WWA Info Exchange

...He sleeps all night and he works all day.

Well, not exactly the kind of woodworking I was hoping to get in this weekend, but it was work, and it involved wood.

Jo was down this weekend, and immeadiately started in on what a mess the place was, both inside and out. Well considering I've spent the vast majority of my off time working on the place in WY, it's really little wonder. So we were off to Homie Friday night to get some supplies and we spent all day Saturday working on the front yard.

My front yard is pretty small but chock full of trees and gree leafy things. So full that some of my friends call it the Enchanted Forrest, because there must be magic envolved to cram that many trees in such a small space. From the street all you can see is the garage.


First we had to trim the hedge. Sea Green Juniper and to do that I had to get a new hedge trimmer, but the new one ran circles around the old and I knocked it out within 30 mins. I was impressed. Earlier this summer when I got a nasty gram from the City saying my hedge had grown out to far and was blocking the sidewalk, I spent over an hour and only managed to cut about a quarter of it. I'd finally given up and pulled out my machete and made way with the rest of it within another hour, although truth be told it looked like I'd knawed the hedge back.

But then Jo say's, you know, we really need to open this yard some, so we lopped off the lower branches of the Colorado spurce, but she still wanted more. When we first got the place in '92, there was nothing in the front yard but grass and bearly that. So 2 of the first trees we planted were for both shade and a wind block, and were a pair of Austrian Pines. Jo insisted they go right next to the house so they'd help against the winter winds, but in hind sight they were way too close, and have over the past few years been causing a little damage to the roof's eaves. Now that we have the sruce, several aspen, a silver maple and a few others, these were really not needed. So, my mission was to drop two pine trees that were 10' taller than the house and just inches away from the gutter, without hitting the house and without damaging any of the rest of the trees and without any part of it leaving the yard. Oh yeah, this should be fun.

After noodling the problem for a spell I broke out the ladder and my bow saw and skinned the two trees up as high as I could reach. Then I climbed up on the roof and skinned them up enough to get access to the trunk up as high as I could reach. This was the scary part. Using the bow saw and reaching up and out as far as I dared, I cut the notch on the farside of the tree and then back cut while pushing away above the cut. Luckily we had no wind and the top 6' of each tree dropped right into the yard and right where I wanted it, and without hitting Jo. I'm gonna have to work on my timing I guess.

Having topped both of them, I came back down, then back up on the ladder to take off the next 6 to 8 feet. This time I used a rope with Jo pulling while I did the back cut. Again both dropped right where I wanted them. Finally I dropped the remaining 10'+ trunks and again with Jo pulling during the back cut and this time, (on the ground), I used my little electric chain saw, and again dropped them right into the yard without taking any other branches from the other trees.

If you look close, you can see both stumps and the trunk of the far one.

Pile of logs from the first one


The second one with the 2 lower portions of it's trunk, the top of that one is on the adjacent side of the house.


I then spent all day yesterday bundeling up the limbs and cleaning up the yard. One of my nieghbors wants the logs for his fire place, which is fine by me so long as he's doing the cutting and splitting. I even warned him about the pitch problem with these but he's burned them before.

So I'm about a worn out pup and still have a lot of clean up to do tonight after work.

Thanks for reading.

_________________
Frank
WWACOAUX#1
"I love the smell of Sawdust in the morning, it smells like, victory."
WWA'ers I've met: Popeye, Ed Avery, Stephen Wolf, Rockfish, Rodedon

Yeah, but it's fun to hollar "Timmmmberrrrrr!!". One of those manly man things that gets the testosterone flowing. Kinda like yelling "Fore", except better. Were you wearing a flannel plaid shirt? Gotta wear a plaid shirt for felling, or the other guys will laugh at you.

Btw, next time you feel the urge I've got 20 acres of trees that could use some thinning if you're in the neighborhood. I'll even supply the axe and a real chainsaw.

_________________
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)

... He cuts down trees. He eats his lunch.
He goes to the lavatory.
On Wednesdays he goes shoppin'
And has buttered scones for tea.
He's a lumberjack, and he's okay.
He sleeps all night and he works all day.

Tom

_________________
"There is no path to peace, peace is the path."
Mohandas K. Ghandi

Looks like a pro job to me. Maybe you might consider a new career.

_________________
Jess
my gallery
more photos

Nice work, Frank.

_________________
My Boss is a Jewish Carpenter!

Appears we have more than a couple Monte Python fans in the crowd.

I wear high heels
and hang around in bars

_________________
Nullum Gratuitum Prandium

Cheers - Dennis

Used to call the jacks out of the bunkhouse with "daylight in the swamp," so they say. The list of what the average guy had for breakfast is an incredible thing to read.

You must live in a nice area, because with that much cover a prowler could feel comfortable. I remember being advised to plant pyrocantha around the house in California to make things difficult. Prettier than bars on the windows, but not too family friendly.

Gene, don't look now, but these guys are in your 20 acre wood!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE5__CPRSEY

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"To all those who work come moments of beauty unseen by the rest of the world." Norman Maclean

Frank, you need to kick back sometime and just relax on the weekend. Glad to know only the trees fell from the heights. Hope the new view frees up some shop time for you.