Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Surprised!

I was surprised yesterday when I checked the mail.  I had this publication in the mailbox that goes out to all Tree Farm owners in the U.S. and I always open it up and see what articles are in it and read many of them. I hastily flipped through it and there next to the last page was an article about "Keeping the Forest in the Family".........
and there was a family of five generations pictured in this publication that I knew.  There was not any mention  of our names just the article.  I thought this was so neat that we were the family they used to stress the need for our government to do what it can to help "Keep the Forest in the Family".


Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Busy, Busy, Busy!

It has been a busy time this summer.  There are random pictures on this post of some of the things we have been doing.  A few weeks ago we were in Nashville for the Farmers Federation Presidents Conference.  We stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and got to attend the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday night.  This will be my last presidents conference because I am about to complete my five year term.  This will take some of the pressure off of me for a while!  

Last weekend we were in Mobile for the Farmers Federation Commodity Conference.  We were on the forestry tour and visited Weeks Bay Estuary.  This was very interesting seeing how important this bay is to sea life.  It was amazing to me that the bay averages only 4 feet, this was brought out in the presentation when we were out on the bay in a boat.  I recommend anyone that can visit this educational site to go there and see what weeks bay has to offer for young and old.  
We learned more about cogongrass and the trouble with it.  I hope it stays in south Alabama.  There was a fire tower at the the Baldwin County Forestry Commission Office that I had to make a picture of because these are fast becoming a thing of the past.
At the conference Lisa did a tablescape promoting the Wildlife. 

This is a picture I made the other day as three planes flew over Dewberry Lands.  There was a tanker refueling two C-130's.  They changed places over the land from one being fueled to the other.  It was neat seeing this actually happening.

This is why I am behind on updating the blog.  We are building a lodge where we can spend time and have family, groups, or just a place to relax.  My goal is to add educational exhibits in the lodge to teach about nature.  We are so excited about this project.

One final note.  While working on the lodge we were able to buy SFI wood.  What is SFI certified wood?  It is the certification of the wood we grow and most all the wood in Alabama that is certified is SFI.  When you buy wood or paper look for the SFI logo that is in the picture below.  Certified Tree Farms are SFI certified.

During this busy time I was able to get a peaceful picture in our backyard after a summer shower.  I am so thankful for our forest.