Conservation and StewardshipIn the Woods

Last Week This Week

Remember the stories last week about the Washington County and Columbia County Small Woodland Associations and their dueling/competing plant sales happening at the same time?

Marilyn had the fun and pleasure of working in St. Helens with the event taking place outside in the worst plant sale weather in the history of the event (she had a blast, by the way, her co-workers and the customers made the day fun). But the driving snow and wet pavement had everyone bundled up in winter garb.

I worked the Hillsboro sale where I watched from inside a wall of windows as fits and starts of snow  that swirled furiously between bouts. Both counties worried that the weather would deter the plant people that flock to these sales each year. Both counties were surprised by the attendance numbers and the support of the respective communities.

seedling planting in riparian
Planting seedlings in the riparian zone along the river

And now for this week… Of course it stands to reason that after each of us working at a plant sale last week, the story today is of us now planting the seedlings that we each brought home. Mike got to enjoy the job of helping to plant the seedlings we had brought home.

planting seedlings on the hillside
The steep hillside had us working 100 elevation feet apart. I was above planting, Mike in the middle stringing bamboo through mesh tubing and Marilyn 100 feet below planting

It began along the riparian zone of the river where Mike had bulldozed a path gouging out invasive blackberry plants. We are trying to establish trees in this area before the blackberries try to take back over their ground and are using about fifteen varieties of seedlings in the hope that some will stretch up before the berries encroach too thickly.

Then we moved to the hillside that had the small acreage that was cleared of timber last year and filled in Douglas fir and Western Red Cedar seedlings in spots that were thinly planted in February.

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I am so pleased to announce that MaryJane Nordgren has made her new book available to the public! Click here for your copy of Nandria’s War.