The property hasn’t really been cleared of down timber and underbrush growth in decades. With 23 acres there is plenty of it too. Nothing I will complete in my lifetime with just a chainsaw and a Sawzall. I have decided that I would start from my living are acreage and work my way out from there. There are also some viewpoints from spots around the property that just need some thinning to really put a shine on them.
With the deep snow, I wasn’t able to get at the work until mid April. The saw needed some fixing from when a tree fell on it last year, And then some fixing from my fixing the tree fall damage. Several visits to eBay and Amazon later and the saw is up and running. I am pretty good at taking the saw apart now. Not that I have any mechanical skills, just a lot of time on YouTube. There is nothing that cant be built, repaired or hacked by a few targeted internet searches. Its amazing.
While the saw was down, I pulled out the 18v Milwaukee Sawzall and went to work a species of Willow tree that are literal weeds up here, Scouler’s Willow. They are ugly and take water away from the Spruce and Firs. Supposedly their bark has medicinal qualities but don’t care. I just hope they make good firewood.
The sawzall is a good size for the effort. The trunks don’t get so big that the 12″ blade wont cut through. The cut branches become entangled in themselves so dragging the bundle of limbs to the burn pile makes for a really nice workout. It is an effort. Usually the saw battery only lasts long enough to get one tree on the burn pile. So I can rest between charges.
 Pre Clearing view |
 Pre Clearing – Opposite Direction |
 So Far |
 So Far – Looking In the opposite direction |
I am running out of burn season though. It hasn’t rained more than 1/4 inch since the last snow in early April. Typical fire season is still a couple moths off but I have already been practicing my fire dance on embers that float over to the nearby ground cover. Melted the tread off my rubber boots in spots. It is still wet enough that any flareups aren’t explosive as they will be in a few weeks.
The willow roots aren’t too deep but they are big clumps
For a little saw, I have cleared a lot so far. All in all, I think its looking pretty good and will look better when I get the tractor after the roots.
Now that I have the chainsaw up and running again, I am not getting the battery recharge break. There are three types of coniferous trees here, that I know of. Pine, Fir and Spruce. I am pretty sure mine have some species level that is more detailed than I have enough interest to google, let alone be able to pronounce if I did. I do know that Fir and Spruce are the good trees. The pines are crap trees. They drop there needles into a thick layer over time. As they dry out, the needles become explosively flammable. A good feature to know if you want to get a fire started. A good feature to know if you don’t.
Below is the before and after chainsaw views from the Wintershed deck. Hopefully the effort I need to put into cutting up the fallen trees is worth it.
 Before I pulled the chainsaw out |
 Put the chainsaw to work (and visited IKEA) |
Just waiting for a good breeze
My goal as time permits is to cut down the pines and clear out the willows and limb up the remaining trees to keep the branches above any wild fire that might roll through. I know it is not possible but is good exercise.
Maybe someday with practice and some more lumberjack Youtube videos, I’ll get good at taking a tree down. Right now I kind of suck. The trees tend to fall willie nillie but, so far, not in my direction. Sometime the tree leans back on the saw bar and it won’t let it loose. When that happens, I just call it a day and let the wind do it’s thing overnight.
The trees I wanted down for the views are down now. Just need to keep chopping at the annoying willows now.
