This tree is at the top of our driveway, a natural tree that I just decided to start trimming years ago because it was beginning to grow up into the branches above it.
Up a tree without a …
A great volunteer effort in the community of Loch Katrine yesterday. We assembled with chainsaws and tractors to take down many large trees that were starting to get in the way of power lines.
Well I finally gave up on trying to break up the embankment with the skidsteer while waiting for local contractors to show up (over a year waiting). The soil got too compact for me to break into, so I called a company from a nearby town. Blaine MacLane Excavation did a site visit on Saturday and Tuesday morning they showed up. Robert was the operator and he did a excellent job. I easily recommend them again for any work. For them, no job is too small or too big.
I’ve been thinning the forest around the house since the first of March. Taking advantage of the cool temps and lack of snow. Still doesn’t take long to work up a sweat, that’s for sure. We will be chipping a lot of the felled trees but I thought I’d try a hand at burning some of the smaller boughs. There’s plenty of them. There’s just as much work involved in burning scrub as there is in picking it up and passing it through the wood chipper.
Was outdoors for a couple hours. Its not work when you think of it as exercise 🙂 . Cut down six trees, all produced a 12 footer, and a couple managed to squeak in 8 footers. One was a bit wonky. It appears to have formerly been a sheared Christmas tree that grew out over the course of a dozen years. Cutting it down showed that ants had made a home at the base. Had to cut away 16 inches at the butt until there was solid wood. It produced a 8 footer, although not much of a timber board. The base was probably 8 inches across but the top might have been 3-4 inches. That quite tapering of the tree over the first 8 ft. Its is a good indication that it was a sheared tree during its early stages.
Sad to discover this pine tree down across the road today. 🙁 It was at a turn in the road, we kept the tree trimmed over the years leaving just enough branches to walk or drive under. No more.
Always sad to see an otherwise healthy tree go down. Apparently though it did not have much of a root ball, so that played a part in its demise.
small root ball
If the tree had fallen anywhere else I’d leave it alone, as it might still continue to grow even like that. But its in the road we use, so I don’t know what we’ll do there, mostly likely cut it down and salvage what we can for woodworking projects and the rest will go for the fireplace.
Most folks don’t concern themselves with the weeping tile that surrounds their basement foundation. Its only when the basement starts to let water in that most folks find out its not working, or, find out what weeping tile is and does. Since we live in a rural part of Antigonish county, there are no municipal services such as water, sewer etc. Country living has its rewards, and its responsibilities.
HLA Attachments BigArm Knowing that it was going to be along term project to remove the dirt behind the workshop I had to choose what type of machinery I was going to need to get the job done. Renting a backhoe was out of the question because the amount of time needed to have one on hand, would cost as much as buying one. Neither of which is affordable. So I went with the option of purchasing an attachment for the skidsteer.
Got some more seat time in the CAT this evening. Its been slow progress moving the dirt, as I don’t seem to get much time. The days are getting shorter now, and hopefully the days will get a bit cooler.
Slowly making my way to levelling out the hill in behind the workshop. The Big Arm attachment is made in Canada by Horst Welding in Ontario. Also making use of the screener I built for sifting the soil.
Working in the back yard, screening some forest top soil and adding to the composting pile. Also working on the old road, to take care of drainage to try and dry up the road.
