frozen ground, before the snow flies.
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