Progress in the Valley

An outstanding crew from the Washington Conservation Corps had a busy week beginning April 26!

• WCC removed hundreds of feet of wire fences.
• They removed household garbage from the mule shed, dismantled the building, and piled up recyclable materials for disposal.
• The 70-tire pile behind the mule shed was also dismantled, and the tires moved across the creek awaiting disposal.
• They cleaned up several more debris piles around the property, including another 25 tires scattered about.
• The WCC crew began unearthing what we thought was an old i-beam, but it turned out to be 30 ft long and likely was an old bridge component discarded in the brush.
• They dug up an old empty barrel.
• The greenhouse also was dismantled to the concrete foundation, as was the chain link dog run.
• Wood from the two downed buildings was piled for reuse (we hope-- if you make birdhouses or other crafts out of old wood please let us know!), and the garbage placed in dumpsters.
• There are hundreds of nursery pots that were gathered and made available to the native plant salvage opportunities in early May (and if you know of someone who could use pots from 4" to 18" diameter, please contact me).

We're very excited that the crew unearthed the stone fireplace from the original homesteaders cabin. Unfortunately, fishing debris and construction materials were tossed on top of the ruins over the years. Once those were removed, the outline of the old cabin was evident.

We're still finalizing a date for a summer work party, but tentatively we're looking at July 25-- please keep that date open because we need your help!

Hazardous waste removal and Washington Conservation Corps crew prep

We had a busy day in the valley today! We removed hazardous waste, rolled a water tank down the hill, and prepared the valley for a crew from the Washington Conservation Corps who will be working on debris cleanup and small structure removal next week.

Eugene loaded up the back of his pickup truck with household hazardous waste-- old paint containers, gardening products, mysterious liquids, and a 30-gallon drum of grease. He inspected all of the other containers still onsite, and everything else can be disposed of as garbage. We still have to deal with two 55-gallon drums (empty), dispose of the caretakers' propane tank, take a sawzall to the Paschall house oil tank (empty), remove an empty barrel from the old greenhouse area, and move another large drum from near the Winneford cabin ruins over to the carport for metals recycling.

Mindy and Doug finished flagging the work areas in the valley and identified areas where we'll stockpile non-garbage items. Next week the focus is on the tire pile, mule shed, old greenhouse, and Winneford cabin ruins across Wildcat Creek and several small buildings, some already collapsed, near the carport, caretakers' house, and barn. We hope to remove a layer of debris and ivy from the Winneford ruins and see if there is anything of historical value.

Doug replanted a rhododendron that had been partially dug out, and he discovered the barrel near the greenhouse.

Mindy and Doug pulled wire fencing and barbed wire out of Wildcat Creek and onto the bank so it can be dug up and recycled next week.

Doug arranged for a site visit from Jesse at TRS to discuss disposal options. We'll have a dumpster up in the parking lot (can't make it down the driveway) for the garbage. We'll also stockpile metal waste, tires with and without rims, and concrete waste. Some landscaping materials are still usable, so we'll set those aside and see which of our volunteers can use them.

The trilliums are in bloom, as are several of the hybrid rhododendrons. There are still some daffodils blooming and a few tulips. The apple trees are in blossom, and the Japanese maples have leafed out. One limb of the maple near the barn came down last week, partially blocking the driveway extension to the caretakers house.

As a last hoorah, and to do something rather than just plan, Doug and Mindy walked up the hill above the orchard to an old water tank that probably was tossed from the parking lot. We rolled it down the hill, and the base of it separated and hit the orchard outbuilding with a satisfying thunk. We also picked up some metal waste and started a pile for recycling.