Last spring I entered into an agreement with the Indiana and US Fish and Wildlife services to create two regeneration openings on my back ridge with a small vernal pond to be placed between the two. One opening is only a half acre in size and was predominantly big tooth aspen with a few tulip tree and red maples. I chose this site because I will be milling the big tooth into dimension lumber for an addition to the barn and a separate building to house the bio diesel operation.
The second site is located about 100 feet southeast is 2.8 acres in size and had a good stand of tulip tree along with a small stand of big tooth aspen and scattered red maples, sugar maples, hickories, red and white oaks. The openings are designed to produce early succesional growth that should be attractive to birds, especially grouse and migratory warblers. 80 years ago the large opening was part of a hayfield worked by horse drawn equipment.
Access to the sites from my house is by a road I constructed that traverses a couple of steep ridges. When I frist contemplated this project I thought I would not have any problem getting the work done during the summer of 2010. Unfortunately I had a couple of issues that prevented that. The first issue was notification that I would not be allowed to cut any trees greater than 4" dbh and definately not disturb any shag bark hickories or white oak trees between April 1 and October 1 due to maternal hibernacula activity of the endangered Indiana bat. That shot my summer plans :-\ One of the design elements of the openings required all slash to be removed so essentially only bare ground would be left. This is to ensure the seed bed left would get adequate sunlight. No problem, I thought, I will simply burn all the slash and incorparate the ash into the soil. Unfortunately we had a bit of a drought last summer and the county was under a burn ban during the period I was allowed to fall trees. This meant that my options became chipping all the material or creating rather large piles of slash on the boundaries of the openings. I went with piling the salsh because getting a chiper of any size to the site would be problematic. I did contruct a number of coverts from the slash.
Here in pictorial form is the creation of the large opening. All of the work was down by me with a Stihl 441, a Stihl 460 and a John Deere 4520 with a CX400 loader. I only used the crawler to pull down the one aspen I hung in the crotch of a cherry. I definately got a lot of practice with directional felling. :)
The first pic is representative of what the area looked like when I started. I did not think to begin taking pictures until I had already cleared a lot of the underbrush. The pic was taken October 17, 2010.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/10172010_opt.JPG)
November 29, 2010. The mid story has been removed.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/11292010_opt.JPG)
It began snowing the first week of December which is about three weeks early for us. The snow on the side of the ridges prevented me from accessing the site until it finaly melted in early March. During a normal winter the snow would last only a few days, the mud would dry up and I could get work done. This spring the snow lasted much longer and the ground took an extra-ordinarily long time to dry up.
December 28, 2011
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/0122811_snow_opt.JPG)
It may be hard to ascertain the steepness of the slope from this pic. Neither my tractor with chains or the crawler with grouser treads could navigate the road.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/01222011_slick_path_opt.JPG)
Wildlife habitat (covert) contructed from some of the slash
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/01222011_Wildlife_Cover_optt.JPG)
Site of the pond between the two openings. You may be able to see the flags marking each end of the proposed dam.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Back_Ridge_pond_opt.JPG)
Once I was able to access the site I hit it with a vengance.
March 20, 2011
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/03202011_opt.JPG)
Burning slash from the larger trees.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Burn_Slash_opt.JPG)
Almost done. All the trees are down, bucked and stacked. The tulip (yellow end coating) will be used as siding for the out buildings and paneling for my basement. Further in the back is a small pile of big tooth aspen (white end coat) and some piles of maple and hickory to be cut up for firewood. I left any oak trees because my long term goal here is oak regeneration. The two tulip trees still standing have been girdled and will act as perches for raptors. The other trees are all oaks.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/04172011_opt.JPG)
The pond is dug, just need to seed the dam. July 9, 2011.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/20110709_Regen_pond_opt.JPG)
And finally, the regeneration opening in finished form. This picture was taken from the observation stand (seen in some of the previous pictures) looking south. I took the pic on June 21, 2011 and I intend to take a similar pic on each of the solstaces, March 21, September 21, December 21 and June 21 for as long as I can climb into the stand. I will post those pics in this thread and we can all watch the opening return to forest in the varying stages.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/20110621_Regen_Opening_opt.JPG)
If you look closely in the last pic you may see on the left a number of trees bent over. Not long after I completed the opening we had 60-80moh straight-line winds. These trees had no resistance to wind and were permanently bent over. This fall I will copice those trees and hopefully shoots will sprout next spring from the roots and be able to outcompete the brush that will be invading the site at that time. The brush should cause the trees to grow tall and straight. Time will tell.
That's quite a project for one man and a chainsaw. Lookin' good. :D
Your luck or timing is just about like mine.Will look forward to more pictures. Lucky you only lost a few trees to the high wind.
Is the site just south of the old hay rake ?
Directly east of the old hay rake. As you crest the ridge on the path we walked up (now the access road) the rake was on your left (north). If you continued straight ahead (east) on the access road you would enter the opening at the southwest corner.
The old hay rake, parked where Mr. Owen left it under the maple when he could no longer farm some 80+ years ago, if not longer.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Hayrake_opt.jpg)
Great wildlife project! A lot of work to take on by yourself, but a nice accomplishment during retirement to increase your land values.
I did a similar project a few years back for a client landowner and the F&WLS and Conservation District, but I had a logging contractor clear the pond areas, also aspen, and another contractor with a drag line build the ponds. ;)
The project along with a few others helped my client get the Conservationist of the Year Award for Wexford County that year. I'm sure that yours will get such attention when you are done. Keep us posted.
I didn't realize that there was timber in Indiana ;) Seriously, that is a nice job there OneWithWood! nice looking project. I bet it will look even better with water in the pond. Will be a nice place to hang out on a sunny fall day.
can't wait to see your milling/building projects as they come along. Thanks for sharing with us! 8)
Indiana is blessed with an abundance of eastern hardwoods :)
Quite a stroke of work OneWithTheWood. Thanks for posting your picture story. Its very interesting to watch nature and see if it follows your plan or goes off on its own.
Did you get WHIP funding to help with your project? (Wildlife Habitat Improvement Project). If so what kind of future requirements did they put on you in maintaining these sites? Just curious.
Very interesting project thaks for scharing it with use ! Bill
thats a pretty woodlot :)
G-man,
Yes, I got some whip funding - basically paid for the fuel to run the chainsaws. I am not complaining - any funding is good funding - I do these things because I think there is value in the activity and I love working in my woods. I am very hopeful that over the years there will be an increase in the bird and amphibian populations as well as preserving the oak-hickory component of my woods. As luck would have it the land is part of the Norman Uplands which is naturally heavy to oak-hickory after the demise of the American Chestnut. The rest of the surrounding lands tend to maple-beech. Without dedicated stewardship my lands would be increasingly maple-beech. It is my intended goal to keep the climax forest at bay. pull_smiley
As for maintenance going forward, the agreement stipulates letting nature take her course. The only continuing activity will be to eradicate any invasives that might rear their ugly heads. As part of the preparations I killed all the multiflora rose, autumn olive and ailanthus that existed. Keeping these invaders at bay is a constant battle - not to mention a great excuse for constantly cruising the woods smiley_old_guy
Awesome project! I look forward to the future pictures.
Around here any stand with as little as 20 ft2 BA of aspen will regenerate to aspen. How do you expect the aspen suckers to compete with the other hardwoods in your area?
Clark
So that is what you have been so quietly working on ;D. Now you will be sawing a whack of lumber and the kiln will be kilning 8).
I love to see a plan come together. You will enjoy that vision for many years to come. :)
You sure did hit it with a vengence :) Looks good, I am keen to see the area evolve. What species of mamals do you expect to move in?
I like it.
Did you have good advanced regeneration of oaks and hickories present before you opened it up?
I would guess you are going to be inundated with tulip poplar. They like wide open and scarified soil.
Keep up the good work, look forward to future pics.
I do not expect to have any new mamals beyond what we already have. The observation post does double duty as a deer stand to keep the oak vacuums in check. I am very fond of venison and the does are much easier to dress and noticeably more tender digin1
There is good advance regen of oak. I expect there will be a major flush of aspen and tulip. Aspen and tulip will provide the desired escape routes for birds fleeing the raptors as well as providing some cover for the oak from the deer. The gnomes will probably keep the aspen and tulip in check around the oak seedlings to get them above the browse line. The real challenge will be keeping the deer from munching all the seedlings. The natural progression would be an ealy successional stand of aspen, tulip, ash, red maple, beech and cherry followed by the oaks and hickories if the sunlight can get through. I worry more about the red maple and beech than I do the aspen and tulip. The gnomes have been known to treat the red maples and beech on the oak aspects to a dose of tryclopir on occasion. Who knows, there may be a controlled burn or two in the future. ;D
Quote from: Clark on July 12, 2011, 08:44:22 PM
Awesome project! I look forward to the future pictures.
Around here any stand with as little as 20 ft2 BA of aspen will regenerate to aspen. How do you expect the aspen suckers to compete with the other hardwoods in your area?
Clark
Depends on the height potential of the hardwood on that ridge. Around here the aspen will grow leaps and bounds above the hardwood, live it's life (80-100 years) and fall down. Large tooth (big tooth) is our fasted growing native aspen up here.
I would thin the regrowth in 10-12 years with a brush saw. Then watch out. ;D Won't interfere with the birds and critters, best to cut in the fall...no bugs...birds done nesting. ;)
OWW, looks like a great little project to keep you busy working off your retirement. ;)
About the wildlife, it's a good thing that you have no hare, they will chew oak up real good. mmm yum. :D I planted some a few years back under aspen and they eat them back every winter. :D
Was the pond idea, for ephemeral pools in the spring? My woods are full of them, but this year some are more permanent with all the rain. :D The rain however has slowed up, it's wet a lot in the bush, but just from showers mostly. Hasn't really rained at my place for 2 weeks except showers. There has been freak rain down pours from thunderstorms around, but not here. Yeah, I have lots of amphibians, if anyone needs any. Lots of hares to, and moose, couple bears....and yes you will attract birds in those holes. Song birds and grouse take to those cut overs like flies to honey. Grouse however need to be near water it seems. So, if that pond holds some water you'll get a grouse or two around. I've seen a lot of flocks this year on the thinning blocks, seen two flocks yesterday.
