Chrissy wanted some rocks to shore up the side of her garden. The local garden shops sell rocks and they cost a lot. On the other hand, they are just kind of lying around on the farm. So I brought some back, saving hundreds of dollars.
The farms are looking good. The picture that I am taking with the truck as comparison is getting harder to do as the trees grow bigger. I have to get farther back. Above is my recent picture, below is 2009. We are getting to canopy close, a phase transition. The farm seems smaller now. You can’t see long distances. On the other hand, you can now see into the forest as the lower branches are brush as dying back.
I have to say that it was an act of faith. I am not sure I ever believed the trees would really grow. The picture below is near the same place in 2007. Didn’t have a truck back then, so you can see the boys for comparison.
Besides picking up rocks, I didn’t do much work. I chopped out some brush to protect my bald cypress. This is kind of my pet tree. I figure it will be magnificent someday as long as I keep down to competition, mostly box elders. I have nothing against box elders in general. They remind me of Milwaukee. Lots of them grew near the railroad tracks where we used to play. But they are weedy and will overwhelm my cypress. I also pulled out some vines climbing my pines. We have Japanese honeysuckle. These are beautiful vines with nice smelling flowers, but they are invasive and can cover trees in short order if left alone. I know that my efforts are only a piss in the ocean, but it gives me an excuse to do something with my trees. I cut brush and pulled weeds for more than six hours. It was enough exercise to make me very sore the next day.