Tag: the farms

Took advantage of the beautiful last day of October to do some work on the farms. We will be burning soon in Freeman, weather depending. I wanted to get some of the slash away from the trees. There are not many affected, so I could actually make an impact.
I also walked the fire lines, not so much to check them but to look at the beautiful forest now made much more accessible. It is also easier to see the contrasts now that the grass has turned brown and the leaves on the deciduous plants have turned color.

Common species are yellow poplar, red maple & sweet gum, but some of the most interesting are the sumac. I think that the sumac will have a big future on the farms. They are already common and they seem almost fireproof. They burn to the ground but come up from the roots even more robust. I am not sure how much competition they are for my crop pines, but I like them anyway, especially in the fall when they turn scarlet.

I also went to the Brodnax place. DoF did a patch burn in May of this year and will do another this winter. This is part of my NRCS contract to provide wildlife habitat in open woods. We already have lots of wildlife.

Being on the farms is a long day for me. I have to drive three hours each way and in order to get the most out of the visits, I go early and come back late. At this time of the year, with shortening days, it is what my father used to call “from can’t see to can’t see”. Anyway, I was a little tired so I took a short nap on my folding chair, less than a half hour. I heard what sounded like someone walking around, but I figured it was only the wind in the trees or maybe a half-asleep dream, so I did not look up. When I got up, I saw fresh deer tracks in the mud near my chair. The deer had come within about three meters. The hunters are going to have an easy time this year, since the local deer seem not to avoid humans. No worries about that, but there are also bears in the woods. I think I would have been more alarmed to see fresh bear tracks.

First three pictures are Freeman; last two are Brodnax. I think both looked especially beautiful today.

Notice trees are widely spaced. This is part of our plan to use the principles of southern pine diverse ecology. The wide spacing lets a lot of sunlight get to the surface. We also have patches of open ground. My research into southern forests indicates that this sort of mosaic pattern was common type in pre-settlement Virginia.

Freeman pictures

Brodnax pictures

The Longleaf Cooperators is an informal group of people and organizations interested in restoring the longleaf pine ecology to Virginia. I went down to the Garland Gray Virginia nursery. More on that below.

I stopped at the Freeman place on the way down and enjoyed a beautiful time in the morning quiet dews and damps. We thinned the 22-year-old loblolly pines to 50 basal area and made quarter acre clearing in each acre. The DoF will burn under the trees and in the clearings and we will plant longleaf pine in December. By “we” I mean the kids and me, i.e. Mariza, Espen, Alex, Brendan and Chrissy.

It will not be very scientific. I have the planting sticks and the longleaf come in plugs. They are planted something like 10×10. You take four steps, push in the tool. Plant in the pine and push the dirt in with your foot. It is hard work, but rewarding.

It is great that they are willing to help, and I think it will be a wonderful experience that will continue to pay aesthetic and emotional dividends for lifetimes. Thank you.

I spent some time walking in the clearings, enjoying the immersion in nature and looking at the fire lines that Adam Smith at DoF has put in. I just love what we are creating, and it is a wonderful feeling just being in these woods. I will not see the completion of this project. As a matter of fact, nobody will see the completion because it is never done. That is a big part of the wonder. We can be part of the never ending change.

I have no artistic talent. (I tried to study “saxette” in 6th grade. Teacher told me that I was talent free and not to come back.) I cannot play music or paint pictures. This is my creative outlet. What I like about it is that I do not do it by myself, but rather can immerse myself in the greater whole of nature and human community. This is why I want the kids to be part. It is their share and years from now they can look at what they helped create and marvel.
The plan with this tract is to thin, as we did, burn as we will, and plant longleaf. It will create a kind of uneven aged forest, the type you might have found here in 1607. It will be not merely sustainable but regenerative. And this is more broadly what they longleaf cooperators are working to do. The longleaf ecology is the most diverse in non-tropical North America. There are a great variety of plants and animals in longleaf pine ecology and 920 documented species that live ONLY in longleaf ecology.

Notice that I usually do not call it a longleaf forest but use the clumsier term “longleaf ecology.” This is because a longleaf forest is more than the trees. The marvel of the longleaf ecology is that it is as much a grass and forbs system as a forest. Fire keeps the forest open, so that sunlight gets to the surface where a great variety of plants can grow, and animals can thrive.

