Monthly Archives: November 2014

Helpful Resources

Posted on by
Reply

The theme of the current season is thankfulness and I would like to carry that theme into this blog post.

I am thankful for many things but perhaps the top of the list is being able to “own” this piece of property, live in the midst of its beauty and diversity and share it with others.  It would take many pages to even begin to describe the richness and depth this has added to my life and The Land.  If you own a piece of property, I encourage you to share it and its bounty with others.

I am thankful for the labor, presence and advice given by all those who have come to The Land and shared their time, energy and wisdom with me.  They have enhanced this place

Workers helping to clear brush.

Workers helping to clear brush.   greatly and in many ways it would not be the place that it is without their input.

greatly.

I am also thankful for the following organizations and agencies, and their employees and volunteers, who have been very helpful in developing The Land and teaching me to be a better landowner.  Each one has had an impact on my thinking and the way I have managed The Land and projects. One of the great blessings of the internet is that it makes the information of all government agencies and many educational institutions available to users worldwide.  One caveat is to be careful to filter information to be sure it is applicable in your climate and growing zone.

My local, state and federal government have all made contributions. I know it is more popular to complain about the government but the wealth of information available from government agencies is boundless.  Granted it often takes a lot of searching through departments, articles and links because our governments are not very good at building efficient, easy to use web sites.  However, the information is usually free, well written and helpful.  I have also found government employees and volunteers at agencies like the Soil and Water Conservation

Soil Zones on The Land

Soil Zones on The Land

and the Department of Environmental Conservation extremely helpful.  Sadly, many of these programs are strapped for resources and have suffered staff cut backs, so be patient when scheduling an appointment. Employees of these agencies have marked my woods for forest improvement, helped me select pond sites, and produce maps of my land, like the one on the right showing soil zones.  All for free.

Similar to the above, local and state educational institutions can be very helpful.  Many of these resources are free.  Some on-line courses may charge a nominal fee for use.  One that helped me was called the Master Forest Owner Program which is an outreach program of Cornell University.  It was inexpensive and filled with useful information for anyone who owns a piece of forest land.  It also gave me an opportunity to volunteer and help other landowners.

A local organization that was very helpful to me is The New York State Forest Owner’s Association.  Their locally sponsored woods walks gave me the opportunity to meet other landowners, see their property and projects, and hear first hand about their successes and failures.  I invited them to have a woods walk on my property and they came and gave me a wealth of ideas and suggestions.  I think the value of finding and joining an organization of people with similar interests can be priceless.

Community Breakfast

Community Breakfast

By nature, I think most rural landowners tend toward independence and self-sufficiency.  I know I can be a bit of an isolationist but over the last 20+ years, I have learned that being open to the contributions and knowledge of others can be very helpful.  Opening my mind and property to others has had great benefits.

 

 

 

Beginning the Design Process

Posted on by
Reply

When I purchased The Land, the parcel was a 1400 X 2100 foot rectangle of unimproved land.  By unimproved, I mean there were no structures,  no ponds, a small game/RV trail, that divided the land unevenly, was the only path and no signs of agricultural use or forest improvement could be found.

Beyond knowing, from my pre-purchase and subsequent walks, that the property had my desired features of easy access, potential pond site(s) and an old field succession forest, I knew very little about the property and very little about the exact location of the various features on the property.  I knew I wanted to build roads and trails to give general access to the property.  I knew I wanted a pond and I knew I wanted to build a barn/cabin space. In other words, I knew what I wanted but I was very short on knowledge like where and how.

I tried walking around with a compass to locate myself and some of the features, but quickly became frustrated by obstacles to my line of sight, measurement and simply finding my way back to the same spot on a different day.  I needed a way of placing myself and certain desirable features in an exact location on the property.    My solution was to map the property by putting stakes in the ground. This is 20+years ago, before GPS, and Google maps.

O

Josh

The first thing I did was to mark the boundary lines of my property clearly with blazes on three sides, the county road marked the 4th, as described in the previous post. Next, with the help of my son, who like my other children, has always been willing to indulge my obsessive nature, I created a grid layout for the property.  To do this, we first made about 150 stakes out of 2 X 2’s.  Each stake was about 4 feet long, sharpened on one end and painted orange on the other.  The orange end was marked with 2 numbers after it was placed; the distance

The initial grid created to map the land. Each square is 200 feet by 200 feet.

The initial grid created to map the land. Each square is 200 feet by 200 feet.

into the land on a south north access and under that number the distance across the land on the east west axis. So a stake labeled 400/600 was 400 feet north of the southern boundary (the county road) and 600 feet west of the eastern boundary (my neighbor’s field).  Then using a rented surveyor’s wheel, Josh and I, walked the entire east boundary putting a stake at 200 foot intervals.  We then walked each 200 foot increment east to west putting a stake every 200 feet. Each stake was numbered as above.  On the picture to the right, the first intersection in the lower right corner was 200/200.  The last intersection in the upper left corner is 1800/1000.  Once this was done, we could easily locate any spot on the property and begin to

Sample of Initial Notes

Sample of Initial Noyes

draw a map of the property and its features.

