YARDWORK...THE ANNUAL 'RIGHT' OF SPRING

It's almost spring, so more and more we'll start hearing the annual complaints about having to go out there and do the 'yardwork'.

I just wanted to put the "normal yardwork" requirements into "proper perspective" for the consideration of those who want to moan and groan about weeding and grooming a space of land the size of a normal city lot, Or, even better, a condo backyard.

Entering the gate on our property presents a choice of three roads to take, one to our home (VEER LEFT), one to the gray barn and tack room (VEER RIGHT), and one to the red barn (MIDDLE)...there is also an 'island' between the red barn road and the main house road about 200 yards long.

It has always bugged me that this island had a lot of nice redwood and Doug Fir trees running it's length in a nice country landscape plan by the former owners...but those new trees were taken over by 'black berry bushes' that grew to almost the same height as most of the trees.

No one in Oregon wants a 'black berry start' because Allen has offered them to everyone he's met for the past six months.

He always gets a good HAR HAR out of it too.

So, one of the first 'yard projects' I requested Allen to get done was tearing out/cutting down or otherwise destroying all those berry bushes so the 'island' would look nice and you could actually see one road from another when driving into our property.



Now the entire island has been cut down and most of it raked away...it's about 200 yards of ground, but doesn't it look great compared with before?

Allen is also working on the West (Left) side of the road now which is covered with berry bushes...covering the trees and fence...so add another 200 yards of berry bush cutting to the mix as well.

That' s a lotta pruning and cutting by anyone's standards!

Here is me smiling because the entrance to the property looks so much better now, and the locals tell us it takes about three years to totally destroy the berry bushes...so only two more years to go doing the same 'yardwork' over and over again.

I am smiling because I am proud of how hard Allen has been working...and also because I remember how hard it was for him to keep our postage stamp lot watered and weeded in Visalia. That chore probably sounds like 'nothing' compared with what he is doing now.

So, here's a photo to show what it all looks like BEFORE he started 'lopping, cutting, raking, making piles and finally burning piles...' I think you can get a better perspective of the task at hand by seeing the 'before' in this. Besides, these bushes have thorns and they are mean!

Then, of course...there is the regular front and back yards...and the upper and lower park areas and finally...the Pond Park.

Funny thing...Allen hated yardwork in Visalia and even at the Skyline House...but he loves it here...and would rather be outside working on the ranch than doing almost anything else. As one final chore that has to be done regularly...may I introduce this next photo... which starts with finding the blown down trees, cutting them into manageable lengths and weights, dragging them home, then more cutting and splitting and stacking and then burning them up NEXT YEAR!

The wood we're using this winter is from trees cut last year...and the cycle starts every fall...so like housework, YARDWORK on a Timber Ranch is never done....even when the goats work too.

KUDOS TO ALLEN...AND A PAT ON THE BACK TOO...PLUS THREE ATTA BOYS.