This is the sight of a disappointed dog. Despite a new bed that I made for him, he is not happy. Beau misses his walks down to the river. I do, too!
Poison ivy choked out the sun and eventually brought down a big willow. It fell across the path that I usually keep open by mowing and pruning encroaching vines. There is no other way down to the water, because an army of big Toxicodendron radicans are stationed everywhere, blocking my way.
Those meanie vines creep and climb over everything. In open ground they are like Cobras, rearing their scary heads to warn me off. I am five feet tall and so are they.
Perhaps I've mentioned, but when I raised dairy goats on my farm, the goats ate the poison ivy. I drank their milk and was totally immune from the remaining ivy. I'd love to have goaties again, but have no proper shelter for them. They are browsers, preferring to eat leaves and brushy stuff. At the farm, I took them on daily walks. They followed me everywhere on my unfenced land and grazed on red clover, also a favorite, that we planted in the big field.
People who think goats will be a lawn mower substitute are sadly misinformed; grass is their least favorite food. In fact, goats are persnickety eaters, refusing to eat anything soiled. Hence a small exercise pasture is never going to be cropped by them. They love bags of dried leaves in winter.
Without goats, the path remains closed until frost stops the nasty ivy from having leaves. The vines and roots are still plenty toxic to touch, but maybe I'll think of a way to move the tree.
Another land-grabber is the wild honeysuckle. They also offer fruits to the birds, which spread them far and wide. If it has to be a war, I'm on the side of the honeysuckles, because they at least can be dealt with with big pruners. If left too long, a chain saw can bring them down. Some honeysuckles are creepers;these are upright bushes. My back hillside is covered with both invaders.
The wild roses are hard to deal with, on account of their many thorns and habit of keeping their thorny branches discreetly covering their ankles. Pruning them only encourages more growth the following year. That's also true of the honeysuckle. Sigh.
At this time of year, I try and stay away from pin oaks, on account of the oak mites. They are microscopic and float on the wind. Their bites are painful and super itchy. I've already had a few and the only thing that seems to give some relief is heat from a hair dryer.
It's great to have land in the country by a river, if only all the wild warring undergrowth would let me pass. One would suspect that they are joining forces to prohibit the spread of Mankind. I feel like an endangered species.
