A few years ago a logger friend suggested clear cutting some of the aspen on our Brimson property. I was hoping he would take some of the balsam, but he said there is no market for it. About two years ago, he and his partner cruised the property to assess how much they would cut. I thought they would be working that winter. They never did because “It was too damn cold!”
Last fall some people expressed interest in buying the property. My wife was eager to sell and I went along reluctantly. I called my logger friend to tell him not to cut because of the possible sale. Well, the buyers couldn’t get a loan unless there was a working well. Our dug well hadn’t produced much water in probably ten years. We sure didn’t feel like spending the money to have a drilled well. End of sale.
I called my logger friend back and said he could start when ready.
I assumed he would be cutting in an area of about two football fields, and so I said I would pick up the slash. I would use it for chips or firewood.
We walked the area in which they were cutting and discovered a clump of five large birch trees, each probably at least fifteen inches in diameter at the base. One was already rotted, and my wife and I cut that down and salvaged the bark for fire starter. We thought we would cut the other four down after the loggers were through. But they offered to cut them down for us, and they even dragged them to the landing area (the place where they put cut logs on a truck to take the chip-board company).
Meanwhile, they kept working across the property until they had cut double what I thought they would. And then they cut three times what I thought they would. Then the spring road restrictions went into force and they stopped. They want to come back next year to take even more!
Before I go on, let me say a few words about clear cutting. Aspen (popple or poplar) is a weed! It is a large plant whose root system extends over several acres and keeps putting up shoots wherever conditions are right. When we bought the property, an area had been clear-cut a few years before. In fact, we have an aerial photo that was taken after the clear cut – “desolation” for acres and acres. When we bought the property, that area was covered with thousands of trees one to two inches in diameter and eight to ten feet tall. A few years later, I was taking out trees for firewood that had fallen over; they were three to five inches in diameter or larger.
Also, a DNR forester who did a stewardship plan for us, said, “If you want moose, clear cut!” We did see a few moose tracks about that time, but we haven’t seen any for years. It may be wishful thinking, but I think I saw a single moose track on one of our trails a week or two ago.
And, many of the smaller trees that were not knocked over by the heavy machinery are six to eight feet tall and greening nicely. Oh, about ten years ago, the Forest Service put out a contract for clear cutting on the property that runs behind ours. The only way we know it was clear-cut is that there are no really big trees.
One of our disappointments in our first few years owning the property was all of the dying or dead birch. They were so far gone that only their bark was useful, and we haven’t even collected all of that yet. Birch is a tree that grows out of old stumps, and we now have hundreds of newer birch trees. I made up a rule of thumb that if I couldn’t put my thumbs together and reach my forefingers around the birch, it was a candidate for firewood.
Those trees are safe for awhile. I finally got the four big birches cut into rounds for splitting and am awaiting the loan of a splitter. We may have three to four years worth for our cabin. our sauna, and our fireplace in Duluth.
Meanwhile, I am working through a jumbled pile of “slash” that must have been thirty feet long, ten feet wide, and six feet high. The majority of it is four to fifteen inches in diameter and from four to sixteen feet long. These were either too small or two crooked to take to the chip mill. I think I have the pile down to about a sixth of what it was. And the pile of rounds of aspen is probably three times the size of the stacked birch.
Meanwhile the pile of stuff too small for firewood keeps growing. For a change of pace I do put that through my chipper and pave the paths with the result.
The problem with all this wood cutting and splitting is that I don’t have time or energy to keep all the paths mowed or cleared of brush. I haven’t even taken the time to go around “The Path”, a triangle that is about three-quarter of a mile in length. And there are two other loops that I have neglected over the years.
My wife insists, and I agree, that the loggers should clean up the slash of next year’s cutting, and even clean up what I haven’t removed of this year’s slash. After all, as that same DNR forester said, “Don’t make it a sweat farm!”
Showing posts with label firewood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label firewood. Show all posts
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Would wood that could become the lost cord?
I had planned to write this third column about wood last week, but the latest blasphemies of ISIS led me to compare them to the blasphemies of other established religions.
I did have what I thought was a better title for this article, but, as too often happens, I didn’t write it down. Like the lost chord, it disappeared.
Other than climbing two trees, one of my earliest memories of wood is from eighth grade. The Cleveland Public Schools required boys to take wood shop, metal shop, and printing. I remember a bit of each of these classes, but it is only from wood shop that I have a tangible, functional memory. I built a two-shelf bookcase from walnut. Other than occasional waxing and once re-gluing its joints, we still have it holding books in our dining room. How many kids can afford to buy walnut today?
At one time, my Dad had forty acres outside Cleveland that was mostly woods. He thought he would sell some of his black walnut, hoping to make a tidy profit. He cut down a few on the side of a ravine, but he couldn’t get anyone to haul them up. i never did follow up with my half-siblings on what happened to the logs.
I also remember my dad sitting in a kitchen chair at a gasoline-powered splitter. He went through quite a pile of wood in short order. I think he may have been in his late sixties then. But a few years later he went to gas heat. It was part of his deal with a company building a gas transmission line through his property. When I split wood by hand in my mid-seventies, I think of his “ease” at the task.
But trees are not always so benign. A year doesn’t seem to pass without at least one front-page picture of parked cars severely damaged by fallen trees.
When I was in junior high, a tornado struck parts of Cleveland. One of the areas was where I had had a paper route. I don’t know what damage it caused, but decades later, some of those streets didn’t have any of trees that I had passed under on my route.
A few years ago our daughter and her husband had taken their SUV to a dealer for some service. When the dealer had completed the service, they parked it outside, right under a tree. A branch broke on the tree and did some serious damage to the roof of their SUV.
Every once in awhile when we go to our cabin in Brimson, we have to cut apart trees that have fallen across our drive or one of our paths. We have been fortunate that any trees down across the road to and from our cabin have been cut up by somebody else before we got to them.
In Brimson, it is a question of cutting up downed trees vs. cutting down trees. We have so many downed trees that we really don’t need to cut any live trees for firewood. We have so many downed trees that we will never get to many of them. In fact, there are probably enough downed trees within ten feet of our paths, that I will not to have to cut much brush to get to them.
We spent part of the last two weekends cutting up a pair of trees that have been down for three years. Most of the wood was nice and dry, but when I split some of it, it was filled with caterpillar tunnels or was rotted. The tunneled wood we certainly won’t bring back to Duluth; the rotted we piled in the fire ring.
Our efforts rewarded us with enough wood to keep us toasty through the night for at least four weekends at the cabin.
But the far better wood for heating is birch, but we would have to wait a couple of years for it to dry out. As I mentioned in an earlier column, birch is a “weed”. It just pops up without any help from us. One birch that I cut years ago had another growing right next to it. The stump of the previous birch has rotted and the current one is large enough for firewood. Many of the birch trees are big enough that splitting them in half would make good firewood. The problems are getting enough burnable wood for now, making sure that we have a clear space for them to fall, and being at our cabin with enough time to cut them down and split them.
Remember how we were disappointed about all the dying birch when we bought the property over twenty years ago? Well, the remains of many of those dead birches are still useful. We have many tubes of birch bark still around. Take a sharp knife, cut in a few inches, tear off, and clean up. A handful of birch bark is the best fire starter of all. One of the locals who did some work for us said birch bark was just like fuel oil. If we don’t have a lot of snow in the next few weeks, maybe we can harvest enough old birch bark to last us through the winter.
Mel thinks three articles on trees is enough for now. He promises not to write about trees for the rest of the year.
I did have what I thought was a better title for this article, but, as too often happens, I didn’t write it down. Like the lost chord, it disappeared.
Other than climbing two trees, one of my earliest memories of wood is from eighth grade. The Cleveland Public Schools required boys to take wood shop, metal shop, and printing. I remember a bit of each of these classes, but it is only from wood shop that I have a tangible, functional memory. I built a two-shelf bookcase from walnut. Other than occasional waxing and once re-gluing its joints, we still have it holding books in our dining room. How many kids can afford to buy walnut today?
At one time, my Dad had forty acres outside Cleveland that was mostly woods. He thought he would sell some of his black walnut, hoping to make a tidy profit. He cut down a few on the side of a ravine, but he couldn’t get anyone to haul them up. i never did follow up with my half-siblings on what happened to the logs.
I also remember my dad sitting in a kitchen chair at a gasoline-powered splitter. He went through quite a pile of wood in short order. I think he may have been in his late sixties then. But a few years later he went to gas heat. It was part of his deal with a company building a gas transmission line through his property. When I split wood by hand in my mid-seventies, I think of his “ease” at the task.
But trees are not always so benign. A year doesn’t seem to pass without at least one front-page picture of parked cars severely damaged by fallen trees.
When I was in junior high, a tornado struck parts of Cleveland. One of the areas was where I had had a paper route. I don’t know what damage it caused, but decades later, some of those streets didn’t have any of trees that I had passed under on my route.
A few years ago our daughter and her husband had taken their SUV to a dealer for some service. When the dealer had completed the service, they parked it outside, right under a tree. A branch broke on the tree and did some serious damage to the roof of their SUV.
Every once in awhile when we go to our cabin in Brimson, we have to cut apart trees that have fallen across our drive or one of our paths. We have been fortunate that any trees down across the road to and from our cabin have been cut up by somebody else before we got to them.
In Brimson, it is a question of cutting up downed trees vs. cutting down trees. We have so many downed trees that we really don’t need to cut any live trees for firewood. We have so many downed trees that we will never get to many of them. In fact, there are probably enough downed trees within ten feet of our paths, that I will not to have to cut much brush to get to them.
We spent part of the last two weekends cutting up a pair of trees that have been down for three years. Most of the wood was nice and dry, but when I split some of it, it was filled with caterpillar tunnels or was rotted. The tunneled wood we certainly won’t bring back to Duluth; the rotted we piled in the fire ring.
Our efforts rewarded us with enough wood to keep us toasty through the night for at least four weekends at the cabin.
But the far better wood for heating is birch, but we would have to wait a couple of years for it to dry out. As I mentioned in an earlier column, birch is a “weed”. It just pops up without any help from us. One birch that I cut years ago had another growing right next to it. The stump of the previous birch has rotted and the current one is large enough for firewood. Many of the birch trees are big enough that splitting them in half would make good firewood. The problems are getting enough burnable wood for now, making sure that we have a clear space for them to fall, and being at our cabin with enough time to cut them down and split them.
