Well Mr Goat, I do believe we may be neighbors. We're just about 2 miles N of that very sand pit.
I compared the google images of our property from 2008 and the new images from 2011 and it's just shocking and disturbing how many trees have died over those three years. My best estimation is about 50 percent. I have found that of the three main species that occupy our 10 acres, post oak, black jack oak and hickory, about 95 percent of the trees that have died have been the black jack and just a few of the hickory and post oak.
The woods really were just too thick and a lot of the trees spindly and top heavy. By the time I see the diseased bark, it's usually less than 2 years before they fall. Far too many to keep up with, so I've focused on the standing dead near structures and fences. I feel lucky when they shed the limbs first, but many just topple over because the roots have wrotted and the trunk foot is balanced on a little cone of sand where the roots use to be. It is now thinned out and I've become very familiar with a chainsaw. lol All the dogs duck and prepare to run for cover when we hear that familiar crack! crash! lol
The 3-5 odd times I've been able to burn, over the past few years have barely touched the mountain of dead fall. Any way, it occurred to me a few months ago what a wealth of resource and opportunity that I have and visited permies again, pleased to find the very things I felt I should be doing seems to be naturally permish.
I've been thinking along the lines of Ludy's suggestions for beds and using logs cut to a lenghth of maybe 2-3 feet and stand on end. Abslolutly must put as much of that wood to use as possible in ways that will get it wet. For now I have a long list of projects with very little time. I just jump in when I can, and focus on what is applying the most pressure at the moment. lol I do have a few piles of bio char to add to beds we'll be building with all of the fallen trees nearest the areas we'll garden. It use to be that we didn't have enough sunlight anywhere to for much of a summer garden. Now there's so much sun every where and new species are starting to run over the little blue stem. I'm thinking we'll get a couple of hogs to deal with the johnson grass that came in on some bedding hay I use for the dogs over the winter.
I recently brought home a three year old mule. His name is Rayzen and his mother was a caspian. He's giving me some good manured hay. I have to repair a couple of fence lines before I'll let him roam and browse the native grasses, so he's on good cheap hay. He loves the stuff. lol He's coming along great and will hopefully provide many years of manure, hauling and running off the damn deer(!). lol I've been tether training him for now and I love not running the weedeater.
I just never thought he would flip himself head over ass, but he did a fine job of it. lol
We are planning on inoculating some logs for mushrooms and stacking them in the shade that I have left on the south end of the property. The water source is close there as well. The neighbor waters some fruit trees along the fence on that end, so the trees on my side have benefited. I'd like to take advantage of that and spread it out across that property line as an effort to create a wetish fire break. Rain catchment is a must as well. Spring hills has just ruined the water over the years.
The next big "farm" project here is the chicken coop, followed by those 2 pigs my mom wants. Should be very interesting lol and holpefully productive. We are just getting things in to focus, so we're excited to keep rolling with gardens and livestock.
I think we have a great opportunity here in the sand hills. My mother has always said, she'd prefer to start with sand. That red clay deposit will make a great cob oven for baking bread and pizza and many other potential projects. We've made some test bricks using the little blue stem gathered on the property instead of bought straw and we produced a pretty sturdy brick.
I have to keep "rubish to resource" in mind or it really is overwhelming, although I must say I have just loved learning to run a chainsay. lol
