Soil is the tissue that holds an ecosystem together. Its characteristics determine the types of plants that exist on a property. When combined with water retention levels, compaction, depth of organic layers, and proximity of underlying hard layers, it all combines to form the underlying structure...
Contour maps can be helpful in planning site design, locating roads, being aware of slopes, and more. The helpful forester from the Washington Department of Natural Resources sent a copy of a contour map for my property and the surrounding area. By using Google Earth and walking the property, I...
As part of the Forest Stewardship Program, an interesting wildlife biologist gave us a presentation on wildlife ecology and forest habitat. Quite an interconnected web out there! Forest succession affecting water supply affecting small game affecting large predators affecting food sources affecting...
With our new chain saw and brush cutter, plus a trailer in tow behind a station wagon filled with garden tools, we headed to our land for the weekend. Heeding the old carpenter's adage of "measure twice and cut once", we again reviewed our proposed driveway path through the forest. I especially...
Chain saws have a lot of cutting power and are fast moving gizmos. So, proper technique and safety precautions are important. In addition to the safety features that come integrated with my chain saw and brush cutter, I also use protective clothing specifically designed for chain saw...
Let's face it, most chain saws and brush cutters are not particularly eco-friendly since they spew out lots of 2-stroke oil and gas smoke. Nonetheless, I needed to get both of these devices for making headway into our driveway area and future walking paths around the property. Hence, a dilemma. How...
Virtual Earth (which later became Bing Maps) provides the most detailed and interesting 2D images available at this time. Virtual Earth's special sauce is the "Bird's Eye View". Throughout all of Whidbey Island,...
"Silviculture" is the art and science of growing and tending forests. It's an interesting, interrelated, interdependent set of knowledge and processes. When managing and planning the future for a forest stand, the following topics are important silviculture considerations: Stand...
As part of two outdoors site visits, the Forest Stewardship Program lent everyone in the class a good set of basic forester tools to later use on our own land. Already packed into pockets of a fluorescent orange safety vest, the following tools were loaned out:
Google Earth is just plain cool. I am now able to overlay my site map directly into Google Earth via a personalized image overlay. By doing this I can view all of the site locations relative to everything around it and the underlying satellite photo landmarks. More importantly, I can tilt, pan, and...