Whenever I invoke the word “homesite,” I’m referring to approximately two-thirds of an acre. That’s how much of these 20 acres we cleared to make way for septic, driveway, parking pads, well, electric, shed and cabin. Later we pushed back understory and brush around the edges. By the time we’re done, we’ll have developed an acre in all. Maybe a bit less.
I’ll confess that I still carry habits from decades of living in more traditional settings. There’s a tendency, I think, to create more open space than is necessary for an ordinary residence. A clearing quickly becomes an expanse.
Tidiness tempts, too — every twig must be picked up, every leaf that falls raked or blown out of sight.
Out here, obviously, chasing “curb appeal” ain’t exactly a priority. Taking care of a homestead is one thing, and it’s common, but auditioning for the cover of House Beautiful is another.
I’ve never been a weed-free-lawn kinda guy anyway, and the appearance of where we live merely reflects basic dignity. So nothing about this aspect of Life on The Mountain feels like a stretch.
I got to thinking about all this while I was outside this morning doing routine chores. Down behind the shed, I took stock of the “clearing” I’d done awhile back — cedars limbed-up and downed branches removed, brush and briars cut down about 20 feet in.
Past that, it’s the same tangle we found here two years ago. The work I did created visual relief, softening the transition between homesite and woods, and it admits more light where we want it.
I can think of several reasons to clear more than we have already — to highlight a feature, for example, like I did with the outcrops of ledge north of the cabin. To create a path or some other access. To make space for grazing (which we won’t be doing) or gardening (which we hope to begin come spring).
There’s also the matter of maintaining a perimeter that can be defended effectively. The most common way to do that, of course, is by clear-cutting trees and other vegetation. But it also can be accomplished with (or aided by) denial barriers and natural terrain.
Our homesite’s wooded, rocky perch on a relatively steep slope is imperfect, to say the least, but by combining tactics and using what The Mountain gives us, we make it work.
These are things I think about. It comes not from some contrived sense of eco-awareness or consciousness of the size of my “footprint,” but rather from a firm grasp of what’s practical, useful.
Simple.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB
