We have been clearing the “jungled” portion of our land to make room for the shade garden. Rain or shine, cold or warm, we have been up there hacking and chopping to get this task complete before spring arrives and the creepy crawlies start moving. Here’s a preview (from my library window) of where we were during construction last summer and where we are as February opens before us.
I’ve had good help in this endeavor. My son-in-law Daniel donated a couple of long afternoons to cut up downed trees, and he drop about 30 damaged or scrubby trees to allow some sunshine to filter in. Shawn took a turn with the chainsaw, and she is a natural. We opted for a battery-powered chainsaw, and I’m sold on its value. Daniel has used a gasoline chainsaw in the past, and his recommendation was to add a battery with longer life (on order). The chainsaw uses the same batteries as my trimmer and blower. And we can hear ourselves talk while it runs.
I began life working with Dad on our land on Angel Fork in West Virginia where clearing trees, chopping vines, moving rocks, and digging to subdue nature where common activities. Never knew I would embark on such a journey at this end of life, but, you know, the old lessons are still fresh. Clear a path, remove obstructions, and then drop the trees. The next images give an example of the plant life and the dangling vines drooping from nearly every tree.
Shawn and I met our farmer neighbor who owns acreage to our west. He describe the land we bought as a paradise…before Hurricane Fran hit in 1996. The man shared that our acre was covered with huge pines, and the winds from the storm roared up the hill and toppled all those trees. Fran left behind a few saplings and a barren gash.
We’ve discovered the hearts of many of those ancient trees and plan to incorporate them into our shade garden design. Imagine a hosta sited with one of those logs as a backdrop. So we know much about the provenance of this land. But what about all those vines?
The large vines are fairly easy to cut though they wind round and round the trees. I cut as high as I could reach with a pole saw, and we will watch the leftovers dry up and eventually tumble in future storms. Often I found that the larger vines could not be pulled from the ground because they were anchored with medium-sized feeder roots. My trusty machete made short work of those anchors.
Medium vines hung by the dozens from several trees and traveled great distances across the area. The longest I pulled stretched to nearly fifty feet once I had it severed and tamed. The weight of these vines forced many trees into a permanent lean, and of course, those trees must be removed. Our brush pile grew quickly as we gathered these potential garden destroyers.
The worst vines by far are the shoe-string-sized ones that lay on or just under the leaf covering. Most are well-camouflaged, and all are highly irritating. I grasped many and pulled them from the ground as I wrapped them around a stick like a kite string. Their lengths were staggering, and I know it is these vines that will plague us for years. We will need to remain vigilant and chop with diligence as we tend the gardens.
Those tiny vines paled in comparison to their arm-thick cousins, but what they missed in size they made up in deviousness. They wrapped around my boots and embedded themselves in the lace hooks. John then takes a step as the vine draws tighter. John is captured in the snare but has no idea until the fateful moment when both feet are wrapped, and John then becomes a falling body. Ouch! I suffered three falls in three days as I chopped my way through the densest section of the brush. I am thankful the clay mud under my feet cushioned the fall.
As I scraped mud from my pants and rubbed my sore whatever I began to make a connection. Those tiny vines are much like sin. They creep in under cover, take root, spread out, and wait to trip me up. Here’s an example, the way I talk about and value others. I find something to hammer on in that other person, something annoying to me which I might have mastered and with which they still struggle. And the disparaging words spew like a vigorously shaken warm bottle of Coke. With practice the verbal critique can become a habit, and what does God think about that? Here’s an applicable thought from the pen of Paul the Apostle.
But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.
Colossians 3:8 NASB
Uh-oh. Sounds like God is not in favor of such verbal analysis. It took twenty-eight years for the vines to overcome our Gardens of Grace site. Imagine the damage a cultivated and unchecked sin can do to a believer’s life in such a time?
The vines:
- Conquer land that should be better used for fruitful growth.
- Crush and stunt desirable plants that might thrive otherwise.
- Covertly weave an impenetrable mat.
- Create thick tangles that starve other plants of sun, rain, and nutrients.
- Care not for the rest of the hillside.
We cut so many trees that had bowed under the weight of those vines. And more will need to come down. Then we will re-plant, create a garden and work hard to bring the right balance of sun, water, and nutrients to the plants. Grow, babies, grow!
Grandson, August, got in on the clean-up action. He took advantage of the opportunity to explore and lay claim to his “fort” while big sister, Fern, had a school day. Grandpa may have to do some peace negotiations when the pair roam the gardens together.
God has so much to teach me through gardening experiences. And this little guy and his darling sister occupy my thoughts. I want desperately to be the man of God they need their grandpa to be. The vines of sin must be located and eradicated.