Remember how we were disappointed about all the dying birch when we bought the property over twenty years ago? Well, the remains of many of those dead birches are still useful. We have many tubes of birch bark still around. Take a sharp knife, cut in a few inches, tear off, and clean up. A handful of birch bark is the best fire starter of all. One of the locals who did some work for us said birch bark was just like fuel oil. If we don’t have a lot of snow in the next few weeks, maybe we can harvest enough old birch bark to last us through the winter.
Mel thinks three articles on trees is enough for now. He promises not to write about trees for the rest of the year.
Friday, November 28, 2014
I give thanks for trees
I give thanks most recently for the two aspen that fell down a couple of years ago right next to a path. One had been stuck at a forty-five degree angle in another tree, but I managed to cut it last year so the remainder was lying parallel to the ground. This past weekend my wife and I went to cut them up into fireplace lengths.
These were nine inches and greater in diameter. It would be much quicker to cut them up with a chain saw than with a draw saw or a bow saw. With reason, my wife doesn’t want me to use a chain saw without adult supervision.
First step is to put on chaps. The chaps are meant to snarl up a chain saw if it comes in contact with my legs. Next step is to put on a hard hat with ear muffs and a face guard. Next step is to fill the chain saw with bar oil and 50:1 gas/oil mix. Final step is to get it started before heading to the woods.
My chain saw is labelled Easy2Start and it sort of is. One trick is not to yank on the starter rope but pull it slowly. Even then it can take a number of pulls in colder weather before it really starts. Oh yes, there are a couple of important steps before trying to start a chain saw. One, make sure the chain guard is on. Two, make sure the chain brake is set.
Finally, the engine keeps running! I give the trigger a few pulls to keep it running and then turn the engine off. What? Turn it off? Well, I started it by a tool shed and I will be cutting several hundred feet away. No point in carrying a running saw either in my hands or in a toboggan.
We also put in a timberjack, lopping shears, and draw saws. Oh, yeah, don’t forget a water bottle. We don’t carry extra gas or oil because we’ll probably run out of energy before the chain saw runs out of gas.
Actually, it was time for a coffee break before we even filled a toboggan with one layer of rounds. A round is a short length of a log, for our purposes around fourteen inches long. But, oh, those rounds! They were, dry, free of bark and decay, and just the right diameter to put in our fireplace.
After coffee, the timberjack came into play. One tree had snapped about two feet above the ground, but not completely. I cut it at the break, and the tree was now laying on the ground. Not good for a chain saw. To get the tree above ground to cut without cutting rocks or bending my back too far, I used the timberjack to raise the tree several inches of the ground. You can see a picture of a timberjack at www.drpower.com under the woodcutting category.
The chain saw ran out of gas just about the time I ran out of gas. Time for lunch!
We filled up the longer toboggan with two layers of rounds and a few in the smaller toboggan with all the tools. You can guess who got to pull the longer toboggan. Even lightly-loaded toboggans have a mind of their own. When the path turns, they want to go straight. If the snow is a lot higher than the beaten path, a toboggan can tip as you try to get it back in the path. Fortunately, the snow was only about three inches higher than the path and no mishaps occurred.
After lunch it was time to split our harvest. Once upon a time, I split wood with a five-pound splitting maul. But my aim became worse and worse. First hit, smack in the middle. Second hit, one inch too far to the left. Third hit, one inch too far to the right. Maybe after ten hits I would have a round split in two.
I did buy a hydraulic manual splitter some years ago. If the rounds are long enough and cold enough, it works quite well with one hand. There are only two problems. One is getting it in and out of the wood shed. I can still manage to lift it without dropping it on my feet. The second is to remember to close the oil valve after opening it to let the rammer return. Many have been the times I’ve wondered why the rammer isn’t splitting the wood. Then, blink goes the proverbial light bulb and with a few twists of my wrist, the splitter works again.
After a short chocolate break, I had all the rounds split in halves or quarters, and my wife had it stacked in the wood shed or boxed to take back to Duluth. Probably to those who depend on wood heat daily, we just played around. My guess is that we cut and split almost half a fireplace cord. A fireplace cord is eight-feet long, four-feet high stack of sixteen inch pieces. That could heat our cabin for possibly three week-ends.
Then it was back to Duluth, light a fire in the fireplace, drink wine, and read newspapers on our iPads. But we had no undraped window to look out at living trees.
You can find more of Mel’s whimsy at magree.blogspot.com.
This was published in the Reader Weekly of Duluth, 2014-11-27 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2014/11/27/4415_i_give_thanks_for_trees.
These were nine inches and greater in diameter. It would be much quicker to cut them up with a chain saw than with a draw saw or a bow saw. With reason, my wife doesn’t want me to use a chain saw without adult supervision.
First step is to put on chaps. The chaps are meant to snarl up a chain saw if it comes in contact with my legs. Next step is to put on a hard hat with ear muffs and a face guard. Next step is to fill the chain saw with bar oil and 50:1 gas/oil mix. Final step is to get it started before heading to the woods.
My chain saw is labelled Easy2Start and it sort of is. One trick is not to yank on the starter rope but pull it slowly. Even then it can take a number of pulls in colder weather before it really starts. Oh yes, there are a couple of important steps before trying to start a chain saw. One, make sure the chain guard is on. Two, make sure the chain brake is set.
Finally, the engine keeps running! I give the trigger a few pulls to keep it running and then turn the engine off. What? Turn it off? Well, I started it by a tool shed and I will be cutting several hundred feet away. No point in carrying a running saw either in my hands or in a toboggan.
We also put in a timberjack, lopping shears, and draw saws. Oh, yeah, don’t forget a water bottle. We don’t carry extra gas or oil because we’ll probably run out of energy before the chain saw runs out of gas.
Actually, it was time for a coffee break before we even filled a toboggan with one layer of rounds. A round is a short length of a log, for our purposes around fourteen inches long. But, oh, those rounds! They were, dry, free of bark and decay, and just the right diameter to put in our fireplace.
After coffee, the timberjack came into play. One tree had snapped about two feet above the ground, but not completely. I cut it at the break, and the tree was now laying on the ground. Not good for a chain saw. To get the tree above ground to cut without cutting rocks or bending my back too far, I used the timberjack to raise the tree several inches of the ground. You can see a picture of a timberjack at www.drpower.com under the woodcutting category.
The chain saw ran out of gas just about the time I ran out of gas. Time for lunch!
We filled up the longer toboggan with two layers of rounds and a few in the smaller toboggan with all the tools. You can guess who got to pull the longer toboggan. Even lightly-loaded toboggans have a mind of their own. When the path turns, they want to go straight. If the snow is a lot higher than the beaten path, a toboggan can tip as you try to get it back in the path. Fortunately, the snow was only about three inches higher than the path and no mishaps occurred.
After lunch it was time to split our harvest. Once upon a time, I split wood with a five-pound splitting maul. But my aim became worse and worse. First hit, smack in the middle. Second hit, one inch too far to the left. Third hit, one inch too far to the right. Maybe after ten hits I would have a round split in two.
I did buy a hydraulic manual splitter some years ago. If the rounds are long enough and cold enough, it works quite well with one hand. There are only two problems. One is getting it in and out of the wood shed. I can still manage to lift it without dropping it on my feet. The second is to remember to close the oil valve after opening it to let the rammer return. Many have been the times I’ve wondered why the rammer isn’t splitting the wood. Then, blink goes the proverbial light bulb and with a few twists of my wrist, the splitter works again.
After a short chocolate break, I had all the rounds split in halves or quarters, and my wife had it stacked in the wood shed or boxed to take back to Duluth. Probably to those who depend on wood heat daily, we just played around. My guess is that we cut and split almost half a fireplace cord. A fireplace cord is eight-feet long, four-feet high stack of sixteen inch pieces. That could heat our cabin for possibly three week-ends.
Then it was back to Duluth, light a fire in the fireplace, drink wine, and read newspapers on our iPads. But we had no undraped window to look out at living trees.
You can find more of Mel’s whimsy at magree.blogspot.com.
This was published in the Reader Weekly of Duluth, 2014-11-27 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2014/11/27/4415_i_give_thanks_for_trees.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
I like trees, dead or alive
For as long as I can remember, I have been near trees or wood products. If trees were not on the block I lived, there were some just a minute or two away. Probably every building I lived in was wood framed, and each had wood door and window frames. And of course I’ve had access to books, magazines, and newspapers everywhere.
When we lived in Plymouth outside Minneapolis, we planted a small variety of trees in addition to those left on the lot when our house was built. Over the twenty-two years we lived there, we cut some of them down and planted new ones. We cut trees down because they became diseased or otherwise threatened to fall down. We cut trees down because we wanted to plant something else there.
Two of the saddest removals were of a very large box elder and a clump of small box elders.
We had the large box elder taken down because it threatened to drop large limbs on our roof. Besides our visual loss, it might have been the loss of a home to a three-legged squirrel whom we saw raise several families.
I forgot why I cut down the smaller clump. When I cut down the first, a pair of crows were trying to land where the tree had been. “Where’s our nest? It used to be here.”
When we bought our property in Brimson, we also bought thousands of trees; mostly aspen and balsam fir and way too much alder. We also have a section of black spruce swamp, a small stand of red pine planted by a former neighbor, and tamarack. The first year we saw many large dead or dying birch; we thought that was the end of birch.
A few years before we bought the property, local loggers had clear-cut a large swath of aspen on the Federal land behind us and a section of the property. The aspen coming up were about ten-feet tall and an inch or two in diameter.
The DNR forester who gave us a stewardship plan told us that if we want moose, we should clear-cut. Moose like to browse on young aspen. We did see some moose tracks the first few years but haven’t seen anymore for a long time. Much of the aspen is five inches or more in diameter. Moose may still be in the area; a neighbor is a shed hunter and a few years ago found three interlocked horns.
Did you know that aspen is one of the largest organisms in the world? Aspen grows from an interlocking root system. I didn't find a reference to the largest in Minnesota, but Pando in Utah is considered the largest. It covers over 100 acres, weighs over thirteen million pounds, has over 40,000 stems, and is considered to be over 80,000 years old. If a single stem (trunk) dies, another will replace it from the root system.
Clear-cutting aspen is like giving it a bad cold. If you treat the cold, it will take seven “days” to heal; otherwise it will take a “week”.
