I must be reading too many DIY wood stove threads...all I see is fire wood in those pics.
I must be reading too many DIY wood stove threads...all I see is fire wood in those pics.
Short for "back 40 acres". If someone had some developed and some undeveloped land, the undeveloped would be the "back 40". I really don't know why "40" though...Originally Posted by ZeroLozen
Found another reference... "...they could homestead 320 acres at a time, they would break it up into eight 40 acre fields to rotate crops between. They put the house on the field closest to the road, "the home 40" and "the back 40" were farthest from the road.
Last edited by Festus Hagen; 01-10-2011 at 20:24.
Farmers and farm kids know the back forty is used the least, is furthest from the buildings, ofter the poorest soil. We had a forty with poor sandy soil, some wooded areas and a year around creek. Drove heifers (cows to be) down the road 3 miles there in Spring, and brought them back in Autumn. Spent lots of hours screwing around there as a kid. Drank from the same water the heifers were standing in. The choice then was "go out and play or I'll find chores for you to do". Not much thinking required to figure out what to do. Used our imagination. Kids now seem to need some kind of digital device or preplanned activities (soccer moms & dads). Change happens.
Back 40 is a bit of a old slang expression refering to a remote, usually uncultivated acreage on a large piece of land, as on a farm or ranch.
A land owner/farmer who has worked part of their property for crops or cattle uses. May refer to their undeveloped land as the "back X," where X is some number of acres. The number "40" I think has just become the popular number to use when using this expression.
I hike with SCISSORS cause it makes me feel dangerous
I too teach Outdoor leader training and part of it is campsite selection and looking up. I like your method of using campsite selection for advancement!!
I was camping this past weekend at Camp Bowers (Elizabethtown, NC) and there were numberous trees that had either topped out or completely fell down due to the snow storms we've been having here lately. I was surprised to see so many of them down.
TinaLouise
OK...'splain it to me. You look up ...and what are you supposed to see?
Can you really tell if a branch is ready to fall on you? What are the clues to look for?
I usually look for peeling bark or bark that is a different color than the rest of the tree. In spring and summer, branches without leaves. And of course, trees hanging in trees.
These aren't all inclusive, some trees have different qualities or properties, but bark and leaves will usually tell the heath of a tree.
Experts are the ones who think they know everything. Geniuses are the ones who know they don't.
You need seek no rocky summit, for these high places are within you.
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