Almost all of my pictures to date have been of The Lower Meadow and the road that runs by it. There is still a whole half of The Ranch that is at almost Spring!
Note how the underbrush is clear here.
Above is always my standard warning (you all know this of course, but just as a public service: The large manzanita behind the fence is not our property and this has not be properly cared for. When you here about out of control wild fires, this is why: massive amounts of overgrown underbrush, tinder ready to burn.
Interestingly, I have no idea why this is called "The Upper Meadow". It is not so much upper as it is a bit more northerly and always on the right when you come in.
How do you maintain the undergrowth on your side of the line?
ReplyDeleteI think I've mentioned it before but my brother works for the forest service and spend a good chunk of winter doing prescribed burning to keep the under forest situation under control. In fact just last week he sent me a few pictures of him in a helicopter they were using to set the head fire.
Highland Cattle (hairy Scottish exiles) will do that job in a flash. They are renowned for their ability to clear brush. That is my plan...
DeleteEd, I believe that The Cattle Man (the man that has run cattle here for so many years) brush hogs it periodically - although I can tell you the areas that my father brush hogged 10 years ago are still pretty devoid of underbrush. That said, I remember a time that my great uncle would do as you say and just set fire in the Winter.
DeleteJust So - I did not know that! I have thought about them from time to time here; I do not know how they would do in our Mediterranean climate. Some folks hereabouts will rent goats.
DeleteMy heart longs for space like that...
ReplyDeleteSTxAR - Every time I go to the city, I am reminded of it more.
DeleteI love these posts. Thanks, TB.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome Leigh. I am glad to be able to share it with you.
DeleteThat's why Komifornia burns every year. Uncared for underbrush.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I would have to stay there, considering the way everything is going, and quite probably tell work to shove it.
But I often do things on the spur of the moment and then regret them.
Be safe and God bless you all. TB. Hope and pray things continue to improve with your parents as much as they can.
To be fair Linda, if they would even let landowners actually take care of it, it would be better. The Iron Hand of the State and all.
DeleteLet us say the thought has occurred to me more than once this trip, and future discussions will revolve more fully around this at home. More and more - especially with either delivery or supporting small local businesses - I fail to see the need for a city.
Thanks as always for the prayers. They are proving very efficacious.
Oh boy, I could ramble on about mismanagement of lands but that's on my own blog. hahaha Looks good... but multi-species is the key. We're working on that type of ag model for our property.
ReplyDeleteCities are nothing but human feedlots. Too much concentration in a small area. And they wonder why people get sick or have shortages in times of trouble.
Thanks for sharing the photos... almost forgot what spring is suppose to look like! lol!
~hobo
Karen, agreed. My father worked hard for 5-6 years to get all 90 acres or so cleared of underbrush (except for the pastures, obviously). And yes, multispecies is the key. I am noticing smaller trees starting to come up and will try and monitor them.
Delete"Human feedlots". I like this. And it is true. I am totally stealing it.
Given your pictures, I can understand how you can forget what Spring looks like! One nice thing here is that we have a Spring; at New Home, there is about two weeks we call Spring between Winter and rolling into Summer.