I was going to mention also, that goshawk like to hunt down woods roads and trails. ;) I've drove or walked down a good many narrow roads with a goshawk on the hunt. ;) One winter I came upon one that took a grouse along the road just before I got there and I saw where he got another one off a trail on a later walk. Still, I see grouse on the woodlot most every walk. Mostly single birds.
Have a good one.
I bet Mr Harris is smiling from up above with approvals of the right person got his farm. :)
Yup, none of us actually "own" the land. We are simply the caretakers for a given period of time. It is our responsibility to pass it on in a better and improved condition. We are but a dot in time, but the land lives on.
Magicman,has a birthday today. Have fun with the family.
Very impressive! I am really looking forward to the future pictures as the regeneration occurs.
That is an amazing project, it looks incredible!
Thanks Robert for putting this together, first I really like seeing other countrysides and the layout of the land elsewheres to me. Second you and the misses are doing a fine job with this adventure. :)
I do have a question for you , what is the meaning of copice :P
copice, is to cut a tree off to get it to re sprout. You get new stems, then can select the best stem and trim the others off.
Marcel, Coppicing can be off the stump, like maple and white birch, or off wide spreading roots close to the surface than send up shoots when more like hits the ground like the aspens. Also another type of new shoot off the stump is a stool shoot, like beech and elms. They make buds around the cambium (perimeter of the stump under the bark) where the tree was cut down and send up shoots off them.
Thanks guys :P Nothing like friday night at the school ... :D :D
This is very interesting to me since I just got some WHIP funding approved a month ago. I have 6 acres for Manual Clearing 2 acres Crop Tree Release and 2 acres Softwood Release-Wildlife Habitat Improvement. I also got a EQIP for some HT fence for my cattle. I think that the WHIP is a great deal for me since I was going to cut these places anyhow. The price for HW pulp including Aspen is $38 ton 10 miles from here so what's not to love?
Here are some pics I took on Sept. 24, 2011. I missed the autumnal equinox by a day but I think I am close enough for our purposes.
Here is a pic of the larger opening taken from the observation tower (double bench deer stand) looking south.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/041Regen092411.JPG)
Most of the greenery is wild lettuce (polk salad). It was so dry during July and August that I feel good anything grew.
This is a pic of the smaller opening taken from the ground facing north:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/SmallRegen092411.JPG)
The pond between the two openings is starting to fill thanks to some recent rains:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/RegenPond092411.JPG)
When full the pond surface will curl around the end of the dam essentially doubling the surface area but maintaining a maximum depth of 24".
I see that some wildlife is already using the pond!
Was going to say, couple plots of clover in there....for the oak vaccums...
That's a pretty cool project. Thanks for sharing it with us, I'll keep an eye for future posts and pictures.
December 21 update:
Large regeneration opening looking south from the observation tower
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Regen122111.jpg)
Not much happening this time of year but a number of lambs ear plants dot the landscape
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/LambsEar122111.JPG)
Deer browse
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/DeerBrowse122111.jpg)
Oak tree bent by high winds. All the bent oaks will be copiced now that they are relatively dormant. All I need is the mud to dry up or solidify
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/BentOak122111.jpg)
Smaller opening is relatively dormant except for some sedges
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/SmallRegen122111.jpg)
The wildlife pond is definately full
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/RegenPond122111.jpg)
The aspens are up and about three foot high. I took a pic of one of the stems but my focus was pretty bad so I did not post it.
Nice little pond 8) Did you line it with something or is there enough clay in your soil to hold the water?
The soil has a large amount of clay in it. I was happy this pond filled and held because it is very close to the top of a wash.
I see some more wildlife in the first pic!
In the next to last pic, what is that understory plant that still has leaves?
I'm just guessing Danny, but it looks like beech. Since that is a ridge top and a little cooler climate. Beech does that up here, hold leaves all winter.
Also, my white oak holds it's leaves all winter until spring bud break.
Down here, understory like that on my property, would be hophornbeam. Beech makes sense.
We get that to. :D But I see some bigger trees there that look like beech. I've never noticed the leaf retention in hornbeam though, I have some in the yard. Beech in the back yard has leaves.
On that bent oak tree - what do you mean by "copiced" ? I am not familiar with that tem. Thanks.
Cut down and stump sprouted.
The trees with leaves in the understory are beech and red maple. Two trees I try to eradicate on all slopes except the north, northeast and northwest aspects. Because the beech and maples are shade tolerant they thrive and choke out the oaks. I spray the beech and red maple stems with tryclopir (basal application) in early spring. The leaves make them readily idenitifiable.
This area of Indiana is know as the Norman Uplands and tends to be an oak-hickory forest. Much of the lands to the west of me are beech-maple so it is a constant struggle to keep them at bay. A good contolled fire avery now and then is a big help but is hard to do given the pressures of the surrounding populace.
Quote from: g_man on December 23, 2011, 11:27:36 AM
On that bent oak tree - what do you mean by "copiced" ? I am not familiar with that tem. Thanks.
QuoteCoppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which takes advantage of the fact that many trees make new growth from the stump or roots if cut down
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppicing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppicing)
In this case the general idea is that he has a bent sapling that's never going to make a sawlog. But cutting it off and letting it grow again from the stump it gets a 2nd chance, and the new sprout will grow much faster than a new seedling as it already has an established root system.
Ian
SwampDonkey and Ianab thank you for the explanation. I have heard of the procedure but I can't remember ever knowing it was called coppicing.
Red maple and aspen are pretty much managed that way up here. Beech, yellow birch, white birch and sugar maple are mostly single stemmed from germination when they are thinned. Suckered beech is usually chewed up by the rabbits. Not much true commercial thinning in hardwood up here, just a select few stands. Most of the time the quality has suffered from high grades or poor ground.
I am a bit tardy getting the March 21, 2012 pics posted here. Mushrooms came in early so I was distracted ;)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/008.JPG)
The large opening. All the bent oaks have been coppiced. I took pics of a coppiced stem and stump but I'll be danged if I can find them ::)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/002.JPG)
The pond
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/005.JPG)
The smaller opening
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/007.JPG)
Some greenery is starting to poke through. I expect to see a lot more in June.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/001.JPG)
At this point I was going to go around and prune back or deselect suckers coming up from the various stumps but the deer have severely pruned everything for me. They have even topped all the aspen shoots! I can see going forward my biggest challenge will be to keep the deer at bay. I may resort to caging the oak stems that emerge around the stems I coppiced.
You cleaned up those openings very nicely. Down here, the deer are not as bad as they have a good bit more to eat in the winter since it does not get as cold. Do you expect the openings to grow up thick with weeds this year?
Robert, Does that pond hold water year round?
In your spare time could you come down and tidy my land up a bit too? ;D
You sure have done a lot of work there. It looks great! ;)
Danny, if this opening reacts like some others I expect a thicket of blackberry to take over for about 5 years or so.
Normally I would not have cleaned the site off to this extent. The Indiana Fish & Wildlife folks stipulated no slash be left on it as it was going to be part of a longterm study. Unfortunately I think their funding dried up. My preference is to leave the tops. The deer do not like to stick their heads in the tops and oak seedlings can get a good start. As it is, I will be stocking the freezer with plenty of venison come fall.
Time for the June 21. 2012 update.
Here is the large 2.8 acre opening as seen from the observation stand
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_061212.JPG)
panning left
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Log_Opening_061212_2.JPG)
panning right
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_061212_3.JPG)
the smaller .5 acre opening
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Small_Opening_062112.JPG)
and the pond between the two
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Regen_Pond_062112_2.JPG)
The tall groupings of plants are Monarda we think, a member of the mint family. In the right panning pic of the large opening the lighter area in the middle is a thicket of big tooth aspen coming on strong. As I walked the opening I found a lot of hickory, tulip and red bud. Surprisingly I have not found many ash or cherry. Oak sprouts are few and far between :-\
The pond is down but I am happy to see any water given our severe lack of moisture during May and June. I think we recorded a total of 1.5 inches for the two months.
It will be great to see what it looks like in another year or two. The bugs, bees, and the critters may have thwarted your oak regeneration :).
I was wondering if some of them tall dark green clumps in the opening might be golden rod. Do you have much for ash seed trees? White ash is a prolific seeder up here, often a carpet of new seedlings each spring on the forest floor. They mostly die under canopy except a few hardy ones will hang on and grow.
Some may end up showing as goldenrod but the intense mint smell leads me to believe once they flower the monarda hypothesis will win out. Linnea always hedges her bets until she can see the bloom.
Yes, I have a great source of ash, at least for now. As I was milling up the ash from the City of Bloomington I noticed the dreaded D shape exit hole of EAB. I don't know if the little (I can't say it on a family forum) flew before the logs were brought ot me or not. I do know there is confirmed sightings about twenty miles away so it is just a matter of time.
Normally I get a flush of ash, tulip and big tooth aspen in any opening. One thing I noticed when I was clearing this site is that the soil is markedly different from the rest of the property. It is very dark, holds moisture and smells like manure. It is possible that after it was a hayfield it was used to pen livestock and got severely compacted.
Yes, if it's a mint smell then you are probably right. You were up closer to them plants than me looking at a photo. ;D They just seem to show the growth habit of goldenrod. We get golden rod here in moist woods, also some plants in the mint family, thinking spearmint. Goldenrod also have an odor of their own because the stalks have oily hairs like sunflower. I have monarda here at the house, we call it bee balm. It is just beginning to flower now.
We get that smell here on most any harvest block that is a little on the wet side or very moist and with a lot of softwood slash mixed with the hardwood slash. You'd think you was near a cow shed. Just the fermentation action going on I suspect.
Only a couple of weeks late with this update. The pics were all taken on September 22, 2012. It was an overcast day.