Most of our firewood is aspen, but we don’t even have to cut it down. Enough aspen three-inch in diameter and larger breaks from wind that we only need to cut it up before it rots. Even then, I can’t keep up with clearing it.
Our preferred firewood is birch, but we have to wait a few years for cut birch to dry out. My rule of “thumbs” is that if I can’t touch my thumbs together as I wrap my hands around the trunk then it is a firewood candidate. Ah, yes! I didn’t tell you that birch is another “weed”. Some is growing surrounded by other trees, but most is growing along the edge of paths. Some is also growing from old stumps. And some I have transplanted from the utility right-of-way before the periodic brush cutting.
Another welcome “volunteer” is red maple. We planted some sugar maple in our cabin yard and elsewhere. Some sugar maple did well; some never grew over a foot. However, in the same area we planted sugar maple, red maple has come up without any help from us. We also have a stand of red maple along the back line that is doing well. It would do even better if I cut all the alder that is growing among the maples.
Alder, ah! There is a “noxious” weed if there ever was one. Alder grows in clumps that go every which way. Some will go just above the ground for six feet or more and then shoot right across a path at eye level. We cut down what we can, but we don’t work hard enough to keep paths open. We did find a tip that household bleach can kill the stump. We have only tried it on a few stumps. All I can say is that the stumps went from orange to white.
At our Duluth house we went from six or more trees to one, and that one is a replacement for one that was getting damaged by heavy snows. Most of the trees we took down were where we wanted to build a new garage or in the way of power or telephone lines. The best tree to take out was an American elm right next to the house. Squirrels used it to get to a vent. No elm, no squirrels in the wall.
Mel would have rather written this looking at hundreds of trees than a garage and other houses.
This was published in the Reader Weekly, 2014-11-20 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2014/11/20/4403_i_like_trees_dead_or_alive.
When we lived in Plymouth outside Minneapolis, we planted a small variety of trees in addition to those left on the lot when our house was built. Over the twenty-two years we lived there, we cut some of them down and planted new ones. We cut trees down because they became diseased or otherwise threatened to fall down. We cut trees down because we wanted to plant something else there.
Two of the saddest removals were of a very large box elder and a clump of small box elders.
We had the large box elder taken down because it threatened to drop large limbs on our roof. Besides our visual loss, it might have been the loss of a home to a three-legged squirrel whom we saw raise several families.
I forgot why I cut down the smaller clump. When I cut down the first, a pair of crows were trying to land where the tree had been. “Where’s our nest? It used to be here.”
When we bought our property in Brimson, we also bought thousands of trees; mostly aspen and balsam fir and way too much alder. We also have a section of black spruce swamp, a small stand of red pine planted by a former neighbor, and tamarack. The first year we saw many large dead or dying birch; we thought that was the end of birch.
A few years before we bought the property, local loggers had clear-cut a large swath of aspen on the Federal land behind us and a section of the property. The aspen coming up were about ten-feet tall and an inch or two in diameter.
The DNR forester who gave us a stewardship plan told us that if we want moose, we should clear-cut. Moose like to browse on young aspen. We did see some moose tracks the first few years but haven’t seen anymore for a long time. Much of the aspen is five inches or more in diameter. Moose may still be in the area; a neighbor is a shed hunter and a few years ago found three interlocked horns.
Did you know that aspen is one of the largest organisms in the world? Aspen grows from an interlocking root system. I didn't find a reference to the largest in Minnesota, but Pando in Utah is considered the largest. It covers over 100 acres, weighs over thirteen million pounds, has over 40,000 stems, and is considered to be over 80,000 years old. If a single stem (trunk) dies, another will replace it from the root system.
Clear-cutting aspen is like giving it a bad cold. If you treat the cold, it will take seven “days” to heal; otherwise it will take a “week”.
Most of our firewood is aspen, but we don’t even have to cut it down. Enough aspen three-inch in diameter and larger breaks from wind that we only need to cut it up before it rots. Even then, I can’t keep up with clearing it.
Our preferred firewood is birch, but we have to wait a few years for cut birch to dry out. My rule of “thumbs” is that if I can’t touch my thumbs together as I wrap my hands around the trunk then it is a firewood candidate. Ah, yes! I didn’t tell you that birch is another “weed”. Some is growing surrounded by other trees, but most is growing along the edge of paths. Some is also growing from old stumps. And some I have transplanted from the utility right-of-way before the periodic brush cutting.
Another welcome “volunteer” is red maple. We planted some sugar maple in our cabin yard and elsewhere. Some sugar maple did well; some never grew over a foot. However, in the same area we planted sugar maple, red maple has come up without any help from us. We also have a stand of red maple along the back line that is doing well. It would do even better if I cut all the alder that is growing among the maples.
Alder, ah! There is a “noxious” weed if there ever was one. Alder grows in clumps that go every which way. Some will go just above the ground for six feet or more and then shoot right across a path at eye level. We cut down what we can, but we don’t work hard enough to keep paths open. We did find a tip that household bleach can kill the stump. We have only tried it on a few stumps. All I can say is that the stumps went from orange to white.
At our Duluth house we went from six or more trees to one, and that one is a replacement for one that was getting damaged by heavy snows. Most of the trees we took down were where we wanted to build a new garage or in the way of power or telephone lines. The best tree to take out was an American elm right next to the house. Squirrels used it to get to a vent. No elm, no squirrels in the wall.
Mel would have rather written this looking at hundreds of trees than a garage and other houses.
This was published in the Reader Weekly, 2014-11-20 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2014/11/20/4403_i_like_trees_dead_or_alive.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Wooden-headed woodsman
On Saturday, May 11, I was using a draw saw to cut lengths of downfall into fireplace lengths. I was working on smaller pieces, three-inches or less in diameter. Many of these had branch stubs that would make it difficult to lay a good fire.
To cut these stubs, I placed the pieces vertically in a section of my saw horse to stabilize them and then would cut down. Sometimes I would hold the piece above the stub, sometimes below. The latter was more stable.
As I was doing this, I noted that my work gloves were mostly fabric, not leather. I told myself that I should be careful. That worked for about five pieces and then the saw hit my hand. Oh, drat! My glove had a small shredded patch!
Hm, I better check my hand. Oh, I have a good cut there and it's bleeding a bit. I licked at it a bit to minimize the blood flow and went inside to get a bandage. Hoo boy! It started bleeding more! I grabbed three or so pieces of facial tissues to sop up the blood.
I found the first-aid kit and managed to open it without getting blood on it. Grab more tissues to sop up the blood. My wife had gone to the Brimson post office. Should I call the post office where she would be visiting with other neighbors and ask her to come back to the cabin? Should I call 911?
I managed to get a bandage on just before my wife came back. She suggested that I also put bacitracin on the cut, and she bound the wound up better than I had. We changed the bandage(s) often as they became soaked. By sauna time, there was little blood flow.
Of course, as I sweated in the sauna, the latest bandage loosened up. No big deal because the bleeding had stopped.
My wife had washed up and gone back to the cabin. I washed up and started to get dressed. As I put on a sock I bumped my thumb. Oh, great! It's bleeding again. With no bandages around, I just kept licking the wound. I got the other sock on with a spot of blood on it. I managed to get into my pants but no way was I going to put a shirt on with my thumb bleeding.
I put my feet in my boots and grabbed my shirt and jacket to get back to the cabin. At least it wasn't freezing.
Once back at the cabin, I put another bandage on and could finish dressing.
Over the past week, I've put bacitracin and a bandage on twice a day. The wound is healing nicely and I can use my thumb for most tasks. I still bump my thumb with various tasks, but my only reaction is a grunt.
Have I learned my lesson? Probably not. There will always be another situation where the most convenient way of doing something is the riskiest, and in the interest of saving time or ...
To cut these stubs, I placed the pieces vertically in a section of my saw horse to stabilize them and then would cut down. Sometimes I would hold the piece above the stub, sometimes below. The latter was more stable.
As I was doing this, I noted that my work gloves were mostly fabric, not leather. I told myself that I should be careful. That worked for about five pieces and then the saw hit my hand. Oh, drat! My glove had a small shredded patch!
Hm, I better check my hand. Oh, I have a good cut there and it's bleeding a bit. I licked at it a bit to minimize the blood flow and went inside to get a bandage. Hoo boy! It started bleeding more! I grabbed three or so pieces of facial tissues to sop up the blood.
I found the first-aid kit and managed to open it without getting blood on it. Grab more tissues to sop up the blood. My wife had gone to the Brimson post office. Should I call the post office where she would be visiting with other neighbors and ask her to come back to the cabin? Should I call 911?
I managed to get a bandage on just before my wife came back. She suggested that I also put bacitracin on the cut, and she bound the wound up better than I had. We changed the bandage(s) often as they became soaked. By sauna time, there was little blood flow.
Of course, as I sweated in the sauna, the latest bandage loosened up. No big deal because the bleeding had stopped.
My wife had washed up and gone back to the cabin. I washed up and started to get dressed. As I put on a sock I bumped my thumb. Oh, great! It's bleeding again. With no bandages around, I just kept licking the wound. I got the other sock on with a spot of blood on it. I managed to get into my pants but no way was I going to put a shirt on with my thumb bleeding.
I put my feet in my boots and grabbed my shirt and jacket to get back to the cabin. At least it wasn't freezing.
Once back at the cabin, I put another bandage on and could finish dressing.
Over the past week, I've put bacitracin and a bandage on twice a day. The wound is healing nicely and I can use my thumb for most tasks. I still bump my thumb with various tasks, but my only reaction is a grunt.
Have I learned my lesson? Probably not. There will always be another situation where the most convenient way of doing something is the riskiest, and in the interest of saving time or ...
Sunday, December 02, 2012
If all else fails, read directions
Last spring I replaced an old, hard-to-start chain saw with a new "easy-start" chain saw. But I had difficulty starting it. I thought I was following directions, but it still took a long time to start, if at all. I felt embarrassed about it and was reluctant to try again.
So I used a nice-sharp curved draw saw to cut trees up to four inches in diameter. In one sense, it was nice because it was quiet and good exercise. And I could change hands when using my right hand caused too much irritation in my bum shoulder. The only problem is that I didn't get much cut, especially of the bigger stuff. And we have lots of downed trees to take out as firewood before they rot.
We went to our cabin yesterday only for the day and did a variety of chores and a bit of walking. I had a few minutes to spare before returning to Duluth, and so I gave the chain saw another try.
