re: Trees

[csziggy]

16. We cut down and thinned out dozens of trees

But turned around and planted a few thousand pines, oaks, dogwoods and cedars.

When we bought our farm, there were areas with scrubby oaks growing so close together you couldn't see through them. We thinned out those areas, and also cut down some trees that were unhealthy or in places where they were in the way. Back then, the Forestry Department sold bare root seedlings in bunches for about $10 a bunch - 1000 pines, 500 dogwoods, 1000 red cedars got planted in the first few years. A couple of years later a neighbor split a bunch of hybrid oaks. We also bought some small sycamore trees, hollies, and a green ash. Each year we'd buy a live tree for the holidays and planted it after the first of the year.

Now 35 years later there are more trees on this ridge than there were when we bought the place and they are healthier than those original trees we took out. With 60 acres we have lots of room for trees. In fact the 30 acres at the bottom of the ridge that is lowland is completely forested and has a native stand of American beech trees that is unusual in Florida - one was the Champion American beech of Florida for a while, but they found a specimen tree that is larger.