The large opening from the observation stand:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sept_222C_2012_287.JPG)
Aspen seedlings poking up above the lower plants:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sept_222C_2012_297.JPG)
One of the small oaks that I left:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sept_222C_2012_298.JPG)
Why I do not particularly care for deer - this is the same oak stem in the above pic. If it does not look vigorous next spring I will coppice it.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sept_222C_2012_299.JPG)
Previously coppiced tree resprouting:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sept_222C_2012_295.JPG)
Previously coppiced tree muched by bambi-gone-bad >:(
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sept_222C_2012_294.JPG)
Natural regen. It is happening 8) Hopefully the deer will not destroy it.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sept_222C_2012_296.JPG)
Linnea was correct to hedge her bet - this plant that I thought might be monarda clinopodia (basil balm) appears to be parthenium integrifolium (amercian feverfew, wild quinine)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sept_222C_2012_290.JPG)
The source for all that minty smell - pycnanthemium tenuifolium (slender mountain-mint)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sept_222C_2012_291.JPG)
Asters lend some color. I believe this one is aster praealtus (willow aster) but I cannot be sure as there are so many asters with purple centers
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sept_222C_2012_292.JPG)
I believe this is leonurus marrubiastrum (horehound motherwort) another in the mint family. It could be leonurus cardiaca (motherwort) but it seems too dense.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sept_222C_2012_300.JPG)
senecio vulgaris (common groundsel)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sept_222C_2012_301.JPG)
The grasses are finally coming in on the dam for the wildlife pond between the two openings. As bad as the drought was this pond always had some water in it.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sept_222C_2012_303.JPG)
A view of the smaller opening (.5 acre) to the north of the larger one (2.8 acres).
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sept_222C_2012_304.JPG)
I am not a botanist, never played one on TV and it has been a long time since I stayed in a Holiday Espress, so if anyone would like to correct my plant ids please feel free to do so. I know I need to take Linnea and her plant books with me when I take these pics but that has not worked out yet. So I am left to try an identify the plants from my not-so-great iPhone pics.
For me this project just keeps on giving. The fact that I see some tree regeneration and a field of wildflowers instead of the jumble of blackberry vines and multiflora rose that first invaded all my other openings is a major plus. It is also a nice place to just hang out :)
It is both beautiful and interesting. :)
It is a nice place to be, someone needs to do it ... :)
They have a full forest of trees to go rub on and they find and abuse this poor little lonesome tree in the meadow... EAT um Robert just eat um... ;D sling_shot
A nice place to hang out, for sure.
Robert, oak are hare and bear targets up here. I have some pole wood the rabbits still girdle and then the bear climb them to bring them down to the ground. The rabbits find and browse every oak seedling. Yup, all of them and it seems to me like needles in hay stacks, but they have oak snuffing radar. :D And these trees would be less than 1 % of the make up of my woods. ::)
Nice looking meadow, no wonder the deer are up there also. ;D
Nice project you have there!
Thanks for the pictures, and keep them coming. I love reading through stuff like this.
Well just in case the world was about to end I made sure I was in my favorite place - my woods.
Here are some pics taken Dec. 21, 2012 - the winter solstice.
We had a bit of snow so there isn't a lot to see...
The smaller opening:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/122112_Small_Opening_2.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F%3Cbr%2520%2F%253EThe%2520pond%2520between%2520the%2520openings%3A%253Cbr%2520%2F%253E%2520%26lt%3Bbr%26gt%3B%26lt%3Bbr%26gt%3B%2520%255Bimg%2520width%3D549%2520height%3D410%255Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fforestryforum.com%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Fuserpics%2F10273%2F122112_Pond_2.JPG&hash=ca50d489a8f9fd8330971abbe2f5c2603f9a2111)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/122112_Pond_2.JPG)
The larger opening looking due south:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/122112_Large_Opening_South.JPG)
The larger opening looking Southeast:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/122112_Large_Opening_South_West.JPG)
The larger opening looking Southwest with a cameo appearance by Jette the wonder dog:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/122112_Large_Opening_South_East.JPG)
For some reason I cannot add the line identifying the pond between the openings. I think you can figure it out.
We did take a few deer this season to help alleviate the pressure. All doe.
Thanks for sharing, I have been looking at these progressive takes of your forest from the start. Nice to see it coming alive. :)
I watch with interest to. And there are sometimes surprises. Take a hardwood site dominated by sugar maple with say 10 % yellow birch. Clearcut it and wow, often it is a complete reversal it becomes mostly yellow birch for the new forest. Sugar maple doesn't sucker when mature to amount to much. Then there is the hardwood site that is cut and becomes mostly aspen until finally you notice the hardwood is coming along at a slower pace. Many times the aspen had to blow in on the wind. And out in the back country were I thin hardwood sometimes, there is hardly an aspen tree that will regenerate a site except road side. On private land, since it's been cut so many times and farms abandoned and new farms cleared for decades, aspen grows on about any site cut.
Custom Sawyer stopped by today at the house and one conversation came up about the tree size being small up here. One thing is, the mature timber is all cut, so your looking at young growth. And 50 years is still pretty young for trees up here. And most grow slow. I showed him a 30 year old white oak, barely 20 feet tall and maybe 8". Just a baby. ;)
Up here people don't let trees get very big and they are cutting again. ;)
Nice project, I would like to do something like that here, There is a spot on my land where I cleared the under brush out like you did, I also did some logging last year and will be doing more once the ground hardens up.
How did you clear out your under brush, all by hand or did you use some equipment.
Joe, it was all done by hand using chainsaws. It did seem daunting at first. A steady pace help make the work go fast enough. The hardest part, by far, was clearing all the slash.
Time for the spring 2013 update.
The weather was typical for the spring solstice - cloudy and cool. This year March has been cooler on average by 5°F and very wet.
I could have used some major lighting to help the pics. I took the pics at 1pm trying for the best light.
Large clearing 3/2013
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Back_Ridge_March_2013_007.JPG)
Large clearing pan left 3/2013
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Back_Ridge_March_2013_008.JPG)
Large clearing pan right 3/2013
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Back_Ridge_March_2013_009.JPG)
Pond between clearings 3/2013
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Back_Ridge_March_2013_001.JPG)
Small clearing 3/2013
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Back_Ridge_March_2013_003.JPG)
We had some fairly severe winds this winter. The observation stand did not fair well at all. Now I need to find a new cover for it.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Back_Ridge_March_2013_006.JPG)
Argh! I rotated this pic before I uploaded it to this post but I guess it did not work. :-\
The spring pics never seem to show a lot but rest assured there is a lot about to happen :)
Thanks for the update, OWW! Looking good. Has me thinking I may do this up on our property, which is about 95% trees.
It looks good, very different from year to year, nice to look back and see those changes.
I am still under three feet of snow :-\ Mud will be here soon a few weeks of above 0°c and it will go away. :)
Looks great! If I were wildlife, I'd be there :)
Just wondering... what is the reason to remove the slash, other than aesthetic? I get my best black cherry regeneration inside the tops of down trees and slash piles. Keeps the deer out and acts as nesting cover for turkeys. In 5 years or so all the slash has rotted down and you get saplings taller than the deer. ::) ??? ??? ???
Might be that Robert is mimicking fire. I think he wanted to observe succession at work as much as wildlife.
This project is being done in partnership with the Indiana Fish and Wildlife biologists. They stipulated all the slash be removed. Personally, I would have left it to keep the deer off the young growth.
Bill, you are correct in that it somewhat mimics fire. Prescribed burning is just making a comeback here.
This is a control site. The biologist were not to keen on telling me what all the study is designed to look at. I suppose that was to make it less likely I would inadvertently skew the data. Anyway, they lost there funding so now I am just letting nature progress with a little help. I still eliminate any invasive plant I find.
Keep us posted for the next 20 years. Should be interesting. ;D
An opening like that is easy to photograph the progression because it's all tall timber around. In my woodlot where I have various species that have regenerated, natural and artificial, depending on the shot and where I stood, the trees might not show much difference from the 10th year to the 30th year, especially with no scale. I've got lots of photos but it's hard to take good pictures with trees all up around ya. Won't look much different for years. Now when observing from reality, not photos, things change a lot to your eye from year to year. I also find it's hard to photograph something like a thinning, you see brush and trees, but can't see the details. :D
If you were in GA, you would have to be quick when you walked through an area like that so that the fast growing trees would not "goose" you :D. No glaciers here :).
We need them glaciers to slow things down here. If the trees grew for 10 months like they do in 3, we couldn't keep up with the harvesting. :D
Thanks for all your pictures. I have been watching your great project with a lot of interest. Comparing what happens in your big openings that you cleaned up real well to what happens in a much smaller less clear opening that I made where I left all the slash. I am also in poor soiled VT vs your Indiana.
In October 2010 I had this fir stand that was going nowhere and full of stump rot.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/21065/StandBefore2.JPG)
Stepping back a little I took the rest of the pictures from this same spot. Notice the birch and the ash.
Here is the same stand before it was cut.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/21065/Pic1StandBefore1.JPG)
This is Oct 2010 right after I cut it.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/21065/Pic2StandAfter1.JPG)
And this is two years later in Sept of 2012. Last fall. It is amazing how fast the slash seems to disappear.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/21065/Pic3StandAfter2Yr.JPG)
Right now it is still snow covered. I can't wait to see what happens this summer. It will be the third summer.
g_man,those last 3 pictures are nice. A very good job you did. I cut my fir for the OWB,if no size for logs. Seem like they get to log size all set,IF they get that size. Most time baseball size and over they go,all rotten.
Nice pics, and nice job G. I have smaller openings where I left the slash and areas where I simply girdled non crop trees. The openings quickly filled with briars. After five to ten years the briars have given way to pioneer species (tulip, aspen, ash, cherry). The briars and slash have kept the browse pressure down somewhat. The areas where the target trees were girdled have shown very good oak regen but the browse pressure can be severe.
Indiana has some excellent soils, unfortunately my little piece of it contains mostly thin poor soils. All the good stuff is growing crops or laying under developments, the rest, like mine, is forested. ;)
Like I've always said, if you can't grow taters you can always grow trees. :D
This is the thread that first brought me to the forum via web search. OWW's one man and a chainsaw approach was inspiring, as it is what I have done (although not as extensively) at my current and previous property. :)
Looking forward to the new pictures! 8)
This project of yours is a wonderful example of real world stewardship and conservation. Nice to read and watch along as you do it!