I tried to get the trigger to lock in position for starting, but it wouldn't stay. I looked at the symbols along the lock and figured out that maybe I was using the right position. I think the needed position was one stop short of the full lock.
Push the primer a few times. Put the handle between my legs and hold the cross handle. Pull gently on the starter rope. It had the appropriate feel for the easy-start. I find it hard to describe the change in tension as I pull it out.
One pull. Two pulls, sounds and feels even better. Three pulls, roar from the saw and yay from me!
I ran the chain saw for a few minutes, and I felt great pride that I finally persevered. Unfortunately, I didn't think there was time to do any cutting and I shut the saw off. But at least I know that the next time we go to our cabin, I can start a more productive cutting of firewood. I have two nice size birches in mind whose absence will let some smaller birches grow.
So I used a nice-sharp curved draw saw to cut trees up to four inches in diameter. In one sense, it was nice because it was quiet and good exercise. And I could change hands when using my right hand caused too much irritation in my bum shoulder. The only problem is that I didn't get much cut, especially of the bigger stuff. And we have lots of downed trees to take out as firewood before they rot.
We went to our cabin yesterday only for the day and did a variety of chores and a bit of walking. I had a few minutes to spare before returning to Duluth, and so I gave the chain saw another try.
I tried to get the trigger to lock in position for starting, but it wouldn't stay. I looked at the symbols along the lock and figured out that maybe I was using the right position. I think the needed position was one stop short of the full lock.
Push the primer a few times. Put the handle between my legs and hold the cross handle. Pull gently on the starter rope. It had the appropriate feel for the easy-start. I find it hard to describe the change in tension as I pull it out.
One pull. Two pulls, sounds and feels even better. Three pulls, roar from the saw and yay from me!
I ran the chain saw for a few minutes, and I felt great pride that I finally persevered. Unfortunately, I didn't think there was time to do any cutting and I shut the saw off. But at least I know that the next time we go to our cabin, I can start a more productive cutting of firewood. I have two nice size birches in mind whose absence will let some smaller birches grow.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Save a tree? Why?
Starbucks has been running a commercial to encourage people to bring reusable travel mugs instead of asking for a paper cup. The commercial shows people putting Starbucks paper coffee cups on the pavement, eventually creating a picture of a tree. One of the slogans is "One person can save trees, together we can save forests." Ironically, they are not saving coffee beans. As each person places a cup on the pavement, it is quite obvious that it still contains coffee! That was lots of coffee to use for a single ad. I will admit that the cups had to be weighted in case of a breeze.
Minnesota Public Radio has a campaign to get people to become sustaining members. On the air they are saying "Save a tree" because it will reduce their mailings because sustaining members will be automatically charged each month. Additionally, for each new sustaining member they will have a tree planted in the member's name.
I don't like to see waste and I like to conserve resources by recycling, but I think these "Save a tree" campaigns are somewhat misguided.
First, the much of the wood pulp for paper comes from private lands. When held by a forest products company, they are managed for sustainability. When a tree is taken from such land, it is replaced by planting or by natural regrowth.
Second, the primary source of wood pulp is aspen and balsam fir, both which regrow naturally. In fact, I call them both weeds. Aspen regrows quickly from root suckers. Balsam fir grows from seed cones without much effort. In fact, both kinds of trees continually spring up in any area of our Brimson property that we don't keep clear.
I am very allergic to balsam fir, getting a severe skin reaction any time I have to trim a balsam or cut one down. I've talked to a logger friend about removing many of them, but he says there is no market for balsam. I may have to hire him to remove some near the cabin; they are too close, especially with drought conditions.
"No market for balsam" may be an indication that many recycling efforts are "paying off". Consider also that many paper companies have been downsizing. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; fire a logger."
Worse yet, the value of private forest lands is increasing so much that forest product companies are selling their land to real estate companies. These companies are selling them off in smaller parcels to individuals. When this happens the individuals take out trees for driveways and buildings. See "Breaking Up the Forests".
The breakup of the forests could have consequences for wildlife. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; starve a moose." Somebody long ago told me that if I wanted moose, clear cut. When we bought our property, there was a recently cut area of aspen (aka poplar or popple). The stand was about eight-foot high and we occasionally saw moose tracks. Now the stand is twenty to thirty-feet high and we haven't seen a moose track for years. Moose aren't completely gone from our area. One of our Brimson neighbors found two dead bull moose with locked horns: "Shed Hunter Finds Two Minnesota Record-Book Moose Locked After Battle to the Death".
Moose aren't the only tree predators. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; shoot a deer." We have made many efforts to plant trees. Our most successful was white spruce. We had some success with sugar maple with probably half the seedlings turning into twelve to fourteen foot trees. We tried red oak and they are all gone. We had hoped to plant hundreds and hundred of white pines, but deer took a big toll on them. We initially stapled paper to the tips in the fall (the recommended practice), but the deer would bite the top off below the paper. We tried putting circles of fencing around individual trees, but the deer would reach in with their tongues and pull the tips out. We put screen around the fencing and that seemed to work. Unfortunately, for all this protection, we couldn't protect against drought. Several of the trees that survived the deer turned brown and died. I think of the 200 or more pines that we planted over a two-to-three year period, only about forty have survived and only about twenty are taller than me.
We have been harvesting aspen for firewood, both for our cabin and for our Duluth house. I think we used about eleven trees last year, almost all aspen. We are starting to use some birch; it is finally getting to fireplace size after a big die-off several years ago. But our job may have become easier. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; stop the wind." Except for some trees that were in the way of other trees, we have been harvesting broken tops. The best yet are the four-inch diameter trees that were snapped off in a big wind storm or two. The woods looked like it was full of a jumble of toothpicks. When we can get to those without bark, all we have to do is cut them into fireplace lengths, no splitting. These are just great for having a fast, very hot fire to warm the cabin quickly.
Ah yes, fire. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; start a forest fire." A mature forest is much more likely to burn and over a wider area. If we reduce our harvest of trees too much, we will have more forest fires. It is nature's way of providing for large-scale renewal.
I think where we really have to be concerned about trees is in urban areas. I regret that we no longer have any of the back yard trees we once had. A silver maple and a birch became too old. An ash provided easy access to our attic for squirrels, and three smaller birch just got in the way of the power and telephone lines. Other than our arbor vitae, trees in the front yard are out of the question because of sewer lines. Boulevard trees are impossible because the boulevard is only two feet wide.
Overall it is going to be more difficult to have neighborhood trees. Wider streets leave less room for trees. The ongoing sewer work in Duluth is going to lead to more front-yard trees being taken down or fatally stressed. Disease and age are going to do in many mature trees.
About the only places left for lots of trees are parks. Do we want to spend the tax money to keep our parks green? It's either spend the money on a healthier environment or spend the money on health care.
Be careful what you wish for, you may get the opposite.
Minnesota Public Radio has a campaign to get people to become sustaining members. On the air they are saying "Save a tree" because it will reduce their mailings because sustaining members will be automatically charged each month. Additionally, for each new sustaining member they will have a tree planted in the member's name.
I don't like to see waste and I like to conserve resources by recycling, but I think these "Save a tree" campaigns are somewhat misguided.
First, the much of the wood pulp for paper comes from private lands. When held by a forest products company, they are managed for sustainability. When a tree is taken from such land, it is replaced by planting or by natural regrowth.
Second, the primary source of wood pulp is aspen and balsam fir, both which regrow naturally. In fact, I call them both weeds. Aspen regrows quickly from root suckers. Balsam fir grows from seed cones without much effort. In fact, both kinds of trees continually spring up in any area of our Brimson property that we don't keep clear.
I am very allergic to balsam fir, getting a severe skin reaction any time I have to trim a balsam or cut one down. I've talked to a logger friend about removing many of them, but he says there is no market for balsam. I may have to hire him to remove some near the cabin; they are too close, especially with drought conditions.
"No market for balsam" may be an indication that many recycling efforts are "paying off". Consider also that many paper companies have been downsizing. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; fire a logger."
Worse yet, the value of private forest lands is increasing so much that forest product companies are selling their land to real estate companies. These companies are selling them off in smaller parcels to individuals. When this happens the individuals take out trees for driveways and buildings. See "Breaking Up the Forests".
The breakup of the forests could have consequences for wildlife. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; starve a moose." Somebody long ago told me that if I wanted moose, clear cut. When we bought our property, there was a recently cut area of aspen (aka poplar or popple). The stand was about eight-foot high and we occasionally saw moose tracks. Now the stand is twenty to thirty-feet high and we haven't seen a moose track for years. Moose aren't completely gone from our area. One of our Brimson neighbors found two dead bull moose with locked horns: "Shed Hunter Finds Two Minnesota Record-Book Moose Locked After Battle to the Death".
Moose aren't the only tree predators. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; shoot a deer." We have made many efforts to plant trees. Our most successful was white spruce. We had some success with sugar maple with probably half the seedlings turning into twelve to fourteen foot trees. We tried red oak and they are all gone. We had hoped to plant hundreds and hundred of white pines, but deer took a big toll on them. We initially stapled paper to the tips in the fall (the recommended practice), but the deer would bite the top off below the paper. We tried putting circles of fencing around individual trees, but the deer would reach in with their tongues and pull the tips out. We put screen around the fencing and that seemed to work. Unfortunately, for all this protection, we couldn't protect against drought. Several of the trees that survived the deer turned brown and died. I think of the 200 or more pines that we planted over a two-to-three year period, only about forty have survived and only about twenty are taller than me.
We have been harvesting aspen for firewood, both for our cabin and for our Duluth house. I think we used about eleven trees last year, almost all aspen. We are starting to use some birch; it is finally getting to fireplace size after a big die-off several years ago. But our job may have become easier. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; stop the wind." Except for some trees that were in the way of other trees, we have been harvesting broken tops. The best yet are the four-inch diameter trees that were snapped off in a big wind storm or two. The woods looked like it was full of a jumble of toothpicks. When we can get to those without bark, all we have to do is cut them into fireplace lengths, no splitting. These are just great for having a fast, very hot fire to warm the cabin quickly.
Ah yes, fire. One could change the slogan to "Save a tree; start a forest fire." A mature forest is much more likely to burn and over a wider area. If we reduce our harvest of trees too much, we will have more forest fires. It is nature's way of providing for large-scale renewal.
