The back 35

Meadowlark

Meadowlark

Well-known member
Location
Near the Big Thicket National Preserve Texas
Hardiness zone
9a
Fitting the title of this section, I'm expanding Meadowlark Ranch taking in 35 acres of recently mostly clear cut land with some timber still standing. The property goes from where the picture is taken north to the timber line. If you look closely you can see my old Case dozer where I've started piling up tree debris to burn as part of the clearing process...a process which can easily take me through the next two years if we (my dozer and me) both last that long. :)


new property 3.webp

The view looking to the right of the above photo.

new property 2.webp
 
Cor. that's a lovely lot of land. My bit is only about 4 acres. I think that if I had managed as many as 35, I would have used most of it as camping areas, as that would have made better wages with relatively less work. As it is, the majority of the work has been in growing ornamentals, as well as lots of hedging, creating lots of burns during the winter months. As I have mostly worked single handed for the past twenty odd years, I couldn't manage more than that. Keeping the grass nice, and seeing to people has taken too much time.
Things have now become slightly easier, as long as Zigs follows instructions from time to time 🥱
 
Since starting this project in early July, I've completed raking up the debris and hurricane downed trees on about 3/4 of the property. Progress has been stopped now due to a machine failure in the dozer that is beyond my knowledge to fix. It actually comes at a time I need to attend to getting the fall garden started so I'll switch over to that activity while waiting to get my dozer going again.

I'll also be burning much of the piles of debris on the new property if the forecast rain comes this week making it safe to burn again. It is amazing how much debris is just left behind and rotting but as we know that is all good stuff for the soils.

new prop dozerIMG_1743.webp


new prop debris.webp
 
Geeze! That's a LOT of downed trees and debris! What are you going to be doing with this piece of land once you get it all cleared? Expanding the garden?
 
Mike said:
Geeze! That's a LOT of downed trees and debris! What are you going to be doing with this piece of land once you get it all cleared? Expanding the garden?
Click to expand...
LOL, oh no the garden is already large enough.

Those timber sellers leave everything but the logs themselves, then the hurricane blew down many small trees left behind that kind of depended on the big trees for protection.

Possibilities: 1) I may gift it in 10 acre tracts to some special relatives...or 2) sell it in 10+ acre tracts to the highest bidder. 3) Another possibility that I have contemplated is selling Meadowlark Ranch and building a new house on the 35 and living there.

Time will tell.
 
Like me, it's old. Lots of hydraulic oil leaks. But the show stopper currently is a strong diesel fuel leak coming from around an injector located over the exhaust manifold. It is in a very difficult spot to reach or even see.

The fuel leak seems to persist whether the engine is running or not so yesterday I parked it up hill hoping it can't defy gravity. It is a good thing that diesel is much lower volatility than gasoline or it would have already burned to the ground. Great machines but they do have their issues.
 
Update: Finally got my dozer repaired and completed phase 1 of this project: the raking. I burned most of the debris but due to dangerous drought conditions here we have had to cease burning until the rains return. This phase has taken me 3.5 months including about 6 weeks of down time for equipment repairs. I'm happy with that.

The next phase of the project will be digging the stumps, a formidable task for sure. I'm going to rent an excavator aka track-hoe ( John Deere 210) for this task as there is no way I can get the stumps out with my equipment. I signed up for one month of rental on the excavator and 160 hours hoping that the stump digging can be accomplished within that time. We will see.

I love doing this stuff probably in part because like gardening you can see the results of your work relatively quickly:


after raking.webp
 
For those that might be interested, when I used the term "rake" it is similar to raking your garden but on a much larger scale . The rake is attached to the blade on the dozer with pins (shown on the top left and right in photo below) and penetrates about 4-6 inches deep into the soil getting not only the surface debris but also the shallow roots and weeds and unwanted brush. Very effective. Vegetation begins to reestablish very quickly even without rainfall, which I find remarkable.

rake.webp
 
Yep, I'm interested - those look like almighty tough tines to get the job done - super bit of kit !! Are all the roots small then? Digging them by hand will take weeks, surely?
If you decide to build a new house on this land, is it safely high enough, and away from the nearby creek which could flood?
 
Thanks @Tetters and others for your interest and good questions. The unit is a John Deere 210 and has plenty of power, but it also has amenities such as air conditioning and radio that really make the work more fun.

jd 210.webp


Tetters said:
...Are all the roots small then? Digging them by hand will take weeks, surely? ...
Click to expand...

I guess it depends somewhat on what you are accustomed to but to me they are large. The stumps range from 30 inches diameter (76 cm) to 24 inches diameter (61 cm). Typical shown below...and no way no how digging these by hand...:eek::eek:

There are literally thousands of them...more on that tomorrow.
30 inch pine stump.webp


Tetters said:
...
If you decide to build a new house on this land, is it safely high enough, and away from the nearby creek which could flood?
Click to expand...
Yes, in fact portions of it are even higher than Meadowlark ranch...like 30 to 60 feet higher which is a good bit here.