In 1607, it is estimated 93 million acres of longleaf ecology thrived in southeastern America. Today there are only around 3 million acres and a few years ago there were only 200 in Virginia – NOT 200 acres. We are talking 200 trees. That was it. We are coming back now.

On our Freeman place, we are working to reestablish this WHOLE ecology. We are planting “pollinator habitat” with warm season grasses and wildflowers. I think it is already beautiful, as you seen in the pictures, but it will get better.

Forest Stewardship Plan for
John Matel and Christine Johnson, Brodnax Tract
Introduction
This Forest Stewardship Management Plan covers the examination of approximately 135 acres of forestland in Brunswick Country, near Brodnax, Virginia. The tract map is included.
The tract is mostly flat. It includes approximately 117 acres of pine plantation, 18 acres of steam management zones.  The land was likely cleared for agriculture at one time, but has been forest for at least 70 years, as evidenced by old loblolly pines planted in rows that remain in some of the SMZs.
Overall wildlife habitat and forest health are being maintained and improved by thinning, burning and planting feed and pollinator habitat in patches in the woods and along the powerlines, and maintaining soft edges.
No endangered species of plants or animals were noted on the tract.
Forest Stewardship Management Plan
Landowners: John Matel & Christine Johnson
Forested acres: 135
Total acres: 135
Location: Brodnax, Virginia
Prepared by: John Matel
This Forest Stewardship Management Plan was designed to help guide the management activities of the natural resources on the property for the next ten years. The plan is based on our goals in harmony with the environment around you. Project recommendations are for your consideration.
The Goals for Managing the Property:

1. Innovations in forest management to restore longleaf ecosystem
2. Soil and Water Conservation.
3. Improvement of wildlife habitat.
4. Experiment with patch burning

 
 
DESCRIPTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS OF PARCELS:
Tract 1
Acres: 20
Forest Type: Longleaf pine
Species Present: Loblolly & longleaf pine, ailanthus, American sycamore, sweet gum, yellow poplar, eastern red cedar, hackberry, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, mockernut hickory, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, green ash, mulberry, sassafras, black cherry, persimmon, holly, black locust, blackgum, and red maple.
Age: Longleaf pine planted 2016.  Volunteers of other species same time.
Size: Planted 2016. Currently small
Quality: good.  IMO a little thin with longleaf.
Trees/acre: Thinly stocked for our management objectives, but enough, since we want to allow growth of grass and forbs.
Growth Rate: excellent.
Recommendations:
The vegetative nature of this parcel provides benefits to wildlife due to the diversity of ground covers and understories.  We plan to

• Do understory burns every 2-4 years. This will over time make the stand more exclusively longleaf

• Create field borders on this parcel
• Maintain and enhance diverse and native ground covers

Tract 2
Acres: 30
Forest Type: Loblolly pine planted 2016
Species Present: Longleaf & loblolly pine, sumac, some oak, ailanthus, American sycamore, sweet gum, yellow poplar, eastern red cedar, hackberry, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, mockernut hickory, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, green ash, mulberry, sassafras, black cherry, persimmon, holly, black locust, blackgum, and red maple.
Age: Planted in 2016
Size:  Tallest around 8 feet high in 2018
Quality: Excellent
Trees/acre: Adequately stocked.  Trees are widely spaced on purpose to allow wildlife and understory growth
Growth Rate: Excellent
Recommendations:
Parcel will be burned o/a 2021, a cool season fire to clear hardwood and thin volunteer loblolly.   Density will be maintained low enough to allow growth of forbs and grass for wildlife habitat.
Tract 3 a, b & c
Acres: 45
Forest Type: Loblolly & longleaf pine.
Species Present: Loblolly and longleaf pine, ailanthus, American sycamore, sweet gum, yellow poplar, eastern red cedar, hackberry, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, mockernut hickory, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, green ash, mulberry, sassafras, black cherry, persimmon, holly, black locust, blackgum, and red maple.
Age: Loblolly planted 1992. Longleaf pine planted 2018/19
Size: chip and saw to sawtimber, loblolly; longleaf are seedlings
Quality:  excellent
Trees/acre: Adequately stocked, although purposely thinner than standard management due to our desire to maintain wildlife habitat.
Growth Rate: Excellent
Recommendations:
Tract a, b & c will be burned in alternatively to create and maintain wildlife habitat and maintain a fire regime more like pre-settlement patterns in Virginia. This tract also includes pollinator habitat planted in 2018 along the edges.  We hope and expect this to seed into the sunny forest.
Tract 4 a, b & c
Acres: 24
Forest Type: Loblolly pine.
Species Present: Loblolly and longleaf pine, ailanthus, American sycamore, sweet gum, yellow poplar, eastern red cedar, hackberry, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, mockernut hickory, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, green ash, mulberry, sassafras, black cherry, persimmon, holly, black locust, blackgum, and red maple.
Age: Loblolly planted 2007
Size: mostly pulp; some chip and saw
Quality:  excellent
Trees/acre: Adequately stocked, maybe even a bit too tight.  Shade does not allow much to grow on the ground under the trees.
Growth Rate: Excellent
Recommendations:
Tract a, & c will be burned in alternatively to thin in lieu of pre-commercial thinning.  Track 4b will be left unburned as a control plot
 