I took a series of pics last Friday. Unfortunately I have been chasing my tail trying to keep too many balls in the air so it will be a while before I download the pics to my puter and upload to the forum.
I promise I will get it down in the next week or so...
popcorn_smiley smiley_computer_monitor
If you don't post them soon, we will make you eat grits :).
The wait is killing me. I am ready for the feature to start :).
*heads to the snack bar to get a bowl of grits while the intermission reel plays*
logrite_cool logrite_cool logrite_cool logrite_cool logrite_cool logrite_cool logrite_cool logrite_cool
Quote from: WDH on June 25, 2013, 09:01:15 PM
If you don't post them soon, we will make you eat grits :).
Been there done that more than once! :) :)
Pics have been downloaded to puter. Now it is just a matter of finding the time to identify some of the flora (when Linnea has time to look at pics) and then upload.
Keep the popcorn warm and the beer cold...
popcorn_smiley smiley_beertoast :)
Hurls Tomato at Screen. materhead materhead :D
SHOWTIME ! ! !
June 21, 2013
I have attempted to rotate the pics so you don't have to stand on your head or lay on your side to see them. Sorry if it did not work.
Large opening
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_opening_062113.JPG)
Bummer....let me see if I can get some technical help before I load the rest of the pics :-\
Ok, gonna try again:
June 21, 2013
Large Opening
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_opening_062113.JPG)
Yes 8)
on to the rest of the pics...
Large opening scan east
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_opening_scan_east_062113.JPG)
Large opening scan west
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_opening_scan_west_062113.JPG)
Small opening
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Small_Opening_2_062113.JPG)
Japanese stilt grass in small opening - I will be spraying this with a grass specific herbicide in the next week or two
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Stiltgrass_2_062113.JPG)
Oak saplings wind damage yet to be coppiced
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Bent_oaks_yet_to_be_coppiced_062113.JPG)
Oak sapling surviving deer rub
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Oak_sappling_062113.JPG)
Black oak seedling
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Black_Oak_seedlings_062113.JPG)
Black oak seedling winning the battle
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Black_Oak_seedling_winner_062113.JPG)
Black oak seedling still in the shade
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Black_Oak_seedling_small_062113.JPG)
Red oak seedling - I think - it could be another black oak
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Red_Oak_seedlings_062113.JPG)
Water damaged oak seedlings - probably not gonna make it
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Water_damage_oak_seedling_062113.JPG)
Cinnamon colored oak seedlings - mineral uptake or water damage?
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/cinnamon_colored_oak_seedlings_062113.JPG)
Tulip poplar seedling
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Tuilp_seedlings_062113.JPG)
Sassafras seedling
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sassafrass_seedling_062113.JPG)
Sycamore seedling
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sycamore_seedling_062113.JPG)
and now for some flowering plants:
Solanum carolinense - Horsenettle
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Solanum_carolinense_-Horsenettle__062113.JPG)
Verbascum thapsus - commen mullen
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Verbascum_thapsus_-_common_mullen_062113.JPG)
Verbascum blattaria - moth mullein it is the white flower on the right
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Verbascum_blattaria_-_Moth_Mullein__062113.JPG)
Parthenium integrifolium - Wild Quinine with some other aster in the background perhaps feverfew or fleabane
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Parthenium_integrifolium_-wild_quinine_and_some_other_aster_in_back.JPG)
Unknown - reminds me of a mellon vine
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0433.JPG)
to be continued...
June 21, 2013 continued
Smoked multi-flora rose
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Multiflora_rose_carcass_062113.JPG)
I killed all the multi-flora and autumn olive I could find :)
If I have misidentified anything please feel free to correct me - it won't hurt my feelings one bit ;)
Great pictures that were well worth the wait.
:) smiley_bouncing smiley_bouncing smiley_bouncing :)
My dail up is really dead this time. :(
The little oaks are coming on!
Quote from: WDH on June 30, 2013, 07:54:20 AM
The little oaks are coming on!
Don't tell anybody but I feeds em grits when nobody's watchin :D :D
They'll be mighty oaks! 8) 8) 8)
Patience boys. If you cut them now, you will only get a little tough hay. ;D
September 21, 2013.
Large opening pan east:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_pan_left_092113.JPG)
Large opening pan west:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_pan_right_092113.JPG)
Took a panoramic of the large opening but the file is too big for the upload. Oh well, it was worth a try.
Small opening:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sm_Opening_092113.JPG)
Wildlife pond:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Wildlife_pond_2_092113.JPG)
and now for some close ups.
Aspen seedlings:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Aspen_seedlings_092113.JPG)
Black Oak and Hickory seedlings:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Black_Oak_and_Hickory_seedlings_092113.JPG)
White Oak seedling:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/White_oak_seedling_2__092113.JPG)
Young Black Oaks:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Young_Black_Oak_092113.JPG)
Sycamore seedling:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sycamore_seedling_092113.JPG)
Young Oaks:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Young_Oaks_092113.JPG)
Red Oak leave trees:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Red_Oak_leave_trees_092113.JPG)
Windthrow:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Windthrow_092113.JPG)
Other flora.
Eupatorium - Hardy ageratum:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Eupatorium2C_Hardy_Ageratum_092113.JPG)
Feverfew, large dandelion, boneset:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Feverfew2C_dandelion2C_boneset.JPG)
Lamb's Quarter seed:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lambs_quarter_seed_092113.JPG)
Monkey Flower:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Monkey_Flower.JPG)
Motherwort:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Motherwort_092113.JPG)
Nightshade:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Nightshade_092113.JPG)
Nightshade fruit:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Nightshade_fruit_092113.JPG)
Slender Mountain Mint seed:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Slender_Mountain_Mint_seed_092113.JPG)
Sullivant's Milkweed:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sullivant_s_Milkweed_092113.JPG)
Anymore you cannot disturb ground without a few invasives crashing the party.
Japanese stilt grass that was treated with Poast, a grass specific herbicide:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Dead_stiltgrass_Sm_Opening_092113.JPG)
Canadian thistle just before I cut it down:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Canadian_Thistle_092113.JPG)
Pawlonia - not considered an invasive by some but it is not welcome in my woods - just before I cut it down:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Pawlonia.JPG)
Earlier this summer I went through the openings and sprayed all the multiflora rose with Tryclopir. I did not find any live plants this time around but I know the battle is not over. All of these invasives and more will constantly be popping up so I must remain diligent. >:(
As always, if I have misidentified anything please feel free to point it out and give us the correct name.
The stilt grass is out of control on my open areas.
I have been spraying roundup for 4 years.
It kills the plant but the seeds are viable for years.
Good luck with it.
Jon
Very impressive, Robert. Nice to see all your hard work rewarded with all that beauty. smiley_thumbsup
OWW
Thanks for the pics, and especially the ones of the nightshade. I have some of that and have been wondering what it was. Now I know. smiley_thumbsup
You have more weeds than trees. :D But I know how that is too. Keep at the weeds and the trees will grow.
If I don't have weeds, the deer eat all the trees. :snowball:
Quote from: OneWithWood on October 01, 2013, 01:24:49 PM
That's a really nice quantity of species diversity and nice work in the ID's! It's always interesting to watch areas like this regenerate and see the various colors/canopy coverages they transition through.
Feverfew, large dandelion, boneset:
Easy way to check a boneset ID is to look for a "perfoliate" leaf. Essentially a leaf that surrounds the stem.
Lamb's Quarter seed:
I think this one is actually a common mullein (Verbascum thapsus).
Motherwort:
For the heck of it you might want to check this to see if you have a hedge-nettle (Stachys palustris) or similar species. They can look very similar to motherwort, but hedge-nettles are a native plant where motherwort is a nuisance non-native (at least here in WI). I think you may also have a bedstraw species (Galium sp) peeking through at the bottom of the photo.
Nightshade:
I would have to say you're correct that this is in the nightshade genus, but I'd have said you were looking at Carolina horse-nettle (Solanum carolinense).
Sullivant's Milkweed:
This species is endangered here in WI and I would love to see it sometime. Can you tell me what pushed you to decide Sullivant's milkweed versus common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)?
Quote from: OneWithWood on October 01, 2013, 01:34:34 PM
Canadian thistle:
Thistles aren't my strong suit, but I think this may be bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare). Canada thistle is usually not quite so tall and robust. I say usually because the only rule is that there are exceptions to the rule.
Earlier this summer I went through the openings and sprayed all the multiflora rose with Tryclopir. I did not find any live plants this time around but I know the battle is not over. All of these invasives and more will constantly be popping up so I must remain diligent. >:(
It looks like your efforts to control the invasives are paying off! Keep after the undesirables with the herbicide like you've been doing and the natives will ultimately outcompete them.
Axe Handle, thanks for the comments. I will try to answer your qs.
Lamb's quarter seed:
I can see common mullein instead of lamb's quarter - at first I was leaning to amaranth but Linnea corrected me.
Motherwort:
We are a bit south of the normal hedge-nettle range. But that doesn't necessarily rule it out. Definitely have a lot of bed straw.
Nightshade:
Carolina horse-nettle is a distinct possibility. I was leaning towards bittersweet at first but Linnea said no.
Sullivant's Milkweed:
It is the shape of the leaf, the leaf margins and the opposite arrangement of the leaves that brought me to my conclusion.
Canada thistle:
Bull thistle does have a purple to pink corollas and is listed at the same height of 1.5m. Most of the plants I found would fit the lower height but I chose to photograph the one that was taller than me. Either way it is not a plant I want around.
What I really need to do is take my wife and a couple of reference books into the field with me and study the lingo. Attempting to identify plants from photos is not very accurate and much harder on my ageing eyes. ::) Utilizing the keys for flowers would also go a long way in helping me identify stuff.
Thanks again for your help it is much appreciated. :)
Robert,
It is very informative to follow this thread. There is a lot going on in those openings. Shows the value of disturbance in a forested habitat to create edge and diversity.
I also think that what you have is Solanum carolinense. This is also the genus for tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants.
Robert, have you left an opening that you are not intervining in ? Sort of a spot that only nature is taking over as a comparative to your work.
