It was sunny today and not as cold as it has been, so I donned chainsaw chaps, hat, mittens, and boots, and headed out to the woods. The goal was to work on improving the road I’ll use to get a significant chunk of next winter’s firewood out. This has been a planned project. The major impediment out there was the fir trees, that were as thick as the hair on a dogs back. So I used this area to gather the fir boughs that I sell to my friends at the Einerlei for Christmas wreaths. That helped a lot. I tend to keep the area pretty neat when I’m gathering fir. I like to carry the logs away from where I’m working so I won’t trip on them. I also like to pile up the brush I generate to keep it from under foot.
When I went out today, I mainly cut out the small spruce trees that were left after removing the fir trees. I also stacked a lot of brush away from the area where I’ll be skidding the logs. The results are pretty spectacular. I wish I’d have taken before and after pictures. Where before you could barely move through the area without getting a lot of snow down the back of your neck, it is now open and inviting. I walked around a bit after I opened it up, and I can see how I’ve completed the 5 acre parcel that the foresters marked for me several years ago. I also found several more marked trees that need to come down. I could have worked on them also today, but I’ve learned I can’t trust Franco out there when I’m felling trees. We had a close shave once that I don’t want to repeat.
I have plans for major projects next summer, so anything I can get done on the firewood project now will give me that much more time next summer.