OTISFIELD — The Western Maine chapter of the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine will hold its annual free field day beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at Rich & Beth Merk’s Applewood Farm.
Coffee, water and doughnuts will be available at 8:30 a.m. for the event open to anyone. The 9 a.m. program will feature a brief history of the farm and its forest management plan as well as information about SWOAM and the Maine Tree Farm programs.
Alternating 45-minute sessions will follow on the following topics:
* Pruning of pine trees by consulting forester Harold Burnett of Two Trees Forestry.
* Boundary identification and maintenance instructions by State Forester Merle Ring.
* Basic tree identification walk by State Forester Ken Canfield.
* Explanation of financial conservation programs by Alex Stace of the Natural Resource Conservation Service.
* Basics of firewood preparation.
The programs will be presented concurrently and at least twice. There will be some walking on trails or through the woods. The event ends by noon.
The 122-acre farm with a spectacular view of the southerly lakes and mountains is part of the original 800-acre Forrest Edwards farm in the southeast corner of Otisfield.
Described as a man of great energy and industry, Edwards began assembling his farm in the 1930s. He grew apples, grapes, potatoes, timber and any other crop that would make money. He built and ran a barrel factory, a produce packing house and was one of the largest seasonal employers of area residents. In the winter, he used oxen to skid packed barrels of produce to the Poland rail head terminal by crossing frozen Thompson Lake.
Applewood Farm is at 216 Forrest Edwards Road, approximately 1.5 miles from the Otisfield Elementary School on Powhatan Road, which is off Route 121, coming from the north. Signs will be posted.
Coming from the south, Mayberry Hill Road becomes Powhatan Road when it goes from Casco to Otisfield. From the intersection of Mayberry Hill Road and Route 121 in Casco village, take a right onto Mayberry Hill Road. At the stop sign at the top of the hill, take a left and go 2.2 miles (past the cemetery on the right) to 216 Forrest Edwards Road on the right. Applewood Farm is exactly one mile on the left.
Questions should be directed to Rich Merk at 627-4102.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.