I like what you're doing, very informative :P Please give my regards and a :-* to Linnea for me smiley_wavy
Marcel
It was also nice for Pat and I to take a walk with Robert and see his place first hand. smiley_thumbsup
Marcel,
There is an area just off to the east of this opening that has been left almost totally alone. I say almost because I do control invasives on the entire property. It was opened up via a group selection harvest in 2002. That area has become heavily infested with spice bush. Probably because it is a northeast facing slope.
Linnea is waving back at ya. smiley_wavy
It was very nice to have been able to show our place to Lynn and Pat.
Is Linnea's maiden name Gentry? ???
Quote from: mesquite buckeye on October 04, 2013, 12:15:47 PM
Is Linnea's maiden name Gentry? ???
No, it was and is Good. Hence the name of our woods, The Good-Woodling Woods :)
Thanks. That is a pretty uncommon name. I knew a Linnea who went to the University of Arizona many years ago. Her father was Howard Scott Gentry, one of the great botanist/ethnobotanists of Mexican flora and crops of the mid 20th century. She was named for Linneus, who created the binomial system of plant nomenclature. :)
Here are the Winter Solstice 2013 pics.
Not really much to see as everything is dormant.
Large opening pan left (east)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Clearing_pan_east_122313.JPG)
Large opening pan right (west)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Clearing_pan_west_122313.JPG)
Large opening facing south
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Clearing_122313.JPG)
Small opening faces north
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sm_Clearing_122313.JPG)
Wildlife pond
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Back_Ridge_Pond_2_122313.JPG)
The wildlife pond looks nice with all the leaves on the ground.
Looks good to me. I enjoy the pictures.
Is the pond filling in, Or is that about the size you started with? Can you give me more info on the pond. Thanks
The pond is full and has been since directly after I built it. It is a shallow pond with max depth of 24-30". The pond is a watering facility for wildlife and a habitat for amphibians, hence the shallow depth.
What is the water source? Or did you just dig and hope it would fill?
The pond is at the top of a wash so it filled naturally. The area was always wet so we thought it would be a natural for a small pond.
I wish you the best of luck with your project - you obviously have a hell of a lot more trust in your state government agencies than most of us do in our provincial government here in Ontario.
I only wish I could undertake a project like that on my land with gov't support - without worrying about more land-use restrictions and the attendant loss of land value down the road.
As always, enjoying the pictures, OWW. :)
We had very similar ponds developed by log skidders pushing out about three feet down to a hard pan. Some work, some don't, as a few critters like to dig tunnels [like muskrats]. Soon after, the pond goes dry yet, in some cases, a small wetland community develops in and around the old pond.
In our clearcuts, we get a flush of thistle-like weeds all over, then sedge and many other ground seeded plants grow;, pine seedlings, oak sprouts from stumps usually regenerate heavily, along with sassafras, gum, maple. More successfully than with hand planted seed of desired species.
I enjoyed catching up with this thread, it's very educational for me and extremely well written.
Well spring has finally arrived 8) The snow has disappeared from the landscape and the ground can be seen again.
Not much to look at at this stage but here it is:
The large opening looking due south:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/032114_Large_opening.JPG)
The large opening panning east:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/032114_Lg_Opening_Pan_east.JPG)
The large opening panning west:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/032114_Lg_Opening_Pan_West.JPG)
The small opening:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/032114_Small_Opening.JPG)
There was a pretty good infestation of stilt grass in the small opening so during the course of late summer and fall of last year I mowed and sprayed with Poast to kill it off. We will see how successful I was at reducing the infestation.
The pond:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/032114_Pond.JPG)
There has been some activity in the pond. When I visited the site on March 15 the surface was littered with frogs. Here is the result of the frog party - egg masses 8)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/032114_Frog_eggs_in_Pond.JPG)
I am really happy to see the frogs, and later the toads, reproducing and thriving in this pond. The amphibian population has been under great duress throughout the country in the recent past. Hopefully things are turning around for them.
One With Wood:
That is a very nice project you have there. Great to see the wetland is functioning. It looks like a pretty property, and I bet it is beautiful in the summer and fall.
All still looks good. Dry bare ground ready to start another growing season. I am jealous.
The frogs are a very nice addition.
Man that looks good.I really enjoy spring. There is a day that I can smell the earth come alive.Some years I miss the day it happens.
Great thread. Beautiful property. Thoughtful changes. Nicely done OWW.
We got another 4 inches of snow today, :-\
It is so pleasing to see ground, well over two feet of snow in the bush closer to three. Tapping mapples is under going, but sap won't run here for a few weeks.
I am pleased to see how well things are shaping out with this project, I went back to the begining and looked it over from start, awsome to see the changes from year to year. :) :P
Robert,
The opening is amazingly clean. Down here, it would be covered in sweetgum :).
Thanks for those pictures. Very nice woods and a great project. I'm working on a selective cut now in order to comply with my Managed Forest Law management plan. Hope I can finish it before I get too old.
Around here the bush still has about three feet of snow yet. In the open areas there is considerably less but there is no melting of the white stuff scheduled for this week. I woke this morn to -26C and highs through the week are -6C at the warmest..... Nice to see the pictures of the ground.
It is good to be able to traverse the property again. Snow cover and frozen ground makes any mechanical movement dicey so any work is handwork and walking.
I did notice come blackberry vines popping up here and there. It won't be long before there is a thicket of thorns covering the landscape. In the past every opening we made was covered with vines after the first year. This area seems to be taking a bit longer.
At the Missouri farm blackberries predominate over raspberries. I find them to be a great indicator of practical stand density/light levels at the forest floor level.
1. No blackberries means the area is probably too dark, meaning in need of thinning.
2. Scattered blackberries indicate a healthy stocking level.
3. Impenetrable thickets of blackberries indicate a recently thinned area or a stand without enough trees.
Just a way to check yourself, in addition to looking up and evaluating at the canopy level for excessive competition/overtopping. ;D
Blackberry is excellent for wildlife. Blackberry is very good.
Methinks also. ;D
I just noticed that you are right up the road from me. We'll have to get together sometime. I live on 300 acres, we have it selective cut ~10-15 years or so. Dad and I were just out today cleaning up a big Poplar that an even bigger dead Beech knocked down. Also found a double stemmed wild cherry in the tops. Some of the logs are back at the house.
Send some of those blackberries to Ray, his wife will make to best ever jam out of them you have ever put into your chompers. digin1
My farm is blackberry heaven. ;D 8) 8) 8) :snowball:
Might have to put you on the visite list, when is the best picking time ;D I luve blackberries :)
Summer, same as ticks. We've got plenty of both. I'm not generally there then, but you are of course, welcome. PM me sometime for directions. ;D
I'm closer Marcel and have billions of blackberries. Last year I mowed down close to 20 acres worth some 8ft tall. The rabbits eat the berries, then the copperheads come in and eat the rabbits and then I come in a mulch everybody! :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL019GoQMG4
You can pick mine without a ladder. ;D 8) 8) 8) :snowball:
Hopefully you have the native type blackberries. We have a lot of the Himalayan Blackberry which has now been classified as noxious. They came in a century ago and have been invasive. Have large berries that make good pies but large seeds and very large canes and thorns.
We have a few berries on top of the hill,on paper company land. But just a little ways away there is a wicked patch. The blackberries are the size of my thumb. Takes no time to pick a quart. But it's just about straight up for about 20 feet. I have fell many times. Never spilled them. Had lots of practice not spilling another type of beverage. :D I ask each year to pick. They don't want them and we pay with a pint of blackberry jam.
Here is a pic of Linnea and Chester harvesting berries for a pie:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Blackberry_Harvest_5.JPG)
The pic was taken in 2008. The area now is a tulip poplar grove on the left, where the berries were, and a wildlife food plot on the right.
June 21,2014.
As always, if I have misidentified something please jump in with the correction.
the large opening facing south
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_062114.JPG)
the large opening panning east
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_Pan_Left_062114.JPG)
the large opening panning west
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_Pan_Right_062114.JPG)
the small opening facing northeast
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/SmOpening_062114.JPG)
It is time to mow and spray the stilt grass again. That stuff is a serious pain in the patootee :-\
the pond between the two openings
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Wildlife_Pond_062114.JPG)
It is amazing how open it has remained. Down here, it would be over head tall in weeds, blackberry bushes, and sweetgum.
June 21, 2014
A closer look at some of the flora:
White oak, Quercus alba, seedling
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/White_Oak_Quercus_alba_seedling.JPG)
Red oaks, Quercus rubra
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Young_red_oaks.JPG)
Black oak, Quercus velutina, seedlings
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Black_Oak_seedlings_Quercus_velutina.JPG)
windthrown oaks
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/windthrown_oak.JPG)
American sycamore, Platanus occidentalis
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/American_Sycamore_Platanus_occidentalis.JPG)
Sassafrass seedling, Sassafrass albidum
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sassafras_albidum_seedling.JPG)
Hickory, Corya, stump sprouts. I am not sure which of the many hickories these are. You have your choice between shagbark, shellbark, pignut, bitternut or mockernut.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Hickory_sprouts_Carya.JPG)
Eastern red cedar, Juniperus virginiana
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Eastern_Red_Cedar_Juniperus_virginiana.JPG)
Joe Pye weed, Eupatorium fistulosum
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Joe_Pye_weed_Eupatorium_fistulosum.JPG)
Horse nettle, Solanum carolinense
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Horse_nettle_Solanum_Carolinense.JPG)
Field thistle, Cirsium discolor
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Field_thistle_Cirsium_discolor.JPG)
Blackberry, Rubus fruiticosus
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Black_rasberry_Rubus_fruiticosus.JPG)
Ox-eye daisies, Chrysanthemum vulgare, and Christmas fern, Polystichum acrostichoides
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Ox-eye_daisies__Chrysanthemum_vulgare_and_Christmas_fern_Polystichum_acrostichoides.JPG)
Common mullein, Verbascus Thapsus
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Common_mullein_Verbascum_thapsus.JPG)
Penstemon or Beardtongue, Penstemon schmidel
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Penstemon_or_Beardtongue_Penstemon_Schmidel.JPG)
Slender mountain mint, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Slender_Mountain_Mint_062114.JPG)
Good morning, Danny.
