To The Riparian

My readers are the best! A while ago, I had mentioned that November 1 was the beginning of the dormant season and that I was planning on doing some seedling planting. I was gently reminded that although I talked about the plan, no story of actual planting was getting posted. I appreciate the nudge, so here is the story that I almost forgot.

I did run to the nursery last week and picked up a load of cedar, Doug fir, hemlock and willow seedlings. Actually Mike drove since we were out and about delivering our firewood orders for the week and made a pass over to get our supply.

We are very fortunate to be located close to the Upper Nehalem Watershed Council nursery and are able to pick up and start planting the same day if we had enough energy. We like to get the seedlings in small batches so that we don’t have to worry about freezing weather or the tender plants drying out in dry weather. This trip was 100 seedlings.

It takes two or three trips with the Gator to empty the pickup of the this many seedlings since I only take enough to plant at any one given time. The fir, hemlock and cedar are in those tall one foot pots so each hole that I dig has to be a big one in order for the roots to fit in perpendicular before tamping down. It is a slow process.

A couple of weeks ago, the story was about Mike getting the bulldozer across the river and down into the gnarly blackberry patches that have taken over spots in the riparian zone (designated set-aside swaths of land on each side of the stream, designed to grow vegetation that shade and protect the water temperature and quality of the river).

The blackberries are not the native berries that are most delicious, these are the invasive species that like to wrap around all the growing vegetation and strangle them with a tenacious death grip. Mike had gotten into the middle of the offensive briar patches and bladed areas clean so I would have a clear area for planting.

Initially I figured that I would have enough plants with this first load to cover most of the areas that Mike had opened up with the dozer. I was wrong. The patches were bigger than I had anticipated and I only got about half of the land planted with the small seedlings. Hopefully, we will pick up another load this week to finish this area of the riparian before we move onto the zones around the mouth of Robinson Creek that enter the river on the other side of the property. (If you don’t see the next story arrive as promised, I am still open to nudges…)

In the wet, sandy loam that is studded with wicked blackberry thorns I depend on Muck boots to protect my feet, ankles and calves. Click the link to see more or to shop at the affiliate. Prime and codes work with the link. By using this link to shop, I get credit for directing people to their site and may make a small commission without any cost to you! Thank you for supporting my stories

There is a cool new book available from the local community. I highly recommend Voices From the Mill Pond for Christmas gifts!