Thursday September 5, 2024
Dropping more invasive trees out of my yard. Like most Asian invasive trees they grow fast, are short lived, and rot fast. They also crowd out the native trees like my two black walnuts. I cut this batch the other day and drug them out with the new tractor last night. There is a lot of invasive kudzu entangling the tops but the tractor has enough power to just pull them out with no issues. These will get logged and stacked for firewood to heat the upcoming shop. The spindly branches will get pushed aside to dry then added to a brush burn.
Saturday September 7, 2024
The day began with a thousand little annoyances. I had to run down and get the ballast box for the tractor--for those unfamiliar, the ballast box puts a counter weight behind the rear of the tractor so when using the loader you don't lift the rear wheels instead. To pick up the box and ballast for it I needed my trailer, couldn't find the draw bar because it was in Bandit where it is supposed to be. Couldn't find the keys for the lock on the trailer. Couldn't find the light plug adapter...yeah one of those mornings.
In the end it is mounted and is readily removable for when I mow as it fits on the three point hitch.
The tractor with ballast easily pulls the tree of heaven trunks out and rips the kudzu out with it *insert maniacal laughter here*
I have discovered one of my original 40 volt batteries for my chainsaw is failing and will only discharge a little then shuts off. When putting the battery on the charger it shows 3/4 full, so need to replace it--update a second works halfway. Once this section is clear I really have limited need of the saw so may live with it at the cost of these batteries--another update, ordered one from Temu and will review once I try it out.
Discovered that amongst the invasive stuff there is also a string of barbed wire. Now this find would surprise me had my neighbor not mentioned the previous owner kept two hogs in this area. At least I found it by sight and not with the chainsaw or the new mower.
I have discovered and this day proved again; that most anything I do that requires being unencumbered by the thought process leads my mind to focus on situations I never should have found myself in. Particularly when I am busy with stuff that really would go faster with two people...had either of them actually held to the vows or commitments they made to me--"mom, you have a type."
I wound up talking to Once Wife later in the day, and predictably it went about the same as discussions over the last ten to twenty years. As is now typical about 10 minutes from ending the call she switched to talking about nothing but her cat.
Sunday September 8, 2024
Once the laundry is done I'll be back at work in the back yard today like yesterday. The last of the major invasive brush in the outlying edge is now almost gone, but for cutting it into fire wood. Limbs & honeysuckle are piled to dry until I light it up in a Samhain, or Yule bonfire and the kudzu vines are being pushed into a pile to light up once it drys out, probably around the Vernal Equinox.
The tractor is really speeding things along as it does in minutes what used to take me hours. Without it experience dictates the brush I just cleared would have taken about eight weekends to clear or about 160 hours of work.
A video (10 minutes) from Saturday and Sunday can be found here
I'll probably spend a bit each evening cutting up the remaining logs, then add them to the growing firewood stack next weekend. I still have two fairly massive dead tree of heaven that get cut to nine foot lengths, then stacked untill I find a sawmill to turn them into lumber. Each of those logs is 500 pounds and I have six of them.
That's about it for now unless you wish to donate to my shop.
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Maura Out
MauraAlwyen.com
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