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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Monday, June 27, 2005 Cutting down so I can build up . . . It's amazing what you can do with a chain saw and a pickup truck. This is load number seven, I think. Nick and Mike came over yesterday, and again today, and we've got about half of the trimming and tree-cutting done. I do not normally like to cut trees down, but these were growing into the power lines and the electric utility would have cut them down for me if I hadn't done something. In the process, I would have lost some attractive trees that I would like to keep, and possibly most of this season's blackberries, if they had cut before the berries ripened.Unfortunately, when you cut trees, even when it is necessary to cut them, you may destroy something else. I knew I was going to make a lot of rabbits unhappy, but sadly, we also took down this robin's nest. It was obviously an active nest, as robins normally lay four eggs and this one still has only three. The robin would have laid another egg, and then begun incubating them all at one time so the babies would hatch at the same time. I was tempted to tell Nick to put the nest back somewhere close to where he found it, but once he and Mike had handled it, I thought the mother would probably not come back to it anyway. So that was an unintended casualty of my landscaping efforts.Once all the trees are cut down, or cut back, and the blackberries have been picked, we'll have to go back over most of the area with a weed whacker to get rid of the viny stuff that was entwined all around everything and the brush that couldn't be cut with the chain saw. Then comes the tiller to turn the soil over, and finally, grass seed, flower beds and more nut trees and berry bushes. This is going to be an ongoing project for most of the rest of the summer, I suspect, and on into next year, as some nursery stock won't be available again until spring.Doing this puts me in an awkward ethical position, because I like nature as it is, weeds and all. I hate pulling up wild daisies, asclepias (butterfly bush), Queen Anne's Lace, and all the other flowers that the bees and butterflies visit. I dislike cutting trees, other than junk trees like the invasive ailanthus. Even the locusts, as thorny and invasive as they are, provide wonderful pollen for the bees. And it all provides habitat for the ever decreasing number of wild animals. When I first moved here, I would see thousands of monarch butterlies on the Queen Anne's Lace at the end of the summer. Last year, after the disturbance caused by the driveway construction, there were none. I hope they'll be back this year, though as I substitute cultivated species for wild ones, there will be less and less for them to eat. At the same time, I feel compelled to provide things for the family to eat. So it's a constant balancing act, to cut down no more than absolutely necessary, and to plant things that I hope will be adequate substitutes. posted by Liz @ 5:49 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
It's amazing what you can do with a chain saw and a pickup truck. This is load number seven, I think. Nick and Mike came over yesterday, and again today, and we've got about half of the trimming and tree-cutting done. I do not normally like to cut trees down, but these were growing into the power lines and the electric utility would have cut them down for me if I hadn't done something. In the process, I would have lost some attractive trees that I would like to keep, and possibly most of this season's blackberries, if they had cut before the berries ripened.Unfortunately, when you cut trees, even when it is necessary to cut them, you may destroy something else. I knew I was going to make a lot of rabbits unhappy, but sadly, we also took down this robin's nest. It was obviously an active nest, as robins normally lay four eggs and this one still has only three. The robin would have laid another egg, and then begun incubating them all at one time so the babies would hatch at the same time. I was tempted to tell Nick to put the nest back somewhere close to where he found it, but once he and Mike had handled it, I thought the mother would probably not come back to it anyway. So that was an unintended casualty of my landscaping efforts.Once all the trees are cut down, or cut back, and the blackberries have been picked, we'll have to go back over most of the area with a weed whacker to get rid of the viny stuff that was entwined all around everything and the brush that couldn't be cut with the chain saw. Then comes the tiller to turn the soil over, and finally, grass seed, flower beds and more nut trees and berry bushes. This is going to be an ongoing project for most of the rest of the summer, I suspect, and on into next year, as some nursery stock won't be available again until spring.Doing this puts me in an awkward ethical position, because I like nature as it is, weeds and all. I hate pulling up wild daisies, asclepias (butterfly bush), Queen Anne's Lace, and all the other flowers that the bees and butterflies visit. I dislike cutting trees, other than junk trees like the invasive ailanthus. Even the locusts, as thorny and invasive as they are, provide wonderful pollen for the bees. And it all provides habitat for the ever decreasing number of wild animals. When I first moved here, I would see thousands of monarch butterlies on the Queen Anne's Lace at the end of the summer. Last year, after the disturbance caused by the driveway construction, there were none. I hope they'll be back this year, though as I substitute cultivated species for wild ones, there will be less and less for them to eat. At the same time, I feel compelled to provide things for the family to eat. So it's a constant balancing act, to cut down no more than absolutely necessary, and to plant things that I hope will be adequate substitutes.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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