I think where we really have to be concerned about trees is in urban areas. I regret that we no longer have any of the back yard trees we once had. A silver maple and a birch became too old. An ash provided easy access to our attic for squirrels, and three smaller birch just got in the way of the power and telephone lines. Other than our arbor vitae, trees in the front yard are out of the question because of sewer lines. Boulevard trees are impossible because the boulevard is only two feet wide.
Overall it is going to be more difficult to have neighborhood trees. Wider streets leave less room for trees. The ongoing sewer work in Duluth is going to lead to more front-yard trees being taken down or fatally stressed. Disease and age are going to do in many mature trees.
About the only places left for lots of trees are parks. Do we want to spend the tax money to keep our parks green? It's either spend the money on a healthier environment or spend the money on health care.
Be careful what you wish for, you may get the opposite.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 12
Last Monday we went to our cabin to check on our newly planted basswood and to clean up some of the uncut wood and piles of branches.
It looked like only three of the 25 seedlings had been bitten, but they might not have had the longest branch intact when we planted them.
Our first order of business was to unjam our chipper. We had left it jammed from our visit two weeks ago. I don't like to bend over to work on things, and so we wanted to have it elevated. I had a loading dock that was at a good height for such work, but it had too many rotted boards two years ago. The picnic table that I built seventeen years ago is still usable although we use another table for al fresco dining. It has become a de facto work bench for many tasks.
I hauled our aluminum ramps to the one end of the table and the two of us were able to push, lift, and wriggle the chipper into place for further work. Now it seemed a piece of cake to take off the screen and the input chute and reach next to the flywheel for the jammed piece. Well, the first two were a piece of cake, but even seeing the jammed piece was not.
I pushed in a cheap, long keyhole saw I had bought for this purpose, but its teeth were too fine to really grab the wood. I could saw at the wood, but that was a long, laborious process.
If I pushed the flywheel in the opposite direction that it normally went, I hoped it would push the piece within reach. Unfortunately, pushing it backward jams the handle of the starter rope against the housing very quickly. I had figured out that if one of us pulled out the starter rope first and the other pushed the flywheel in the opposite direction, we could push the flywheel for several rotations.
This worked only once. A very little piece showed itself at the chute opening. I grabbed that piece with pliers and pulled steadily. The whole piece came out shortly and the flywheel turned easily.
The next time we were not so lucky. I had to use the better back saw to get at it and cut or grab. Eventually the piece broke up into smaller piece and the flywheel turned freely. However, there is still some still in there that could cause some other wood to jam.
The problem is one of design. The gap between the blades and the housing is quite large, and so a piece can be pulled in and jam, especially in an area away from the blades. The problem is further compounded by the nuts and bolts in the cutting area that hold the housing to the engine. These are just one more obstruction to cause a jam.
Why, oh why, didn't I buy that Troy-bilt drum chipper when they were still marketed? Supposedly, if it jammed, one inserted a crank into the axle and turned it backward. These are available from time to time on eBay, but they always seem to be in Texas or Pennsylvania or some other locale two or more days driver away.
When I wasn't busy unjamming the chipper, I was cutting up the tree bolts. I had moved my sawhorse close to the pile of the biggest bolts. I only had three problems with this.
The first was getting the biggest bolts onto the sawhorse. There were six to ten inches in diameter. I had to use what I call the "little brother carry". I would stand one on end, squat a bit, put my arms around it about 3/4 the way up, stand up, and stagger over to the sawhorse. I could leverage one end onto the sawhorse, and then walk my hands down and lift up the other.
The second was despite the bolts being on a sawhorse, the saw would still jam. Not seriously, but enough to have to back off. I did manage to make most of the cuts perpendicular and clean. It was amazing how much easier it was to control the saw at waist height than it was bending over a trunk on the ground.
The third problem was probably a result of the second problem. The chain broke! Fortunately for me, it didn't fly off and hit me or anything or anybody else. It just dangled from the saw. I got out another chain, put it on and I was back in business.
I also took a few minutes to split a few rounds. This late in spring, they still split easily when I hit them correctly. Correctly doesn't include being dead on center.
So, we got rid of one pile of bolts and several piles of branches. There is more waiting for our next visit.
Unless something really interesting happens, this will be the last episode of "Adventures of Superwoodsman" for a while. Our next few visits will be more chipping and sawing, then we will widen some paths and do more chipping. I do hope we start spending more time walking around or just sitting around enjoying the outdoors.
If you would like to see some pictures of our place in Brimson and the surrounding area, see my Brimson set on Flickr.
It looked like only three of the 25 seedlings had been bitten, but they might not have had the longest branch intact when we planted them.
Our first order of business was to unjam our chipper. We had left it jammed from our visit two weeks ago. I don't like to bend over to work on things, and so we wanted to have it elevated. I had a loading dock that was at a good height for such work, but it had too many rotted boards two years ago. The picnic table that I built seventeen years ago is still usable although we use another table for al fresco dining. It has become a de facto work bench for many tasks.
I hauled our aluminum ramps to the one end of the table and the two of us were able to push, lift, and wriggle the chipper into place for further work. Now it seemed a piece of cake to take off the screen and the input chute and reach next to the flywheel for the jammed piece. Well, the first two were a piece of cake, but even seeing the jammed piece was not.
I pushed in a cheap, long keyhole saw I had bought for this purpose, but its teeth were too fine to really grab the wood. I could saw at the wood, but that was a long, laborious process.
If I pushed the flywheel in the opposite direction that it normally went, I hoped it would push the piece within reach. Unfortunately, pushing it backward jams the handle of the starter rope against the housing very quickly. I had figured out that if one of us pulled out the starter rope first and the other pushed the flywheel in the opposite direction, we could push the flywheel for several rotations.
This worked only once. A very little piece showed itself at the chute opening. I grabbed that piece with pliers and pulled steadily. The whole piece came out shortly and the flywheel turned easily.
The next time we were not so lucky. I had to use the better back saw to get at it and cut or grab. Eventually the piece broke up into smaller piece and the flywheel turned freely. However, there is still some still in there that could cause some other wood to jam.
The problem is one of design. The gap between the blades and the housing is quite large, and so a piece can be pulled in and jam, especially in an area away from the blades. The problem is further compounded by the nuts and bolts in the cutting area that hold the housing to the engine. These are just one more obstruction to cause a jam.
Why, oh why, didn't I buy that Troy-bilt drum chipper when they were still marketed? Supposedly, if it jammed, one inserted a crank into the axle and turned it backward. These are available from time to time on eBay, but they always seem to be in Texas or Pennsylvania or some other locale two or more days driver away.
When I wasn't busy unjamming the chipper, I was cutting up the tree bolts. I had moved my sawhorse close to the pile of the biggest bolts. I only had three problems with this.
The first was getting the biggest bolts onto the sawhorse. There were six to ten inches in diameter. I had to use what I call the "little brother carry". I would stand one on end, squat a bit, put my arms around it about 3/4 the way up, stand up, and stagger over to the sawhorse. I could leverage one end onto the sawhorse, and then walk my hands down and lift up the other.
The second was despite the bolts being on a sawhorse, the saw would still jam. Not seriously, but enough to have to back off. I did manage to make most of the cuts perpendicular and clean. It was amazing how much easier it was to control the saw at waist height than it was bending over a trunk on the ground.
The third problem was probably a result of the second problem. The chain broke! Fortunately for me, it didn't fly off and hit me or anything or anybody else. It just dangled from the saw. I got out another chain, put it on and I was back in business.
I also took a few minutes to split a few rounds. This late in spring, they still split easily when I hit them correctly. Correctly doesn't include being dead on center.
So, we got rid of one pile of bolts and several piles of branches. There is more waiting for our next visit.
Unless something really interesting happens, this will be the last episode of "Adventures of Superwoodsman" for a while. Our next few visits will be more chipping and sawing, then we will widen some paths and do more chipping. I do hope we start spending more time walking around or just sitting around enjoying the outdoors.
If you would like to see some pictures of our place in Brimson and the surrounding area, see my Brimson set on Flickr.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 11
I'm falling behind on keeping up with these little adventures in Brimson, or is it misadventures.
We went to Brimson on midmorning Sunday, May 24, with our 25 basswood seedlings and hopes of planting them all.
We just moved stuff out of the way with numerous breaks to rest, to drink water, or nibble something. I moved bolts and rounds and my wife moved branches. I piled the bolts in sort of neat piles for later cutting, and I threw the rounds on the to-be-split pile. The latter pile is getting so big that I'll have to move it again as I split rounds closer to the stump. My wife trimmed some branches into more manageable pieces and put them in piles along one of our trails for later chipping.
This was a lot more work than we had anticipated. I think we finished around five, or maybe later. We wouldn't be planting that day.
Before or after supper we took our first walk on our main loop in many weeks, probably only the second since the snow melted. It was enjoyable to see all the green, to see the birch volunteers getting more numerous and bigger, and to see that some of the spruce we had planted along the back line had grown faster than in some previous years. It was depressing to see how much work we had to do to keep the trail open.
Before we went to bed I told my wife that the next day we would only plant the seedlings and then return to Duluth. My skin was red and irritated from being anywhere near balsam fir. It took me quite awhile to go to sleep.
After a leisurely breakfast with the unread part of the previous day's Star Tribune we started on a tree planting venture. Poke planting bar in ground. Clunk! A rock! Move a few inches away. Poke! Schlump! Into soft ground it goes! Leverage back and forth to make an hourglass-shaped hole. Oops! There are rocks on either side of the bar! A little more back and forth and I guess the hole will do.
My wife trims the roots of a seedling and sticks into the hole. I poke another hole next to the first hole and make into an "hourglass". If I'm lucky there is no rock. She scrapes some of the loosened dirt into the first hole and then I tramp on the second hole to close up the first and to make a water pocket of the second.
I try to make a random arrangement of holes rather than a grid; my only criterion is to keep the trees two big steps from each other.
Poke, stick, stomp! Twenty-four more times and exactly twenty-four. We didn't get any extras this time which is just fine by us. Our backs were stiff, we were tired, it was time to go back to Duluth.
We packed up and put everything going back in the truck. Now comes the sad part. No matter how tired we are, no matter how sweaty or bug-bitten or otherwise physically irritated, we are reluctant to leave. The drive to the road through the balsam stand, yes, a balsam stand, is a sign we won't be back to our little paradise for a week or more.
