Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Like a scene out of bible

I planted my first trees at the orchard about two years ago. I didnt get a water hook up because it is a co-op and costs about 3,500.00. The neighbors said the pond on my property never went dry so I just bought a pump and irrigation tubing. That year turns out to be the second driest and hottest since the 1850's. The pond promptly went dry and I had to bring in water in a tank with my truck. My neighbor was nice enough to let me buy some from him which I was very happy about.


DINOSAUR PIGS

I noticed lots of deer tracks around the property so I build a 7 foot tall fence around the trees. Well, it wasnt deer. It was herds of wild Russian boar. These are not domesticated pigs gone feral. They are pre-historic creatures with tusks and fur as tough as wire. They will tear through a fence like tanks. NOTHING stops them from going where they want to go.

I have a former marine friend that wanted to hunt them for sausage so I let him come out to the land and shoot them at night. I guessed they were about 100 pounds or so. It was more like 300 pounds. I had never really seen one in person. I received a call one night and was told to go out and see the one he just shot. This is what I drove up on.




Now I am not a hunter but these creatures are very invasive, destroy local habitat and scare off native wildlife. Not to mention they root up trees in minutes. They had to go. It was only later that I found that they have two litters a year and the young have babies within 6-8 months of being born. They will never be removed from Texas and we can only keep them at bay. I dread the day they break into my orchard. Hopefully my trees will be big enough to survive when they do.

On a scary note, the pigs have been off my property since the Spring of 2010 when a Mountain Lion took up residence at the rear of my land. I found the tracks all over that area and my new neighbor spotted it lurking about. I am not sure how I feel about this.


GRASSHOPPERS!!!!

This was the next trial for the land. About 1 million of the suckers came into the land like a swarm. They are yellow and about 3 inches long. These are not your garden variety hoppers. They are destructive and unstoppable. They apparently love Apple trees and immediately ate all the leaves, then the bark and finally the cambium layer underneath. Nothing but a large twig remained. Fortunately, I only grew a few Apple trees for fun and they are not my primary crops. I plan on trying an organic option next year called Nolo.


JOHNSON GRASS, never heard of it.

If you have it, you know what it is. This is a weed that can only be killed by pesticides and I dont use pesticides. You can try to smother it with other crops but it always survives. The leaves are razor sharp and if you run your hand over them quickly, it can open you up like a knife. It completely covers my land and moves in on the trees like a force of nature.

So that is what I had to deal with the first year on the land. I almost quit but I am a gluton for punishment.




2 comments:

  1. 'Former Marine' not 'Ex marine'... unless he got dishonorably discharged.

    A minor detail, but some of them freak out about it.

    and, mmmm. Boar sausage.

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  2. Noted and fixed!!

    Thanks

    By the way, my Dad has 200+ acres of hunting lease and is loaded up on sausage, sticks and jalapeno sausage. I hope to get some this XMAS.

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