Clearing "the land" 2005

We began calling our property on Quoketaug Hill, "the land". Really, we should have called it "the jungle", but while we worked on the land, our backyard was becoming the jungle, so it was clear to our friends where the land was.
Since we were still working during the day (and night) we began working on the land during the summer of 2005 when my husband's carefully researched and selected John Deere tractor, a 5325 with 66 horsepower arrived on the land in June, 2005. He was anxiously anticipating the delivery (I suppose it must conjure up memories of Christmas day before the realization of,well, you know), anyway, I wasn't there for some reason (summoned by my mother, known to my children as "executive grandma"), but he went ahead anyway and started using his new toy.
I also pitched in, clearing "the path" on foot with loppers. I became familiar with Celastrus orbiculata, Japanese bittersweet, Rosa multiflora, the invasive rose, and most of all with Toxicodendron radicans, poison ivy in all it's incarnations. That summer, whenever we went on a drive or anywhere, really, I would point and say to my husband "See that verdant and lush green growth on that tree, that's poison ivy".
Here are photos of the land after a pass of clearing the invasive Elaeagnus umbellata, Autumn olive that can grow into some marvelous tree-like specimens but once it gets a foothold will reproduce like crazy!
The view on the left with the Adirondak chairs is looking north. The north field was once an animal pasture and not too overgrown. On the right is the view just south of the Adirondak chairs, on the portion of the land that was left to cedar stands, mountain laurel, wild raspberries, and succession trees like maple, ash, chokecherries, oak and some tupelo.