Property Management Never Ends

I live on about twenty five acres, my south boundary line is the Fawn Creek, the east is a woods, north a field that is either fallow or planted with corn, wheat or soy beans, the west boundary is the county road. Roughly nine acres is wet land and we are regulated both at the state and federal level as to what we can do with that land. The prominent feature of this dirt is the ever changing water level and the artisan springs that meander below the surface of the ground reeking havoc, changing course and dictating where we are allowed to drive. We have counted a steady 22 springs and when mother nature s dumps excess water we have even seen a geyser or two bubbling several inches in the air.

We got chased out of our residential neighborhood several years ago. We lived on a lake but outgrew the location as my business burgeoned. Along with all the perks of living on a big piece of dirt one of the downfalls is the management of the land and resources can be demanding. Mowing, pruning, planting, weed whacking and fertilizing are not as glamorous as they sound when it is 90 outside with 100% humidity. Late winter is a good time to prune and drop trees as the ground is wet making burning easier, foliage is not on yet so you don't have to fight that and you remove diseased or injured plants before insects and fungi start attacking.The Axe Man or Chainsaw Massacre





Amazing it was 62 degrees today and you can still clearly see deer tracks in the remaining snow. Deer are huge here, they are the animals you love to hate. They are great to watch and some say eat but they aggravate gardeners as they eat just about anything if they are hungry enough. In Steuben County there were 4,000 deer killed during hunting season this year. I have personally been involved in four accidents with deer since I moved here. A couple of years ago one of our clients was killed on the interstate when a deer dove through her windshield, the irony was she loved deer and actively photographed and fed them.


One of my favorite specimen trees, serpentine weeping larch.
This tree looses its short green needles in winter and buds out in spring with a bright green suit. Thorough cleaning every other year keeps this baby looking sharp every season. It requires limited pruning and is a medium to fast grower, unfortunately they are not readily available, so if you see one do not hesitate to purchase for it is likely to be gone next time you go to the nursery.




This is the first row of our outdoor storage area, a trash can protects the motor of our conveyor which we use to transport hardgoods on the many steep hills that we work. It is difficult to see our materials through the shade clothe that hides the equipment from the driveway. We store brick, block and flagstone in another row.