Nephew Zach Helping Us Topple a Dead Standing Fir Tree

This post is the first in an ongoing series of “homestead projects” at our new property in Plain, WA.  (You can read about what inspired us to buy this 3 acre parcel here).  Aside from the well, there is very little that’s been done to the land in decades.  We have plans for a 24′ yurt next summer, but there is a lot to be done before that happens.

Our Future Yurt Site Overlooking the Wenatchee River Valley

Dead Branches and Fallen Trees Are Lying Everywhere. Cleaning Up Will be a Major Task This Summer

Near the top of the list of “things to do” will be to clean up all the deadfall lying about.

There are piles of dead sticks everywhere. Amanda calls them beaver dams because there is so much fallen debris.  So this first year will entail lots of dragging limbs and cutting fallen trees out of the woods, piling them up and burning off of the material. We’ve been learning a lot about forestry practices east of the Cascades, which is a lot different than in the western half of the state.

The parcel is heavily wooded with a good number of mature trees.  It’s been thinned but never clear cut – which is the practice when you’re working in ponderosa pine forests.

Forest fire is the big danger.   Our new neighbor Dale recommended that we limb up the big trees by cutting out the brittle lower branches that the tree no longer uses.   It’s all considered “ladder fuel” and can encourage a forest fire where you don’t particularly want one.

Cutting an access road to the future yurt site, was a big accomplishment during our first week of ownership.  We wound the road through big clumps of fast-growing vine maple that is pervasive around the property.  That way we could manage to get a vehicle through without felling any of the big trees.

After Buzzing Through Thick Stands of Vine Maple, We Now Have Enough Room to Transport Building Materials to the Back of the Property

The vine maple is gratifying to cut down, because you can lay waste with a pair of pruners and look back in an hour and see your progress.  Plus, unlike blackberries that we are used to cutting in Poulsbo, vine maple doesn’t draw blood (usually).

One of our biggest challenges is knowing how much undergrowth to leave, and how much to cut.  Aesthetically, we want there to be layers of visual interest, with some understory, but if we don’t open things up, the land will feel dark and claustrophobic.  There are hundreds of baby trees on the land (a sign of a healthy forest and good soil!) but it feels like murder whenever we cut one of these little guys down.

Baby Ian Hanging Out with Baby Trees.  There are Hundreds of Trees This Size Littering the Property

Grandpa Tom and Nephew Zach Taking Down the Real Estate Signs. That’s When You Know it’s Real!