The Grandfathers Have Fallen
Yesterday we started the Winter Wood Project. Gathering the 14 or 15 cords of wood we will need to get us through the winter. Last winter like others around here we ended up logging in the snow. Not the most efficient way to get fire wood. We have about 30 acres or more of dry, bug killed pine at the North end of the property. Perfect firewood. This year we have mechanized the process. I whack down a pile of trees and Jo-Ann skids them and me out to a landing where she uses the skid-steer's 4 in 1 bucket to grab the trees and lift them up to a comfortable height for a guy with a recovering back to whack them up into blocks. Way easier than bending over to cut. The chain lasts a lot longer as it is less likely to touch the ground. Then she pushes the blocks up into a pile awaiting loading, again via skid-steer, into a dumping trailer for the trip back to the house. The weather is very cool....