November 6, 2023
On the west side of the house there is about three acres that we never went into. On the back of the property past the creek there is a large area maybe 18 acres that was pure trash. I recall walking through it one time just to find the southern boundary. When we were planning for cows to meet tax requirements, I hired Logan to assure all our property was fenced properly to keep the cows in. Turned out only the back fence needed repair. Actually only about a quarter mile needed full replacement. That fence is near the Neches River and catches all the debris when the Neches floods. Unfortunately, it was early spring and the ground way out back was real wet. Logan hired a helper and they stuck their tractors several times. I drove my big tractor (75 Hp) out to see their work and got it stuck. The end result was the fence got installed but there were ruts 12"-16” deep all through the back property. I called it pasture before but it wasn’t until I cleared it.
Saplings everywhere and weeds, especially goat weeds, had taken over. Nathan, my son-in- law, has a 90 Hp track loader he let me borrow. Amazing how powerful that unit is. I pulled up saplings and smoothed ruts for a week. The real trees out back had never been properly cared for. The lower branches prevented any tractor work around the trees. I found that if you place the bottom of the skid loader against the trunk of the tree and run it up, you can shear off most branches. I owe Nathan a couple of front lights. Big branches fall on the skid steer roof and when you lower the bucket they can rip off front lights. Now I have several large burn piles of wood and weeds to get rid of. The result is a real pasture which we planted last week.
The back area, now pasture, is where Winter would take her trail rides. There were only a couple of narrow trails where tree limbs allowed a horse and rider, now the trails are wherever Winter wants to go and it is pretty. I still haven’t cleared the last 100’ next to the River, but it is on the to-do list. Maybe I’ll get smart and take before and after pictures this time. I’ve already stored enough firewood for several winters. Nope, I don’t want to cut and sell firewood. But if you have a saw, stop by and load your truck.