We went to Brimson on midmorning Sunday, May 24, with our 25 basswood seedlings and hopes of planting them all.
We just moved stuff out of the way with numerous breaks to rest, to drink water, or nibble something. I moved bolts and rounds and my wife moved branches. I piled the bolts in sort of neat piles for later cutting, and I threw the rounds on the to-be-split pile. The latter pile is getting so big that I'll have to move it again as I split rounds closer to the stump. My wife trimmed some branches into more manageable pieces and put them in piles along one of our trails for later chipping.
This was a lot more work than we had anticipated. I think we finished around five, or maybe later. We wouldn't be planting that day.
Before or after supper we took our first walk on our main loop in many weeks, probably only the second since the snow melted. It was enjoyable to see all the green, to see the birch volunteers getting more numerous and bigger, and to see that some of the spruce we had planted along the back line had grown faster than in some previous years. It was depressing to see how much work we had to do to keep the trail open.
Before we went to bed I told my wife that the next day we would only plant the seedlings and then return to Duluth. My skin was red and irritated from being anywhere near balsam fir. It took me quite awhile to go to sleep.
After a leisurely breakfast with the unread part of the previous day's Star Tribune we started on a tree planting venture. Poke planting bar in ground. Clunk! A rock! Move a few inches away. Poke! Schlump! Into soft ground it goes! Leverage back and forth to make an hourglass-shaped hole. Oops! There are rocks on either side of the bar! A little more back and forth and I guess the hole will do.
My wife trims the roots of a seedling and sticks into the hole. I poke another hole next to the first hole and make into an "hourglass". If I'm lucky there is no rock. She scrapes some of the loosened dirt into the first hole and then I tramp on the second hole to close up the first and to make a water pocket of the second.
I try to make a random arrangement of holes rather than a grid; my only criterion is to keep the trees two big steps from each other.
Poke, stick, stomp! Twenty-four more times and exactly twenty-four. We didn't get any extras this time which is just fine by us. Our backs were stiff, we were tired, it was time to go back to Duluth.
We packed up and put everything going back in the truck. Now comes the sad part. No matter how tired we are, no matter how sweaty or bug-bitten or otherwise physically irritated, we are reluctant to leave. The drive to the road through the balsam stand, yes, a balsam stand, is a sign we won't be back to our little paradise for a week or more.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 10
Yesterday I went to our cabin to work some more on clearing the area where we wanted to plant new trees. Except for the wind, I couldn't have asked for a nicer day. It was warmer outside than it was in the cabin. Although the wind was keeping the bugs down, I hauled out the screens from the shed, inserted them, and opened the windows.
Before I left Duluth, I stopped Denny's Lawn & Garden to buy a new saw chain to replace those that I thought were too far gone. The darn thing was nearly $20!
As I was leaving, I thought I should ask for advice on what I might be doing wrong to have such bad cuts. I described how I could cut easily at the far end of the saw but not close to the motor. Tom Zemow said it could be the bar is worn out. I replied that could be true because all the paint is worn off. "OK, how much?" "About $46." Well, my checking account is getting low, I better pull out my credit card. Tom couldn't find any for my saee fw on the shelf and raided a new saw for the bar.
Shortly after I arrived at our cabin, I installed the new bar. But I used the same chain as I had used last in Episode 9. Before I put it on the new bar I wiggled it on the old bar; it sure wiggled a lot from side to side. When I put it on the new bar it hardly wiggled at all. I may do some really productive work today.
Off to cut up the next felled tree. Buzz, buzz! It went through the trunk like the proverbial knife in butter. Proof once more that one has to ask the right questions. The new chain would not have cut any better than the old chains.
I delimbed the two trees that had fallen opposite the direction I had wanted but not into the spruce, so I thought. These two had their branches tangled with each other and some of the brush they had fallen into. Cut, toss aside, cut, toss aside.
Bad news! One of the trees had fallen on a smaller spruce that I had not seen in the tangle. It might survive because although it was bent it was not broken; the only damage appears to be some needles scraped off near the top.
With a faster saw, I thought I could go back to cutting rounds, but as I looked around I realized I would not get done by time to go home. So, I cut four-foot bolts or longer, depending on thickness. I'll finish these on a saw horse some other time.
I did pause from sawing to see how easily some of these rounds split in warmer weather. I tried two and although they didn't split with the first whack, they did so with two or three. That is two or three whacks in the same place.
With many pauses for water, one for lunch, and another for some chocolate, I got all the downed trees cut up by about four. Oh yes, I had to refill the gas and oil three times and a couple of times I wondered if the saw would even restart.
Rather than get all the wood out of the way, I decided to cut the stumps flush with the ground. That means lots of work on my haunches which means that the saw is not always cutting in straight line. This work took a lot longer than I had hoped. I think I only got four stumps out of twelve or fourteen cut down before I decided I should pack up and head home.
This means we still have lots of moving of brush and piles of cut wood before we can plant the trees. We can plant around the stumps and cut them later. It's just a nuisance to work around them.
AccuWeather says it will be in the mid-60s and partly cloudy Saturday. I hope they are accurate.
Before I left Duluth, I stopped Denny's Lawn & Garden to buy a new saw chain to replace those that I thought were too far gone. The darn thing was nearly $20!
As I was leaving, I thought I should ask for advice on what I might be doing wrong to have such bad cuts. I described how I could cut easily at the far end of the saw but not close to the motor. Tom Zemow said it could be the bar is worn out. I replied that could be true because all the paint is worn off. "OK, how much?" "About $46." Well, my checking account is getting low, I better pull out my credit card. Tom couldn't find any for my saee fw on the shelf and raided a new saw for the bar.
Shortly after I arrived at our cabin, I installed the new bar. But I used the same chain as I had used last in Episode 9. Before I put it on the new bar I wiggled it on the old bar; it sure wiggled a lot from side to side. When I put it on the new bar it hardly wiggled at all. I may do some really productive work today.
Off to cut up the next felled tree. Buzz, buzz! It went through the trunk like the proverbial knife in butter. Proof once more that one has to ask the right questions. The new chain would not have cut any better than the old chains.
I delimbed the two trees that had fallen opposite the direction I had wanted but not into the spruce, so I thought. These two had their branches tangled with each other and some of the brush they had fallen into. Cut, toss aside, cut, toss aside.
Bad news! One of the trees had fallen on a smaller spruce that I had not seen in the tangle. It might survive because although it was bent it was not broken; the only damage appears to be some needles scraped off near the top.
With a faster saw, I thought I could go back to cutting rounds, but as I looked around I realized I would not get done by time to go home. So, I cut four-foot bolts or longer, depending on thickness. I'll finish these on a saw horse some other time.
I did pause from sawing to see how easily some of these rounds split in warmer weather. I tried two and although they didn't split with the first whack, they did so with two or three. That is two or three whacks in the same place.
With many pauses for water, one for lunch, and another for some chocolate, I got all the downed trees cut up by about four. Oh yes, I had to refill the gas and oil three times and a couple of times I wondered if the saw would even restart.
Rather than get all the wood out of the way, I decided to cut the stumps flush with the ground. That means lots of work on my haunches which means that the saw is not always cutting in straight line. This work took a lot longer than I had hoped. I think I only got four stumps out of twelve or fourteen cut down before I decided I should pack up and head home.
This means we still have lots of moving of brush and piles of cut wood before we can plant the trees. We can plant around the stumps and cut them later. It's just a nuisance to work around them.
AccuWeather says it will be in the mid-60s and partly cloudy Saturday. I hope they are accurate.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 9
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!
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!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episodes 6, 7, and 8
I have not been writing these little adventures promptly and they are starting to run together.
Two weeks ago Monday we went to our cabin with our daughter-in-law and granddaughter. I don't think I cut any trees down; I just cut the trees from Episode 5 into fireplace lengths and piled them by splitting stumps. Our granddaughter had fun wandering around the cabin area.
That was also the day I took the wild turkey pictures on the way home. See http://magree.blogspot.com/2009/04/now-i-really-understand-turkey-shoot.html
A week ago Monday we went to our cabin to continue felling trees.
First I wanted to clear the brush with the sickle mower that hadn't started before. This time I figured out that the socket wrench was with the chipper/shredder but it wasn't. I thought again and looked harder in a shed and found the little box with parts, wrenches, and a magnetic wand.
I pulled out the plug and it was rather black, but not coated. I tried squirting starter fluid in the carburetor and would get a tentative start. After many, many tries the sickle mower kept going. I ran it to the brush that I wanted to cut and down some went. Then some didn't. I backed off and went at different angle and down they went. Repeat many times moving forward a few clumps at a time. The mower doesn't have much power and I know the blade is dull. Keep going. Then the sickle mower dies and won't start. The route to the shed seems like miles because the mower does not free wheel well. I promise myself to buy a new plug and install the sharper blade next weekend.
Back to the nippers to clear the brush and then cut the trees down. Almost all of them fell the way I wanted them to. However, I saw that one would be going just the opposite direction and could hit some 12-16 feet spruce that we had planted about sixteen years ago. I had to plot this carefully.
I thought I saw the proper direction and it would probably break two smaller aspen that I would be cutting anyway. Make my cuts; there it goes! Smash against one of the small trees breaking off the top third. It keeps coming down right between the two small trees. How lucky can I get?
With all the fooling around with the sickle mower, I have no time left to delimb or cut today's trees up.
Meanwhile, my wife had been busy chipping some of last year's brush and branches and putting the chips on a path. I don't think the chipper jammed at all.
Yesterday we were back at it again. I was armed with a new spark plug for the sickle mower. I replaced the plug and with the aid of starter fluid I got it started. I left it running to use up the gas just in case the gas was too old.
We ate lunch and the sickle mower stopped. When I checked it was still half full of gas. I tried and tried to get it restarted. It just would sputter.
Back to the backbreaking use of nippers.
After that, I change the chain on the saw and refill the gas and oil. Off to saw away. But it doesn't work very fast. Check the teeth. They don't seem very sharp. When I had picked up two chains after sharpening, I was told that one didn't need sharpening. Maybe the shop was wrong. I change the chain again, but I'm not too impressed with the sharpness of the teeth.
I was right. The cutting goes slow. I persist and down comes one tree, two trees, and a third I have to push the right direction.
