Walking Eastward

This is the view while standing on the Southern end of the lane looking to the East.  The truck is ours while the opposite field belongs to others.  Here again the exact location of the property line is hidden.  The neighbor's land was part of the original farm and was cultivated.  That activity placed stones at the edge of the field that obscure the new property line.  Our land here is on the location of the disappearing bedrock ridge.  That stone composition prevented farm activity leaving this area untouched by human activity and home to very old trees.

 

This is a view looking to the North.  Everything seen here is ours.  The distant patch of snow cover shows part of the level kame terrace deposited by the retreating glacier.  The huge piece of stone to the right is a broken chunk of the bedrock dropped here by the melting ice.  We find walking in this area tremendously peaceful but our path has established a trail.  Wildlife also use our trail.

This area marks the location of a minor change in the direction of the property line.  When the last man to farm this land was selling off pieces of it, he used sections of iron pipe driven into the ground to mark the location of new property lines.  In the foreground a piece of pipe can be seen.  When the recent sale of this land happened, the surveyor could not find the pipe as a huge growth of ferns kept it hidden from view.  The small tree near the left edge of the photo is where he put his metal pipe.  He also used a taller wooden stake to make it possible to find the property line.  That placement gave me more land but it really makes no difference since all here prefer this land to remain wild.

This photo shows the view from the original pipe looking to the East.  The property line drops downhill  as it heads toward an area filled with smaller glacial deposits.  The farmer ran a single strand of barbed wire across the ground to mark the location of the property line.  A hiker must pay close attention to avoid tripping on this wire.

Looking back toward the West, this post marks the location of a change of direction for the property line.  Next we will be moving to the North along a barbed wire fence line.  The lower level of this ground covers the remains of the stone ridge.  Water seeps from the ridge into the filled area.  Large chunks of stone provide a dangerous but dry path when walking here.  The fill is shallow providing little room for tree roots to form a firm anchorage.  Wind thrown trees are common. Walking this part of the perimeter is not for the short-winded or the faint-hearted.