This weekend was to be the weekend of our annual tree planting, but the trees are now in our cool basement waiting for us to try again.
On Friday morning we picked up 25 basswood seedlings from the annual soil and water conservation district sale. Late in the afternoon we headed to our cabin with intermittent rain and arrived in time for supper. It was really windy and cool. Some of the water we had left out had ice in it.
When we had cut the trees down last week, they had few if any buds. This week the downed trees have small green leaves. Amazing how long and slow the flow of sap up a tree is.
During the night there were some real doozies of thunderstorms and some very hard rain. When we got up it was gray but not raining much. In fact, the rain gauge had only 3/4 inches of water in it. But my wife heard a radio report that Saturday night would have a low of 28; that decided against trying to plant any seedlings that weekend.
Anyway, we still had lots of cleanup to do on the planting site. I gassed up the chipper-shredder and started it for my wife. She preceded to work on one of the many piles of brush and branches we have.
I went off to put one of the newly sharpened chains in the chain saw. I also noted that we didn't have much gas for either the chain saw or the chipper-shredder; three tanks each at the most.
Before I was ready with the chain saw, I heard the chipper-shredder stop. A piece had jammed between the flywheel and the housing. Undo nuts on chute which is not an easy process. I have to use a socket wrench with an extension to get at the nuts. The nut on the engine side of the chute is positioned so the socket wrench is not straight. When I get a nut loose enough, the ratchet on the wrench no longer holds on the back stroke. I have to twist the shaft of the extension with my fingers and I can't always get a good grip, especially with gloves on. Then I have to use a magnetic wand to get the washers off and not drop them. Once I had the chute off, I was able to simply pull out the stuck wood, which is not always the case.
Then I reverse the process. First put on the outside and lower washers and nuts so the chute stays in place. Use the magnetic wand to get the washers on the engine side bolt. This takes lots of maneuvering to get the holes in the washers centered over the bolt; they always try to go on the side of the bolt instead.
I get back to the chain saw and am ready to cut. I had originally planned to cut four-foot bolts instead to sixteen-inch rounds to save time. Since we weren't going to plant trees that day, I went back to cutting sixteen-inch rounds. Delimbing the first tree goes OK, then I start on rounds.
The saw doesn't rock down easily. That is, when I cut the log more on the engine side, the chain doesn't cut much. It does so-so when I push the tip down on the far side. Also I'm not getting very big chips. I'm not the world's best saw operator, but the frequency of curved cuts instead of perpendicular cuts is ridiculous. Almost every time!! The curved cuts also reduce cutting efficiency. After I get half the first tree cut into rounds, I go back to cutting it into bolts to save time.
Let's try the second newly-sharpened chain. Like the first, this one has been sharpened many time. It feels sharp to the touch, but I'm not confident. Sure enough more curved cuts and slow cutting. Generally it blasts through branches, but once I want to cut over three inches, things don't go well. I get through another tree and it's time for lunch.
At least I think it was time for lunch. The day became a blur. I could hardly pick up my food and get it into my mouth; I had little interest in reading the paper. I think after lunch I lay down on the floor and tried to take a nap.
The chipper-shredder jammed again. Neither of us could dislodge the piece. My wife said she could see it, but I couldn't. With a keyhole saw she could feel the piece of wood, but it wouldn't grab. I said that was enough chipping for the day; I had to get back to work on the trees.
Last week I had left one tree standing in the clump I intended to cut; one that was bent completely in the wrong way. I got a rope around it about eight feet up, pulled it around a stump in the direction I wanted it to fall and then off to another stump. I tied it off with a tautline hitch. I pulled the rope and my wife slipped the knot - pull, slip, pull, slip, ... and finally my said she couldn't slip the knot anymore. Let's hope we have enough tension to pull the tree the direction we want.
Also, I'll try the third chain. It doesn't look much better than the other two, even though the teeth feel sharp. Sure enough, the chain doesn't bit well into this five-inch diameter tree. I manage to get a wedge cut out and start back cut. I've cut almost to the wedge and the tree isn't falling. I step back and my wedge cut is not in the intended direction, but my back cut is; there's over an inch before the cuts will meet on the opposite side. I continue the back cut and the cut widens. I step back but the tree doesn't fall. I give it a push in the direction I want it to go and it starts to fall, perpendicular to the direction I intended. At least it didn't hit the spruces.
I cut up another downed tree into bolts and maybe a third into bolts. Time for a banana and chocolate. Maybe this is the time I tried to take a nap, not after lunch.
It is probably after four now. We have to clean up the site a bit, pack up, and drive home. I move the bigger bolts end over end and stack them away from where we want to plant the seedlings. The smaller bolts I can stand on end and pick them up like a bigger sibling picks up a younger sibling. But there is still a whole day's work to finish cutting up the trees and getting the large debris out of the way. My plan is to go back tomorrow. We shall see tomorrow.
A "salt-in-the-wound" postscript. I was flipping through the AARP magazine and saw a picture of a 72-year-old doctor who had climbed Mount Everest. I'm one year younger and I have a hard time climbing into the back of my pickup truck!