The map at the left is similar to one of the first maps I made showing the location of the  marshy area with low lying shrubs, reeds, and ferns that became the field that drained into the first pond we dug and proposed locations for the first structure.    You can see, I noted points of interest like the location of trees of particular interest or value and stands of a particular variety.  You will note those things of interest to you and those features that get you closer to your goals.

Today, there are many different tools that are available to you on the internet like Google Maps and there are some shareware products that help with creating the types of maps that I did by hand.  I like, use and see great value in technology but I am far from an expert so I am not going to offer any recommendations just one suggestion since I found these articles helpful in understanding what is possible.  If you are interested you can find the articles here.

One final thought.  I understand that my stake and grid method of mapping my property is labor intensive compared to computer generated maps.  However, in the process of doing the mapping, I really got to know my property on a very intimate level.  To this day Josh, who likes to walk the property barefoot, says he can tell where he is on the property by the feel of the ground under his feet.  I believe him.

 

First Things First: Know Your Boundaries

Posted on by
1

After purchasing rural property, perhaps the most important thing is to know your boundaries.  This is vitally important because you don’t want to to short yourself and you don’t want to encroach on your neighbor.  In many places, there are stiff penalties for cutting down your neighbor’s trees, building privies and other structures too close to boundaries and other boundary violations.  I am a respecter of boundary lines.  I don’t go on my neighbor’s property without permission.  I am more than willing to share my property and open my property to visitation by neighbors and others but I want them to ask, I want to know when they are visiting and what they are doing. One of the early problems I had at The Land was gaining control of access.  The property had been vacant and unoccupied so long that people from the area and beyond had grown used to using it when and how they wanted.  With one notable exception, a group of out of town hunters, regaining control

The survey of my property

The survey of my property

of access was easy and free of unpleasantness.

Finding your boundary lines is generally simple task that starts with looking at the survey materials that you received at purchase.  Usually, buying rural property does not involve an actual survey because of the costs of surveying a large tract of land.  However, the survey materials you receive at purchase will have some clues; the dimensions of your property, length and width, the compass heading of the property lines, 42 degrees north and 132 degrees east, and some include identifying features, large rock in south west corner.

A tree with embedded wire can be a sign of a property line.

A tree with embedded wire can be a sign of a property line.

Using these clues and others like old fence posts, a neighbor’s field, roads or barbed wire embedded in trees, you will be able to mark your lines.  I would advise being conservative and when in doubt visit your neighbor and come to an understanding about where the line is.

I was fairly fortunate that three of my four boundaries were relatively easy to find.  The east side was bounded by a neighbor’s field, the west side by a planted pine grove, and the south side by the county road.  The east and west side also had some historic markers like old

Old Fence Post. Look for man made shapes and nails.

Old Fence Post. Look for man made shapes and nails.

fence posts and, in few places, barbed wire was embedded in trees that grew along the property line.   The north side was a problem, few markers remained but I was fortunate to find a large Black Cherry tree in the north east corner that was mentioned in the survey description and had barbed wire embedded in the east and north sides of the trunk.   Starting at this tree and using a compass, I was able to mark the north line.

I have to add a small story here that may prove instructive.  My neighbor to the north, at the time, I have a new neighbor now, was also the person from whom I bought the property.  He owned several parcels in the area adjacent to one another.  When I marked the boundary line in the north, he went ballistic thinking I was, as he said “stealing his land”.  I tried to work this out with him by reasoning and compromise but he insisted the boundary was well into what I believed was now my property.  In his defense, there was a fence line that ran east west in the area he believed was the boundary line ran.  It is possible, that over his years of ownership, he became accustomed to thinking of this as the boundary.  The problem for me was that it was 250 feet south of where I believed the line should be and also well south of the Black Cherry mentioned in the survey.  The disputed area was about

Surveyor's stake

Surveyor’s stake, usually placed at corners.

8 acres, over 10% of the total amount of land I believed I was buying.  After much thought and attempts at reconciliation, I decided to have a survey done.  It was expensive, but I regained my 8 acres and now had “official” stakes and blazes clearly marking my boundaries and ending the argument.  I have maintained these over the years and can still locate all the stakes.  The cost of the survey raised the cost of my property by about $75.00 per acre, but 20 years later I don’t regret doing it to protect my rights.

A few final thoughts about marking your boundary lines;

  • Check with your local community about proper boundary line markers and posting.  This can vary by state and county.

    Blazes are a generally accepted way of marking boundaries.

    Blazes are a generally accepted way of marking boundaries and trails.

  • Before you cut blazes into trees or do other permanent marking, talk to you neighbor and have a general agreement about where the line is.  Usually, they will know and be helpful.
  • When setting stakes, making blazes or hanging posted signs, if you are not a surveyor, stay inside your side of the line by a few feet.  In my opinion, this is just being polite.
  • Having done the work of talking to neighbors, finding and marking your boundaries, maintain them by repainting ever few years and renewing old, worn or damaged posted signs.

