30 May Into the thick of it

Field season kick off by Margaet Hanson

The month of April was busy and the necessary needs of the forest rely on the completion of work done by its archaeologists to comply and protect the beauty and history of its forest. Though there were days of snow 40 degrees is surprisingly warm enough on the Huron to compete our field work. With the majority of the forest being on sandy soil and its main resource of timber it can make for good cold weather working conditions. First week of being here we were out shovel testing and walking the woods for future projects to check sites and keep them protected from the ongoing work of the forest.

With most of our work digging through the dirt some days we find unexpected friends. This little salamander found their way into my screen and luckily i was able to warm him up and send them on their way. It was about 40 degrees and windy this day and I was worried they had perished in my digging, however I was super happy to see open eyes when moving them back into the leaves and brush.

When the work changes direction and we have to shift focus on projects its a good time to mingle and get involved in other district activities. With the recreation seasoning opening the forest came together one day to help open up Lumbermans monument open air museu. The forest is small and there is only about two or three people who run this facility and had a lot of clean up to get done so it was ready for the public to come, explore and learn about the logging history of the forest. With the promise of free food every department showed up and got to work. In a matter of a day all of the sticks leaves and tired gardens of winter where cleaned up and ready for disposal.

Today was the first day in the 70’s and with being so used to cold field days I was much unprepared when stumbling on this beautiful scene. With all the recreation areas opening and planting on the way heritage field season is under way. This next month should be fun filled with acres and acres of walking in the woods to clear way for the project years 2024 and some of 2025 sales and projects the forest is looking to complete.