This weekend we worked on our trail through the woods by clearing it of debris from recent storms. Over the next few winters some carefully planned thinning of our little woods will be a productive endeavor! Trees growing too closely together get thin and spindly, and they simply cannot hold themselves up in a wind.
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- An over crowded and weak sapling!
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- Along the trail there is nothing to hold them up and over they go!
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- False Coral Fungus ~ Tremellodendron pallidum: I read the true coral fungus is edible, but that in some it can cause nausea and gastrointestinal distress. That chance makes it truly not worth it. This one however, is edible but it is dry and chewy. That characteristic places this one on the not worth it list as well! 😛
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- Here we have a nice specimen of Poison Ivy. There is much more along the way and it must be irradicated.
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- YIKES! That was a close call with the wagon handle!
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- Our everpresent support team. NOTE: Gas can caps are very secure, and Tucker doesn’t smoke so there was no danger! (We don’t either.) ‘-)
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- I am sorry I couldn’t get a better picture of this spiny spider. These spiders build very strong webs across the trail. They are hard to see… but you sure as heck can feel them!!!
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- Resurrection fern…
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- Resurrection fern after a bit of rain. An amazing epiphite. (photo is bad, but you get the idea.)
More information on the above flora and fauna may be found by clicking on the links below:
False Coral Fungus ~ Tremellodendron pallidum
Spiny Orb Weaver ~ Gasteracantha cancriformis
Resurrection Fern ~ Polypodium polypodioides
Life on the Farmlet 
Thinking Coral Fungus would be good for the soup pot: )
Spider web in the face? ARrrggh!!
Poison Ivy: Most would think me NUTS but, pulling each plant, down by the base – root and all – is THE best way to be (permanently) rid of it (with protection OF COURSE; ) N.B. It spread by rhizomes too, so see if you can get from one plant to the next…
Actually, most of the folks I know around here use the hand pulling method. If you keep after it, it eventually goes away. Unfortunately, the kudzu here in the south will only die if sprayed with a heavy herbicide…
😯
Kudzu, according to “Eat the Weeds” (a great website, btw) is a vastly underrated plant. Here, check it out…
http://www.eattheweeds.com/kudzu-pueraria-montana-var-lobata-fried-2/
Hm. I guess if we ever get that hungry we will have a ready resource in anyone else’s pasture, and I know they will not mind if we harvest a bit of it.
😉
Once you’ve looked at this:
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Pueraria+montana+lobata… THEN let me know what you think about Kudzu (but first, I’ve gotta tell ya, of all the plants I’ve looked up on PFAF, I’ve never seen this many medicinal uses for one plant – never mind food, fibre, paper, cloth…
Seriously, check it out!: )
Deb, I may concede to try a bit of it someday, but in the meantime it is a menace that has been swallowing whole pastures, farms and equipment, and killing the forests here in the south. Assuming that everyone in the US decided to eat this junk we would still be overrun with it, because as your article pointed out, “it grows up to a meter a day” in this climate. The beast is just too happy here in the South.
Such interesting and different to me flora. I am going to like this journey.
I’m glad you are enjoying the journey. I hope in time to reintroduce some of the native flora along the trail. We have a battle ahead of us on that front: Japanese honeysuckle, burning bush, mimosa, kudzu from the neighbor’s pasture (just starting!!!). I hate kudzu the most because it will absolutely have to take an herbicide to eradicate it. 😦
The Ash on our land manages to hold itself up rather well – shame as it’s good to be forced to do something 😉 we are so lucky not to have poison ivy – yet, as I might point out that your Plane tree cancer is killing the trees along our canal as I type. Came over with the wood from the ammo boxes in WWII. The answer is of course American Plane stock as yours have gotten over the illness now. A bit like the American stock that saved Europe’s vines when Phylloxera nearly wiped out our wine production 100 years ago. Sadly plane trees take decades to grow but we’re about to replace our vines and they should be in production in three years 🙂
It is a problem we have round the world. Species transplantation from flora to fauna, and even the things that can make them sick is a serious calamity. Interestingly, sometimes science does step in and mix it up to help a struggling plant survive through cross breeding with a similar species resistant to the ailment. We are getting similar results with some of our endangered trees here. And yes, sadly, trees do take decades to grow. 😦
Good to see that you are not idling about at all.
