Clearing progress, brush is evil

[Highbeam]

I bought this 15 acres with the intent of clearing out an area to camp and maybe someday move out there. There is septic system installed and a well in place, even a few shacks.

I brought out a shipping container and dropped it in the only clearing. Then I picked up a bulldozer off of ebay. Clearing woods like this would cost about 2500$ per acre. I figured that with a bulldozer I could quietly poke around and discover/destroy any areas with drainage problems and then enlarge the clearing. The next step would be a perimeter road.

I have now decided that I need to build a home out there to enjoy the country life so the pace will be hurried.

Let's start with one of the first trips out there to do some cleaning for the container and some early camping. The kis even knows I need a brushhog. This job took a long time but I got it done.

 

[Highbeam]

#2 The front brush in piles. This burned well after setting out all summer.

 

[Highbeam]

#3 I spent time saving alder wood at first. That was short lived. Now it goes into the slash pile unless it's really big.

 

[Highbeam]

#4 Now heading back away from the frontage. The previous clearing done on the right of the photo, now heading left. Note the weather has changed and now the earth has turned to muck. Work is slower in the muck, sometimes more harm then good.

 

[Highbeam]

#5 I leave the stumps of cut trees tall to help me pull them out later. These trees were junk wood with rotten middles. This area was to be my burn area, photo right, so I wanted all tall foliage gone.

Note the road. Smoothes out like frosting. There are no rocks here, only clay.

 

[Highbeam]

#6 Zoomed back. Note the 36"x20' CMP culvert I brought out there. You'll see why later.

 

[Highbeam]

#7 Frontage to left, muddy area to right. THis is my parking/camping spot. The dozer is in the box.

 

[Highbeam]

#8 A manmade creek/ditch cuts off one corner of my property. It is good that I have a low spot to send water but the ditch is 6 feet wide and 8' deep in places with near vertical sides. I had no way to cross and neither did the deer until I mysteriously found this obviously existing crossing. There is a 36" CMP and a 24" CPEP pipe down there on the bottom. The ditch is nearly flat on the bottom so the flow depth doesn't reflect the flow rate real well. It dries up in the summer. Now I can make a road on the previously isolated 1 acre or so. The logger strongly encouraged me to find a crossing.

 

[Highbeam]

#9 This area is a new one. The ground is moist so I don't want to actually dig in it. What I do is set the blade about 3 inches above the ground and push all the debris. The blackberries, and woody brush seem to disappear. This area will grow back much sooner but in the name of exploring I was able to determine that there is no swamp here. Some of my work is just getting the place ready for a brush hog.

 

[Highbeam]

#10 Another view of the ditch crossing. No rocks.

 

[Highbeam]

#11 last one. This is the fire that refused to burn. It was pretty clean and stacked pretty tall. I used up 10 gallons of diesel before I gave up on it. The fire continued to smolder until the next day. Might still be smoldering. The piles will be taken care of by the logger who tells me that he will build the biggest fire I have ever seen and that the pile will consume stumps and slash as fast as he can put it on with the trackhoe.

Thanks

 

[HuckBB62]

WOW!!!! Hear me now...... I.... will...... never.......EVER..... complain about my brush problem again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guys like you and Eddie make me feel so small, I'm serious, I don't know how I'll manage to climb up into my truck! E-freakin'-GADS you guys are tough!!! I'm gonna go home and hug one of my oak trees, I'm serious, all that moisture looks to have made one amazing forest!

I'm trying to leave every single tree alive of any size that I can and just limb them up. I love and need the shade. As you noticed from our property pictures, our brush is a joke compared to what you have! You're property looks like when you let the sun in, it may start drying it up. Looks like a nice drainage system is in the works for anything you build eh?

Your place looks so wonderfully green and peaceful, and like it'd be an amazing place to live. I showed my wife your pics, she agrees. No wonder you have big cats, they have a place to hide! I've only seen tracks last year before we built but I still feel nervous when my neice gets too far away from us.

I really hope you decide to move to the country soon, I can't wait to see how the property goes.

I really liked Guerdon's cabin series. I called them and they can 1. Expand the length and width. 2. Modify the floorplan. 3. Build any of their floorplans to UBC. That cabin with the big prow front end and porch, stretched width ways and length ways was what we wanted. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a local vendor. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Keep posting pictures, they're amazing!!!

 

[cmhyland]

Man I love when those stream/ditch crossings
just suddenly make themselves visable.

If anyone asks tell them it appeared in the middle
of a crop circle!

Regards,
Chris

 

[Golfgar4]

Beautiful property you've got there Joe! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

What you've already done is amazing. I'll be looking forward to seeing your continued progress.

But how come there were no pictures of you and your dozer? Or if you were by yourself, just the dozer would have been good too!

 

[Henro]

<font color="blue">But how come there were no pictures of you and your dozer? Or if you were by yourself, just the dozer would have been good too! </font>

Yes, it sure is a shame when the hardest worker does not get his share of the credit!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Great progress and great fun too I'm sure...

Edit: I guess we already met your dozer...forgot that other thread was yours... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[Highbeam]

Thanks guys. Yes the dozer and family is in the other clearing post along with some other pictures. This site is great in that you can actually post the pictures here.

The sun and wind will dry out the ground some. It already has made a huge difference. The mud pictures were from January/February and I can now drive the pickup most places without leaving any ruts. A thought in the back of my mind is that the trees may actually be drinking up a lot of water and then letting it out through their leaves.

The woods are deep and dark. At night it is downright spooky in there.

I would be in some action photos but when I go out there to get some work done, the wife stays home so no photographer. She gets bored unless the camper is there or there is something to do. When the kiwis were ripe she pulled out several five gallon buckets while the little kid was on her back in one of those kid backpacks. They were both eating a lot of the kiwi and the kid made a pretty good mess out of mama's back at her mouth end. Same thing when the apples got ripe.

When I go out to work(play) I spend the whole day working. It's one of those deals where you don't get hungry, only thirsty. I know to start heading back to the container when the sun doesn't touch the tops of the trees.

Thanks for looking. I hope to cross that ditch tomorrow and explore that area.

 

[edski]

Nice pix, you've got some beautiful land.
I've been fighting russian olive and multiflora rose for years, and have torn up my MF 253 pretty good in this losing battle.
Smart move going w/ the dozer.