Yes, these two clearings are not normal in the sense that the brambles have not taken over as you suggest. All the other openings I have done were to dense to walk through after the second season.
I need to work on my gallery. I see many of the pics need to be rotated. Gimme a minute or four. ::)
Well, crapola. I went back to my gallery and attempted to rotate the pics but even though the prompt showed the pic rotated and saved nothing happened. My apologies if you need to lay on your side to clearly see the pics! >:(
June 21, 2014.
My ongoing battle with invasive or unwanted plants continues. It seems I was able to knock back a bunch but I will probably be doing mop up activities forever.
Pink multiflora rose
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/pink_multiflora_rose.JPG)
Multiflora rose, Rosa multiflora
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Multiflora_rose_Rosa_multiflora.JPG)
Burdock, Arctium minus
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Burdock_Arctium_minus.JPG)
Paulownia or Empress tree, Paulownia tomentosa
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Paulonia_or_Empress_tree_Paulownia_tomentosa.JPG)
Autumn olive, Elaeagnus umbellate
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Autumn_Olive_Elaeagnus_umbellata.JPG)
Canadian thistle, Cirsium arvense
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Canadian_thistle_Cirsium_arvense.JPG)
Not pictured is Ailanthus or Tree of Heaven.
Actually if you go back to the pic of the Sycamore you will see an Ailanthus in the far right of the pic.
June 21, 2014.
Fauna! finally!
These pictures were captured by a game cam I set up facing the small opening.
Deer
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Deer_061214.JPG)
Turkey
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Turkey_050814.JPG)
Hen turkey - lower left of pic
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Hen_turkey_061414.JPG)
Coyotes
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Coyote_060314.JPG)
That's all until next time. Maybe by then I will have figured out how to properly rotate pics.
Burdock,I have no idea what kind you have. My Father and me frought that stuff for years. Neighbor up the road has it. Hope it stays up there.
I like the game pictures.
We have the pain-in-the-a$$ kind! :D
Ayup,same kind. ;D
Robert,
You might not be much on rotating pics, but you sure make a nice opening :).
Ok, with the advice of Magic and Jeff, I was able to correct the out-of-kilter pics.
Hope it is easier to look at now.
Quote from: Raider Bill on March 27, 2014, 09:08:16 AM
I'm closer Marcel and have billions of blackberries. Last year I mowed down close to 20 acres worth some 8ft tall. The rabbits eat the berries, then the copperheads come in and eat the rabbits and then I come in a mulch everybody! :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL019GoQMG4
What is that small tree standing to the right of the pine at the 2:35 mark. I have the same situation between my 7 yr old pine tree stand. It's a chore keeping them under control. I have to use my commercial John Deere mower between them now, as the tractor won't fit anymore. I have cut some 6 or 7' tall this year :o
Have been wondering what kind of weedy tree it was. The birds must love them and spread the seeds everywhere. :-\
It was either a sumac, probably winged sumac, Rhus copillinum, or devil's walking stick, Aralia spinosa.
Thanks WDH. A quick search and it appers to be sumac, not poison.
Hard to believe it is fall already, where did the summer go?
Here are the pics taken September 22, 2014.
The small opening - the brownish purple spots are the remains of some stiltgrass that was treated with Poast.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Small_opening_2_092214.JPG)
The pond between the two openings. There is a lot of reflection so the water is a bit hard to see. The clarity of the water is excellent now.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Pond_2_092214.JPG)
The large opening panning east.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_opening_east_092214.JPG)
The large opening looking due south.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_opening_south_092214.JPG)
The large opening panning west.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_opening_west_092214.JPG)
Here are some ground level pics to help put the growth in perspective.
Large opening looking east.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Grnd_level_east_092214.JPG)
Ground level facing south.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Grnd_level_south_092214.JPG)
Ground view from the NW corner.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Grnd_view_tree_line_fr_NW_corner_092214.JPG)
Ground view from western edge.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Grnd_view_tree_line_fr_west_edge_092214.JPG)
Ground view looking back north. You can see the observation stand at the far northern edge. Compare this photo from one of the first pics in this thread to get a good feel for how this plot has changed over time.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Grnd_view_facing_north_2_092214.JPG)
The ground view images give you a better perspective of the trees that are starting to top the ground vegetation. Most of the stems are sycamore with a smattering of tulip poplar and big tooth aspen. There are still a fair number of oaks that survived the wind.
We had cooler evenings than normal for September this year and most of the flowers got nipped. Here is a shot of a Senecio vulgaris (common groundsel) with some seed still attached but much more bare than the same time last year.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Groundsel_092214.JPG)
This is one fruiting plant best avoided. Solanum carolinense (horse-nettle), deadly poisonous.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Horse-nettle_Solanum_carolinense_092214.JPG)
and I could not post an update without showing a hickory and an oak seedling.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Hickory_and_oak_regen_092214.JPG)
The blackberry canes are beginning to gain some ground and there is more thistle than I would like but the area is still passable three years in.
Thanks for the update. Good thing that you don't have sweetgum :D.
We do have black gum, or tupelo, but it seems to be much better behaved than your sweet gum. ;)
Another 3 months have rolled by. Here are the pics taken 12/22/2014. It was an overcast day and due to a messed up back I did not linger in the area for long. Much of the flora and some of the fauna were napping anyway.
The small opening:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Small_Opening_12222014.JPG)
The pond between the two openings:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/pond_12222014.JPG)
The large opening panning east:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_pan_east_12222014.JPG)
The large opening panning east from ground level:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_opening_ground_level_pan_east_12222014.JPG)
The large opening facing due south:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_opening_facing_south_12222014.JPG)
The large opening facing south at ground level:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_opening_ground_level_south_12222014.JPG)
The large opening panning west:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_opening_pan_west_12222014.JPG)
The large opening panning west at ground level:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_opening_ground_leve_pan_west_12222014.JPG)
That's all for now. I hope to do more close up documentation in the spring.
Are those small background trees in the understory beech?
Quote from: WDH on December 28, 2014, 07:52:51 AM
Are those small background trees in the understory beech?
WDH beat me to it! I won't go so far as to use the 'great minds' quote, though. ;D
Beech and Red Maple. They are in the process of dying as I sprayed them with Garlon 4 this past summer.
Ryn,
You have to be careful about the company that you keep ;D.
Looks good. I would expect the leaves on the tree gave them away? ;)
The leaves on beech are tardily deciduous :).
One of my favorite parts of the winter woods. Beech leaves and tracks in the snow. :)
Here it is already March 2015.
These pics were taken March 21, 2015.
Spring pics are a bit boring but you can see some progress.
Small opening. Yes those red maples still have leaves attached. I could swear I killed them last year using tryclopir (basal bark application) but maybe I just dreamt that. If those trees turn green I will attack them with a vengeance! :rifle: air_plane go_away
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Small_Opening_3_032115.JPG)
Pond between openings with Jette the Wonder dog making a cameo appearance:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Regen_Pond_1_032115.JPG)
(http:///%3Ehttps://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Amphib_eggs_032115.JPG)
Large opening scanning east from the observation tower:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_pan_east_032115.JPG)
Large opening looking due south from observation tower:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_pan_south_032115.JPG)
Large opening panning west from observation tower:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_pan_west_032115.JPG)
Large opening panning east from ground level:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_ground_level_pan_east_032115.JPG)
Large opening looking due south from ground level:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opeing_ground_level_pan_south_032115.JPG)
Large opening panning west from ground level: Jette gets in on the action again.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_ground_level_pan_west_032115.JPG)
Pic from south end looking back north:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_ground_level_pan_north_032115.JPG)
In many of the pics you can see some young oaks just about up over the browse line. Makes me happy 8)
Of course a few cedars are beginning to pop up so the cardinals will have a place to hang out. I wish I could get a pic of a hawk, eagle or owl in one of the big snags but they hear me coming.
I wished I would of taken pictures like you did of the field that I reclaimed. I have some pictures,like the field,woods, in the background when I took pictures of my sawmill,but nothing like what you did. That looks good.
This thread is fascinating. Absolutely cool. Thanks for posting. I'm a newbie to this whole forestry thing... Kinda lived in the forest but never thought about it much. Our Forester had mentioned that our back overgrown field could be a regeneratve successional forest area for grouse etc.... Yet I'm gonna want that area back into field. But perhaps I can do something similar to this in the back 50 acres, so I provide for the wildlife I might displace.
It is good to consider wildlife implications on a property when developing a management strategy. It is just the right thing to do. The critters, birds, and the bees need things, too.
kwendt, do you have any sugar maple stands on your land? One spring, in late May or early June, I was on a woodlot marking out brush saw thinning in sugar maple. The ground was in bloom with wood sorrel, and there were thousands of bumble bees working on them flowers. See small numbers on fields it seems of late, but the woods was full of bees. I only mention it to you because your just across the border and we have the same forest up here. Just somthing to observe when your roaming the back 40. ;D
SD, yes... there are at least 4 SM stands that I know of already, not very big - like 1/4 acre or so... so maybe not classified as a stand. But a grouping of SM trees - yeah. I don't know about the sorrel, but that would be so nice. I'm sticking with organic methods - learning how... so I don't add any more nasty stuff to the earth. Every little bit helps, if we all do our parts.
I LOVE wildlife... even beavers, which I know that most people hate. I was hoping anyways to open up some of the logging trails, roads and totes ... to create more fringe area for wildlife, brush, scrub covert - part of my plan for the entire 55 acres in the back. Sort of hiking trails, ski trails... big enough that I can get a UTV out there - but mostly quiet. There are some cedar bog areas back there, I don't want to mess with - deer yards. But the ridge I'm on is a series of low, shoulders... so there's elongated patches of dry/hardwoods with wetter/mixed softwood or cedar. There are a lot of springs in the area. Where I grew up, there were three certified drinking water springs that we 'tapped' into. That's all we drank.
