Clearing Begins!

In my last post, I shared what our half acre of woods looked like at the end of May and the wonderful vision the Tiekert's garden gave us as an example of what it can become.  Now it's time to get to work, start clearing out the undergrowth and taking the steps to transform the vision into reality!

I use the term "work" loosely.  Yes, this takes time and a whole lot more physical effort than my office job did, but I love it!  It is a great mind clearer and calorie burner too!  Singing birds, breeze in the trees and the sights, smells and sounds of nature are all rejuvenating!

The temperatures really started cranking up towards the end of June, well into the 90s, as we began the heavier work, but in the shade of the woods, most days, even sweltering ones, aren't bad.  Sometimes we just worked outside in the mornings, which let me keep up with my software tasks in the afternoons.  Once we got going, clearing only took about a week or so - much less time than I thought.

Here is a pictorial summary of our clearing activity these last two weeks:

I could not have moved some of these fallen trees without Brad's help!

I raked some paths so we could get around the property more easily and transport the debris.  We originally thought these would be the permanent garden paths, but now that everything is clear, we have new ideas in mind.

 With most of the larger limbs removed, the raking begins.  Kim is hard at it!

We steadily worked from one side to the other until before we knew it....

I could look from one corner of the property, all the way to the other and still see Kim!  That's her, the dot in the center, between the two trees.

With the exception of two big, fallen trunks that are larger than I can handle, as of this morning, 7/3/12, the entire half acre is completely clear, ready for digging features and planting!

I promised some words on bones, the defining plants and features on which our garden will be built, but this post got longer than I planned, so I will deliver on that tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

Take care,
Scott