2016 Trail Work

Armed with some good how to info from Gasifier , I did some stump removal today on a trail, it's a nice little hoe.

 

A few more.

 

The final hole filled. I did a total of five, one yesterday afternoon and another four today which makes this trail ready for vehicles.

 

It sure did make a hard job easy, I'm still getting use to the control levers and what they do but that will come with time.

The specs say it will dig down 8.5 feet.

 

I like to burn the junk up I end up getting and get rid of it.
Boy ! that tractor took care of those stumps real nice

 

I wondered that before I got one too! Then I realized it was because of the cost of these toys! I mean tools! They are incredibly helpful work horses!

 

I really like your fire pit pictures. That's something we don't have on our property.

Must be discouraging though when after you get a trail cleared and usable, you have a tree come down on it.

 

It use to be discouraging but I finally realized it comes with owning the woods.

The fireplace was needed long ago but we finally put it in 3 years ago (?) after doing some clearing, well worth the effort.

 

I was over at the Wood Chop Shop this morning, they had just put on a snow plow/dozer blade on a Mahindra, it was eight feet wide and it was built. It's the same brand we ordered but we ordered a seven footer.

I told John you would be over looking for a new tractor.

 

I bet that plow was nice and heavy!

I would like to go over and look to buy after the 210C is sold.

But I have looked at the new tractors, and all are too expensive. I will end up buying used again. Need to try to keep the expense down as far as I can.

 

I did seven loads today which came from the area in picture 0670 and to the right (not in the pic) and I also grabbed some downed pine from another trail.

It was a perfect day for it, we received a good amount of rain last night and today but once the fire got going it dried me off.

 

Not to change the subject but I'm late to this thread so I thought I'd reply.

That tree could be dangerous or it could grow another hundred years just fine right there and it will depend on a number of things. The depth of the roots holding it in place will be determined by the depth of the water table. In areas that have a high water table the roots only grow as deep as they need to grow and the trees are thus susceptible to blowdown. With a lower water table, the roots grow deeper to get the water and are thus more stable. In the granite state, the rocky soil also makes trees more stable as long as they are not co-located with a high water table. If you have a strong root system on the side opposite the house and damaged roots on the side of the house, the tree will likely wait for a wind blowing away from the house (due to less of an anchor) to blow over.. The damaged portion of the root system makes the tree susceptible to pests and disease. If the crown starts dying off or if you start seeing sap running out of the trunk, you'll know you have problems. The curved base indicates that the soil moved downhill (or the tree was pushed over) when it was a sapling. After the disturbance, it started growing straight up due to negative geotropism . If that tree is on the edge of a clearing (i.e. where your house is) it will tend to grow more into the clearing shifting the center of gravity toward the clearing and your house.. That is of course working against you. As mentioned before if it snaps off halfway up, it could head toward your house.. You could mitigate this by pruning the tree or cutting some trees on the other side of it to help it to grow more evenly..

Bottom line, if you lie awake at night during a snowstorm, windstorm or ice storm wondering if the tree is going to fall on your house, you might as well just take it down for peace of mind...

Zap... Trails are looking good.. Getting ready to show up with a stick and some marshmallows!!!

 

Thanks stuckinthemuck , this area was full of downed pine branches, it should've been cleaned up years ago. I finally got sick of looking at it so I got it done.

We also have five or six dead pine that need dropping in that area so it will help out accessing that area.

 

Nice work thewoodlands ! It won't be long and you will be enjoying those trails on the sleds!

 

I did another 5 or 6 loads today, that whole area behind the fireplace was covered with dead wood but it's cleared after today.

Pic 0679 is the first load, 0680 is the start of the fire,0681 is after three loads,0682 is some dead maple that got burnt and 0683 & 84 is the last load.

 

I think tomorrow I'll take a break from burning to clear this trail back in on the property I do most of the cutting on.

It's only a Basswood.

 

Wood's are lookin good woody