Found this tree on my property while walking through the woods this morning. Must have blown over during the storm this past weekend. Should be a fun one to take down Once it's down and either bucked or cut into sections, I might be able to get close with the ATV and trailer however I'll probably wait until there is more snow and just use the sled and snowshoes to haul everything out. These other two blew over last winter and I haven't gotten to them yet (not usually in a hurry to get softwoods) however they are starting to get on my nerves now that the leaves are gone and I can see them. I don't cut live trees on my property but do try to clear all the dead and down and use as much of it as possible. I always liked thewoodlands signature lines about "damaged" or "diseased trees only." There are so many dead (or dying) and downed trees around here that there is no reason for me to cut anything living.
I have a similar bent to only remove dead or dying or blow downs but I also leave a tree here and there for woodpeckers, squirrels and other animals. Also make brush piles from tops for critters. Plus, there are some saplings that get a necessary head start from germinating under a brush pile and growing to a few feet before the pile rots and they don't get eaten by deer.
Actually that is quite common size root ball for a Hemlock in NH, especially in the White Mts. There is very little soil, mostly glacial till or sand.
Those trees look tricky to get down, as they are or will be hung up in other trees. I guess you will just keep whittling from the bottom and letting it drop a stick at a time?
And what little soil there is sits on top of our beloved granite so there is nothing for the root system to bite into. About ten years ago we had one heck of a wind storm up here (worse than usual for even here) and the softwoods in some areas were decimated. One road alone had over 240 blowdowns (luckily it was a seasonal road so they just closed the gates and took their time clearing it). Being so close to Mt Washington, we see a lot of serious wind so there are always downed trees to scrounge.
Thanks. I'll probably wait for things to freeze up a bit more as it's a bit boggy in there. It's also not as easy to get motivated to process softwoods, although hemlock splits are a decent shoulder season or early-morning wood.
