The Lost Field (paddock)
Sept. 2012
We call the area shown on the Google Earth image, the lost field, mainly because we could not get to it, well not without fighting through gorse or through our neighbours property. The Google photo is not that clear, but the surrounded area and all to the left is mainly gorse, whilst the top and bottom right hand side is pristine bush with Kauri, Rimu, etc. SEE:The Back Garden
Last autumn I attacked an old track that lead to the lost field. I took a week at several hours a day clearing gorse etc. It probably took a little longer because I was using a handsaw, I decided using a chainsaw on my own on really rough terrain was not a sensible idea, and actually, the hardest work was dragging the cut gorse out of the way as I was in a sort of tunnel and could not throw the majority just to the side. A weeks work and I was at the edge of said field, but the access was only walk able and not wide enough for the quad. I enlisted Dick our local farmer and fencer to help, this time we used the chainsaw to level all the stumps and widen the path, we also cut a path through to the centre of the field. This was evidentially the hide out for our feral deer.
Last summer Neil Currie and his 20 tonne digger had dug a pond, cut two tracks and cleared a slope of gorse for us, so he was the ideal contractor to clear out the lost field. Neil's access had to be through the neighbours property, no problem with that and anyway our neighbour needed Neil to do some work on his land, so all good. From the above photo you can see the first obstacle, getting to the main part of the field. The photo below was taken after Neil has finished our job and was working on the neighbours land
Update May 2013: Late spring and summer saw a forest of tiny gorse plants, not all over, there was some grass. Spraying with MSF 600 has killed it all off until the next seasons growth.
