week 10: spring forward

this week on the little dream farm

There was a knock at the front door.

Chris was taking a meeting so I opened the door just slightly, always mindful of the cats around the door, and asked the man in jeans and a flannel shirt standing on our porch how we might help him.

He’s a logger who was doing work nearby and wondering, while he had his equipment in the area, might we like for him to take a look at our woodlot, give us a quote, and possibly do some logging on our land, too.

I threw on a coat and some shoes and stepped outside to talk to him on the back patio facing out towards our land—the several acres of woodlot is at the far back right of our farm looking out from the back of the house.

I asked him a bunch of questions and he told me about their process—they’d want to start in May when the ground dries up from mud season and they’d be up there every day for at least a few weeks. They opt for mostly Maples and some Pine and try and make what are called “10-year cuts” meaning they wouldn’t intend to come back to log that same area for the next ten years. He explained to me the business of selling the logs off to a series of brokers, and that while some loggers also cut the treetops for firewood and chip the rest, that he and his team simply leave all the treetops in their wake…essentially leaving them to decompose over time. He said, “It’ll be a mess up there for a number of years.”

After he left, Chris and I talked it over and Chris was a very firm “No” right from the get go. I think I was trying to be polite to the man and hear him out and learn about the process and his business and his way of making a living since we know nothing about it, but the entire process made me feel uneasy and somehow a little bit sad.

The discussion Chris and I had was that firstly, we didn’t want to do anything to disturb the habitat the woodlot provides for so many animals. That, and while loggers will tell you, “It’s good for your forest,” strategically removing mature Maples and Pines with heavy machinery is not necessary for a forest to regenerate itself—nature has been doing that quite well all on her own. I did not love the idea of heavy machinery up there every day of the week from dawn until dusk cutting down so many of the mature trees that have grown and stood there and serve as the canopy of that woodlot long before we ever came along, and will remain for many years to come, and at least while we are here to steward this land.

So, even if, as the logger said, he’d hand us cash or cut us a check every week as each giant truckload of logs was hauled off our land, and even though that could have paid our farm’s taxes, which doubled last year, as well as the year’s farm expenses, it was and is still an easy and polite No for us and for our farm.

Decisions like this make me think of pre-farm Chris and Sarah—we had no earthly idea we’d ever be in the position to even consider a situation such as whether or not to have out land logged. That we’d weigh the pros and cons as we did and that we’d feel the decision so strongly in our core…wanting to protect this land like wanting to protect your own.

Until a few days ago I didn’t know a thing about the intricacies of the business of logging, nor had I ever met a logger, that I can remember. It makes me think of every little thing we’ve learned and had exposure to since we set foot on this journey of farm life and country living, now just about two and a half years ago. It’s enough to write a few volumes on, surely.

It’s not that we’re necessarily different now, but farm life has changed us in some very subtle and also very profound ways, and always I am grateful for all the blessings and the messes that have made and continue to make this one hell of an adventure.

As we turn the clocks ahead and spring forward into another growing season here on the farm, now more than ever I’m feeling called to take a walk up to our woodlot and get to know that part of our farm a little better…to watch it come alive this season and to take in all the mighty trees—who’ve stood watch as the winds of change have brought many stories, many families, many dreams, and many memories to this farm—while they’ve been the sentries…the steady constant through it all.

Not the best photo as I was taking it from inside the house with my iPhone shooting all the way out into our back field, but this is a group of deer that all emerged from the woodlot the other day to graze in our back pastures.

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1. A friend of ours sent us these cat toys a while back and Micro and Little Lady are absolutely obsessed with them. They carry them all around the house in their mouth and play with them for hours at a time. I recently ordered another two sets so the rest of the Furmers get some time to play with them too, and it was like a fun house around here this week! Grab these for your cat(s)!

2. The weather has been the perfect temperature lately for me to be living in this adorable shacket. I think I wore it out of the house every day last week for appointments and errands. It fits oversized so I ordered it true to size and I got the color way Oatmeal. Highly recommend to add to your closet as a staple for both spring and fall!

3. I keep things really simple these days when it comes to all my beauty, makeup, and skincare products. A few years ago I was sent this hyaluronic acid serum in a package full of other great wellness products and I absolutely fell in love with it. It goes on great, makes your skin so rich with moisture, and is perfect for putting onto a clean face before your AM or PM moisturizer. If you’re looking for the perfect thing to add more moisture, reduce fine lines, and give your skin that extra drink it needs, this one does the job!

   *Note: Not all, but some of these links are affiliate links. That’s no matter to you, as it costs you nothing. However, if you make a purchase, we -may- receive a teeny weeny commission.

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