On Friday we had four trees taken down on the farm! Two of them were in the chicken run, so I spent the morning with the dogs watching from a distance as the crew cut off the branches and then chunks of the trunks.
Taking down the trees is one of the dominos as we move towards slowly reshaping the animal spaces. Ultimately, I would like to use the animals as a force for improving the soil, sequestering carbon and growing a larger percentage of what the animals eat within that three acre space. Hopefully next year I'll be able to put in 15 permanent paddocks and a couple of additional coops. Then I'll be able to let the animals graze down one paddock over 2-3 days and move them along to the next space, giving each space 30-45 days to regenerate before the animals return. This method of mob grazing mimics what happens when herds move through an area, dumping lots of urine and manure and moving on before doing too much damage. In our small space, I'll have to introduce many of the forage plants and slowly coax the ecosystem towards a savannah style as the dominant pines die back and the chestnuts and oaks I'm planting now grow larger.
But in the shorter term, taking down these two trees meant that I had to take down the wire surrounding the trees in the chicken run, which means I can replace the wire with a solid roof. In addition to looking much better, the roof will let me carve out a covered storage area for straw, hay, compost materials, tarps and other things that I want to keep dry but that don't need to be locked in a rat proof space. Hopefully roofing will start next week, after the last of the fall planting.
