Tejas Llamas

I call it "jungle" as that is a fitting description of new Florida Ranch! While this little parcel may indeed be able to support a handful of llamas at some point, first I have to find the corners!

And that my friends is the challenge, so I will share some pictures of what this jungle looks like.

The actual amount of land to be cleared is about 1.5 acre, possibly as much as 2. It has been totally neglected for some 30 years, and as you can expect, a lot grows and a lot dies in 3 decades! Once I get it cleared enough to confirm the surveyed boundaries, we will be able to think about some fence.

The land here is gently sloping, with gray Florida sand underneath all that stuff on the surface. In this part of the parcel, water table is from 2 inches to 3 feet underneath the surface. In other words, SWAMP! There will be no problem with shade for llamas; just don't cut it all down! Vegetation consists of at least 3 fern species, various brush along with vines and briars, Camphor, Magnolia, Maple, Oak, and of course Pine trees. Water will also be no problem here; 20 minutes with a back hoe and we will have a stock tank!

Jungle mitigation 101: We seem to have settled into the groove after a little neighborly advice to rent a back hoe for several weeks and quit trying to use the grass mower for this. That back hoe, along with a number of other tasks, resulted in essential removal of an old over grown cross fence that previous owner used to keep a dog at one point. With that done, we shift to usage of smaller tools. My routine, on days that I can spare a couple of hours, is to go out there with chainsaw or with brush mower and work until I sing that old standard, "Salt Gets in your Eyes!" Generally that happens within about an hour and a half and I am soaked to the bone with sweat, so I know it is time to quit for a while. Besides cutting we have to haul, mostly by hand, so waste removal may take much of a session...

Tools of the trade!

Back hoe! Available at friendly local equipment rental store, and fortunately I have a neighbor who is supremely qualified to run it!

Chain saw! Husqvarna has served me well for a few years. Currently using an H450.

Brush mower, aka bush hog!

Chain Saw

Chainsaw is an ordinary 450 with 18 inch bar, using chain with .325" links. I suppose the "4" is a generation; the 50 is displacement in cc.

Saw is enough to usually do the job, but not kick your butt as fast as a bigger saw.

DR Brush Mower

I call this a walk-behind shredder. Needed with fern mounds in the way. Usable for perhaps hour and a half before "Salt Gets in your Eyes!" It shreds until a log gets in the way at which point you go back to chain saw. Wash, rinse, repeat!

Sorry my HTML skills are rudimentary! More jungle pictures soon!