Updates from September

This morning I am at the Riverbend Inn in Post Falls.  I’m spending the weekend here because I don’t want to camp out at the property.  Some things have been accomplished since my last post, so I am going to catch up here.

I met with a private forester and hired him to do a timber survey on the land and to write a Timber Management Plan I need to file with the county in order to receive a timber tax exemption.  The county, and maybe the state, offer the tax exemption, which lowers an owner’s property tax, the state then collects a tax when the timber is sold.  This is to encourage the owner to maintain and manage, their forest in a healthy manner.

My brother Frank and his wife Shirley came over a month or so ago and we did some work on the property.  We cleared some brush and trash from around the trailer and cut some saplings that were growing along the side of the trailer.  There is a hole about 3 foot across and 4 or 5 feet deep, a definite safety hazard.  We discussed a few ways to cover the hole and Frank manufactured a cover that I fill someone would have to work hard at to remove and access the hole.  Frank also fixed the gate to the property so it now swings open and closed.  Originally it was just 2 fence section that were chained to a couple posts.    We located the septic tank, but have not found either of the 2 wells that are suppose to have been drilled.

The next project we accomplished was to do some trail maintenance, cutting saplings out of the trail.  Frank did an excellent job using his chain saw to cut some timber snags out of the trail which made it easier and safer to hike to the top.  We found some skid trails we might be able to incorporate into a road to the top.  I saw a cat like creature in the brush along the trail, it didn’t look domestic, but it didn’t look like a cougar, I’ll need to do some research to figure out what it is.

My brother Frank is a craftsman I wish I had his talent when it comes to repairing and building and conceptualizing how to complete a task.  I tell him this, but I don’t know if he really believes me.

(some pictures of the work we’ve done will be added)