green Archives - Opossum Creek Retreat

ATTACK of the Wooly Adelgid! But never fear, the Cavalry is coming!

At Opossum Creek Retreat we are blessed with a location that allows us to provide maximum privacy and seclusion with a minimum of impact.

Part of the reason we can offer this is the Eastern Hemlock. This ever green tree, with its thick layers of low hanging branches, provides a visual break between the cabins.

We have been battling the wooly adelgid for many years, and not without some success. The wooly adelgid is a destructive pest that sucks the sap from Eastern Hemlock trees, causing them to die 4-10 years after infestation. We have won a few of the battles against this bug, but are losing the war because as civilians we do not have access to the good stuff.

(Cue dramatic music)

Today the Cavalry arrived in the form of THE WOOLY TEAM. We are participating in a pilot program being implemented through a joint effort between the US Forest Service, the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, and in cooperation with the National Park Service and the West Virginia Division of Forestry.

By teaming up, these groups have been able to provide the expertise that is required to survey and assess the extent of the wooly invasion, the health of the trees, and how best to treat them. They also have access to the good stuff that the general public can’t get their hands on.

This is a cost sharing program. For us to hire the Wooly Team to come in and do the assessment would be cost prohibitive, let alone purchasing the chemicals used to treat the wooly adelgid. The early estimates look like it will cost several thousand dollars for our share; we are happy to pay it. We are sure this level of expertise exists in the private sector; from what we have seen we would not be able to afford to begin a project of this scale without our partners.

This is a quick video of what they do.

The Wooly Team will be back in the spring to treat the area. We will keep you informed on our progress.

Building The Perfect Cabin: A Love Story

What some people imagine when they hear "cabin in the woods".

For some reason, when you say “Cabin”, lots of people still think of the hunting camp. They imagine a stereotype of a cabin. You know, a moldy, dirty shack. Out house only. We still get people asking if we have running water. Even after they’ve seen our brochure or website.

I don’t get it.

That is not what we offer. Just sayin’.

Cabins 1 and 2 especially are “showcase cabins”. They’re over built for sure. From the ground up, we over did it. The question is, why?

We have a “grandfather clause” at Opossum Creek Retreat. That just means that, when we build a cabin or a table or whatever it is, we want to be able to show our grand children, and they can show theirs. It’s not the traditional meaning of “grandfather clause”, I know. But hey, being able to show generations what you built? That’s a good legacy.

Because the cabins are tucked in the woods, we didn’t want to dig a trench in the ground, cutting all the tree roots in the area. A tree is actually bigger underground than it is above. To minimize the impact of our

West Virginia Cabin rental Cabin 1 from outside

foundations, we dug small holes straight down to the bedrock, drilled into the rock, and tied the steal in the hole then poured cement. We still cut some roots, but only a fraction compared to standard perimeter foundations, and all the trees are still healthy.

These two were framed in conventional stick building style, with a lots of insulting and vapor barrier. All of the siding was sourced locally. We found a saw mill making pressure treated siding from poplar trees. We asked them if we were to buy enough, would they sell it to us before the pressure treating process (highly toxic arsenic)? They agreed, so we pulled a batch out of the production line and we hauled it home. We stained it with some nut oils, which was way nicer than arsenic pressure treated. It’s still in great shape, and should be for a long long time.

The interior trim is from the same mill. Poplar is not as knotty as aptly named knotty pine. It has all the shades and character. We tongue-and-grooved some of it, used it on the ceiling, and used some on the wall (not too much, I think). It’s still mostly drywall for that crisp, clean, this-is-not-a-hunting camp look.

The screened porch came from a different mill nearby. Back then, at the right time of year, mills cut hemlock for tobacco barns and that’s what we got in on. Beautiful golden hemlock wood, sawn post-and-beam with some

Timber frame screened pourch on Cabin rental 1

Japanese’s timber frame joints that one of our builders, Craig, did just for some style points.

You get the idea. A lot of thought and sweat and creativity went into these vacation cabins. You’re going to love them.

Your grand children will too.

Do You Know The New River Gorge? A Nature Nugget From Keith

I’m an avid outdoorsman.

