Over three years of active searching for some land of our own has finally paid off!! Ok, we didn't get the meadow but the view is included (if you piggy back on a drone). Things had looked pretty grim but we were introduced to a property that had languished for years with no activity, just in time to get into a bidding war and lose... A few months of halfheartedly looking at other properties and trying to convince ourselves that they were comparable ended when the previous deal fell through and Weyerhaeuser came back to accept our offer. After a crash course in representing oneself in a land deal, the paperwork was completed and we got to put our own lock on the gate.
The majority of the property was logged in 2015 but there was enough younger growth and wetland areas that it doesn't feel like the barren scrapyard you often see on the west side of the Cascades. State and National Forest are the only neighbors of this 300+ acre parcel which works out perfectly for this neighbor adverse blogger. Timber baron has a nice ring to it but with a likely harvest cycle of 70+ years, I wont be around to see it.
Having land of my own has been a dream since I was knee high to a grasshopper but I never imagined something like this would ever be in the cards. My apologies if the blog scope condenses to stories of timber management plans and mastering the use of the limb remover (I mean chainsaw). I hope the land also serves as a source for many protein stories as as elk, mule deer, black bear, merriam's turkey, and grouse all pass through the area.
To celebrate the acquisition, Oak and I headed up on closing day to see if we could find any grouse. For starters, it should be noted that forest grouse do not like hanging out in civilized forest (above). Instead, they are clustered in the brushy swamps (below). Even so, my lucky streak in 2018 was still in full effect and Oak had put up three birds in the first half hour.
Of course, I never even saw the birds through the brush but it was immensely gratifying to know I was in the right zip code. The fourth bird I did see and we were on the board with my first Washington ruffed grouse (very tasty wrapped in bacon as almost anything is)!
The other interesting aspect of the national forest parcel adjacent to the property was the ever present bear scat. You never had to feel lonely as there would be at least one berry pile in sight. I had been impressed by the hundreds of service berries on our property and it appears that I will be competing with a healthy complement of black bears to stock up on jam. I was grateful that they were all slumbering peaceful in their caves by this time of year.
Once we crossed onto our property the bird activity went way down. It wasn't until I felt completely mired in tumbled pile of sticks that I turned to Oak and asked how we should get out that a grouse popped up right next to me. It wasn't intent on flying very far so we flushed it twice more without ever getting a shot. Amazing how you can fly over the rubble when there is game in sight.
These next pictures are all from the property, of the property on our grouse circuit. There is still a surprising amount of ground to explore and I'm sure there are a few gems out there. For example - this trip we found a bear baiting setup (baiting is illegal in Washington, not sure if it is more or less expensive than the trespassing charges). Also saw evidence of dirt bikes going around the gate and now I need to research the legal and ethical downsides to booby traps...
On the way back to the car for lunch I missed a grouse and it was a double failure because in his excitement, Oak tweaked an ankle and we had to call it a day. Now its time for me to research snowshoes so we don't have to wait until March/April for access.
