Puzzle

So I can't remember if I've said this before, but my land is currently in timber tax, a low tax bracket designed to encourage the growth of timber for commercial sale.  Unfortunately, you have to take acreage out of timber tax in order to build a house on it, and that comes along with a hefty fee.  You also have to have a forester put together a forest management plan so that you know how to maximize the growth of your trees for harvest.  

I had a forester out on Monday for a consultation, and he estimates that it'll be 15-20 years before my trees will be able to be harvested again, since it was logged sometime in the last couple of years.

That suits me just fine...I'm happy to have two decades to decide whether I want to sell my trees!

I need to keep walking around and decide which few acres I want taken out of timber tax to put my house on.  My initial thought was to only take out 2 acres, but I took some measurements the other day to get an idea of what 2 acres looks like, and now I'm leaning toward 4-5 acres, just to be sure there's enough space for a few small pastures and all the necessary outbuildings.

All the details of this adventure are like fitting together the pieces of a puzzle - I have to do such and such before I can do this other thing, but first I need to do this...  :P  

I think this is a low-bush Blueberry plant: 

Spotted this guy as I was driving away: 

Ironic, because I thought, "Wow, I'm not sure I've seen a (live) Porcupine in person before"...and then the next day, my friend was out on a hike somewhere else in Maine, and her poor dog got a face full of quills.  Maybe it's Porcupine season??

In other news, I made an exciting purchase yesterday...something that makes me feel like a REAL homesteader (albeit a modern one, lol): 

Heh heh heh....  NOW I can get some stuff DONE!!!  :D  :D  :D  

(And that's good, because look at this ridiculous mess I have to clean up...)

And this isn't even the worst section!  

One of my goals, though, is to make use of what's already on the land as much as possible.  I've got some ideas of things to do with all of this junk wood; hopefully I can get start making progress soon.  Lol, I think I've got many years of work ahead of me...but it'll be worth it!!  :P  

Garden Progress

I caved and bought a few plants today...I had definitely run out of time to start my tomatoes from seeds!  :P  

I bought a regular tomato plant, a cherry tomato plant, some Romaine lettuce, and some marigolds.  And I still have space left over...I'll have to look through my seeds and see what might fit in there.  If all else fails, maybe just a few more flowers!  

The peas and sunflowers are still very cute little seedlings in the back row...hopefully they catch up before the other plants throw too much shade on them.  I've tried to place things carefully so that they'll get adequate sun.

Lol, I find it entertaining to think that I've got my garden in this little wooden box when I have a huge chunk of land over in Maine...but this will do for this year.  I have a lot more planning and research to do before I figure out how I want my gardens set up over on my land.  

I hope everyone had a nice Monday!  :)  

Sprout

I've got one little raised garden bed, and so far all I've planted are peas and sunflower seeds.  Hopefully I'll get some other stuff in there before it's too late.

The sunflowers started coming up today...it's amazing how much promise and hope those little seedlings hold.

Cute Cows and a Random Chipmunk

I was hoping to have exciting news today...I drove a couple hours south to look at an antique, disassembled timber frame house that's for sale.  But my contractor friend Scott and I agreed that it's not in nearly good enough shape for what the seller is asking - and while it's carefully blueprinted, it's not clear on whether it includes the sills, floor joists, or roof rafters.  So unless the price comes WAY down, I'm going to pass on that one.  (By the way, major thanks to Scott for taking the whole afternoon away from his work to go look at a pile of old wood with me!  :P )

It was still a good day, though.  It was a beautiful day for driving, and we passed by lots of gorgeous scenery and neat old houses.  And the seller of the timber frame was kind enough to show us around the big old meeting house he's renovating.

Plus, I got to see Scott and Renee's cows.  :)  

For quite a few years, Scott and his wife Renee have had Scottish Highland cattle (the fuzzy ones with the horns), but they've recently added some Belted Galloways.  When the two breeds mix, you get some interesting colors and patterns.  I think this one is really cute:

This one below is one of the purebred Belties, for reference.  You may have heard these called "Oreo Cows," lol.  :P

"What are you lookin' at?"

