Hidden Treasure

The last two weeks has been a flurry of drama, danger, electricity issues and smoke so thick we couldn’t think straight. I completely forgot to tell you about a treasure that Mike had found out in the dry swamp area of the bull pen as he was moving the logs from the danger tree we had taken down.

The swamp is simply that, thick sludgy water through the wet months of the year. Sometimes the swamp does not dry out at all, some years by early July depending on Mother Nature. This year it dried up mid-August, just in time for us to get in the area to get that danger tree. The heavy logging dozer would have sank if we would have attempted to go through just a few weeks earlier. And it is a good thing we did the job when we did because with the last couple days of rain, there is already water sitting in the swamp and most likely will not dry up again this year.

Anyway, while Mike was moving the logs through the dry swamp, he hooked a corner of something with the blade. After he got the logs moved across he went back to see what he had snagged.

It looked like an edge of an old root ball. He tried digging it out with the blade and after about a half hour, rescued a large half-snag of a cedar tree. I call it a half-snag because it looks like the tree had been split right down the middle. The piece is a good 16 feet long, 6 feet wide and the part of the root system that Mike had first hooked is about 8 feet across. Being buried in the mucky swamp did not do any damage to the snag, the wood is just as sound as when it was sunk. We believe the log must have been buried as least 100 years because the farmer we bought the place from 40 some years ago would not have buried precious cedar, he would have used it for cedar fence posts or shake bolts to make shingles or siding for the barns.

The half-snag is now resting above ground until we can figure out what to do with the thing. I’m thinking a garden bench seat for 20 people but I would have to expand my garden first. Marilyn is thinking a carving of some sort. The bulls in the bull pen are happy to have the piece up on a stump because now, all at one time, they can scratch to their hearts content. Final decision may take a year or two.

We appreciate every reader we have and love it when you spread the word about SchmidlinAngusFarms, fill out the FOLLOW information so you get each story right to your email each day and/or leave comments about the stories.

I would also like to take a moment to thank those who click on the icon to do shopping with the affiliate, (clicking on the affiliate icon does not make you purchase, only gets you the their site) and sometimes I get a small commission from your purchases if you do shop, without a cost to you!

As always, Prime and special codes work with the icon and you do not have to purchase any item that I promote. Please consider using my link when you do your cyber shopping. Thank you for your support