I tackle a fourth, bigger tree. This looks iffy because it leans the way I want and then some limbs are the way I don't want. Let's give it a go. Slow going to get the notch. Start the back cut. The tree isn't falling. I get a wedge and pound it in with a five-pound maul. The cut hardly widens and the tree doesn't fall. I look at my back cut and it is not level! OK, let's try going a bit further. The tree starts to fall, I step back, and there it goes, right where I wanted it. Whew!
I don't remember if I cut any more after that. I do know I left a small tree that has all of its branches on the wrong side. It would fall right into the spruces.
I'm out of energy and time. No delimbing or cutting into lengths today. Besides, we have to heave the sickle mower into the truck to take to the shop.
When we get to the shop, I show the chains to the manager and he agrees that neither is very sharp and he offers to sharpen them both again and not charge me for the one that should have been sharpened.
We then go out to the truck to unload the sickle mower. He thinks the problem is not old gas but a weak diaphragm in the carburetor. We will find out in a few weeks. Next weekend is clearing the fallen trees and planting the basswood seedlings.
Two weeks ago Monday we went to our cabin with our daughter-in-law and granddaughter. I don't think I cut any trees down; I just cut the trees from Episode 5 into fireplace lengths and piled them by splitting stumps. Our granddaughter had fun wandering around the cabin area.
That was also the day I took the wild turkey pictures on the way home. See http://magree.blogspot.com/2009/04/now-i-really-understand-turkey-shoot.html
A week ago Monday we went to our cabin to continue felling trees.
First I wanted to clear the brush with the sickle mower that hadn't started before. This time I figured out that the socket wrench was with the chipper/shredder but it wasn't. I thought again and looked harder in a shed and found the little box with parts, wrenches, and a magnetic wand.
I pulled out the plug and it was rather black, but not coated. I tried squirting starter fluid in the carburetor and would get a tentative start. After many, many tries the sickle mower kept going. I ran it to the brush that I wanted to cut and down some went. Then some didn't. I backed off and went at different angle and down they went. Repeat many times moving forward a few clumps at a time. The mower doesn't have much power and I know the blade is dull. Keep going. Then the sickle mower dies and won't start. The route to the shed seems like miles because the mower does not free wheel well. I promise myself to buy a new plug and install the sharper blade next weekend.
Back to the nippers to clear the brush and then cut the trees down. Almost all of them fell the way I wanted them to. However, I saw that one would be going just the opposite direction and could hit some 12-16 feet spruce that we had planted about sixteen years ago. I had to plot this carefully.
I thought I saw the proper direction and it would probably break two smaller aspen that I would be cutting anyway. Make my cuts; there it goes! Smash against one of the small trees breaking off the top third. It keeps coming down right between the two small trees. How lucky can I get?
With all the fooling around with the sickle mower, I have no time left to delimb or cut today's trees up.
Meanwhile, my wife had been busy chipping some of last year's brush and branches and putting the chips on a path. I don't think the chipper jammed at all.
Yesterday we were back at it again. I was armed with a new spark plug for the sickle mower. I replaced the plug and with the aid of starter fluid I got it started. I left it running to use up the gas just in case the gas was too old.
We ate lunch and the sickle mower stopped. When I checked it was still half full of gas. I tried and tried to get it restarted. It just would sputter.
Back to the backbreaking use of nippers.
After that, I change the chain on the saw and refill the gas and oil. Off to saw away. But it doesn't work very fast. Check the teeth. They don't seem very sharp. When I had picked up two chains after sharpening, I was told that one didn't need sharpening. Maybe the shop was wrong. I change the chain again, but I'm not too impressed with the sharpness of the teeth.
I was right. The cutting goes slow. I persist and down comes one tree, two trees, and a third I have to push the right direction.
I tackle a fourth, bigger tree. This looks iffy because it leans the way I want and then some limbs are the way I don't want. Let's give it a go. Slow going to get the notch. Start the back cut. The tree isn't falling. I get a wedge and pound it in with a five-pound maul. The cut hardly widens and the tree doesn't fall. I look at my back cut and it is not level! OK, let's try going a bit further. The tree starts to fall, I step back, and there it goes, right where I wanted it. Whew!
I don't remember if I cut any more after that. I do know I left a small tree that has all of its branches on the wrong side. It would fall right into the spruces.
I'm out of energy and time. No delimbing or cutting into lengths today. Besides, we have to heave the sickle mower into the truck to take to the shop.
When we get to the shop, I show the chains to the manager and he agrees that neither is very sharp and he offers to sharpen them both again and not charge me for the one that should have been sharpened.
We then go out to the truck to unload the sickle mower. He thinks the problem is not old gas but a weak diaphragm in the carburetor. We will find out in a few weeks. Next weekend is clearing the fallen trees and planting the basswood seedlings.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 5
Today I went to our cabin with the plan of moving pieces of two already felled trees to a splitting stump and then cutting down as many trees as I could. This is part for firewood for next winter and part to make space for 25 basswood seedlings we have on order.
Most of the two felled trees was already cut in rounds, and it was short work to finish the job. The major problem was that I'm back to angled cuts rather than perpendicular. That does make splitting a bit more difficult. Another problem was that there was a big pile of wood right where I wanted to pull the cart. The second time I went around it I realized that I hadn't dumped wood there; it fell there off the stacked pile. As the snow between pieces melted, the pile shifted and plop went about a third of the stacked wood. My wife won't be happy when she restacks it.
Now that most of the snow was gone, I had hoped to use the sickle mower to clear brush around the trees I planned to cut. I pulled it out of the shed, filled it with gasoline, and pulled the starter rope. Nothing at first, then it would cough a bit. One more pull should do it. No such luck, a few more coughs and then no sound. In fact, one time the rope didn't retract. Oh, boy! Pushing a stick on the bigger disk did get it back.
OK, next step is to remove spark plug, pull a few time to unflood the engine, replace plug, and try again. Except, I can't find my small socket wrench. It's not in my tool box. It's not in the chain saw tool box. It's not in a couple of other boxes. Damn! What could I have done with it? I do know it is in a small box with my magnetic wand. That should be the sickle mower parts box. I bet I didn't look past the parts that are on top. Well, I better get on with the brush clearing and worry about it another day.
I take the hand brush axe and whack at some brush. The brush just bends and whaps me in the face. Also swinging the brush axe is a strain on my back. I guess I'll use the big nippers instead. Kneeling down is a strain too, but I start making progress. Later I discover I didn't take the guard off the brush axe blade!
Finally I have the brush cleared and can cut the tree. I look up at it and it doesn't look like its lean will let it go the way I want. OK, I guess it will have to go down a bit more clockwise than I wanted. Cut wedge. As usual, I have to work harder to get the wedge out than a real logger would have done. It's out. Now the back cut. Oh good, I'm only an inch above the bottom of the wedge. The back cut is widening, the tree is falling, step back, crash! Yay! Right where my second choice was.
Take a rest, have some water and chocolate.
Now I'm ready to take the next two trees both of which are smaller. I clear the brush around both and am ready for the bigger of the two. I make the cuts more easily than the last time and the tree starts to topple where I want it. Then it bounces at least two feet in the air. Good thing I had stepped back or I might have had a bruised chest. The tree had hit a stump; a stump I thought of cutting to the ground just to avoid this problem.
On to the third and smallest tree. Roar! Buzz! Roar! Buzz! The tree starts toppling in the opposite direction I want. I set the saw down and try to push the tree the other way. I stop its fall but it seems stuck in the branches of another tree. I try again with both hands and it drops off its stump. I try again and over it goes where I want it. Superman? No. Fool? Maybe. The tree is at most six inches around at the stump and does push easily.
Time for another break. Now I'm ready to tackle the fourth tree for the day. Bend over and cut brush. Hm! This is getting tough! After getting half way around the tree I say enough. I still have to pack up and drive home. Back into the cabin for a nap. What? It's only 3:30! I guess I worked harder and faster than I thought.
Next Saturday will be my next chance to continue.
Stay tuned for the next episode of "The Adventures of Superwoodsman".
Previous episodes include
Skilled woodsman? Hah!
Premonitions revisited and other woodsman stuff
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 3
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 4
Most of the two felled trees was already cut in rounds, and it was short work to finish the job. The major problem was that I'm back to angled cuts rather than perpendicular. That does make splitting a bit more difficult. Another problem was that there was a big pile of wood right where I wanted to pull the cart. The second time I went around it I realized that I hadn't dumped wood there; it fell there off the stacked pile. As the snow between pieces melted, the pile shifted and plop went about a third of the stacked wood. My wife won't be happy when she restacks it.
Now that most of the snow was gone, I had hoped to use the sickle mower to clear brush around the trees I planned to cut. I pulled it out of the shed, filled it with gasoline, and pulled the starter rope. Nothing at first, then it would cough a bit. One more pull should do it. No such luck, a few more coughs and then no sound. In fact, one time the rope didn't retract. Oh, boy! Pushing a stick on the bigger disk did get it back.
OK, next step is to remove spark plug, pull a few time to unflood the engine, replace plug, and try again. Except, I can't find my small socket wrench. It's not in my tool box. It's not in the chain saw tool box. It's not in a couple of other boxes. Damn! What could I have done with it? I do know it is in a small box with my magnetic wand. That should be the sickle mower parts box. I bet I didn't look past the parts that are on top. Well, I better get on with the brush clearing and worry about it another day.
I take the hand brush axe and whack at some brush. The brush just bends and whaps me in the face. Also swinging the brush axe is a strain on my back. I guess I'll use the big nippers instead. Kneeling down is a strain too, but I start making progress. Later I discover I didn't take the guard off the brush axe blade!
Finally I have the brush cleared and can cut the tree. I look up at it and it doesn't look like its lean will let it go the way I want. OK, I guess it will have to go down a bit more clockwise than I wanted. Cut wedge. As usual, I have to work harder to get the wedge out than a real logger would have done. It's out. Now the back cut. Oh good, I'm only an inch above the bottom of the wedge. The back cut is widening, the tree is falling, step back, crash! Yay! Right where my second choice was.
Take a rest, have some water and chocolate.
Now I'm ready to take the next two trees both of which are smaller. I clear the brush around both and am ready for the bigger of the two. I make the cuts more easily than the last time and the tree starts to topple where I want it. Then it bounces at least two feet in the air. Good thing I had stepped back or I might have had a bruised chest. The tree had hit a stump; a stump I thought of cutting to the ground just to avoid this problem.
