Hey guys and gals! I haven't had much to contribute with threads over the summer largely due to the oppressive heat, working lots and the bush being closed because of BCs biggest fire season on record! Im still working lots but now its a bit cooler and the bush is open again for my outdoor pursuits! This first batch shows two doug fir trees that I dropped on Saturday. I had eyed them in the spring as candidates for extraction and have been thinking of them all summer. Unfortunately they arent as dry as I had thought so they will go in next year stacks. Thats ok as I need wood for then as well. As some of you know Im able to get away with harvesting standing dead pine, firs and larches that are below 20% and ready for the stove but I miss the mark sometimes. You dont see to many pics of people in my threads as I often cut alone. I guess I could get used to selfies. The trees always seem closer to the road when they are standing upright but these heavy rounds took a few tosses to get them to the road. You can still see the smoke from a large forest fire that threatened our area just weeks ago. Its amazing what some snow, rain and cool temps will do. Its not out but under control. My truck is nestled up against a big dead doug fir. Since I had my sites on those two standing dead ones in the pics above I left this one but Ill be back in the spring to buck up this easy to access beast! I actually climbed up this slope to look at three standing dead doug firs that i could have dropped on the road. The wind was swaying them back and forth and they all had wicked bends in them. I was worried about them snapping up high and not landing where I wanted to, also the slope was steep. Being alone I decided to bow out with my tail between my legs and pursue something a bit more manageable. I guess I should have taken pictures of them.
Here are a few shots I took while out cutting. Not the greatest pic of a moose but it was nice to get so close, even nicer to be in my truck. Ive run into lots of animals hiking in the bush and the two times Ive been charged have not been from bears or cougars but from moose! Darn they can be nasty.
So those were on Saturday. Sunday I called a local guy I know who is working on a developement here in town. He told me where I could go on his property to get some larch. I unloaded the load of fir in my driveway and drove five minutes to where I could have my fill. This first pic isnt overly special looking but theres lots of btus there. I was after the one with the wood pecker holes in it and then another one behind this pile. Larch is the highest btu wood we can get around her so its like gold to us. Mixed in there is some lodgepole pine that I split and tested with my moisture meter and got a reading of 5% lol. Ill be back here soon. Here it is unloaded and waiting for me to split. You can see a few rounds of lodgepole in the mix. Im expecting this to be wood for this winter. I know you see that poor cut to the right of my stacks but look at my pretty husky instead! My wife and kids like the one bottom right saying it looks like legs. Heres the doug fir from the day before. Thanks for reading!
Yeah its pretty special. Ive been here 20 years. People ask if I ever get numbed to the natural beauty all around me... I dont. I cant get enough of it.
I like that you are removing dead trees that could fuel a wildfire. If the bush is declared "open", can you just show up and cut? I've gleaned from other posts that there is a log limit sometimes?
Nice cuttin' n' hoardin' Sean !!!! Not to mention the country and critters I like how there's roads cut across the hillsides to get you into the bush there is that government owned land that they will maintain the roads? As for your husky does the dog have two different color eyes? I've seen huskys like that before kind of neat.
Beautiful pictures Sean !! I will be out in Nelson next summer performing best man duties at my oldest/best friends wedding. Can't wait spend some time there again.
Yeah we have a limit of 7 cords per year for personal use and all wood cut must be dead and bucked up. All standing dead trees that appear to be habitat trees have to be left alone and no cutting in active logging areas. Our cutting is reserved for areas that are federal lands although we call them crown land here. We also have to print off and carry with us a signed firewood use permit which is free.
Thanks for taking us with you on your wood hoardin adventure Sean Cool place to be , even cooler in the winter Mother nature is magnificent and provides us what we need
Yeah its crown land so not privately owned. It belongs to the people and logging companies get the rights to cut certain sections. Not sure how much of it is maintained once an area is cut but often they will punch a road through but not cut everything along the road leaving areas of timber for future harvesting permits. Some of the lower ones have to be maintained ie bridges, culverts, wash outs etc. Yes she has one brown and one blue eye. They are called bi eyed huskies. To bad she wasnt looking at me when I took that pic. The little kids go nuts over her eyes!
I bet youre looking forward to that! Nelson is about 4 hours drive west of us. I havent spent a lot of time there but have been there a few times. Lots of pretty country through the west kootenays thats for sure! Good fishing around there.
Yeah I think so. Not sure exactly why they want it bucked up when transporting it but probably because they dont want it used for other uses.
