Open spaces

When we moved to our 10 acres in Louisville, Tennessee, in 2006, all but about a half-acre where the house sits was heavily wooded. No, “heavily wooded” does not describe it. The land was dark, impenetrable and strangled by gnarled vines of the possum grape. Some of the grape vines were 8 to 10 inches in diameter.

I spent the first couple of years hacking and whacking enough to find a few stray rays of sunlight. I felt like a lone warrior trying to beat back the marauding hordes.

This fall I signed on some timber cutters who came in with a monstrous dozer, a gargantuan log skidder and blazing chain saws Three weeks and some 300 trees later, we now have about 4 acres of semi-cleared acreage. About half of the open acreage is on a slope and the other two acres somewhat flat.

My grand plan for the next two years is to turn my newly cleared earth into an orchard, berry patch and vegetable garden. As I look out the window now after the wettest month of 2008, all I have now is a huge mud hole.

Betty came through this Christmas with several good books on orchards and gardens. I have a 3-cylinder John Deere tractor (diesel, 4-wheel-drive) sitting behind the garage ready to go.

Much of this Internet diary (sounds better to me than “blog”) will deal with what I hope is the creation of a thriving garden and orchard. My goal is to write a few words each day on what this 10 acres has to teach.

I begin 2009 with excitement and small voice in my ear saying: “Be careful what you wish for.”