Yeah springs are common all over up in these parts. My grandfather's house and his barn water trough for the cows was all off a spring. He had a smaller house where my uncle lived across the road on the same spring. And as kids we used springs to get drinking water all the time from old abandoned spring tubs/houses and places hand dug to dip your cup or water jug in. ;D
...and we all used the same enameled tin cup to drink from at one spring. A wonder we didn't all die from communicable diseases!
That's why I always say the human race would've perished long ago if we were that frail. ;D
June 21, 2015.
Summer has arrived at the Good-Woodling woods. The spring was wetter than normal and the flora has taken full advantage of the moisture.
The field of close-to-the-ground flowering plants is giving way to larger plants and traversing the openings is becoming more challenging. I did not venture into the growth on this day because everything was wet from recent rains and I would have emerged looking like a drowned rat. Sorry about that. If you wish to receive a refund for your ticket see the man at the counter... :)
Small opening:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0766.JPG)
The stilt grass continues to invade the sunny areas. It is giving way to smartweed but I probably kill as much smartweed as stiltgrass when I treat the area by mowing or using a foliar spray. To the right of the sycamore stem is this years appearance of ailanthus. Invasive eradication never ends.
The pond:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0767.JPG)
The amphibs continue to thrive and multiply.
Large opening panning east:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0769.JPG)
Large opening due south:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0770.JPG)
Large opening panning west:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0771.JPG)
Large opening panning east from ground level:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0773.JPG)
Large opening due south from ground level:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0772.JPG)
Large opening panning west from ground level:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0774.JPG)
Large opening looking back north. If you look closely you can make out the observation tower between the two openings. I try and take this picture from the same spot every year for a comparison to the very first pics I took when creating the opening.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0776.JPG)
I am somewhat surprised at the proliferation of sycamore in the openings. I do not expect the sycamore to survive to maturity as this is a ridge top and they normally prefer a more moist site. Time will tell.
Blackberries just starting to ripen. It won't be long until the entire opening is covered with blackberry vines.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0775.JPG)
One of the problems I have taking these pics is showing scale. Fortunately this year the Project Learning Tree field trip to the Good-Woodling woods coincided nicely with the solstice. Here are a couple of pics taken of the teachers on June 24, 2015.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0777.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0778.JPG)
Project learning tree is a program developed by the American Forest Foundation, the umbrella organization that encompasses the American Tree Farm System, in conjunction with individual state tree farm committees and often the forestry division of the state DNR. Part of the training offered to middle and high school teachers involves a series of field trips to explore the role forests and wood products play in the local economy as well as informing the teachers of the sustainable nature of properly managed forests. This is the third year the group has toured the Good-Woodling woods as the individual land steward component of the field trips.
That all looks good. I wished I would of taken picture of my grown up pasture before I claimed it back. Looks a lot diffeant now,so does yours.
It is really nice to be able to see 4 years of progression on your openings.
Since 2010 I have been making a series of small opening patch cuts. My soil is probably poorer than your's and I leave the slash and do not disturb or expose the mineral soil like you did. I also have a mixed HW/SW forest so it is not the same as what you have but I still like to use your project as the bellwether in comparing to results I see in my work. Thanks for posting.
gg
Looking good, Robert. Pretty soon it will be thick as hair on a dog's back (old saying).
Looks like little trees coming. ;D 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) :snowball:
September 21, 2015
I decided to clean up some blowdown just to the northeast of the openings before taking these pics. All was going well until I stepped on a yellow jackets nest. The little buggers let me know they did not appreciate me disturbing them. The pain was reaching a crescendo while taking the pics so I did not linger long.
The small opening:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Small_Opening_plant_in_lettuce_family_092115.JPG)
The tall plant on the left is some type of lettuce. The smaller shrub on the right is a stubborn ailanthus that is dead but has not figured it out yet >:(
Close up of the lettuce plant. Any help with more specific ID is appreciated.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Small_Opening_lettuce_closeup_092115.JPG)
Pond:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Pond_092115.JPG)
I apologize for the darkness of the pic. I had a better lit one but for some reason it was all blurred and out of focus ???
Large Opening from the tower panning east:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_pan_east_092115.JPG)
Large Opening from tower due south:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_due_south_092115.JPG)
I included the tractor to add some scale. The darker trees in the middle are oak.
Large Opening from tower panning west:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_pan_west_092115.JPG)
Large Opening from ground level due south:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_due_south_ground_level__tractor_092115.JPG)
Large Opening from ground level due south from other side of tractor. Notice the tall thistles towards the left of the frame. I think those are field thistle but could be bull thistle or Canada thistle. The last two are considered invasive in the area. I would appreciate it if someone could point out the features that would help me ID the plants. If not invasive I want to leave them because they are a good source of food.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_due_south_ground_level_092115.JPG)
Large opening from ground level panning west:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_pan_west_ground_level_092115.JPG)
Oak seedling by tower:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Oak_seedling_by_stand_092115.JPG)
Pics from the opposite (South) side of the large opening:
Facing northwest:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_northwest_092115.JPG)
Facing due north. It is becoming more difficult to see the observation tower on the northern edge of the opening.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_due_north_092115.JPG)
Facing northeast:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_northeast_092115.JPG)
Oak seedling and sensitive fern:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Black_oak_seedling2C_sensitive_fern_092115.JPG)
Blackberry vine:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_Blackberry_vine_092115.JPG)
It has been five years since I cleared the area and it has gone through some changes. The drought years of 2010 and 2012 have had an affect. Where I had expected a much larger flush of big tooth aspen, tulip poplar and ash, there is, to my surprise, a large contingent of sycamore. My theory is that the initial aspen and tulip seedlings succumbed to the drought and the sycamore blew in on the breeze later. The sycamore seem to be thriving and will probably close up the canopy before a lot of the aspen, tulip, ash, cherry, hickory and oak reach the overstory. Of course the oaks that I left will still be dominant trees. I can always thin the sycamore at a later time to free up the trees in the understory.
Some great progress. Plant wise, of course ;D.
Nature will surely claim what's hers to take back.
I just reflect at times about all the old abandoned farms on the end of roads that basically turned into logging roads. Since the loggers maintain them to get to the timber on those places. Some of these places have been cut 2 and 3 times, but the most recent harvest is usually a clear cut.
December 22, 2015.
The plants are slumbering awaiting the winter that is very slow in coming. The weather has been unusually warm and wet. I took these pics about 2pm when the sky suddenly cleared and the sun came out. The quality suffers when taking pic directly into the sun ::)
Two pics of the small opening:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Small_Opening_122215.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Small_Opening_2_122215.JPG)
The pond:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Pond_122215.JPG)
These monocots appeared this year. I could use some help identifying them:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Pond_monocot_122215.JPG)
Seed head:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Monocot_seed_head_Pond_122215.JPG)
Large opening panning east from the observation tower:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_pan_east_122215.JPG)
Large opening due south at ground level:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opeining_grnd_level_2_122215.JPG)
Is anyone able to identify the tall grass in the foreground?
Large opening pan west from tower:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_pan_west_122215.JPG)
Large opening looking north to tower. The tower took a beating during the high winds this fall:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_due_north_122215.JPG)
Large opening looking north with sycamore in foreground and oaks above the brush in the background.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_north_Sycamore_and_oaks_122215.JPG)
Still looking north, a game trail on the right and blackberry vines on the left:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Lg_Opening_north_game_trail_2_122215.JPG)
Covert along the northern edge of large opening:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Covert_by_large_opening_122215.JPG)
The greenery in the background is lycopodium, also know as club moss or ground cedar. Before I cleared the area north of the covert the ground under the trees was covered with it.
Robert, I get what looks like the same weed/grass in my fields. Locals call it sage. I find it to be invasive with nothing wanting to eat it. Gets to clumping and chokes out everything else.
I see the grass (round stem) there gone to seed near the pond as you photographed and mentioned.
Never learned the different grasses in college, just the genus because there are so many.
We also have ground cedar up here, not something we see in hardwood though. Usually in mixed timber with spruce and fir, red maple, aspen, birch.
Everything looks quiet for winter. ;D
I believe that the tall grass is from the genus Andropogon. Either broom sedge or a bluestem grass.
Yep Sedge not sage is what I was told.
Does the grass in question have a "turkey foot" shaped seed head? If it does it's big bluestem. It looks like it may be big blue to me. Little bluestem is bunchier in growth, isn't as tall and has a different seed head. I was told once upon a time that to distinguish a sedge from a grass to remember "sedges have edges". That is their stems aren't smooth but have edges on them unlike grasses which have round smooth stems.
Same as Corley said, if it's a jointed stem, round and smooth it's not sedge.
That orange is typical of bluestems. There are a bunch of them so you will need seedheads and such. Flora of Missouri will most likely have yours. I have several different ones at my MO farm.
SPRING 2016
March 21, 2016 turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. As nice as it was it was a bit problematic taking pics with my iPhone because the screen is often hard to see. Sort of like taking a shot in the dark - old saying. ::)
Here are the pictures to record the changes in the openings:
From the top of the observation tower looking east:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_pan_East_032116.JPG)
That is a hared maple that snapped during one of the many wind events that seem to occur with more frequency. The tree was probably weakened by the last drought.
looking south:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_Pan_South_032116.JPG)
The trees with leaves from last year in the opening are the oaks. 8)
looking west:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_pan_West_032116.JPG)
The trees with leaves from last year under the tree line are beech and red maple.
The same aspect only from ground level:
looking east:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_ground_level_pan_east_032116.JPG)
looking south:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_ground_level_south_032116.JPG)
From the southern edge looking back north:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_facing_north_032116.JPG)
The small opening:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Small_Opening_032116.JPG)
My battle with the red maples is beginning to show progress as there are fewer red maples visible under the tree line than before. The ailanthus (tree of heaven) sprouts are also far fewer within the opening.
The pond:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Pond_032116.JPG)
The weather as been cooler than normal so the pond is quiet. When the temps increase just a bit the quiet will give way to the sounds of frogs and toads partying non-stop.