Good boundaries make good neighbors.  Do it early, do it right and maintain it.

Finding the Piece of Property you want.

Posted on by
Reply

The perfect property does not exist but planning can help you buy the best piece for your needs.  Below are a few suggestions on how to choose and evaluate properties before and during your search.  It is not a complete list.  It is some of the things that I learned in my looking process.  Your process will be unique to you, your locality and your needs, but I highly recommend you do the planning and research.  It will help to find a piece of property that meets your needs.

One of the most important aspects of managing a piece of property is to find the right parcel, meaning one that has the features that will enable you to do what you want.  Not all pieces of property have the features necessary to accomplish all goals.  For instance, I cannot grow clementines outdoors on my property; it is in the wrong growing zone.  That

Clementine Orchard

Clementine Orchard

may seem obvious, but it is important to make a list of what you would like to do with your property before you go searching. A list similar to what many people make when buying a house. It helps you get what you want.  More importantly, it helps avoid nasty surprises later because some deficiencies can be overcome with money and work, some cannot.  I could build a huge greenhouse and grow those clementines, but money, time and energy are quickly stretched when you own and manage a piece of property.  Do your homework and conserve those resources.

When I began the search for the property that would become “The Land”, I knew I wanted a few things.  I wanted a house, cabin or barn, a pond, a woods for saw timber production, a place close enough to where I lived and worked to visit regularly and a place that was a rectangular to square shape.  Cabins, ponds and fields can be built, dug and dozed, but the shape and location of your property cannot be changed.  Additionally, if you are wanting a product like saw timber, it is best to start with a forest, even a young one than a field. During the process of searching for The Land, I found many beautiful pieces of property that for one reason or another didn’t fit my needs.

This is how I thought about my needs.

My first deal breaker was any property more than three hours from where I lived was out.  I don’t like to drive or commute, and I wanted a place I could get to relatively quickly.  My second was oddly shaped property, long and narrow, triangles and trapezoids that made boundaries hard to find or made a house site with seclusion hard to come by were out.  Third, any property without a least a young forest area was out.

For an item that could be built or dug, I looked for the necessary requirements to make it possible.

A dwelling or barn needs three things.  Access to utilities, a flat spot to build on and a way to get to it.  Access to utilities is simple to assess by looking on the road for electrical wires and talking with a realtor or neighbor to find out what is available in the area.  In my area, the only utility available is electric.  That was Okay with me, but some may want access to natural gas, cable TV and internet.  Even in the early 21st century, these are not available everywhere especially in rural areas.  A flat spot to build on can be found on the

A multipurpose structure can be a home for the tractor and people.

A multipurpose structure can be a home for the tractor and people.

property or made with a bulldozer,but to be usable you need to get to that flat spot.  In the area where I was looking, there were a lot of properties that had great views and even flat spots that would have required a mountain goat or a very expensive, hard to maintain road to get to it.  If you are looking in a cold climate, remember snow makes steep roads hard to maintain and navigate. I choose a property with easy grades and road access.  Ravines and steep hills can be picturesque but make everything from logging to taking a walk harder.

2012-11-05_15-14-39_419

A pond can be scenic, a food source and soul of diverse life for observation year around.

A pond requires two things that are important to consider even if there is an existing pond on the property you are looking at; a slope to feed it rain water and/or springs and a nonporous bottom.  A pond without one of these will either never fill after it is dug or be subject to large fluctuations in depth during hot weather and drought.  If the pond or site has a good clay bottom, it will hold water well but still needs to be fed with fresh water on regular intervals to maintain depth, aeration and overall health.  If you want a pond, look for these features before you buy.  My ponds have all of these and still lose 1 to 2 feet in depth during prolonged hot weather and drought.

Some other general considerations I took seriously before making an offer.

  • Taxes:  What is the tax structure of the town/county/state where the property is located?  You’ll pay this every year so it is best to know ahead and taxes can vary widely even within a county. Talk to the town assessor, they are usually very willing to help.
  • Mineral rights:  Personally, I would not buy a property where I did not own the mineral rights and after purchase I would be very careful about signing any contracts with oil, gas and utility companies.  The money sounds good until they put a well right where you were planning an orchard or a high power transfer line down the center of your property.
  • Local regulations: What is permissible and what requires town board approval.  Some towns have regulations about the amount of trees that can be cut in a year and some even require permission before a tree is cut, others have regulations about the type and size of an agribusiness.
  • Realtors:  I have found that looking for rural property, especially vacant land, is a niche market best served by realtors that deal with forest lands and farms.  They are a little harder to find, but tend to value land for its timber or agricultural value where conventional realtors tend to value larger pieces of land as development sites which raises the price.  Good for the seller, not so much for you.
  • Leg work:  Get out and walk the properties you find interesting, with landowner permission of course.  I think I drove my very patient and professional realtor crazy, looking at over 100 properties and walking a significant percentage of those.  As a result, I have never suffered buyers remorse.

Happy searching.  Enjoy the process. It gets you outdoors and with each property you look at, you learn something new that will help you know the right parcel when you see it.