Through The Woods We Go

Saturday was a beautiful day here in upstate New York. So my husband and I went out for breakfast. Then took a ride to check out a property that was for sale. It sounded promising, as our future homestead home. Thirty acres of land with a beautiful home. The directions from Google Maps turned out to be the long way to this property. It took us through thick forest land.

We didn't really care about that so much, since we have always driven through forest land. But that was not the easiest way to find a piece of property. Turned out the house was on the other side of this seasonal road. It was a pretty drive, but I kept worrying about the truck getting stuck or puncturing a new tire. We made it though.

There was a big pond in the  middle of this forest. It was just beautiful. It'd be nice in the summer when everything is green. All those woods and we didn't see one wild animal other than deer. I always wish to see a bear in this type of setting, but never have.

We found the property that wasn't even a mile off the main road. If we did not have horses, it'd have been perfect for us. Low price too! We are trying to make our life easier, and that means not buying a property that my husband would have to clear again. Which he would have. It was a fun trip, but is crossed off our list now. 

Copyright © 2013 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2013  Kathleen G. Lupole

A Seasonal Road Through The Forest

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Truck Trail is a seasonal road

Yesterday, my husband drove me to town. The roads around us are usually plowed. They were. One road near our house that we love to take is called Truck Trail. It is a seasonal road and not plowed or maintained during the winter. I would have never driven it in the winter. Usually the only people who drive it are the snow mobilers. Or my husband!

It runs through the state forest

Before we found our property, he used to take me on the worst roads. Back then we had a Cadillac without four wheel drive. He managed to drive it through some really tough spots. Now we have a truck with four wheel drive. Since we moved here in 1999 though, he has not done much of that type of driving. So I really wasn't expecting it. He was laughing at me as I kept hanging on. Maybe he enjoyed doing something out of the ordinary for a change.

The end of the trail......out of the forest

We went shopping and had a really nice day away from home for a few hours. It is always good to get back though and get the stuff put away. Make a meal, check the computers, and relax for the rest of the day. Luckily, my son has been staying with us. When we go somewhere, he keeps our wood stoves going. And the house is warm when we get back home.

The other way home!

If you are wondering what that little snippet of language is at the top of my blog, "Follow my blog with bloglovin". It is a site I have joined to promote my blog, and get more followers and readers. I had to put that at the top of a new post, so they could see that I am who I say I am, and this is my blog. It won't be on every blog post. Just this one, I think. 

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2012  Kathleen G. Lupole

Logging In The Forest

View of our homestead from the forest

Living surrounded by the state forest sounds pretty nice to most people. Most of the time it is. But there are a few things about it that are not pleasant. One of them is that the Department Of Conservation sells wood to logging companies and private citizens for firewood. Not that I mind them doing that, nope, it is just the process of them getting the wood out and transporting it.

 Across the road from our house

Many of the trees in the state forest around us are now marked with blue or orange paint to designate trees being sold to various logging companies or individuals. We do not know exactly what the marks mean. Some of the trees are very small elm trees. Not much good for firewood or lumber. Maybe they are marked to warn them not to knock them over or damage them. I know it means that it will open up the forest a bit and will allow more sunlight in to hit our solar panels. It will also be good for the trees themselves to be thinned out a bit.

 

Trees wearing the mark of blue paint!

For the most part, our road is pretty quiet after labor day, until hunting season. Then after hunting season not much traffic at all during the winter. Our road is maintained rather well. But people just don't come out this way much during that time. If we get a lot of snow, we do get snowmobilers as our road is a snowmobile trail. If they start the logging process soon or right after hunting season, that will not be the case.

 Our little traveled dirt road

The logging trucks will come in early in the morning, like 6:00 AM, and I am not kidding about that! The men will be operating big heavy equipment that goes into the forest to take the trees down. We have even seen them use a machine that works like giant scissors that cuts the tree right off. So all those heavy logging trucks, heavy equipment trailers loaded with the equipment, not to mention the loggers themselves who drive back and forth several times daily...............a lot of traffic on our small dirt road.

 Sunlight streaming into the forest

The other thing that will take some getting used to will be the noise. They will be very noisy all day. We are not used to noise out here. It is very quiet and peaceful all day. Our horses are used to it being quiet, but they will adjust quicker than we will. They will probably enjoy having something to watch all day. My cats are used to going out in those woods, but I am sure they will be wary of the loggers, and not venture out as much. If it is colder though, they will be staying inside more anyway. So we'll see what happens. Maybe I'll get some good pictures of the logging process! 