 
PARCEL SMZ
Acres: 18
Forest Type: Mixed hardwoods and pine.
Species Present: Loblolly pine, ailanthus, American beech, American sycamore, sweet gum, yellow poplar, eastern red cedar, hackberry, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, mockernut hickory, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, green ash, mulberry, sassafras, black cherry, persimmon, holly, black locust, blackgum, and red maple.
Age: 40 to 80 years
Size: Various sizes including significant saw timber.  (10 to 18 inches in diameter)
Quality: Good to excellent
Trees/acre: Adequately stocked
Growth Rate: Good to excellent
Recommendations:
This parcel is in place to protect water quality and to provide wildlife corridors.  We will periodically examine the SMZs for invasive species and treat as appropriate.  Beyond that, this area will be generally left to natural processes, with interventions only in the case of some sort of disaster, such as fire or particularly violent storms.
Wildlife Recommendations
Field Borders
Field borders are established along woodland edges and major drainages. Field borders create vegetative transition zones between cover types. Such zones are much more attractive to wildlife than the abrupt change that often occurs, for example, between field and forest.
 
 
Daylighting consists of cutting most,  not all, trees in a specified area to encourage and accelerate the growing and non-shade tolerant plants. Existing shrubs, vines and herbaceous (non-woody) plants should be left undisturbed to the extent possible. Woodland edges should be daylighted to a depth of 40 feet, recognizing that remaining trees will quickly reach out to shade the opening. Field borders established by daylighting have the advantage of taking no acreage from existing open land.
Where the loss of open land is not a major concern, a natural border can also be created by allowing woody plants to invade and encroach into existing open edges. “Encroachment” borders, like those daylighted, should be wide, at least 30 feet. Where grass is well established, this should be destroyed by plowing or by the use of a herbicide. This will speed up the invasion of the more desirable “border plants.” The establishment of field borders using this practice requires the least expense and labor.
If natural borders seem undesirable (perhaps from an aesthetic standpoint); the planting of shrubs is an option frequently used. Additionally, with the use of these, the results are more reliable, and, in the long run, maintenance will be less (natural borders will be invaded with trees that should be cut back periodically). The transition from field to tree line should be gradual in height. Here, shrub plantings also have an advantage. By proper selection and arrangement of shrub varieties, the border can be a stair step from field to treetop. Taller growing shrubs, such as Mountain Ash should be placed next to the woods. Lower growing varieties, such as the shrub dogwoods or bi-color (VA-70) lespedeza should be placed against the taller varieties. The total depth of a shrub border should be at least 20 feet.
The final touch to any border is the establishment of a herbaceous strip along the open side. These may not be necessary, if the border joins an annually tilled or recently fallowed field. If not, a strip 10 to 20 feet wide parallel to and adjoining the border should be plowed or disked. This can remain fallow for up to two or three years, allowing annual native plants to grow back many of which provide excellent wildlife food and cover. Or, if desired, these strips can be seeded using one of the warm-season grasses, white clover, Korean or Kobe lespedeza, or one of the locally well suited agricultural grains.
Borders need not completely rim every field or fringe every wood line. Yet, they should be employed to the greatest extent possible. Good field borders provide food, cover, and security. Perhaps equally important, they provide a most favorable “edge,” a critical component in the habitat chosen by most wildlife.
Open Fields
Probably the best practice to enhance open fields for wildlife is the establishment of field borders. These have been described.
Thinning
Tract 3
This area was thinned in 2017 to 50 BA. Thinning will increase their ecological value to wildlife. Thinning allows sunlight to reach the forest floor which stimulates the growth of forbs, legumes, and other herbaceous material. Tree tops left on the forest floor provide temporary cover and nesting places. Thinning can also increase mast production of healthy oaks and hickories.
Snags
All
Snags, dead or deteriorating trees, are an important habitat component in forests for wildlife. The availability of snags on forest lands affects the abundance, diversity and species richness of cavity nesting birds and mammals. Two to four snags per acre should be maintained in the forest. Such trees provide forage, cover, perches, and nesting sites for wildlife species such as raccoons, bats, flying squirrels, snakes, owls, woodpeckers, bluebirds (near open areas), and wrens, to name but a few. When snags are lacking in a forest, they can be created by girdling trees of poor quality or health.
A prescribed fire in 2018 left a couple dozen trees dead.  They will be left as snags.
Forest Openings
 
