Valley Boy

 The temps finally came up Sunday but the winds were wicked. Charlie had been bugging me, so we got out for a walk along the neighbor's field. We could walk along the forest edge and get some protection from the wind.

Charlie stops to inspect the Log Skidder. There is a lot of waste with this logging operation. The wood they leave behind could warm thousands of homes. 
The Skidder was quiet and Charlie decided to go up and give the tire a bit of his doggy business. 

We dropped down into a very steep 'ravine' or what we call a dry run. It is like a narrow ravine shaped from years of run off. This particular one has a spring have way down its 1/2 mile length. In the winter the water seeps from the spring and freezes in layers over the boulders and mosses.

Charlie knows where I want to go and he keeps an eye out for anything and everything.

The ice from the tiny spring appears to be blue green. It could be from the 'gumbo clay' that it passes through.
I seriously don't know what gumbo clay is, but it is greyish green and can be molded when wet and falls apart when dried.

We explore, we take some cellphone shots and we head up the steep side of the hill. The climb out is 248 feet of elevation change. I do it each winter a few times because I find the blue/green ice so fascinating to see.

We did it once more. Into PeeWee's Valley to the blue/green ice and out. Below is a mini video looking back at what we climbed out of.

This is a shot from 10 years ago when Morris [my Jack Russell] and I explored it for the first time. Yes, the shot is terrible, it was from my old point and shoot camera and it is what it is.
However it shows how much this ravine fills with ice over the winter.

The ice is easily 4 feet deep.

Our tradition continues.

Just stuffss

 They started on the woods to the east of me....

I know the absentee landowners needed $$$ for their taxes. They've leased out the land in sections for hunting and farming. Apparently it doesn't pay enough.

Sigh.

This was one of my walking trails... 
I guess I won't freak out because it IS not my land.
They need the money.
The understory will grow back in.

But damn, it looks ugly.

These are the tops of the magnificent oak trees they cut down. The tops are left where they land and the oak logs are taken.

I know all of this, it has been years since I've seen another section of this land logged. 

The stump of one of my favorite oaks. The sunlight pours into the forest now with these grand old oaks cut down.

However, my creative thinking says this would be a perfect dystopian backdrop for some of my toys.

Right? What better place to show off the damage to the earth.

This logging is not for forest health. It is for cash and quick money.

My neighbor who is a 'forester' goes around our county and helps people manage their forests for a healthy forest.

His biggest concern was the logging company taking oak trees in the spring.

Oak wilt is a huge concern and spreads with this activity in the warmer weather. He wished they'd done this work in the winter.

I calmly explained to him that the owners are not stewards of the land. They only want money for leasing and money for profit [I think]. Someone pointed out that a lot of land owners log off their forest before selling the land.

Uffdah. 

The dynamic of the forest will be changed. It is not my land but I know it so well from walking it for 29 years. Last summer......

How it will change remains to be seen. 

Things change and we have to adapt.

Lil' Bear looks at the stump and at the forest....

~~~~~ 

I had meant to show off some birds we've seen in the past few days. But this was on my mind.

I wonder how it will affect the two families of the Pileated Woodpeckers in this forest. This was one of them visiting just the other day. Chipping at the deer skull on the tree for some calcium perhaps?