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2011  Kathleen G. Lupole

Surrounded By State Forest

 

Surrounded by state forest 

Living surrounded by state forest land sounds wonderful to many. Nobody can live on it next to you, so that is one good thing about it. Of course, you never know if NY will decide to sell it for extra money, since they are always over their budget. Yet NY taxes have a reputation of their own! Or they could allow the gas companies drill for gas to make the money from the Marcellus Shale. Many residents have jumped on the band wagon to make the money without much regard for the beautiful NY land or water supply.

 Thousands of acres of state forest

It's no wonder that people like to come out to the state land to drink and party. Nobody to call and complain about the noise or the rowdy drunk drivers. They love to spin their tires and drive like complete idiots. So they must be drunk, right?
Four wheelers come almost always on Friday night. Spinning their wheels, cutting donuts and revving their motors. Did any of these people notice the price of gasoline has gone up? Or don't they care?

 The Fingerlakes Trail lean-to at Ludlow Creek

Then you have the people who like to shoot their guns at night down by the bridge or the lean-to. Now my first thought  is, "Do they know there is a house here? With people living in it? That we have horses out here too? Do they care?" If I call the police, the NY state police that is. They won't come out here until hours after I have called. The reason? My thought is that are afraid to come out here. The last time, I called, last year, someone was shooting constantly by the bridge. The sheriff drove right by our house and never stopped to talk to us. Fine, maybe he didn't want them to know we called. But he never even slowed up by the bridge either! Chicken! Next time, I guess we will handle it ourselves.

Ludlow Creek

We have hunters who come in droves for hunting season. Just before Thanksgiving. Last year we even had coyote hunters show up. The whole time we have lived here we have heard them when they run along the creek or when they call to each other. Or when the babies are howling in the spring. But they don't hurt those hunters. The hunters don't live here. The coyote has never come onto our land. Our horses scare them and other wild game from our property. Why did they have to come here to kill for no reason? I just wish they would leave them alone.

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole
All Photographs Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole

Sights On My Road To Town - Wordless Wednesday

 

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole
All Photographs Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole
 

We've Got A Neighbor!

Most of the properties around us are hunting camps surrounded by the state forest. In the beginning when we moved here in 1999, the owners of the camps came here every hunting season. Especially in the fall for deer hunting season. But in recent years, most of the camps stand there empty. Closest to us is a hunting lodge that is owned by a Binghamton lawyer and is frequented by the members who are mostly state troopers and the Binghamton police force. They come up here to practice target shooting.

One summer day, my friend and her new boyfriend came up to spend the day. We had never met her boyfriend before and she brought him up to meet us. He was a Viet Nam era veteran and suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I did not know this at the time though as we had just met him. We went for a walk and crossed our bridge and was heading toward the woods, when all of a sudden out of the clear blue, someone started firing a gun rapid fire like! Her boyfriend hit the ground so fast! It scared me too as we didn't even know anyone was there. And we just happened to be going for a walk at that moment. I have never had anything ever happen like that again and wonder if they saw us and did it on purpose. Now, nobody hardly ever goes there. I think they all got old.

Anyway, a number of years ago, maybe in 2001 or 2002, someone knocks on our door and introduces himself and his girlfriend and says he bought the property up the road on top of the hill. He wanted to tell us that if we wanted to graze our horses there he was going to fence it in and we could take them up there anytime. So we took them up there a few times. It is a big property and the fenced in area is big and they had room to run. Which them being Thoroughbreds...........they certainly ran! For about an hour, they then stood at the gate wanting to go home. No grazing, no more running. Just looking toward home. We'd put one halter on one horse and then just lead her and the other two would just follow along. Right over the bridge with no problem. When we left once the halter broke and that horse just took off running down that hill and over the bridge with the other two following close behind! Thank God there were no vehicles coming down the road!!!

When we moved here that property had a rental trailer on it and one guy who became our friend lived there with his dog. He moved out in 2006. Now the man who owns it has moved in up there. The decent trailer on his land he had put in for the renter when he first bought the land. The other two trailers were junks and that was what the renter was living in at that time.  Now our neighbor has someone working on taking the junks apart  and removing them for him. I am sure he will fix it up real nice. He has brought his two horses with him and is living there now. Of course, I haven't seen much of him, only when he drives by on his way to town.

I am sure he will love living up there full time as it is certainly beautiful out here. We wake up to the birds singing and neon green grass and trees. So peaceful and quiet..........wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world.

Copyright © 2010 Kathleen G. Lupole