The Clearcut - May 2010

Today we walked over the property, trying to take stock of how much Himalyan Blackberry and thistle we have. Because in reality it is NOT endless.

Views of Cora

This is Cora's east facing slope, seen from near the scary little house. In mid-March, we planted two Bitter Cherry Trees, two Serviceberry Trees, and about six Red Flowering Currents in the scraped and slash-covered part of the hill.

We've been talking about the best way to eliminate the beat back the Himalayan Blackberry which is happily taking over the world out there. It's too much for us to do by hand! Bringing in a machine might further tear up the soil and destroy our small Doug Fir and the native plants. We need a crew.

So Dale contacted Earth Corps. They specialize in restoration. Usually they work for non-profit organizations, but they recently decided to consider private projects on a case-by-case basis. Because we have some wetland and a plan to reforest a significant portion of the property, they decided they would be interested in helping us 'restore habitat'. We are so happy to have input from an expert group like Earth Corps! The crew is expensive @ $25.00 per manhour, so this isn't a done deal yet. But Dale will meet with one of the project managers on Monday and see how much work we're looking at.

Cora's Story

Dale and I purchased 10 acres of abused and neglected land on Whidbey Island. The lay of the land is beautiful, the location is quiet yet accessible - only minutes from the ferry. But the condition is a nightmare! There is a owner-built house (circa 1970) that's been abandoned since about 1997. The roof has been leaking that entire time. And then there's the land itself. The previous owners logged it about 3 years ago. They took nearly all the huge old trees and left the slash and stumps. Lots of Douglas Fir starts have been holding there own unattended - which is nice. But we have quite a bit more biomass in the form of Himalayan blackberry bramble and thistle.

Dale's cousin from Sicily suggested a name for our land: Kore. Kore is one of the names for Persephone, who was the daughter of Demeter. Kore was a maiden - picking flowers in Enna - (Dale's ancestral home!) when she was abducted by Hades. The cycle of life on earth ceased while Demeter grieved and searched for her. Finally Zeus forced Hades to relinquish her for half of of each year. Bounty returns to the Earth when Persephone rejoins her mother. We anglicized the name to Cora. My mother's mother was named Cora. So this is a name that gives us courage and a larger perspective on the project we've take on.