Added Patio Area

We cut down a half fallen dead tree on 01/18/2025 (3.5 hours). In addition, we cut up some dead trees that were on the ground and used them for edging. On 02/17/2025 (1.5 hours) we heard a tree making a cracking noise in the wind and snow. Upon looking closer at the tree, we discovered a big crack in its trunk. It looked like it could fall at any time. Since we were working close to the tree, we decided to cut it down. It was the largest tree that we cut down that day.  We also cut down 2 smaller trees and cut up another tree that had previously fallen and was on the ground. The roads were snow covered which increased our travel time and so we had less time to work on the course. We cut up 3 trees on the ground on 03/22/2025 (4 hours) and added them to the log edging. We also cut down 2 dead trees. We cut down a leaning tree with the two-man saw on 04/26/2025 (4 hours). When the tree fell it knocked down another dead tree. In addition, we cut down 3 more dead trees for a total of 5 trees taken down and added to the edging.

On 05/17/2025 (4 hours) we added a 30-foot path from the parking area to the patio area. The path was created and leveled using a weed whip, shears, flat shovel, and mattock. The path was then covered with landscape fabric and mulch. At the end of the path, the logs were cleared away to allow for entrance into what will be the patio area. Also, some of the first wildflowers of the season started to bloom. We started building on 05/24/2025 (4 hours) a brick patio. The patio is being built from used bricks that were buried on the property from an old structure. We planted an arborvitae and switchgrass on 06/21/2025 (4 hours). We also added some more bricks to the patio. There were some wild daylilies in bloom. From 07/27/2025 through 08/01/2025 we cut the grass for the one and only time of the 2025 season. The grass was over 6 feet tall in several places. Purchased a gas Husqvarna 122RJ Brushcutter with a metal blade. It did a great job cutting the tall grass and brush. We worked approximately 1 to 2 hours each day for a total of 10 hours. In addition, we planted 2 small raspberry bushes. We started installing a rubber mulch border on 08/23/2025 (4 hours) around the gravel driveway to suppress the weeds. In addition, we cut the grass along the road. We also planted a Korean wintergreen boxwood.

We added more rubber mulch around the edge of the gravel driveway on 09/13/2025 (4 hours). In addition, we cut up a large dead tree that was on the ground and added it to the log edging. The majority of the tree was easy to cut up using a 16-inch electric chainsaw. However, it had a tough time cutting through the large diameter trunk. It would have been faster to use the 5-foot 6-inch two man saw, but we did not have the saw with us that day. We cut down 3 trees on 10/11/2025 (6.5 hours) that were at the end of the driveway and close enough to hit the road if they fell the wrong way. All three trees were within about arms distances of each other. I removed some of the lower branches from the first catalpa tree on all sides except for the side opposite the road which is the direction that we wanted it to fall. We then did the face cut on the side opposite the road and the back cut on the side that the road is on. The tree fell away from the road and between several trees that we wanted to keep without damaging them and landed where we had planned. The second catalpa tree was cut so that it would fall between two trees and parallel to the road. This tree did fall in the direction that we planned. However, since the one tree was so close to it, it got hung up in its branches and did not fall all of the way to the ground. To get it down we attached a come-along to its trunk and the stump of the first catalpa tree that we had just cut. We were able to pull it backwards enough that it then fell to the ground. Once this tree was on the ground I measured it since the third tree, a dead elm, was roughly the same height. The second catalpa tree measured about 50 feet. This meant that the dead elm tree was also about 50 feet tall. I was then able to figure out about where it would land. This tree was relatively straight but may have had a slight lean towards the road. This tree was cut so that it would fall parallel to the road. For this one, I used a rope attached to the upper part of the tree with a come-along attached to the trunk of a large tree that was in the direction that we wanted it to fall. In addition, I used wedges at the end to finish felling the tree in the correct direction. The dead elm tree fell parallel to the road as planned. On 11/15/2025 (6.5 hours) we cut up two of the trees that were cut down in October. We also setup and used for the first time a homemade portable privacy fence. We also removed some branches from the lower half of a maple tree at the end of the driveway. We cut down 4 dead trees in the parking area and trimmed over a dozen trees on the left side of the property on 11/19/2025 and 11/21/2025 (3 hours & 5 hours). There were several trees that were over 50 feet tall. The trees on the left side of the property were trimmed down to about 5 feet tall. Several were over 40 feet tall and could potentially fall onto the neighbor's property or into the utility wires. Going forward we plan on keeping all of the trees on the left side of the property trimmed to under 8 feet tall.