Finally Bought Some Land

[Mark Kelly]

Wind turbines are spectacularly inefficient unless they are well clear of turbulent air, eg the bottom of the blade circle at least 10 metres above the tallest tree. From the look of your site you'll need a giant ass turbine mast to get there.

[j44ke]

I may come out of retirement to become a window cleaner in your hood.

Wind turbines are spectacularly inefficient unless they are well clear of turbulent air, eg the bottom of the blade circle at least 10 metres above the tallest tree. From the look of your site you'll need a giant ass turbine mast to get there.

We have an area that could be devoted to the windmill with enough tree clearing. But like I said this is after the hangover from building the house has worn off.

[j44ke]

Skunk cabbage burst onto the scene.



Someone had a turkey dinner. Either that or shot a turkey out of a cannon.

[rwsaunders]

Let’s start planning Jorn’s next project...

WINDExchange: New York 3-Meter Residential-Scale Wind Resource Map

[Todd Amunrud]

Don’t know if outdoor furniture plans are set but Loll designs makes some great stuff.

Home - Loll Designs - Recycled, Modern, Outdoor Furniture

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[j44ke]

Don’t know if outdoor furniture plans are set but Loll designs makes some great stuff.

Home - Loll Designs - Recycled, Modern, Outdoor Furniture

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Yes! We've looked at that. It seems particularly well suited to sticking a chair or two out somewhere on the back forty to watch the trees change color without the need for paint/stain or worries about rot & insects. We've seen them in person and they are pretty comfortable. The wider "planks" used provide nice support.

I will also probably build some of these. They are a design worked out at some point by one of the caretakers at Wave Hill in Riverdale NY based on a Gerrit Reitveld chair design. Over time, I've built 12 of them, but once you get a chop saw set up with a series of flip down stops, it is pretty easy to cut all the pieces at once and get a bit of an assembly line going. Wave Hill also sells kits and built chairs for very reasonable prices, but I don't believe they use pressure treated pine. The ones in the photo below are over 20 years old and a pressure treated pine, sealed and color stained. They sit out at the end of a long wooden dock at my sister-in-laws house on the Chickahominy River in Virginia.

[ides1056]

nice

[72gmc]

Liking these chairs, and that loll designs stuff. Our Seattle back yard seems to be some sort of proving ground for outdoor furniture ... current adirondack chairs are of the non-natural materials variety and seem to be holding up.

[j44ke]

Liking these chairs, and that loll designs stuff. Our Seattle back yard seems to be some sort of proving ground for outdoor furniture ... current adirondack chairs are of the non-natural materials variety and seem to be holding up.

The only problem I've noticed with the composite materials (nylon, plastic, recycled PVC, etc.) is temperature. They seem to get really hot in the sun - not unlike metal but not like wood. Wood somehow has a thermal advantage when it comes to radiant energy. Probably has something to do with plants figuring out a way to avoid boiling the water inside themselves.

I did once see a wasp carefully peeling up strips of plastic deck "wood" just like they do with real wood. No idea what it was going to do with it. No way to reduce it to cellulose and build a nest.

[davids]

The only problem I've noticed with the composite materials (nylon, plastic, recycled PVC, etc.) is temperature. They seem to get really hot in the sun - not unlike metal but not like wood. Wood somehow has a thermal advantage when it comes to radiant energy. Probably has something to do with plants figuring out a way to avoid boiling the water inside themselves.

I did once see a wasp carefully peeling up strips of plastic deck "wood" just like they do with real wood. No idea what it was going to do with it. No way to reduce it to cellulose and build a nest.

The simple solution is lighter colors to reflect heat. I wanted black Adirondacks, but my wife convinced me that medium gray was the correct choice.

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[s_curran]

Does anyone have any resources they could point me towards when it comes to forest management? I feel like it was hit on a bit earlier in this thread.

We bought a second property in VT. We realized we needed the airbnb income our first house is providing, so moving there wouldn't be an option. So now we are in progress of moving to a new home. A little less desirable as far as tourism goes, but very nice. We got 13 acres and a 1967 mid century modern beut. It needs a bit of work, and was only a summer home previously. We've been living in it this winter, and while not very efficient, has been great. We'll be installing a new heating system (ducted wood pellet burning furnace anyone?) and bumping up the efficiency, and redoing most the surfaces.

Anyways, the 13 acres is interesting, on a decently steep slope (low angle skiing), with a portion of it being recently logged. We some day foresee building a tiny (small technically, 500 SF) house in the portion that was logged, once we finish the current reno. For the logged land I need to figure out what to do to manage it. They seemed to take most, but not all the maple trees in this area, leaving the pines. Since doing that, quite a few pines have fallen ( im assuming from being exposed to more wind. The issue to me seems that they left all the limbs from all the trees just strewn across the forest floor. Sometimes your walking on about 3' of piled limbs, sometimes covering streems and who knows what.

I know nothing about logging, but my inclination is to clear up the streams (it seems to be damning up a few areas) and cut up what I can for firewood. In reality, theres a ton though, I bet they logged 3 acres or so. I know it will eventually decompose, but should I really just wait it out? I'll obviously use as much as possible to build our mtb trail...

The last thing is, we have a view, its important that we maintain it. from what I can tell it was last cleared 20 years ago or so. It full of thick brush and saplings. I don't need it to be usable land, but will cut some walking paths though it for fun. Is the best bet to let it just run wild and cut things if they are looking too tall?

[j44ke]

Logged areas often have issues with erosion or at least loss of nutrients in the soil as sun/rain is now reaching the soil directly rather than being filtered through tree foliage. Cut areas are also excellent habitat for poison ivy, asian bittersweet vine, honeysuckle and other sun & heat loving plants. Planting into the landscape with fast growing seedlings (birch for example) and cover crop-type seed mixes would help hold nutrients in the soil and begin to build shade to keep back the unwanted vines and such.

