The Regeneration Opening (pic intensive)

[WDH]

Are those small background trees in the understory beech?

[RynSmith]

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

[OneWithWood]

Beech and Red Maple.  They are in the process of dying as I sprayed them with Garlon 4 this past summer. 

[WDH]

Ryn,

You have to be careful about the company that you keep  ;D.

[thecfarm]

Looks good. I would expect the leaves on the tree gave them away?  ;)

[WDH]

The leaves on beech are tardily deciduous  .

[RynSmith]

One of my favorite parts of the winter woods.  Beech leaves and tracks in the snow.   

[OneWithWood]

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!  air_plane



  

 

Pond between openings with Jette the Wonder dog making a cameo appearance:

 

 

Large opening scanning east from the observation tower:



 

Large opening looking due south from observation tower:



 

Large opening panning west from observation tower:



 

Large opening panning east from ground level:



 

Large opening looking due south from ground level: 


 

Large opening panning west from ground level: Jette gets in on the action again.



 

Pic from south end looking back north:


 

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.

[thecfarm]

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.

[kwendt]

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.

[WDH]

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. 

[SwampDonkey]

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

[kwendt]

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.

[SwampDonkey]

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

[kwendt]

...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!

[SwampDonkey]

That's why I always say the human race would've perished long ago if we were that frail. ;D

[OneWithWood]

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:


 
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:


 
The amphibs continue to thrive and multiply.

Large opening panning east:


 

Large opening due south:


 

Large opening panning west:


 

Large opening panning east from ground level:


 

Large opening due south from ground level:


 

Large opening panning west from ground level:


 

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.


 
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.


 

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.


 


 

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.

[thecfarm]

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.

[g_man]

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

[WDH]

Looking good, Robert.  Pretty soon it will be thick as hair on a dog's back (old saying). 

[mesquite buckeye]

Looks like little trees coming. ;D 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

[OneWithWood]

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:


 

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.


 

Pond:


 

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:

 

Large Opening from tower due south:


 

I included the tractor to add some scale.  The darker trees in the middle are oak.

Large Opening from tower panning west:


 

Large Opening from ground level due south:


 

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.


 

Large opening from ground level panning west:


 

Oak seedling by tower:


 

Pics from the opposite (South) side of the large opening:
Facing northwest:


 

Facing due north.  It is becoming more difficult to see the observation tower on the northern edge of the opening.


 

Facing northeast:


 

Oak seedling and sensitive fern:


 

Blackberry vine:


 

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.

[WDH]

Some great progress.  Plant wise, of course  ;D. 

[SwampDonkey]

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.

[OneWithWood]

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:


  

 

The pond:


 

These monocots appeared this year.  I could use some help identifying them:


  

 
Seed head:


Large opening panning east from the observation tower:


 

Large opening due south at ground level:


 
Is anyone able to identify the tall grass in the foreground?

Large opening pan west from tower:


 

Large opening looking north to tower.  The tower took a beating during the high winds this fall:


 

Large opening looking north with sycamore in foreground and oaks above the brush in the background.


 

Still looking north, a game trail on the right and blackberry vines on the left:


 

Covert along the northern edge of large opening:


 

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.