Clearing Progress

Another successful weekend of clearing! Progress is becoming more and more apparent, and it is looking like a turn out space, instead of a mess of scrubby trees. We (the amazing team that I can’t believe is actually showing up to do this) cleared out a huge dead tree that had fallen, three scrubby hell bushes, a giant branch limb that’s been bugging me for ages, and the tree that’s been trying to take up residence on the barn roof. I feel like that doesn’t sound like a lot, but they were such big trees it made a huge difference. 

These trees really have a will to survive. This one is taking evasive action.

I have become fairly competant with the chainsaw. Not only am I now a wiz at replacing the chain when it makes one of it’s frequent bids for freedom, I’m also better at tightening the chain so it stops trying to fly off for freedom. I also know the chainsaw so well I can hear the change in noise that it makes when it needs to be oiled. It makes a tiny plea towards me, and I know. My baby needs more oil.  

Also, not to sound cocky, but I did cut down the massive barn dwelling tree so that it fell the proper direction. It was very intimidating though, and a bit of a process. We did some group think and the first thing we did is climb up on the roof and cut down some massive limbs that I was afraid would rip off the barn roof as the tree came down. 

I cut down one limb, but for some reason, there was a quite a demand to get on the roof, so I stood on the ground and clutched pearls as I watched the others cut down some limbs, reminding them every minute or so that the roof was weak due to water damage and please be careful. It seems I told them enough times as no one plummeted through the roof.

Brave souls who really wanted to be on the roof for some reason.

I don’t know if the picture shows it well, but this tree was one of the biggest we had to cut down, at least 35 feet tall, and it was growing out of the barn at a weird angle, leaving very little room for maneuvering. And despite me shaking like a leaf while making the proper cuts, wondering if these were my final moments, it fell over like a dream. (Assuming you dream of trees falling over. I do now, sometimes. It’s very satisfying.)

It was only about 6 hours of work, and it was one of the nicest summer days for it. It was warm, but there was a cool breeze blowing through, keeping us comfortable. I did feel like death afterward though, and had to suspend all movement for the next 12 hours.

Before… (note the fence post as a reference)

And after! Wow, a whole new tree was revealed!

Another after, but this one sadly lacks a before, and therefore the context is lost. Ah well… Just believe me when I say it looks better now. 

Once again, we had a burn pile going to dispose of all the wood. 

Dang it, a local witch found the fire. Always be ready to chase them off when you’re burning things.

The dying fire

It was an It was an exhausting day. The team did great, and I’m so happy that they were willing to come help with such an exhausting activity. Not everyone is willing to give up their Saturdays to spend them doing manual labor. Thank you so much!!

On Sunday, I threw out grass seed. It’s not really the season for it, but I’ll give it a shot. Right now much of the area is weed and poison ivy, and I’d like to change that as fast as possible. There will be a lot of mowing back there for the next few months to hopefully kill out those horrible weeds.

I’m feeling confident about our progress overall. We’ve cleared the main part, everything else is bonus now. Other than the clearing I’m going to do on my own (I told you, I dream of cutting down trees now!), I need to level out a spot for our new hay shed, my mom (architect) needs to finalize the plan for the barn extension, we need to rip down the part of the barn with the damaged roof, and then we began building the new barn. How hard could all that be? (Don’t answer that.)

We will plug along through it, and one day, as we enjoy our new grooming stall, it will all be a distant horrible memory. Just kidding, probably won’t be that horrible. It is rewarding work, just labor intensive, and time consuming. Hopefully we can get it all done before December!