Sunday, October 11, 2015

Sunday Reading - Clear Space Around the Homestead





Another wood cutting day under my belt. I was hoping this would be the last trip I had to make way down that there but I couldn't get all the trunks cut. For some reason as I was cutting one of the last large trunks the old slab of wood dulled the chain on each of my three chain saws in nothing flat. I know there wasn't anything in it. I saw no wire or other stuff in the tree but it was like sawing through iron it was so hard.

I finally got it cut up but the chains were so dull and I was so close to full I just decided to call it a day. There's maybe half a load left and I think I can get it all with just the truck and no trailer next time after I sharpen all the chains this week. I had the sharpener in the truck but with the time it would have taken and as full as I was already I decided one more trip was the better option.

I also messed up my lower back loading one of the large chunks of Oak. Not enough to make me have to rest but enough that I am taking it easy the rest of today and waiting to see what tomorrow brings. I plan on pulling all the surplus supers off the bee hives tomorrow as long as the cursed wind doesn't blow too bad. I had planned on doing it the week before last but the wind stopped me then too. The last month has been just like the Summer of 2012 with an almost constant dry Southern wind blowing.

While I was down there the owner of the house was complaining about the vermin eating her garden. In fact several people have complained about high vermin damage this year and they always ask me how I keep the deer out of mine. I have always told them the outside dog keeps pretty much everything away but most who suffer vermin damage have dogs as well. So why I am out here cutting these trunks up and remembering some of the other places I been cutting trunks over the last few years something occurred to me.

It seems the people I know who complain the most about vermin damage all live in relatively new homes and in every case they have left as many trees near the house as they could and cut back the forest only a minimal distance at best. Yet every old farmstead I can think of that seems to never suffer from vermin damage has large open areas between the house and barns and the forest areas.

Just as a little exercise in observation I began really looking at all the older farms v. the newer ones and as a general rule all the older places were situated in very wide open areas. The one or two that weren't were obviously because some one had let them grow up within the last decade or so because what was growing there were not old growth stage trees.

I am sure there is a regional quality to this as I know from reading other blogs that some garden munching critters (like Moose and Elk) probably don't care about wide open spaces but around here I think it maybe an important aspect of Homesteading that has been forgotten. Perhaps at one time it was just common knowledge that you wanted a wide open band around the homestead with only a very few trees to keep the forest vermin as far back as possible. These days everyone seems bent on hiding their homes in the very trees that house the vermin they complain about.

Just a theory I had while musing over the situation. Other opinions may vary.

I know all the local growers that never seem to complain about large vermin losses are all on older farms with some wide open spaces for whatever that's worth.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!!!

10 comments:

  1. I know you will be glad to be done with that long distance wood project, I hate to drive very far as so much time and fuel is used.
    We don't have much trouble with deer since I built the palletsade. I like to have a good field of fire. Coons are my major garden pest but I got one of the new dog proof leg traps that they can't seem to resist so I put a dent in the population.

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    1. Sf - It seems the further away from home I go to cut the more the chances of something going inflate. Just never fails. Like today everything was going good an then bam all the chains go dull at once. That one trunk was like sawing through rock it seemed.

      he dogs here go ballistic every night it seems. I think the long open areas make the nocturnal visitors nervous when they hear the barking.

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  2. Is not a clear area around the house and structures a 'fire break' purpose? Everybody expects the fire department to arrive on time now...

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    1. Elizabeth - I imagine a fire break was also a reason the older homestead are always more cleared around like you say. Around here the FD is pretty quick and the wild fires never seem to get very big but back in the day I bet they were a real danger.

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    2. Fire break sounds good. Also hawks and owl hunting up the little critters we don't see. In the summer it would also promote a cool breeze. In the South you will get deciduous trees on the south side for shading.

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  3. I've been very poor on getting firewood ready this year as my time has been dedicated to house and shed projects as well as trying to earn enough to pay for them! But I've been lucky in the knowledge that my brother has said he'd sort me out if we run short (I've probably got 3/4 of what we need) as I've been doing lots of work at his. He's got five years worth stacked up from a big job last year. Got plenty to cut up here as well when I get the time!

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    1. Also as for the deer thing I didn't realise until I watched a programme not so long ago How important a homestead dog was to protect your fruit and veg, I just assumed that they were to protect stock.

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    2. Kev - I usually don't get to serious work on firewood until October around here. Truth is most of what I cut is in some pretty hard to get to areas until the vegetation dies out around it and the ground freezes. I have a long list of already dead standing trees to cut this Winter. One advantage of living in a heavily forested area is there is rarely a lack of standing dead trees around.

      The two strays we have that mostly live outside are really Godsends for keeping the vermin away from the place altogether. They bark and carry on all night sometimes but I know they are doing their job and it isn't so bad to keep me up at night. I have even gotten to the point that I know their barks now so when it hits a certain point it will alert me as well. I think it is because of them and the wide openness around the place that I get little vermin damage. The rabbits still sneak in unnoticed at night though.

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  4. Makes a certain sort of sense I suppose: the more exposed an animal feels, the less likely it is to want to make the journey to where the food is.

    Sorry to hear about your back. Do not overdo it - you will need it for later.

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  5. Happy thanksgiving all.

    Exile1981

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