But I don’t limit it to just going outside. I love to read about the outdoors. When I was a kid I lived for outdoor magazines. Whenever I got a new one I usually consumed it cover to cover in one sitting.

The white tailed deer was my all-time favorite mammal to read about and see in the wild. Dad had me in the woods as soon as I was old enough, and I shared his passion for the outdoors. Still do. Dad doesn’t get out hunting anymore, but there is not a time I go to the woods that doesn’t remind me of something we did together. As I write this, I realize that my daughter Alex will have that same joy.

Gotta say, that makes me tear up a little.

Anyway, not long after moving to West Virginia, I met a man named Max Elkins. Max is, like me, an avid outdoorsman. As a matter of fact, I often say that when I grow up I want to hunt like Max. If there is an open season Max is hunting. It wasn’t long after we met that he introduced me to grouse hunting.

Now, I’ve hunted grouse as a kid a few times but never like this. Max’s dogs were amazing. I was hooked. A year or so later I had a pup out of a litter from his two dogs, Autumn and Thorn. What great names, huh? My daughter Alex had a part in naming the pup, and since Disney’s Aladin was her favorite movie at the time, well, Jasmine it was.

Max operated a bird hunting preserve and there were plenty of birds to train her on in the off season. January and February is the time to be in the woods and after the native birds. There were plenty of birds around ten years ago but they have definitely been steadily declining. Contrary to what a lot of people think, hunters are avid conservationists. We do so much to save habitat and game populations, it’s hard to know where to start. That’s a post for another day, I guess. Thinking about it, I long for the days described by writers like Burton Spiller and George “Bird” Evans, the days when a hunter could have thirty plus flushes in a day.

All of the research done on the Ruffed Grouse says that the bird is cyclic. Meaning that the populations fluctuate over time. There has always been much debate among grouse hunters everywhere as to whether the numbers will ever be what they used to here in Appalachia. I sure hope so, but right now there seems to be fewer than ever.

The West Virginia Division Of Natural Resources has had a research program in place for a while now in cooperation with several other states to try a find out where all the grouse have gone. According to the reports the main source of grouse mortality is due to avian predation. Mammal predation is second and hunting is responsible for only fifteen percent. Anyone who has ever hunted grouse knows that the odds are heavily in the favor of the fast flying, extremely agile bird.

Grouse hunting for me is not about the bag, but where it takes you. Suddenly you will find yourself high on a ridge overlooking an awe inspiring landscape. That, and spending time with friends and family. I think most people like me, who read outdoor magazines, who go outside just to be outside, who love it in their hearts, feel the same way.

The (Secret) Green Story Of Opossum Creek Retreat

Here in the New River Gorge, our rental cabins were green before green was cool.

Wouldn't it be cool to find out where this goes?

I’ve been called a tree huggin’ Hippy. I don’t know about the hippy part, but, yes, I’ve hugged a tree. Okay, many trees. I have also cut them down. It feels great to see it falling right where you had hoped, to hear the thunder as it hits the ground, the back ache from sawing it into lumber, the smell as it is drying in the kiln. The roar of the planer as the board begins to reveals its character and beauty, all the while hoping that our finished piece will do justice to that tree, and stand for as long as or longer than the tree would have if we had not interfered.

Let me explain. Back when we got started we didn’t know that we were building green or being eco-friendly or practicing the triple bottom line. We were just trying to be good neighbors, good stewards and good business people.

Giving back to your community, hiring locally, buying locally and using local materials all makes good sense. And for us, building the cabins to last and be efficient cost more up front. (Building a cabin with full grown trees just inches away from every side is much harder than using a bulldozer to clear a flat spot). If all it takes to make a difference is just a little extra effort, a little extra money, then we’ll continue to do that because it has served us very well so far.

I’ve wondered, though: can you be green while you are soaking in a hot tub, with the A/C on and the Game on the Satellite? Not totally. I’d like to put a pile of coal on our property to show how much coal it takes to make an average guest happy at Opossum Creek Retreat. It’s a big pile, I bet.

I guess the point is we’re trying to make a smaller foot print and maybe you’ll see that you can do it, to and still have all the comforts of home and then some. So, we’re glad to be a part of this “new movement” and will continue to be good neighbors, good stewards, and hope to make some good friends along the way.

Yes, I hug trees.