Sheep, Trees, Bears, Dogs, Oh My

11:27 PM, 12 April 2010
cool & overcast

The neighbor's pastor came by today; he's an expert on logging and frequently buys property in the area on prospectus and logs it or has it logged. He was also a wealth of information. He recommends we don't try selling our trees just now as the price for Douglas fir is in the toilet right now due to the tanking of the construction industry; rather, limb the trees to about 20-25 feet and give them a couple of years until the price comes back up. He suggested getting a Mexican group to do it as the labor's just about half price right now. Hopefully it will remain so, as while the sap's not running yet, it will begin to very soon. We'll need to wait until September as there's little likelihood of getting it done before the sap begins.

He's also recommended planting incense cedar for hedging; it grows thick and very close together to form a mesh, is prickly, and deer leave it alone. Apparently the boughs also sell for a very good price, making them all the more commodity for us.

Speaking of deer, two does were on the property today, about a hundred yards if that from the ewe pasture while we were watching one of the ewes giving birth. They hung out for a while and eventually headed off; the ewe dropped a healthy little ewe lamb who has now already received her shots.

Five more tree-guards constructed today; good thing, as the dolgo crabapples are leafing out. That will draw the deer like nobody's business. Once the firs are limbed, there will be a great deal of additional light and air movement which will be beneficial to the orchard - and to our neighbors' gardening plans!

According to local information, once the trees begin to drop fruit, we'll definitely begin to have bear problems. While being ringed by neighbors with dogs will help with this, it's been strongly advised that we get a dog or two or more to help ward bears off. We've begun looking into options there and have made inquiries about a few at various local animal shelters; a shepherd mix, a Rhodesian/lab mix, an Australian shepherd/Lab mix, and a mastiff/great dane mix. We also might look into a pack of Welsh corgis if we can persuade the breeders that the dogs not living in the house with us sleeping on our beds is not animal cruelty.