Tomorrow I'll stack the stumps I dug today in a burn pile although can't burn right now...and show a picture of that to give you an idea of how many stumps we are facing.


digging stumps.webp
 
That is a step above my backhoe.

iu
 
Meadowlark said:
Thanks @Tetters and others for your interest and good questions. The unit is a John Deere 210 and has plenty of power, but it also has amenities such as air conditioning and radio that really make the work more fun.

View attachment 1664




I guess it depends somewhat on what you are accustomed to but to me they are large. The stumps range from 30 inches diameter (76 cm) to 24 inches diameter (61 cm). Typical shown below...and no way no how digging these by hand...:eek::eek:

There are literally thousands of them...more on that tomorrow.
View attachment 1665



Yes, in fact portions of it are even higher than Meadowlark ranch...like 30 to 60 feet higher which is a good bit here.

Tomorrow I'll stack the stumps I dug today in a burn pile although can't burn right now...and show a picture of that to give you an idea of how many stumps we are facing.


View attachment 1666
Click to expand...
Blige mate, you really know how to slum it don't you. We have to use a crow bar and digging tools.
If you have toys like that I'm afraid I shall have to stop feeling sorry for you ........
1729671153171.webp
 
Thinking further, if the ground there is that much higher, and the building is a possibility, it would be a very interesting project to have a new house.
I designed the one I built here, but having lived in it for a while, I realise a few design faults. Even at my age, I would love to start again on a new project and add and change bits to make it perfect.....but that's not going to happen.
In the case of a build, you would need to ensure that your veggie area was well attached though :unsure:you have worked that area so well and made it perfect - it would be a pain to start anew.
The biggest bit of kit I've ever used on my ground was a great big road roller. I was talking to a mate of mine about rolling it with a heavier roller than the one on my tractor mower, and the next day I heard a very loud rumble along our narrow lane, and he came around the corner with a road roller he had borrowed for a few days. I can't drive THAT I said, but he said - yes you can and gave me the key - so I did - 8 times! It was nice and flat after that.
 
@Meadowlark May I ask a question? If you have all that land to care for, as well as managing to keep up the huge vegetable area, and all the flowers we've seen AND care for cows as well, surely you don't manage ALL that on your own? You must be up at dawn and working 7 days a week. Do you take on hired help?
 
Slow and steady wins the race my friend @Tetters ...or at least makes for happiness for me.

When I purchased that "back 35" property I figured on two to three years to clean it up, but I'm well ahead of that schedule. I just keep grinding away and follow the precepts of time management I posted in that video. I do not abide wasting time.

At round-up time on the cows I get some help from the cowboys at the local auction house as I'm well past the age of chasing cows. :eek: :)

It is a sight to see, that round-up...they use the most amazing dogs and ride horses to round up the cattle to be sold...if interested, I'll post a picture or two this year if I can remember...round up is coming soon.

The gardens are a labor of love as is the ranch...but I can/do get discouraged sometimes like after a Hurricane destroys old, magnificent trees. I've pretty much given up fishing and hunting except for occasional events on the property. Other than following my favorite sports teams, I don't have much outside interests...so I can devote my time to what I enjoy here on this beautiful piece of God's Universe.
 
Tetters said:
... it would be a very interesting project to have a new house.
I designed the one I built here, but having lived in it for a while, I realise a few design faults. Even at my age, I would love to start again on a new project and add and change bits to make it perfect.....but that's not going to happen.
Click to expand...
Lately, I've been reading up a lot on "tiny" houses...that run up to about 1000 sq. ft or less. It seems they are very much in demand now as well as people demanding to live out in the country. Our cities in America are largely crime ridden jungles where life is increasingly difficult. The is a huge trend and movement toward minimalist life styles.

@Tetters I'd be most pleased to see your thoughts on a new house...especially as related to a "tiny" home. Tiny does not mean any lack of elegance or convenience in my mind.

I feel confident I can build a "tiny" home myself...but time will tell if that is in the cards.

Tetters said:
...
In the case of a build, you would need to ensure that your veggie area was well attached though :unsure:you have worked that area so well and made it perfect - it would be a pain to start anew.
Click to expand...
Actually I do enjoy turning ground into fertile productive soil. That would be an opportunity for me...not a pain. ;)
 
Sheal said:
The soil looks sandy Meadowlark, but is it just very dry and lacking nutrients etc.?
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Right on all counts @Sheal . It is sandy, with some clay mixed in especially where I'm digging stumps, very dry as in drought, and lacking nutrients but it is perfect soil for raising trees especially pine trees for marketable timber. One can harvest marketable timber in 20 + years starting from a seedling on this land and that is what it has done for thousands of years...grow trees that is.
 
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