Seems to be a big part of what is going on right now.  I have had a number of conversations this week about clearing – both metaphorically, and well… see below.  We spent the last few weekends hacking thru thorns and brush to get rid of a big watership down style bramble patch that was taking up a prime spot in our field.  We also pulled hundreds of feet of fence that was overgrown by tough spiny plants with tenacious roots.  Thanks verena, liz, amber, and abby.  Then our neighbors came in and took it up a level – Beau, John, and J, thank you for the guidance from afar.  Even bob came by and lent a hand.

In this age of tree hugging vogue it was pretty painful to cut down over a dozen trees this winter and spring.  We took our time over the last year studying the land and consulting with folks like Andrew Faust and 3 different tree crews.  We argued, agonized, and then agreed and made some hard decisions.  We feel good about reclaiming more plantable acreage and opening up space for new energy to flow.

this old cherry tree literally screamed on the first cut

john hard at work

wow - an hour ago this was a tree

BIG pine tree shading some very fertile soil

timber

38 years old

the former brush patch

next winter's heat

One big stump with beau & backhoe

moving around dirt

and the cycle of life continues