New plants ready to go once we get more cleared (plus the boss cat)

We have cleared and planted, cleared and planted and then done it some more.  I think we are at the point where we can finally start to make some sort of landscaping plan on a broader scale because we have an idea of what the property looks like.

Opening up the view, one tree at a time

It would seem that the previous owner had cleared quite a bit and then those areas left unattended filled in over the years with what we are calling trash trees.  There are salsa trees that are very soft wood and attract termites, but grow extremely quick.  There are lots of what are locally called robles or ‘oak trees’ but are more specifically the tabebuia.  These trees all have to come down and be chopped up.

As we cut back we occasionally come across a tree we don’t want to cut (it’s amazing).  So far it has basically come down to a lot of mango and palm trees that we are saving.  We are still finding trees that we didn’t know existed and we are still visiting areas of the property that we haven’t been to.

For example, below is another royal palm that we didn’t know was growing until we started to carve a new path thru the forest.  It has to be around 30-35 feet tall.  Of course it didn’t look like the picture when we found it, we could actually barely see it.  We had to saw down everything around it (about 15 trees of varying size and type).

Royal palm to greet us on our new path

I have counted 15 of these on the property and this one is one of the smaller trees!

As we cut and cut we learn more.  More about the plants, animals and I am getting pretty good at sawing down trees.  There are still challenges that come up and require more thinking and planning.  For example there were two trees near the house and cabana that we have been wanting to cut down, but for reasons of new challenges, weren’t easy.

Below is a picture of a dead mango tree that is next to the wood house.  It is a real eye sore and view blocker we call ‘the monster’.  It has a back lean, is half rotted, has no top branches, lives right next to the fence and septic pipe and also has bees living in the base.  For these reasons, it hasn’t been a straight forward removal.

Dead Mango Tree Removal Process

We covered the septic pipe with some old pallets so that what was left of the branches wouldn’t crush the pipe when they fell.  This worked out well.  The tree was so close to the fence that access to the base was difficult.  Also because there were no branches on the top of the tree, it made it not want to fall (no leverage or weight) once the base was cut thru.

I had sawed thru 80% of the base, but it was still standing so we tied a rope around the top and tried to pull it over, but this didn’t work.  We just didn’t have the leverage to pull it.  So I grabbed a few ratcheting straps from the truck and tied it to the tree and a fence post.  The ability to ratchet made all the difference.

High Tension

This worked out and the tree came crashing down!  The bees that live in the base of the trunk will be taken care of at a later day, or maybe not.  They might be able to live there, but we will see.  They didn’t swarm out and attack so that was good.  I had my bee veil ready to go just in case.

Dead Mango Tree Down (coop in the background)

There was another tree behind the house that blocked the view and dropped foot long bean pods everywhere.  It was half dead and full of termites.  For these reasons we wanted to remove it but we were concerned it would crush the fence when it fell.  Well….. We decided that we are going to remove the fence so crushing it would be ok.  And maybe kind of fun.  So it came down too.

Tree from Deck Blocking View

Tree Down!

Fence After Taking the Tree Off It

The dry season will be coming to an end and we want to cut down as much as we can and be ready to plant like crazy!  I have killed more trees than I would like to admit, and there isn’t an end in sight yet.  The property is opening up more and we can see a nice view of the valley with the ocean and the Aguadilla airport in the distance.  It is getting us excited to get going on the wood house.

We are enjoying the process of discovery and progress.  It has been an absolute blast and at the end of the day we let the chickens out and sit on the porch of the coop watching them forage around for bugs.