A Yard Solution?

Some people have their ah-ha moments while in the shower. Mine happen when cleaning horse stalls or mowing.

The longer I'm doing one of those tasks, the better, or more outrageous those ideas become.

Our house is surrounded by pastures and fields of hay, soybeans and corn. Because we don't like stepping outside and into a corn field, it has a large yard.

Over the years, we've planted trees, which provide windbreaks and shade. They also lengthen the mowing time.

Last fall, while mowing and battling pine needles and cobwebs, I had one of those ah-ha moments.

What if we turn the sheep into that section of the yard?

The electric fencing netting arrived this week.

Time will tell if it is a brilliant idea or a big fail.

The Fall Tree Walk

It is mid-September and time to identify and mark the standing dead trees in the woods. This fall we are cutting and splitting wood to burn in the winter of 2016-17.

Identifying standing dead is easiest when leaves are on the trees, so I schedule this task when the weather cools enough to settle the mosquitoes somewhat.

For the tree identification walk, I prepare to spend a lot of time looking up, looking for trees without any leaves and trees that have shed their tiniest branches.

Of course, I must also watch where I'm walking. For this is the time of year for spiderwebs. Floating leaves are everywhere in the woods--and I know they aren't magical, they're signs of spiderwebs.

It's also the time of year when burrs are best at grabbing clothing and hanging on.

I soon discover that I don't have to spend my walk looking upward. For the emerald ash borer has hit our woods. Many ash trees are dead; many will be dead by next year. I only have to look for the borer's holes in the trunk.

As I walk, I find dozens of dead trees with little effort. But I take no joy in this. I am left to wonder how the woods will change, how it will adapt in the coming years.

The Mowing Surprise

I don't understand what goes on under my feet.

In the fall of 2011, I placed some Buckeyes in the ground, covered them with dirt and straw, and waited for a spring surprise.

The seedlings came up.

But then, in the summer heat and drought, they wilted and died.

So, when mowing an overgrown yard for the first time this spring, I was surprised to find a dozen or so Buckeye seedlings fighting for space among the grass.

I'm not sure how it happened.

I only know they are giving me a second chance.