This area benefits from the development of forest openings to encourage the development of low growing plants. There are opening on all tracts
Prescribed Burning
Periodic burning is a tool used. Please see above.
Logging Roads
Soil erosion can be prevented through the careful location and maintenance of logging roads. Dominion Power maintains an access road along the power lines.  This is the only regular road on the land.
Broad base dips and drainage ditches should be placed 20 feet apart on steep slopes and 50 feet apart on medium slopes. Loading areas should be seeded in game food after harvest. When logging is complete, ruts and gullies should be filled and the road should be out-sloped slightly. Closing of roads to unauthorized traffic will prevent damage to newly sown grass or wildlife food. More information is available in the enclosed brochure.
Skid trails, haul roads, and log decks should be seeded with a mix of orchard grass and ladino clover.
Prepared by: _John Matel____________________________
Suggested Schedule of Management Activities

This schedule may need to be adjusted depending on financial needs, timber markets, timing of actual harvest, and availability of contractors.

Forest Stewardship Plan for
John Matel and Christine Johnson, Freeman Tract
Introduction
This Forest Stewardship Management Plan covers the examination of approximately 103 acres of forestland in Brunswick Country, near Freeman. The tract map is included.
The tract is mostly flat. It includes approximately 65 acres of pine plantation, 25 acres of steam management zones dividing the property roughly in thirds. A power line right of way goes down the middle of the property and covers around 8 acres.  The land was likely cleared for agriculture at one time, but has been forest for at least 70 years, as evidenced by old loblolly pines planted in rows that remain in some of the SMZs.
Overall wildlife habitat and forest health are being maintained and improved by thinning, burning and planting feed and pollinator habitat in patches in the woods and along the powerlines, and maintaining soft edges.

No endangered species of plants or animals were noted on the tract.

Forest Stewardship Management Plan
Landowners: John Matel & Christine Johnson
Forested acres: 95
Total acres: 103
Location: Freeman Virginia
Prepared by: John Matel
This Forest Stewardship Management Plan was designed to help guide the management activities of the natural resources on the property for the next ten years. The plan is based on our goals in harmony with the environment around you. Project recommendations are for your consideration.
The Goals for Managing the Property:

1. Innovations in forest management to restore longleaf ecosystem
2. Soil and Water Conservation.
3. Improvement of wildlife habitat.

 
DESCRIPTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS OF PARCELS:
PARCEL Z
Acres: 58.1
Forest Type: loblolly and longleaf pine
Species Present: Loblolly & longleaf pine, ailanthus, American sycamore, sweet gum, yellow poplar, eastern red cedar, hackberry, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, mockernut hickory, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, green ash, mulberry, sassafras, black cherry, persimmon, holly, black locust, blackgum, and red maple.
Age: loblolly planted in 1996. Longleaf interplanted 2018/19
Size: loblolly are chip and saw and some saw timber
Quality: excellent
Trees/acre: Adequately stocked for our management objectives, i.e. thinned to 50 BA to allow greater wildlife habitat including grasses and forbs.
Growth Rate: excellent.
Recommendations:
The vegetative nature of this parcel provides benefits to wildlife due to the diversity of ground covers and understories.  We plan to

• Do understory burns every 2-4 years

• Create field borders on this parcel
• Maintain and enhance diverse and native ground covers