Even though this time of year is somewhat mono-chrome it is a very good time to spot invasive species which green up well before anything native. Over the years I have greatly reduced the ailanthus population but the multi-flora rose is proving to be much harder to control. Just about all the green in the pictures is multi-flora rose:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Multiflora_rose_032116.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Multiflora_2_large_opening_facing_north_032116.JPG)
Here is a sycamore just budding:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Sycamore_budding_032116.JPG)
And a remnant of last year is this casing of a gall wasp in one of the oak saplings:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Gall_wasp_casing_032116.JPG)
Blackberry canes:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0871.JPG)
For Cedarman:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Cedar_in_large_opening_032116.JPG) :)
The matted grass layer concerns me as it may prevent a better oak regeneration. I think a controlled burn would be an excellent thing to do but given the location and proximity to a couple of houses I would need to hire an experienced team and that is not in the budget for now.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Matted_grass_large_opening_032116.JPG)
Now would be a good time to strap on the sprayer with some tryclopir and attack the multi-flora rose.
Excellent progress.
It's nice to watch what we do to influence things and follow it over time. :)
Your little pond reminds me of listening for the first spring peepers to sing in the ephemeral pools.
Well done! Great photo story of your implemented management.
A burn would favor grasses and really hurt your young trees. :(
Your vegetation looks a lot like Missouri. ;D
Great thread you made here. I find it interesting to see the results. I did the same thing in a one acre clearing but the results were terrible. The first year the popple came in thick but we had 2 high snow and low temp winters and the deer destroyed the trees. I now have a nasty briar patch.... but I been using it now to my advantage to plant nuts and have some new growth and the briar act like a fence. I tell you what, I look like hell when I'm done working in that garbage. Some of it is as thick as my thumb and my atv barely plows through.
Quote from: mesquite buckeye on April 06, 2016, 02:59:13 PM
A burn would favor grasses and really hurt your young trees. :(
Good point. I was thinking I could knock the matting down and eliminate some sycamore. I can wait until the young oaks have thicker bark.
June 20, 2016
Things have really popped and look so much better in green. :) The brambles and sycamores are becoming very prevalent. The oaks are hanging in there but a few are stressed and one was bent over by the winds. Invasives are still a pain so I will be spraying a lot this fall and early spring.
The small clearing:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Small_Opening_062016_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466811165)
Windthrown Tulip Poplar - Liriodendron tulipifera between the small opening and the pond. Gonna really have to think about this one before I salvage it. It is nested in the three smaller trees.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Windthrown_Tulip_by_Small_Opening_062016.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466875111)
Pond between openings:
The bluestem is beginning to take over so I will need to pull some this fall.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Pond_2_062016_-_Copy.JPG?%3Cbr%20/%3Eeasyrotate_cache=1466875393)
Large Opening pan east:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_pan_east_062016_-_Copy.JPG?%3Cbr%20/%3Eeasyrotate_cache=1466810897)
Large opening pan south:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_due_south_062016_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466810783)
Large opening pan west:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Largen_Opening_pan_west_062016_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466810895)
Large opening pan east, ground level:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_opening_grpound_level_pan_east_062016_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466810846)
Large opening due south, ground level:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Large_Opening_gropund_level_due_south_062016_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466810828)
Large opening pan west, ground level:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0935_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466810771)
Wind thrown oak:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Windthrown_oak_2_062016.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466879308)
Quercus rubra (northern red oak) under stress. Not sure why:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Stressed_oak_062016_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466850265)
Some type of red oak seedling. The juvenile leaves keep me guessing:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/some_type_of_red_oak_seedling_062016_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466811183)
Quercus alba (white oak) seedling:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Quercus_alba_28White_oaK29_seedling_062016_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466850319)
Quercus rubra (northern red oak) seedling:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Quercus_rubra_28_Red_Oak29_seedling_062016_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466811053)
Bees on centaurea (thistle, not sure which one):
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Bees_on_centaurea_062016_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466810740)
Quercus Velutina (Black oak) seedling and Leucanthemum vulgare (Ox-eye daisy):
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Quercus_Velutina_28Black_oak29_seedling_and_Leucanthemum_vulgare_28Ox-eye_daisy29_062016_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466880309)
Rubus occidentalis (Back raspberr):
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Rubus_occidentalis_28Back_raspberr29_062016_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466811096)
Solanum carolinense (Horsenettle):
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/Solanum_carolinense_28Horsenettle29_062016_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1466811135)
As always if anyone sees a discrepancy please feel free to post it and I will correct the caption on the photo. It is hard enough to research plant id on the web without a bunch of erroneous files. ::)
That is so beautiful!
I'd wait and see if nature will fell that windblown Tulip Poplar. Yikes! :o
To see what became of the trees taken off to make the clearing go here:
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=91067.msg1402425#msg1402425
It is getting thick. The critters love you now.
The grass in the pond looks like giant reed. Check out this link. www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/watersupply/lakepond/.../phragmites.pdf
The good news is you can make your own clarinet reeds now. ;D
I went back and reread the whole thread cuz I couldn't remember when you started this project ( always nice to see Mr. Tom's posts). Things are growing along nicely.
Sept. 21-22, 2016
I had to spread the photo shoot over two days because my iPhone is draining the battery at an alarming rate. Oh, well, just means I had to stop running in circles and get out on the property 8)
The sycamores are really beginning to assert themselves. I may have to just call this Sycamore Grove - not really what I had in mind when I started this project ::)
The small opening:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0981.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474915612)
Slightly different angle and lighting of small opening:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0982.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474915617)
The pond between the two openings:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0984.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474916808)
The seed head of the unwelcome reed in the pond - I have to agree with Mesquite that it is Phragmite australis - Giant reed.
I could use some suggestions on the best way to eliminate it without contaminating the pond. The amphibs have really taken to this pond.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0988.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474916925)
It has been a tremendous growing season with all the rain and warmth.
The large opening from the observation tower looking northeast:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0989.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474915795)
From the tower looking due south:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0990.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474915773)
From the tower looking northwest:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0991.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474915832)
Quercus alba - white oak seedlings on the edge by the tower:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0992.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474917104)
Ground level looking east:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0993.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474915915)
Ground level facing due south:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0994.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474915935)
Ground level facing west:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0999.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474915959)
From the southern edge looking back north:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_1001.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474915982)
Can't see the forest for the trees (old saying) - I think this is the picture I took of the cedar tree in post #207. Kinda hard to see it now as it has been subsumed by the sycamores.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_1006.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474917497)
Standing on the southern edge looking west by northwest:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_1003.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474916041)
Reference Quercus ruba (northern red oak) in left foreground - used to be able to see the observation tower on the northern edge from here:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_1004.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474916052)
Argh! the Dang Japanese stilt grass continues to be a pain in the patootee >:(
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_1005.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474917455)
The Plantanus occidentalis (sycamore) jungle :o
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_1002.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474916011)
Two Quercus velutina (eastern black oak) leave trees trying to survive:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_1007.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474916539)
Tick trefoil waiting to hitch a ride on my pants:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_1009.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474917611)
asters, trefoil, boneset hanging on in a small open area:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_1010.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474917628)
This one has me stumped. Any guesses?:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_1008.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1474916146)
You have made the animals happy.
Looks like a goldenrod Robert, lance-leaved maybe, Solidago graminifolia.
Nice little critter patch, and the forest doing it's best to take over. ;)
What a nice thread this is, being able to see such a long term change. Going back to the March 20, 2011 pictures in your first post and watching the development each season pretty informative and interesting.
gg
This was not just clearing land but a beautiful project started in 2011 . With great pictures.
While doing some research, I came across this thread and just finished reading it. Excellent thread, the pictures are great.
I was looking at doing this same thing in my woods with the ultimate goal of creating oak regeneration. I have a good amount of red oak with a few white oak but the young saplings are not in the under story.
My question is this. Instead of letting nature take its course with the openings you created why not plant select 1 year oak saplings in the clearings either row planting or spot planting? This way you control what will be growing there?
Also with regards to the deer and rabbit issues would the growing tubes or tree shelters or even plastic mesh solve this issue? I understand these protection devices are expensive but if it produces a better oak regeneration than to me it would be worth it.
Ive been observing deer chewing very closely in a clearing i cut at my place.. They go bonkers for red maple and sourwood sprouts.. Which is great because those species coppice abundantly here. I have deer come through and chew on those every night without minding the oaks at all.
Give them an abundance of alternative food and youre oak odds will be much improved.
I'll second what Mike said based on what my goats (little deer) go after. They hit the Elm, Hackberry, Locust, Mulberry, and Hedge hard. They'll eat a little Oak and Walnut, but won't seek it out and it's far from first choice.
Thorny overgrown areas also can help regrowth. Have left a couple blackberry patches in the pasture go a few years because I like to pick them with the kids. This year was the first time I noticed 2-3 6' Black Walnut saplings poking up through the 5' canes. Guess I'll let them grow now. ;)
Thats a good point too, i built a gnarly thicket in order to hold more deer via bedding down, around a creek bed under my stand. I was doing TSI on the whole place but for this spot i just switched to intentionally barber chairing everything i would have normally culled and dragged out. Naturally with all that water and sunlight it bushed into a heck of a tangle with all those live tops laid out overlapping everywhere. Got so thick i lost the deer for a while and had to cut access notches into it.
So basically, and i never thought of this.. Pick a spot thats already too thick with rubbish that ought be culled, plant your heirloom oak acorns harvested from a treasured crop tree (best to release other oaks around it to avoid confusion) and plant them in a protective thicket youve built by barber chairing a barrier ring around it.
Coppicing a few little maple bolts around this makeshift fort will provide adequate alternative feed. Deer are surprisingly lazy and fairly easy to reroute if you get to know their habits.
The open canopy but bushy ground layer inside the seedling fort will also help promote straight vertical stems as your oaks endeavor not to be over shadowed by the early competition. Let those new maples, gums, and other shade tolerant species come back to help reduce side branching on the oaks as they reach for the canopy. You want the sun to be a spotlight from from directly overhead, not a side light from the horizon. That just bends stems and fills them with branches.
Any updates?
I would love to see an update, too, but OneWithWood has gone AWOL.
Time to stop being a wannabe is another posting from OWW . . That was my alltime favorite posting
Quote from: WDH on November 03, 2020, 07:21:13 PM
I would love to see an update, too, but OneWithWood has gone AWOL.
Have not seen a post in 4 years, in any topic.