Spring 2024 saw us plant another 754 trees and shrubs.  Seven more fruit trees in the orchard plus a few black cherry and bunch of serviceberry and hazlenut.  Planted four different types of raspberry around the homestead.  Also infilled the pine plantation field with another 200 white and 50 red pine but it could probably use another 300-400 which we may try and get over the summer.

The old wooden garage lost a piece of the tarpaper roof.  We are in dire need of a new storage building but have only saved up a little less than half the quoted price.  Commercial banks want nearly 10% interest so we abide for now.  The trailer is on its last legs as well...the ceiling is starting to fall down from the mice burrowing through it.  Had a mouse on me the first night and chased him off...didn't see any additional evidence of mice the rest of the trip.  

End of 2023 Season

 Summer was a quick trip...so quick I never got the well up and running so I had to do that during the October trip...which saw highs of 80 degrees before snowing the day I left back for home.  I even jumped in Lake Superior twice that week.

We overseeded the pollinator habitat...

One of the 2018 pines hit 9ft and a number of others are in the 8 ft range.

 

We registered an old Balm of Gilead at the insistence of a cousin with the Michigan Botantical Society Big Tree list...

We planted another 200 white oak acorns and 50 paw paw seeds, spread serviceberry and mulberry seed and harvested 10 gallons of apples from the existing trees.  We also fenced in the fruit trees planted this past spring.

The 2020 EQIP planted pine are starting to pop out through the long grass.

I even got to spend a morning giving back to the Alger Counyt Conservation District doing stream water and macro invertebrate sampling.

Next year the plan will be planting fruit trees only as quickly as we can fence them...the deer got to a number of the spring planted fruit trees and we may need to do the work again.  Letting nature take it's course...even during spring with plenty of wild food, the deer still preferred to munch the new fruit trees.  At this point there's only room for another 5-10 around the old homestead anyway.

The funding we receive from USDA will go directly into high yield treasury bonds again as we save for a new pole barn.  

2023 Planting Updates

 We planted another 800 trees this spring and prepped a 3 acre plot for an additional 1400 tree contractor planting.  We had to contend with the remnants of a late season 30 inch snow storm but by the week's end we were back down to bare ground.

A neighbor who had slaughtered some cows had invited some four footed friends to feast on the remnants.

We did have some real turkeys for coworkers that week.

The warming temperatures had the new cherry trees budding out before we left.

In 2022 we planted another 750 trees and shrubs, started a pollinator habitat for a new UDSA Consevation Stewardship Program contract which will plant another 2.5 acres with 1350 trees.  We focussed on service berry, hazelnut, black walnut, red and white oak, plum and black cherry.  We also added 15 apple, cherry, pear and nectarine fruit trees in the orchard area.

Some of the pine planted that were gifted by Michigan DNR in 2018 have reached 6ft tall and showed 2 feet of new growth.\

We worked on siding the old wooden garage and hope to get another 5-10 years out of it before we can afford a new pole barn.  

And we've ordered another 750 trees for planting in May 2023.

American Hazelnut (Filbert) 25 Seedlings: Superior Plum 2; American Plum  25 seedlings; Jersey Blueberry 4; White (Paper) Birch 50 Seedlings Red Oak 100 Seedlings; Black Walnut 100 seedlings: White Oak 25 Seedlings: White Cedar 25: Serviceberry 35: Balsam Fir 25: Pembina Plum 2: Stella Cherry 2: Early Golden Pear 2: Yellow Transparent Apple 2: White Pine 200.

2021 Update

We did some work on the old garage on the second 40 acre parcel we closed on in October 2020.

NRCS funding planted another 3300 trees in the fall of 2020.

2018's trees are growing quick.

The truck is rented for May 2021 and we'll be planting another 500 trees on the thinned acreage and in the middle field of the new 40 and doing some more work on the garage.  We've applied for Conversation Stewardship Program status, received a grant to extend the forest management plan and are working on plans for a new outbuilding with solar and wind options to create revenue and keep us green.

A couple of our friendly little trees poking up through the snow for hunting season.

In June Michigan's DNR gave us an extra 1000 young white pine.  Some were in poor health after sitting for a few weeks in the back of a tractor trailer but we planted nearly 700.

We also noted a few visitors at the new pond.

And we had some beautiful new growth on last years trees.