After a very cold night, down to about 22, the minute the sun crested the horizon it started warming up! This winter, reminds me of the first one we enjoyed here the end of 2016. February 21, 2017 - I'd ridden
Farah on the Wabash Trace from Mineola to Council Bluffs. Exactly the same ideal weather.
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| Bronco with the chipper~ |
We picked up the chipper last evening. With the help of the Bronco, Butch maneuvered it down the slippery hill, as close as he could get it to where we'd be working. Close, but not close enough! We had the length of the backyard to drag & carry all the branches, especially those at the far east end.
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| Five piles~ |
I'd managed to burn the largest pile last Sat., before we were told to put it out. Thank heaven, it hadn't been a problem for the first two-years. I'd drug all the mess from behind the Cabin, across the front, through the double gate & down the hill to our fire pit. I'd spent weeks & weeks cleaning up the mess that had been dumped on the property over the years.
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| Butch operating the chipper. |
By sheer luck, a low wet spot along the creek bank, lined up with where the chips flew. We had our system down. I'd break the stacks of branches into manageable piles, then drag them up to Butch. When Butch wasn't chipping, he was dragging piles too. It took us most of the day.
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| Clear! |
We did stop for lunch at
Adriano's, following that with hard pack ice cream from
Sugar Makery! They had lemon! I can't even remember the last time I've enjoyed lemon ice cream!
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| Pile of chips! |
For a while, I didn't think we'd end up with many chips at all, but by the time we'd finished, there was a sizable pile!
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| From the deck~ |
Tomorrow, we tackle the piles in the Timber. At least - I say
least in the broadest sense of the term - they're all
Bush Honeysuckle. Just as invasive, but slightly smaller branches, no thorns & not as heavy as the
Autumn Olive. Introduced in 2003 for erosion control, it rapidly got out of hand & is one of the top invasive species. If you live in the mid-west, read up on these plant pests & eradicate them from your yard or property. Native plants will thank you for it!
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| Feb. 27, 2019 |
The difference a year makes~
omg that is what we did last week! but not on our own, we don't own a chainsaw and we needed 10tall firs down (some already down). And 20 massive hazelnuts and elderberrys. It was 5 of us, J ended up in the emergency room with a wood chip embedded in his eye, and 5 hous later we have fewer dead,dangerous and stupid trees (elderberry and hazelnut are weeds here). I asusme you all had ear and eye protection. We're still city folk so we learned the hard way. 900 euros for the 5 hours.
ReplyDeleteThis was most of a year of cutting with a saw-zaw. What variety of Elderberry? Yes- after Butch's career in commercial construction - always safety first :-)
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