On to the third and smallest tree. Roar! Buzz! Roar! Buzz! The tree starts toppling in the opposite direction I want. I set the saw down and try to push the tree the other way. I stop its fall but it seems stuck in the branches of another tree. I try again with both hands and it drops off its stump. I try again and over it goes where I want it. Superman? No. Fool? Maybe. The tree is at most six inches around at the stump and does push easily.
Time for another break. Now I'm ready to tackle the fourth tree for the day. Bend over and cut brush. Hm! This is getting tough! After getting half way around the tree I say enough. I still have to pack up and drive home. Back into the cabin for a nap. What? It's only 3:30! I guess I worked harder and faster than I thought.
Next Saturday will be my next chance to continue.
Stay tuned for the next episode of "The Adventures of Superwoodsman".
Previous episodes include
Skilled woodsman? Hah!
Premonitions revisited and other woodsman stuff
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 3
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 4
Friday, April 03, 2009
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 3
I thought I had written up this adventure but I can't find it. I guess I just thought about it.
My wife and I went to our cabin Thursday, March 26, to gather more firewood for next season.
I selected a tree to cut down and cleared the brush from around it. I made my wedge cut on the side I wanted it to fall and started the cut on the other side. The tree started to fall in the general direction I wanted and then stopped! It got caught in the top branches of a nearby tree, the tree I should have cut first.
From the bottom I didn't have enough leverage to nudge it. It seemed that almost anything I might try would be dangerous; I had no idea which way the tree would fall. I used a pole pruning saw to get a rope around the tree about 16 feet up and then tied the rope to another tree some distance away.
We could pull on the rope and make both trees sway a lot, but the cut tree wouldn't dislodge. I tried winding the rope bight with a stick. Nada! I thought of using a come-along, but I was sure it was in the truck, which was in the shop. A come-along is a small hand winch.
I did manage to pry the tree off its stump with a five-foot bar. I did see that the problem was that my back cut was not parallel to the wedge cut. So the tree twisted as it started to fall and was a few too many degrees off my intended fall direction.
We left the tree leaning there and I hoped to try again once I had the truck and the come-along. Stay tuned for the next episode of "The Adventures of Superwoodsman".
My wife and I went to our cabin Thursday, March 26, to gather more firewood for next season.
I selected a tree to cut down and cleared the brush from around it. I made my wedge cut on the side I wanted it to fall and started the cut on the other side. The tree started to fall in the general direction I wanted and then stopped! It got caught in the top branches of a nearby tree, the tree I should have cut first.
From the bottom I didn't have enough leverage to nudge it. It seemed that almost anything I might try would be dangerous; I had no idea which way the tree would fall. I used a pole pruning saw to get a rope around the tree about 16 feet up and then tied the rope to another tree some distance away.
We could pull on the rope and make both trees sway a lot, but the cut tree wouldn't dislodge. I tried winding the rope bight with a stick. Nada! I thought of using a come-along, but I was sure it was in the truck, which was in the shop. A come-along is a small hand winch.
I did manage to pry the tree off its stump with a five-foot bar. I did see that the problem was that my back cut was not parallel to the wedge cut. So the tree twisted as it started to fall and was a few too many degrees off my intended fall direction.
We left the tree leaning there and I hoped to try again once I had the truck and the come-along. Stay tuned for the next episode of "The Adventures of Superwoodsman".
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 4
I finally got my truck back on Wednesday and went to the cabin to bring the stuck tree down. As those of you in Duluth know, we had quite a blizzard on Tuesday. I hoped that the winds would have brought the tree down. No such luck, it was still placidly embracing its neighbor.
I pulled the box out of the truck that I thought had the come-along, but the come-along wasn't in it! I looked in all the boxes in one shed and all the little nooks and crannies. No come-along! It can't be in the basement in Duluth. I looked in another shed and there it was in a box in the shadows.
I assembled all my equipment in a toboggan: the come-along, a chain saw, a long piece of rope, a nylon tow cable, and the pole pruning saw and I went to the tree site. I got the rope up as I could over a small branch, swung the pole around, brought it down, and tied the rope. I then brought the rope to a pair of trees that I could take shelter behind.
After much relearning, I was able to pull the come-along cable out to its full length, attach it to the rope and to the tow cable. I cranked and I cranked, but the tree moved only a foot or two. I could pull on the rope and make both trees sway but not separate.
Ah ha! thought I. Why not pull the tree back the way it came? I selected a pair of trees on the other side of the problem tree and reattached everything. I was at less risk because the second tree of the pair was off to the side; the first tree acted as a pulley.
I started cranking. The tree started up from its leaning position. It separated from its neighbor. It started falling in the opposite direction. it went down, down, and hung up on another tree, but way lower than the first time. Now it would be easier to cut a section off, let the tree's new base fall a bit, repeat.
I did have to clear quite a few branches to have a clear work area as I moved up the trunk. I was tugging one branch when it suddenly came loose. I started to fall backward, told myself to relax and go with the fall, then I didn't hit the ground. I hit another stump. OW! OW! OW! Do I have a cracked rib? Am I going to have to lie here all afternoon? No, I'm intact, but I sure had the wind knocked out of me. After I caught my breath, I was able to get up and continue.
Eventually I got the tree cut up and all the wood piled near one stump or another for splitting. I cleaned up the cabin, packed up, and drove home without incident.
How's my back. Last night it wasn't even black and blue. I did lie on a cold pack for awhile. But the real problem is my face. My allergic reaction to balsam or something left my face red and puffy. I'm beginning to think that it may be the chain saw exhaust rather than the balsam; I am also allergic to formaldehyde, a by-product of diesel and gasoline combustion. I'll see next week after I heal a bit and go back to split the wood, leaving the chain saw in the shed.
I pulled the box out of the truck that I thought had the come-along, but the come-along wasn't in it! I looked in all the boxes in one shed and all the little nooks and crannies. No come-along! It can't be in the basement in Duluth. I looked in another shed and there it was in a box in the shadows.
I assembled all my equipment in a toboggan: the come-along, a chain saw, a long piece of rope, a nylon tow cable, and the pole pruning saw and I went to the tree site. I got the rope up as I could over a small branch, swung the pole around, brought it down, and tied the rope. I then brought the rope to a pair of trees that I could take shelter behind.
After much relearning, I was able to pull the come-along cable out to its full length, attach it to the rope and to the tow cable. I cranked and I cranked, but the tree moved only a foot or two. I could pull on the rope and make both trees sway but not separate.
Ah ha! thought I. Why not pull the tree back the way it came? I selected a pair of trees on the other side of the problem tree and reattached everything. I was at less risk because the second tree of the pair was off to the side; the first tree acted as a pulley.
I started cranking. The tree started up from its leaning position. It separated from its neighbor. It started falling in the opposite direction. it went down, down, and hung up on another tree, but way lower than the first time. Now it would be easier to cut a section off, let the tree's new base fall a bit, repeat.
I did have to clear quite a few branches to have a clear work area as I moved up the trunk. I was tugging one branch when it suddenly came loose. I started to fall backward, told myself to relax and go with the fall, then I didn't hit the ground. I hit another stump. OW! OW! OW! Do I have a cracked rib? Am I going to have to lie here all afternoon? No, I'm intact, but I sure had the wind knocked out of me. After I caught my breath, I was able to get up and continue.
Eventually I got the tree cut up and all the wood piled near one stump or another for splitting. I cleaned up the cabin, packed up, and drove home without incident.
How's my back. Last night it wasn't even black and blue. I did lie on a cold pack for awhile. But the real problem is my face. My allergic reaction to balsam or something left my face red and puffy. I'm beginning to think that it may be the chain saw exhaust rather than the balsam; I am also allergic to formaldehyde, a by-product of diesel and gasoline combustion. I'll see next week after I heal a bit and go back to split the wood, leaving the chain saw in the shed.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Premonitions revisited and other woodsman stuff
Well, well, I did make a prediction that came true. It did snow within two weeks in Duluth. It snowed on Tuesday and into Wednesday but not as much as the forecasts predicted.
And I had a premonition about something bad happening with the big tree I cut down. What was bad was some of the wood. It was soft or riddled with bug trails. We did keep a lot of the wood, but my chopping stump is surrounded by some very crumbly stuff; any drier and it would be powder.
One somewhat useless piece had a big hole in it and a squirrel nest in the hole. The piece must have been about twenty feet up. The material inside was grass interspersed with bright yellow pieces of fluff. The extra fluff was insulation purloined from under the floor of our cabin. We wonder how many squirrels are dying of silicosis.
One premonition I should have had was that I didn't prep my chain saw properly. I trimmed some protuding pieces on a couple of rounds before splitting them. As I finished I saw a cord dangling from the saw. What's this? It was the cord for the oil cap. I had not tightened it properly after adding bar oil. There was also a puddle of oil at my feet.
I added more oil and carefully secured the cap. I successfully cut down two smaller trees, both falling in the direction I wanted. I also cut them into rounds and split them without anything untoward happening but a sore back from bending over.
One advantage to cutting a tree up in the winter is that it rests on snow for almost its entire length. The saw rarely binds and one doesn't try to cut the dirt and stones underneath.
We may now have enough wood for three weeks next winter. Only ten to twelve weeks to go.
And I had a premonition about something bad happening with the big tree I cut down. What was bad was some of the wood. It was soft or riddled with bug trails. We did keep a lot of the wood, but my chopping stump is surrounded by some very crumbly stuff; any drier and it would be powder.
One somewhat useless piece had a big hole in it and a squirrel nest in the hole. The piece must have been about twenty feet up. The material inside was grass interspersed with bright yellow pieces of fluff. The extra fluff was insulation purloined from under the floor of our cabin. We wonder how many squirrels are dying of silicosis.
One premonition I should have had was that I didn't prep my chain saw properly. I trimmed some protuding pieces on a couple of rounds before splitting them. As I finished I saw a cord dangling from the saw. What's this? It was the cord for the oil cap. I had not tightened it properly after adding bar oil. There was also a puddle of oil at my feet.
I added more oil and carefully secured the cap. I successfully cut down two smaller trees, both falling in the direction I wanted. I also cut them into rounds and split them without anything untoward happening but a sore back from bending over.
One advantage to cutting a tree up in the winter is that it rests on snow for almost its entire length. The saw rarely binds and one doesn't try to cut the dirt and stones underneath.
We may now have enough wood for three weeks next winter. Only ten to twelve weeks to go.
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