Day 296

When the leaves change colors, I’m reminded of my complete adoration of the splendor of autumn. Fall is definitely my favorite season. Seeing nature’s rainbow palette unfold in front of my eyes is something I look forward to every year. When we acquired this property, I was excited to see this rainbow present itself in our own backyard.

Over two years in, I'm still waiting.

It is hard to display colors when you’re dead. While we do have a few splashes of color, the most dominant color at this time is brown from bare trees, fallen logs, and broken branches. With time, we hope to change this.

Two years in, our homogeneous and infested wetland has transformed from a sea of reed canary grass green to a collection of purple vervain, yellow goldenrod, and white boneset, among others. We know adding color to the woods will be a much longer wait. We also know that we need to work on removing the invasive grasses and plants from the woods before starting the reforestation process. Otherwise, the plantings will just be overwhelmed and add to the tree graveyard.

The first step is access. 

Last year, we had a trail cut through the woods in fall. We enjoyed walking the woods throughout winter, but once the snow melted, the trail, ws underwater. By the time the water receded, the invasive grasses had exploded to the point where our equipment couldn't handle it. Now that the grasses are dying back, it is easier to get in there to reestablish the trail for the next few months.

I took my oldest daughter to the woods with our small brush hogger and had her lead a walk through the potential path, clearing any fallen branches and debris that could interfere with the blade’s ability to mow the grass. Once the trail was cut, it was fun to watch her go off trail and inspect the fallen trees and nature hideaways she had found with her siblings last year. Even though we currently only interact in this area of the big backyard when the cold arrives, this area offers a new wrinkle in what we can do to enjoy the land.