Washington winter clearing

[Highbeam]

When a forest gets logged in the NW one of two things usually happen. Either it is replanted with seedlings or it is left to regenerate naturally. Natural regen isn't great since the first things to sprout up are alder and other scrub brush. My lot was "reforested" with natural regen about 30 years ago. Some of the scrub brush is amazingly tough. This tree/bush/monster took a good bit of time to uproot and then as I tried to pull it to the burn pile it wouldn't come easy. The bush had woven iteslf into other bushes and tried to hold on as I extracted it. The mess that came out of the woods was worthy of a photo I thought. It's about 40 feet long and mostly one bush. So I stopped and took a picture.

 

[Highbeam]

I took the pic and then walked over to the woods and then it happened... drip, drip, drop, deluge! It poured down for a good half hour and turned my pretty dry clay into a mucky ice rink. I took refuge under a nice cedar tree to wait it out, the good news is that when I grabbed the camera I also grabbed an adult beverage to sip on while the rain fell. So much for clearing today, I will have to try again when we have a dry spell. Maybe March.

 

[Shimon]

Ahhh...Washington mud. Boy, that's a pretty big sucker.

Had the same problem with the rain today. As soon as I would go outside to work, it would start to downpour within minutes. So I go inside and it stops. I go back out and it pours again. Did this about five times before I gave up and went to the movies.

 

[EddieWalker]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I will have to try again when we have a dry spell. Maybe March. )</font>

I've never heard of a dry spell in Washington !!!! Seems that everytime I've been through that state is was raining. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The grass in the background sure looks nice.

Eddie

 

[Bird]

Eddie, I had just the opposite luck; spent a week (first week of May '72) in Seattle once and saw only a light 10 minute shower that week; weather was beautiful the rest of the time. Then spent about 10 days in Washington in August '91 and don't think we saw any rain at all. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Of course it didn't look nearly as dry as Texas does right now. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Highbeam]

Bird, don't tell anyone... it's our secret. We do have a rainy season but in return we get long milder summer days with only a very rare passing into the 100s. That clay will turn pretty hard. Not sure how it does for shrink-swell, guess I'll test that with a house foundation.

"The grass in the background sure looks nice."

The first thing I did when I started clearing was to explore the low areas to assure that there are no wetlands. After the exploration I would plant plain old contractor's mix with a fertilizer spreader. That grass was put down last spring. The habit of covering up bare soil with seed has really helped minimize the erosion and sure makes it look nice.

Here's a broader pic from yesterday. The cedar I was taking shelter under is the trunk at the far right. No grass grows unless we are at about 50 degrees. You can't see it but there are 2" sprouts all over that hill.

 

[LarryD]

<font color="blue"> We do have a rainy season but... </font>
That's why I call it the Northwet.

Tractor time has been very limited for the last 20 or so days. I did manage to limb and cut up a 60' fir that fell during the wind storm on the first day of the new year. Maybe on one of those dry days I'll split it for next years heat, no hurry right now.

That brush you're hauling out looks an auful lot like Huckleberry, but at 40'/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif that would be the biggest one I've ever seen. I pulled out tons of those (and a few to go) when I cleared last year. Nice thing about them is they burn up very well in a hot fire, even green.

Have you tried putting out a pasture mix. We use Pacific Pride with a mix of fescue, rye, orchard grass and another that escapes me. Seems to work very well.

 

[Cottonhawk]

I think that brush is a hazelnut (or filbert) brush. I have tons of those in my woods and they are tough to get out. I am thinking to clear about two acres of mostly brush and blackberry and turn it into a riding pasture. Right now I have not decided to excavate the land or to mow. The grass seeds I use is called "Complete Horse Pasture Mix" and I think that it's the same mix LarryD mentioned in his post.

 

[Highbeam]

Not sure how it got so long. Only thing I can think is that it was competing against the alder for sun so it kept on reaching higher and higher. The length wouldn't have bothered me except it was tangled so that I had to pull real hard over and over to jerk it out and that was after fighting the root ball out. After victory with a bush like that it feels real good to drag it to the pile.

The contractors mix has a good portion of annual but it also has the fescue, ryegrass, orhcard and something else. As long as theere are some annuals, and a lot of fescue I'll be OK for fast growth that lasts. I buy the big honkin sacks at HD for cheap.

Huckleberry? I have been teased for it but I always consider hucklberry to be the miniature blueberry looking evergreen bush atop stumps with the small glossy leaves. Great pancake berry. The wife tells me that huckleberrys are also the red ones. I'm not even sure what the leaves on this thing look like but everything already has the little tight buds ready for spring.

 

[HomeBrew2]

Man!, you're really whipping that place into shape PDQ! Looks great! Are you planning to build and move out there in the not too distant future?