PARCEL Z1
Acres: 4
Forest Type: longleaf pine planted in 2012
Species Present: Longleaf & loblolly pine, sumac, some oak and bald cypress
Age: Planted in 2012
Size:  Tallest around 15 feet high in 2018
Quality: Excellent
Trees/acre: Adequately stocked.  Trees are widely spaced on purpose to allow wildlife and understory growth
Growth Rate: Excellent
Recommendations:
Parcel will be burned every 2-4 years in order to maintain longleaf pine and early successional habitat under them.
PARCEL Z 2
Acres: 7
Forest Type: Loblolly & longleaf pine.
Species Present: Loblolly and longleaf pine, some bald cypress
Age: Loblolly planted 1996. Longleaf pine planted 2018/19
Size: chip and saw to sawtimber, loblolly; longleaf are seedlings
Quality:  excellent
Trees/acre: Adequately stocked
Growth Rate: Excellent
Recommendations:
Half of the parcel was clearcut in 2018 and rest heavily thinned.  The clearcut will be planted with longleaf pine 10×10 of a little tighter and interplanted with loblolly on the rest.
PARCEL SMZ
Acres: 25
Forest Type: Mixed hardwoods and pine.
Species Present: Loblolly pine, ailanthus, American beech, American sycamore, sweet gum, yellow poplar, eastern red cedar, hackberry, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, mockernut hickory, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, green ash, mulberry, sassafras, black cherry, persimmon, holly, black locust, blackgum, and red maple.
Age: 40 to 80 years
Size: Various sizes including significant saw timber.  (10 to 18 inches in diameter)
Quality: Good to excellent
Trees/acre: Adequately stocked
Growth Rate: Good to excellent
Recommendations:
This parcel is in place to protect water quality and to provide wildlife corridors.  We will periodically examine the SMZs for invasive species and treat as appropriate.  Beyond that, this area will be generally left to natural processes, with interventions only in the case of some sort of disaster, such as fire or particularly violent storms.
Non-Forest Border
About 8 acres of the property is under power lines.  This is managed as a long border area.  It is planted with native grasses and forbs and will be managed to maintain early succession habitat by the use of fire and mowing.
 
Wildlife Recommendations
Field Borders
Field borders are established along woodland edges and major drainages. Field borders create vegetative transition zones between cover types. Such zones are much more attractive to wildlife than the abrupt change that often occurs, for example, between field and forest. 
 
Daylighting consists of cutting most, of not all, trees in a specified area to encourage and accelerate the growing and non-shade tolerant plants. Existing shrubs, vines and herbaceous (non-woody) plants should be left undisturbed to the extent possible. Woodland edges should be daylighted to a depth of 40 feet, recognizing that remaining trees will quickly reach out to shade the opening. Field borders established by daylighting have the advantage of taking no acreage from existing open land.
Where the loss of open land is not a major concern, a natural border can also be created by allowing woody plants to invade and encroach into existing open edges. “Encroachment” borders, like those daylighted, should be wide, at least 30 feet. Where grass is well established, this should be destroyed by plowing or by the use of a herbicide. This will speed up the invasion of the more desirable “border plants.” The establishment of field borders using this practice requires the least expense and labor.

