One of the things that one comes to notice rolling along life’s journey is that time is short. There is never enough, at least for me. I have made plans that stretch out far into the future. I have no intention of running out of stuff to do. 25 acres in the Hill Country can keep a man busy for a long, long time. When the Cedar is gone there are rocks to pick up. I’m just warming up. I’m on about round six of fighting the Cedar. A while back I tried the Cedar eradication equivalent of a nuclear strike, the hydro axe. A hydro axe is a LARGE machine designed specifically for the purpose of devouring whole trees, or anything else; cars, you name it. It turns it’s prey into little bits the size of a football. It is impressive to watch. Trees are ground down to little nubs and all that is left is a pile of mulch. Where once there was nothing but Cedar there can be a pasture. I connected with an on outfit named appropriately, Cedar Eaters of Texas: http://www.cedareater.com/viewdemo.htm . The axe has a drum on the business end that turns at very high RPM, with steel teeth that have an insatiable appetite for Cedar- diesel in, mulch out. They could do in a day what It takes half a dozen humans a week to do. That saved some time, but if the Cedars growing in rock you have to use other means. I’m finding out more and more ways to fight Cedar- next up a skid steer with giant hydraulic loppers to snip an entire tree just like cutting a piece of thread with scissors, sweet.
In order to find out nurturing Hill Country land is your passion you have to know what is not your passion. This short side note, In 1989 I had the opportunity to live what I thought was a dream, in the US Virgin Islands on St. Croix in the Caribbean, on a beautiful island and soak in the culture, sail and snorkel. I lived in the basement apartment of a home 1500 feet above Salt River bay (one of the places Christopher Columbus landed), It sounds good in theory, but the facts on the ground are a different story. Almost all of the Caribbean is a third world country, and after being raised in the United States that can be quite a culture shock. Then there is the discrimination. As a white dude from the states I was viewed with skepticism at the least, and more likely disdain and mis-trust, from the black local population. I was not an equal to a local in their eyes. The electrical power goes out regularly for periods from one to eight hours inexplicably. Then there’s the wealthy elite, gated away from anyone that is not also wealthy. There are other sub-classes on the island, but I already knew enough. St. Croix was a great place to visit, but I did not want to live there. There were not enough positives to overcome the negatives. Terry and I lived together down there, and were fortunate to leave just before the shit hit the fan with the arrival of Hurricane Hugo which turned the island into something resembling a war zone, with looting, and lawlessness, not to mention difficult living conditions after the storm. The rest I’ll save for another time.
The Caribbean experience gave me perspective to the direction of my interests and focused me to the diversity of the area around me. Over time I zeroed in where the proximity to home made a short leap to the Hill Country an attainable goal. Now I was busy riding the land of Cedar and laying plans for the future. Blanco County is by no means an agricultural mecca, but the future is opening up to the possibilities that are out there. Things like grapes and wine making are gaining popularity, and Lavender which thrives in the climate, are gaining traction each year. I see a green thumb in my future, in time.
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