The most frequent comment I get from people seeing my newly
mowed fields is “Hey, you missed something.”
My conversational skills are almost nonexistent, so I’m never quite sure
how to respond to that kind of comment. Since
it’s not a question, I don’t think I’m obligated to respond. I usually just acknowledge the accuracy of
their statement and stare at them until they walk away. Do they honestly believe that I’m unaware of
the fact that there are things in the field left unmowed? Of course I missed something. I meant to.
If I intended mow everything in the field, I could just
grind it all down with a ten foot Bush Hog.
My primary objective is to remove unwanted features from the field and I
do all that is necessary to achieve that objective. Beyond that, I also wish certain features to
remain untouched, so the mower is carefully guided to avoid key items. I made earlier mention of my desire to avoid
destruction of the ant mounds, but there are many other things that I hope to
keep intact. I doubt that anyone would
question why I failed to mow down the bird boxes.
Flowering Dogwoods are thriving in the field. About 20 years ago, disease eliminated the
Flowering Dogwoods from my woodland understory.
That left a few young sprouts in the old crop fields as the only living
dogwoods on the property. I selected
about 25 sprouts and allowed them to grow to maturity. They now flower heavily and provide an
abundance of fruit each year. I keep
hoping to find some young dogwoods recolonizing the woods, but that has yet to
happen.
I’m allowing a few Blackjack Oaks, Quercus marilandica, to
grow near some of the ant mounds. Where
the Allegheny Mound Ants live in close proximity to the Blackjack Oaks, there
is a chance of encountering the uncommon Edwards’ Hairstreak butterfly. The butterflies lay their eggs on the oak and
the ants provide protection to the butterfly during its early stages of
life. This wonderful association exists
on other parts of the property and I am encouraging it to spread.
Small shrubs and trees growing in association with the tall
prairie grasses provide ideal structure for the placement of bird nests. Deerberry is an ideal species for this
activity. So far, Deerberry has been
slow to establish in the fields and slow to expand its clumps. If it becomes a problem in the future, it is easy
to eliminate by cutting and stump spraying.
I’ve been watching this patch of native rose for several
years. It has been slowly spreading, but
has not produced any blooms.
Native roses have thorns, but the thorns are generally less
of a threat than those of the invasive Multiflora. I like to think of the bite of native rose
thorns as a nip from a playful puppy. By
comparison, the bite of the Multiflora Rose is more like a mauling by a mad
dog.
I don’t plan to allow any of these White Pine seedlings to
remain in the field. My plan is to
transplant a few of them as replacements for deer damaged trees planted in a
double line beside my established White Pine windbreak along the side of the
yard. Those trees in the background are
the seed source for the seedlings. The
fact that these little trees have been able to survive for two or three years
in the field, suggests that they are ideally suited to grow in their planned location.
The field is full of these Cut-leaved Grape Ferns,
Botrychium dissectum. They are short
enough that the mower blades do no more than shave a bit off the leaf. I’m amazed at how well these plants do in
association with the tall grasses. Even
though there is just the one species growing here, the natural variation in
leaf shape makes for an unending variety.
Some things I avoid, not because they are to be saved, but
because an encounter might damage both me and the mower. Seasonal wet spots in the field still hold
deep tire tracks made at the time the last crop was harvested. Most ruts have mellowed down and filled in,
but a few of the worst persist.
Another freshly dropped balloon. This is number eight for the year, making
this an above average year for balloon fallout.
It wouldn’t be tragic to mow over this bit of litter, but having the
ribbon wrap around the mower shaft and wedge between the shaft and blade can
create a mess that I’d rather not deal with.
I believe my 2014 mowing struck a good balance between cutting what
needed to be cut and avoiding those things best left untouched.
Your first paragraph above had me in stitches. Too funny! I wonder what the story is about the flowering dogwoods and them still not being found in your woods. Given how many balloons I've found this year in very remote places (7 so far), I'm thinking of keeping an annual count, too.
ReplyDeleteHi, Katie. The Dogwood diseases are still here and are most vigorous in wet, shaded areas such as the woods. Dogwoods trying to grow there are quickly infected and destroyed.
ReplyDelete