If natural borders seem undesirable (perhaps from an aesthetic standpoint); the planting of shrubs is an option frequently used. Additionally, with the use of these, the results are more reliable and, in the long run, maintenance will be less (natural borders will be invaded with trees that should be cut back periodically). The transition from field to tree line should be gradual in height. Here, shrub plantings also have an advantage. By proper selection and arrangement of shrub varieties, the border can be a stair step from field to treetop. Taller growing shrubs, such as Mountain Ash should be placed next to the woods. Lower growing varieties, such as the shrub dogwoods or bi-color (VA-70) lespedeza should be placed against the taller varieties. The total depth of a shrub border should be at least 20 feet.
The final touch to any border is the establishment of a herbaceous strip along the open side. These may not be necessary, if the border joins an annually tilled or recently fallowed field. If not, a strip 10 to 20 feet wide parallel to and adjoining the border should be plowed or disked. This can remain fallow for up to two or three years, allowing annual native plants to grow back many of which provide excellent wildlife food and cover. Or, if desired, these strips can be seeded using one of the warm-season grasses, white clover, Korean or Kobe lespedeza, or one of the locally well suited agricultural grains.
Borders need not completely rim every field or fringe every wood line. Yet, they should be employed to the greatest extent possible. Good field borders provide food, cover, and security. Perhaps equally important, they provide a most favorable “edge,” a critical component in the habitat chosen by most wildlife.
Open Fields
Probably the best practice to enhance open fields for wildlife is the establishment of field borders. These have been described.
Thinning
Parcel Z
This area was thinned in 2018 to 50 BA, with clearings of approximately ¼ acre in each acre. Thinning will increase their ecological value to wildlife. Thinning allows sunlight to reach the forest floor which stimulates the growth of forbs, legumes, and other herbaceous material. Tree tops left on the forest floor provide temporary cover and nesting places. Thinning can also increase mast production of healthy oaks and hickories.
Snags
All Parcels except the grassland:
Snags, dead or deteriorating trees, are an important habitat component in forests for wildlife. The availability of snags on forest lands affects the abundance, diversity and species richness of cavity nesting birds and mammals. Two to four snags per acre should be maintained in the forest. Such trees provide forage, cover, perches, and nesting sites for wildlife species such as raccoons, bats, flying squirrels, snakes, owls, woodpeckers, bluebirds (near open areas), and wrens, to name but a few. When snags are lacking in a forest, they can be created by girdling trees of poor quality or health.
Forest Openings
Parcels Z
This area benefits from the development of forest openings to encourage the development of low growing plants. Approximately twenty ¼ acre openings were created by cutting all the trees in these areas. The area will be planted with longleaf pine and burned every 2-4 years to maintain the longleaf and maintain early successional habitat under them.
Power Line Right-Of-Way
The power line right of way is planted with native grasses and forbs and maintained in early successional habitat by fire and mowing.
Prescribed Burning
Periodic burning is a tool used. Please see above.
Logging Roads
Soil erosion can be prevented through the careful location and maintenance of logging roads. Dominion Power maintains an access road along the power lines.  This is the only regular road on the land.
Broad base dips and drainage ditches should be placed 20 feet apart on steep slopes and 50 feet apart on medium slopes. Loading areas should be seeded in game food after harvest. When logging is complete, ruts and gullies should be filled and the road should be out-sloped slightly. Closing of roads to unauthorized traffic will prevent damage to newly sown grass or wildlife food. More information is available in the enclosed brochure.
Skid trails, haul roads, and log decks should be seeded with a mix of orchard grass and ladino clover.
Prepared by: _John Matel____________________________
Suggested Schedule of Management Activities

This schedule may need to be adjusted depending on financial needs, timber markets, timing of actual harvest, and availability of contractors.

Fire & Water
Some of my forest is flooded. I have never seen the water this high. Of course it is worse in North Carolina, but our farms are less than 20 miles from North Carolina.

I did not see much storm damage. That flood won’t hurt the trees. I was a little worried that the rushing water would undercut some of the riparian areas, but that seems not ot have happened.Parts of my road are a little rutted, but that comes and goes.

A little less happy news from the area we burned in May. The fire got a little too hot in patches. I was worried that some of the trees were killed and it looks like about a dozen of them won’t be coming back.

Fire is complex. You can estimate its behavior, but it can always surprise you. I suppose I will under plant the dead trees with longleaf in December. The other option is to let the loblolly fill in by themselves. Probably both will happen. I feel bad about my trees, but it is part of the way the pine ecology works.

The thinned pines in Freeman are looking good. The open forest is more like the “original” Virginia and it is very good for wildlife. I saw deer and spooked two covey of bobwhite quail, at least a dozen quail. Hawks and buzzards are flying around. Bees are buzzing, butterflies floating. The cut over has bloomed with wild flowers.

Longleaf are looking good. They are candling out for the last time of this year.
Some of the paths are drowning in bog. My boots got soaked and I finally just stopped trying to avoid the water. I should have brought some extra socks. Pictures show the pollinator habitat. I included one of the power-line right-of-way. We have eight acres under those lines and it could seem like a waste, but I kinda like them. It is essentially a long narrow strip of permanent pasture. You can see that it is full of grass and forbs, and the power company helps maintain the access road. The last picture is a clear cut in the foreground. This was – believe it or not – clear cut in May, i.e. only three months ago. See how fast it comes back. We will plant longleaf this winter.