Nope, we’re really busy and working hard, Tom. It feels good to work hard. 😉
You have a very nice trail Lynda and I can see you have been working very hard this week end. Unfortunately I could not see all pictures in bigger size..
Happy week to you
Oh no! Chantal, I’m sorry that you couldn’t see them in the carousel! I post them this way so my friends slower connections can get the page to load. I have no idea why they wouldn’t open for you. 😦
Come to think of it, sometimes the pictures take a long time to load up in the carousel too. Perhaps they will load for you if you wait a bit on them? Hm.
Don’t worry Lynda, I came again and this time they all opened.. the first time there was only a cross and the left. This time I’am happy, I wanted to see the spider. Thanks for your reply.
😀
What a great trail! I just know I would enjoy walking it. ❤
Well then, Diana, when you come to visit we will have to walk it! But first we’ll have to moved and be living there. 😛
Oh I don’t know an element of danger or tresspassing may add excitement to the whole thing! 😉
It is a l-o-n-g drive from the nearest airport. If you came to visit wouldn’t you prefer to be able to spend a few days? 😉
[looking down, shuffling my feet] Yeah…I guess…
Hahaha! Well, I would love the visit, Diana!
Lynda, how long is the trail? And how long has it been there? It looks to be a well used path. Love your support team!
A benefit to all the rain is that the poison ivy comes up easily … I pulled a bunch up on Sunday … and have alot more to pull!!
LB, I honestly don’t know how long it has been there, but it is a loop and is about 3/4 of a mile… but don’t quote me as this is a rough estimate.
Ah, now we will be doing the same work in different parts of the country. I work in the woods fall, winter and spring, before the snakes come out. It’s great exercise and it feels awesome to make progress. Poison ivy we have all over in the woods. We have tried to keep after it, but I often wonder if it’s a losing battle. Did you know deer eat it? Yes, Daisy deer changed the way we look at everything around here!
Woodland moths, and insects are interesting. I’m forever seeing a species I’ve never laid eyes on before. You will be enjoying so many beautiful aspects of life in the mountain farmlet. I’m so excited for you!
Lori, We will be enjoying everything as soon as we can move in. We just got hit with an $800.00 increase on the cost of the foundation work. JEEZE!
I will be writing about this later in the week, but it was the bathroom flooring that caused the increase!!! And yes, I was over there today to see what was going on. The fella did not exaggerate the toil and trouble he was going through to fix that mess. 😦
And I’ll tell you what… I am glad he said he would do it, because it was a witch of a job! 😯
How exciting to have such a nice path on your property! I went hiking with the dogs on an old rail trail (NH to Mass) the other day, and I swear…I walked through every single spider web. It’s like they seek me out! lol
I need to learn how to recognize poison ivy.
~ April
Oh, April, poison ivy is easy to recognize…
It will be the one that makes you break out and itch like He… (er) CRAZY! Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. 😉
Basically, if you follow the old adage: “Leaves of three let it be.” then you should be just fine. I read recently that in the right conditions it can become a SHRUB too. GACK! Yup, just avoid anything with three leaves.
Looks like a labor of love, some of it, anyway.
Patti, there is no getting around it, it is WORK, but it is enjoyable work! We have always maintained that if you must work hard then it had better be something you like doing. We love doing this!
Wonderful photos of a wonderful place. I was taken with the resurrection fern. I especially liked the suggestion in the link that, because of its ability to come back to life so relatively quickly, it makes a great project for kids.
I envy you being able to work where there’s earth and shade. It makes summer a good bit more bearable. And now that we’re back in drought, everything is getting hard and hotter. We need a rain resurrection!
Linda, apparently, we have been getting all your much needed rain? (We have been getting more than our share here.) The weather has cooled a bit this past couple of weeks, but when it hits the 90s again the humidity is unbearable. The day I took these photographs was one of the more pleasant ones, as in, much drier. We still have to survive August and they are telling us it will be hotter.
I am sorry to hear you are back into the drought! I was hoping that Texas was coming out of it and finally getting enough rain.
Praying for rain for Texas!
PS: I like that fern too! The first time I saw it dried up I was shocked, because I thought it had died! Then after the next rain it just perked right back up. 😀