Reclaiming a long-lost field

[AchingBack]

The clearing resembles a chewed upon oak leaf. Very artistic. What are you going to create next?

 

[dave1949]

The clearing resembles a chewed upon oak leaf. Very artistic. What are you going to create next?

:laughing: I would have preferred a more regular shape.

When I flagged out the tree clearing I followed the old stone walls and terrain of usable ground for the most part. Along the right side, in the image pic, there are areas that could be expanded into. The blackish area at the top of the pic is a beaver bog and the land falls away down to that area. On the left side is a natural drainage trough with steep sides and boggy ground at the bottom.

An old neighbor, who passed away two winters back, told me he made hay here as a teenager. He later became a very successful early adopter of the "grass farmer" concept. There used to be a good bit of agriculture in this area. Apple orchards, sheep, cattle, etc. That dwindled quickly in the early 1900's when the railroads and the Erie Canal made shipping farm products from the Ohio River Valley and further west feasible.

 

[EddieWalker]

Interesting project. I'm enjoying the pics and following our progress.

Eddie

 

[square1]

An old neighbor...told me he made hay here as a teenager.

I don't think he meant what you think he meant

 

[dave1949]

I don't think he meant what you think he meant

His widow is still here, I could ask. :laughing:


Here are pics of the slope that will likely become a stump repository.



The rock wall along the right side is typical of this area. It probably dates back to 1870-1900. Would have been a tough life. There are 2-3 miles of such walls on our lot. Most have been run over by log skidders over the years.

 

[forgeblast]

Some permiculture sites will put trees/branches etc down and then cover with soil and then plant on top of it. There is also a garden form called a stumpery ( i saw it on victory garden), they plant a lot of shade plants and use moss all over them. Its really something.

 

[dave1949]

Some permiculture sites will put trees/branches etc down and then cover with soil and then plant on top of it. There is also a garden form called a stumpery ( i saw it on victory garden), they plant a lot of shade plants and use moss all over them. Its really something.

Thanks for the suggestion. I suppose it would be an interesting project to make a stump garden trail in the woods. I think I have enough on my plate for now. My stumps don't have more than 6-8 inches of log stem since they were cut for chips as close to the ground as possible. That sort of detracts from their look in a garden.

I bet the weasels would love a pile of stumps. I saw a fisher cross near the edge of the clearing yesterday. I hope it has been cleaning out a few porcupines.

 

[oosik]

The adjoining acreage has massive(8' wide x 4'high) dry stone rock walls. The rancher has indicated that the original homesteader & his four sons cleared some 240 acres and built those stone walls. This would have been done in the 1880's with a rock sled and team of horses. I occasionally obtain large rock off these walls for use on my property and each time I see these walls - they go on for miles - my back aches. However, I must admit - there are some very nice fields and pastures on his property.

 

[dave1949]

The adjoining acreage has massive(8' wide x 4'high) dry stone rock walls. The rancher has indicated that the original homesteader & his four sons cleared some 240 acres and built those stone walls. This would have been done in the 1880's with a rock sled and team of horses. I occasionally obtain large rock off these walls for use on my property and each time I see these walls - they go on for miles - my back aches. However, I must admit - there are some very nice fields and pastures on his property.

Ditto on the back ache. Same here with rock sleds and horses, or often they used oxen. They still have oxen pulls (like horse pulls) at the local county fair.

People put a lot of sweat into the land here from the mid-1800's through about 1920 or so, then it was mostly abandoned and went back to woodlands. There are only about half as many people here now compared to the peak when there were many small farms and wood turning/lumber mill operations. I don't think it was a hard choice to leave for greener and warmer pastures with a longer growing season, more fertile soils, and less rocks.

The nearest cluster of homes here is West Mills which grew up around a place in the stream that could be dammed for a mill pond. That allowed saw and grist mills to operate. It was a thriving little community with a school and a few stores. All gone now except for the dam. Just a crossroads with old houses and mobile homes these days. There is a house built in 1812 for sale on the corner there. Been for sale for 2-3 years now. That pretty much typifies the current state of rural northern New England.

I'm in wait mode now on the field. The excavator will show up in the next couple weeks I think. He had a few jobs to get done before he comes here.

 

[scott_vt]

I'm in wait mode now on the field. The excavator will show up in the next couple weeks I think. He had a few jobs to get done before he comes here.

Good Evenin Dave,
Boy I thought we had rocks ! :laughing:

Huge undertaking, now you can realize how much work land clearing was years ago, talk about labor intensive...

Any idea how long it will take to turn that into a quality hay field ?

As I said in an earlier post, will be following your progress !