06 November 2008

About face... forward... march!!!

So, I'm about 80 meters into the woods with my new bush road... and discover I'm actually doing a buttonhook south of my intended destination... Mrs Neo's newly discovered "Oakhenge."

It actually doesn't work out badly as I now have a road into the approximate middle of our 15 acres of bush. I've pulled up on a hilltop (soon to be) clearing. It's right on the juncture of two ponds... which might be a nice spot to drop an old trailer... or set up some sort of blind for Mrs N to observe the animal comings & goings.

Anyway... gotta pull out of this last little 25 meter dogleg and start heading north again, around the top of the pond. I've been bringing down the hung-up deadfall as I go... some of it will make acceptable firewood. I figure we'll use the lesser quality stuff to fire up this years batch of maple syrup.

Couldn't have asked for anything better than the last two days. Clear and sunny... but cool enough to avoid wearing myself out. The bugs are all long gone... and with no leaves on the trees you can see and hear for hundreds of feet.

I've been piling the slash at regular intervals along the road... it'll make good shelter for smaller animals. We've got a porcupine returned to his favourite wintering tree, a family of beavers who return every year to the swamp... and a bear that likely dens up in the round bales and tree trunks discarded by our farmer neighbour right at the northeast back corner.

It's a wonderful life.

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