An updated video property walk through...

Video Update

The First of Many "Big Burns"

This past Saturday my neighbor Matt and I headed up to Light Haven with the hopes of enjoying a big fire.  The property had at least a foot of snow, but the forecast for the day was a high of nearly 50 degrees.  PERFECT!  I had a branch pile of cut-offs that was the size of a house to burn.  In fact, the photo I'm posting is about half the size of the pile that we actually took to burning.  A few hours into the day, I texted my buddy Greg and asked him to join us.  These guys were a huge help.  Without them there would have been no way I'd have that entire pile reduced to ashes...I appreciate it!  We cooked some brats, had a few beverages and killed a bag of cool ranch doritos too!

Here's a few snaps of the day's activities.  It started at 9:30AM and we left after sun down around 7:30PM.  The ash / hot coals pile (no pics, sorry) was the size of what a usual fire would typically be.  When we finally got the thing blazing, it sounded like a jet aircraft engine and the center flame was a good 20' in the air!

By the way, I'm gearing up for the aquaponics system this spring.  Had a chance to toy around with making the holders in the PVC tower pipes for the 2" net pots.  The bottom slots are the last couple I attempted.  Wasn't difficult once I had the wooden spike shaped correctly and figured out how much heat and pressure to apply to get the cup shape I was after.  I'm excited to see the yield I can achieve from ten 5' tubes with 20 or so net pots in each pipe.  Jennifer and I are going to concentrate on fast turn crops such as Kale, multiple varieties of lettuce, cabbage, swiss chard, a multitude of herbs, and strawberries as well.   I can't decide which fish I'm going to get...just might start with goldfish until we get the hang of it.  

Happy New Year Subscribers!

     I had some time to burn today and the weather was in a cooperative mood, so why not cut down another couple rows of sunblock (aka trees).  The cleared area isn't so cleared in these photos, but I can only do so much...and I got much done in spite of how it looks!  Hopefully the next trip up will provide me with a couple helpers to collect the cut branches and to stack the log sections that are laying in segments everywhere.  Once they're stacked neatly and the huge burn pile has got more heaped on it...the cutting will be done in this area.  Next up will be clearing the second section of drive path back further into the woods and then nearly clearing an identical area for where we will place our residence.

Jennifer and I have been doing some brainstorming in regards to our farming options.  Here is our dilemma.  We don't like to pull weeds.  We don't like the thought of wild foragers (deer and others) feasting on any/everything we will eventually grow.  We are alarmed by the machinery investments costs necessary to work the soil if we went the way of tilling the ground.  We've got seasonal dampness and water issues that might cause growing issues with seedlings and roots damage.  So what do we stumble upon?  Aquaponics:  the merging of hydroponics and aquaculture.  In a nutshell, fish in a tank, water is pumped with nutrients from their poo, plants absorb the nutrients and in the process clear the water, water returns to the fish tanks.  In a very well maintain and managed system, the plant production in soil-less confined hoop houses is phenomenal compared to traditional gardening.  The plants either float in a bath of nutrient rich water (horizontal), are rooted in clay rocks (horizontal) or are planted vertically in a drip irrigation system and hung in rows while growing a net pot.  With the right species of fish, a well designed system can even grow the plants that will be fed to the fish!  We think we found the solution and a healthy one at that since aquaponics can be done certified organic!  More to come on this in future posts!  

Here's a video tour for you.

Check out the progress!

Sun up to Sun down...sore, but so worth it!

David and I started early this morning.  My hopes were that we would complete everything we ended up completing.  It was a good day.  The overgrowth and tall marsh grass has been cut down to ground level.  Many small trees and shrubby sucker trees were cut down in the process.  Our piles of scrub, sticks and cut logs are growing.  Not only in size, but in location and numbers.  When the day of the big fire occurs, there will be plenty of fuel to burn.  I lost count on the number of trees I cut down today to make the clearing what you'll view in the photographs. My cousin Dave showed up early afternoon with his Kingquad and tugged the felled trees into a big organized pile.  There's much to do, but today was a milestone in that, at the very least, we can "see" the edges of where the fence will be eventually constructed and the garden will be planted.  I'm hoping for 150X150, but if it works out that we expand a little...so be it!

My cousin Dave found a spot for his deer stand way in the back near the creek.  Didn't get photos of that because we put it together and stood it into position in the near dark.  My cellphone isn't a fan of low light conditions.

Here's the photos I was able to capture during the small window of time that the sun poked through the clouds.

Test Post: Round III

Let's see if this post looks a little more "custom" when its delivered to your inbox.  I've changed a couple things with the hopes that they would give it a bit more flare!  I'm continue to write here because I also changed the amount of text that is supposed to be delivered with the hopes that you will click on the title link and venture to the actual web to see the full content of what I've posted.  Let's see if this works.  Thanks for the patience!

D

More clearing and cutting....

We were able to spend a few hours at the property today.  You can see from the photos that we're starting to have better access to the clearing.  I tried to use the weed eater to take down some of the scrub and tall grass, but it was slow going with the line attachment head.  I'm going to switch over to the heavy brush cutting blade and hope that it cuts it down quicker.  I need to clear about 150 by 150 so that I can burn safely.