It did not rain all day, so my trip to the farms and the landowner dinner went well.
We got around forty people for the landowner dinner, a good turnout. Mike Santucci gave a much shortened version of his Generation NEXT program, tips on how to pass your forest land intact to the next generation. About 2/3 of Virginia is forest covered and that percentage has not changed very much in recent decades. But ownership is fragmenting. As forest units become smaller, they become less economically and ecologically viable. Generation NEXT does not tell you what to do, but it gives you tools to decide.

Sarah Kammer and Jen Gagnon gave presentations on why and how to be a certified tree farmer. This was more to thank existing tree farmers, who made up a majority of attendees, but also to get them to talk to friends about the program. We current have a little more than 1000 certified tree farmers in Virginia. There is a lot of room for growth. I have written about the value of sustainability on many occasions. Suffice it to say that sustainable forestry is a wonderful goal and tree farm can help sustain sustainability.

Adam Smith and Ed Zimmer from DoF recognized a Brunswick County Century Forest. A Century Forest, as the name implies, has been in the family for 100+ years and has been at least partly forest all that time. This one has been in the family of the recipient for 147 years (if I correctly recall). People like the recognition. It many ways it is an adjunct to genealogy. If everything goes according to plan, our Freeman place can be a Century Forest in only 90 years.

The governor and the Virginia state forester sign the Century Forest award. Mike Santucci jokes that having a Century Forest is big incentive to keep the forest intact. Who wants to be the one to drop the baton in the generational relay.

After the great pulled pork dinner provided by the Reedy Creek Hunt Club, I gave a short tour of our Freeman tree farm. I explained the recent thinning and talked about our plans to restore longleaf and the diverse ecosystem that goes with it.

Bobwhite quail were voicing their distinct call during the talk and on the walk there and back. I could not have planned for a better soundtrack. Bobwhite are one of the iconic birds of the longleaf pine ecosystem. They used to be common in Virginia but now are much less so. Their proliferation on our land helps me think that we are on the right track.
My first picture shows Adam Smith & Ed Zimmer with the Century Forest award. You can also see the really nice place that the Reedy Creek Hunt Club has. Kudos to Mike Raney & Scott Powell.

The other pictures are from the same day but not the same place. They are SMZ on our Diamond Grove place. With all the rain, I thought the creeks would be rising, but they were not. In fact, parts of ephemeral streams were empty. This is a big change in the last decade. When we got the place in 2005, the streams were never empty, even in dry times. I think it is because the trees around had been harvested. Rainwater ran off into the streams. As the forest cover came back, the needles intercepted some of the rain and when it dripped it dripped down slower. The ground is also now covered in leaves and needles that absorb & soften the raindrops. And then the tree roots grab onto the water as is sinks in. This is all to the good. The creek in the pictures is interesting because it always flows but not always above ground. There is a big rock, as you can see in one of the pictures, that evidently goes fairly far down. The water follows the creek sometimes over and always under the sand, When it hits the rock, it comes out as a “spring. Never have I seen the creek on the rock go dry.

I am very fond of this SMZ. I especially love those big beech trees.

It has been raining for days. It is raining now and it is supposed to be raining this afternoon. Still, I am going down to the farms today. We have a landowner dinner on the Freeman place. I am suppose to talk about the plans on the farm and lead a field tour. If it is raining like it has been, it will not be pleasant.

In any other case,  the rain would keep me at home. There is little joy in working on the farms in heavy rain and there are real hazards of getting stuck in the mud. The one advantage I can think of is that I can observe the watercourses. I can see the evidence of high water, but I have never actually seen the flow. I really love to watch the living water. Of course, I need to be careful not to get too close.

My streams are so familiar that I have come to think of them in almost anthropomorphic terms, as friends, but the evidence of high water flows indicates that they could be very dangerous. As much as I love my landscape, I do not want to become part of it.

I have one “stupid water story”. I have probably enhance it in my memory, but what I remember is that I wanted to cross Genito Creek and figured that I could balance on a fallen long to make the crossing. I was mistaken. I fell into the stream and the current pushed me under the log. I got out of it quickly and w/o incident, although my memory is trying hard to make it a more dramatic escape. I did ruin my phone and was uncomfortably soaked walking back to the car. It did make me think about worst case scenarios, however.
As I said, I have become very comfortable with my landscape. When I first got the place, I used to be circumspect and careful. That was probably a good idea. Hanging around in the woods and using sharp tools to pull down heavy trees and rocks is not as safe as writing about it on the computer.

Of course, if you have to go anyway, I suppose it is good to go out in a way that creates an interesting story.