You do want to clear the streams I think. Though natural tree falls are part of stream ecology, you don't want the stream choked off by stuff left by the loggers. You can rent a wood chipper and build up some piles that can be used later for trail building and spread around the area to hold soil and nutrients. When we bought our property, the two house sites and the drive were covered in the pine wood chips from clearing the house sites. I thought that stuff would never decay. But after the guys scraped it all back and piled it up on one of the house sites, it has decayed nicely into some really good looking soil.

Our neighbors land got logged recently, and they took out all the old white and red oak. Granted some of the limbs get relatively thin, but these were big old trees with large crowns so there is burnable stuff (at least to my eye) almost all the way up, especially in our Morso's rather small fire box. However, it is on our neighbor's property. I'll have to clear our stone walls of some stuff that's fallen across the boundaries, but it seems like he's just going to let it lie there, unless he's just letting it age in place and will chop it up during the summer.

As far as brush, first you want to know what species are in there and whether there is anything you might like to keep. Our friends had a similar heap of vegetation that they were just going to have removed, but when they looked closely, they realized that while asian bittersweet vine was the dominant life form, there were a handful of stunted crabapple trees underneath. It was extra work to get rid of all the vines but now they have some crabapples trees that bloom pink in the spring.

If there's nothing workable in the pile, our landscape architect would recommend removal and replanting with things that would help you maintain the view by not growing tall and blocking everything. Create a bit of habitat with some shorter trees (witch hazel, musclewood) along the edges, no-cut grass or lawn substitutes (thyme), woody bushes (willow,) and so forth. The more native species you can use the lower the maintenance you'll have and the more predictable the plant behavior will be. Less overgrown areas may also help control tick population also.

Ernst Seeds is a really good resource. Our landscape architect uses them to create site-specific custom seed mixes, but they also make pre-mixes for soil recovery and protection in a lot of different situations: Browse Seed Mixes | Ernst Conservation Seeds

Most states have some form of tree nursery program, and those usually sell seedlings to the public sometime during the year to encourage reforestation. This is the one for NYS.

Vermont has one of the best resources for willows on the planet. Really good for erosion control, soft fencing and habitat creation. Vermont Willow Nursery

Edit: Forgot this - NYS has a "Private Forest Management" program through the Department of Environmental Conservation. I'll bet that Vermont has a similar program: Private Forest Management - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation

[m_b_b]

The only problem I've noticed with the composite materials (nylon, plastic, recycled PVC, etc.) is temperature. They seem to get really hot in the sun - not unlike metal but not like wood. Wood somehow has a thermal advantage when it comes to radiant energy. Probably has something to do with plants figuring out a way to avoid boiling the water inside themselves.

I did once see a wasp carefully peeling up strips of plastic deck "wood" just like they do with real wood. No idea what it was going to do with it. No way to reduce it to cellulose and build a nest.

We have the Loll outdoor furniture - a couple adirondacks and the upholstered sofa they sell through Room and Board (they are both Minnesota companies, R&B has a few exclusive Loll designs). We went with white and haven’t had any issues with heat. They just survived their first winter outdoors well too. We just bring the cushions in for the winter. During the season we leave the cushions under a waterproof sofa cover (also from R&B). Working well so far.

[davids]

I'm a big fan of Room & Board, but I've got to say that, atmo, the LL Beach All-Weather Adirondack looks more comfortable, for (a bit) less.

[j44ke]

Deer seem a bit nervous. Listening in all directions. They used to show up at the creek in much larger groups. Lately we've been finding piles of deer fur covered over (poorly) in leaf litter.

[m_b_b]

I'm a big fan of Room & Board, but I've got to say that, atmo, the LL Beach All-Weather Adirondack looks more comfortable, for (a bit) less.

Considered that one. Went with Loll/R&B due to clever concealed hardware so no visible screw heads. And I don’t need them fold fold, so that felt like a potential point of failure I didn’t need. Almost forgot I also picked up a couple matching chaises for the roof deck. The Loll line is quite complete if you need other pieces.

[m_b_b]

Deer seem a bit nervous. Listening in all directions. They used to show up at the creek in much larger groups. Lately we've been finding piles of deer fur covered over (poorly) in leaf litter.

I’ve seen way more deer activity since forced social distancing. Not sure if they are ranging more given less traffic, or if I’m just noticing it now that I’m home almost every day.

[Mabouya]

Deer seem a bit nervous. Listening in all directions. They used to show up at the creek in much larger groups. Lately we've been finding piles of deer fur covered over (poorly) in leaf litter.

What sorts of predators do you have in the area? Maybe some new ones?

Obviously it's good to have some, otherwise the deer population gets way too high.

[j44ke]

What sorts of predators do you have in the area? Maybe some new ones?

Obviously it's good to have some, otherwise the deer population gets way too high.

We have a pair of coyotes that have taken over part of a large woodchuck burrow. I noticed evidence of digging back when woodchucks were hibernating, so put the game camera on the burrows and voila - coyotes coming and going. Today we saw the woodchuck going in and out one of the burrows, but not the same larger one the coyotes were using. There are 5 burrows total within a 15 foot radius on a small slope, so I assume they are connected. Might put the camera up again to see what is going on at night.

The deer have not been lingering much anywhere since the coyotes first showed up on the game camera. In the photo above, they often leave tracks where the deer on the right is standing.

[Mabouya]

Baby woodchucks / groundhogs better watch out - the coyotes will take them out too.

I would guess that they will cede the area to the coyote and move on.