Scott put out a couple fresh bales of hay, and all the cattle immediately started drifting over to the feeders.  Well, most of them drifted...a couple got a little crazy, lol!  

"Hay?  Yahoo!"

"I call dibs!"

"Not if I get there first!"

"Mommy, wait up!"  

"Happiness is a big bale of fresh hay."

"MOOOO!!!"

Okay, stepping away from the cow captions....

The property is really beautiful.

Would you believe that a few years ago the entire, 12-acre cow pasture was wooded??  Scott and Renee have put a LOT of work in for this wonderful view!

Lol, this is good inspiration for my property...I hope that it looks half this good in a few years!  

Oops, almost forgot the random chipmunk!  Here you go, and happy Wednesday, everyone!  :D

Details

My sister Rachel and I went out to my property again today; we spent longer there this time, and I tried to pay attention to the details.  

The stuff below is Wintergreen, also known as Checkermint, Teaberry, and a few other names.  I just looked it up, and apparently it works nearly as well as aspirin to relieve pain - though, interestingly, it also comes with the same potential risks of aspirin.  I just like to snap a leaf in half once in a while and enjoy the minty fragrance.  :)  

A nice boulder.  Interestingly, even though my land is only about 20 minutes east of where I currently live, this rock seems to be of a very different type than what you find in the woods here.  

Fiddleheads!  As long as they come from the Ostrich Fern, you can harvest them (while they're still curled) and boil them, steam them, or saute them!  (We also sell them pickled at the store where I work.)  

Bluets...one of my favorites: 

Ground pine:  

We saw a lot of frogs!  That makes me wonder if some of the marshy areas on the property stick around all year long.

Part of the reason for today's visit was searching for a good place for my future house.  The most logical decision would be to use the clearing...but that corner of the property is close to my neighbors, and I'd love to have a little privacy.  Anywhere else I choose, I would have to clear out a lot of small trees, and the cost to run power lines will be greater.  I'm also somewhat limited by all the marshy areas.  I was thinking about this little rise...it's the highest point of land, so it ought to stay dry.  Plus, it's got a logging road that runs right next to it, which (with a little stump pulling) could be turned into a driveway.

In other news, the ticks are out - big time!!  Rachel and I were glad that we didn't bring the dogs along; they would have been covered!!!  It wasn't too bad for most of the walk, but when we went down by the creek, suddenly the ticks were everywhere - gross!!!

I still love my little creek, but I'll have to do some clearing along the banks to reduce the tick population.  

Oh, and in OTHER news...we used the machete today.  :D

(I think my arms are going to be sore tomorrow...)

Happy Tuesday!  Don't forget to stop and appreciate the details every once in a while.  :)  

Flowers, Bees, and Pooches

It was quite a nice day out today.  I was tempted to go tramp around on my property, but decided to get some stuff done around the house instead.  I kept getting distracted and wandering off with my camera, though.  :P  So this post is going to be mostly pictures....maybe one of these days I'll have some actual content again...

My Cherry trees are blooming: 

Puppy:

Puppy telling people off for walking past our house: 

Puppy very proud of herself for driving off the dangerous intruders: 

Big puppy:

Ridiculously gorgeous "puppy":  

Leaves unfurling:

Bees buzzing: 

Abstract Cherry branches: 

There's finally less than 20 pounds difference between Thane and Thea:

Cutie patootie: 

Lol, tongue blep: 

A decent attempt at nobility...rather spoiled by whatever is going on with the ears:

More Cherry blossoms: 

Rather abstract: 

And last but not least, a brave little Violet, growing in the cracks of the rock wall bordering our driveway: 

Hope everyone had a great Monday!  I'll try to get back on track with more farm-related topics soon, lol.  :P