[In my last post I explained how, in a world where people go broke trying to buy the newest cell phone, I got all ecstatic to find a couple small dead standing trees. Why? Because they were perfect for firewood right now! They came to my attention when I ran my tractor over a much larger but freshly dead tree (not appropriate for firewood this winter, but fair game for 2024).]
In case you think I’m the kind of guy that’ll leave dollars lying on the table… the log I found was NOT ignored. The next weekend was much colder and there was a dusting of snow but I was out there with my real saw and the tractor as soon as possible. Normally, I remove rear implements and use a chain to drag complete logs toward the woodshed. Since I was still doing the “brush hog a swath every time you pass between woodshed and forest” method I kept using the bucket. The tree wasn’t huge but when I cut the 16” diameter bole into tiny workable 5’ lengths it was much harder to load! It takes a lot of grunt to get a 16” x 5’ log into a bucket. My earlier loads had been modest, a battery operated chainsaw lopping up logs the size of a fencepost. With the real saw and the real log it was definitely a harder day. Also it was fresh wood. I could feel the extra weight of all that water! Even so, God invented Ibuprofen so who am I to wimp out on something I can (barely) manage? I hauled short logs to and fro a few times (running the brush hog each time) and amassed a small truckload of chunks (not split yet)… this is a head start on next fall.
They say society is at it’s best when old men plant trees in which shade they’ll never rest. Maybe that applies at the personal level too. A person is at best when they’re preparing for 2024’s challenges even as they’re reeling from 2023’s ass kicking? Hard to say but I’m giving it a shot.
That’s how it gets done, lots of steps, small, medium, whatever. My Ibuprofen is stretches, Vicodin (Gov’t sponsored) and a heating pad, in that order. In the immortal words of Pink Floyd “It’s good to warm my bones beside the fire…”
Tree Mike
Thank you for a fine story. I hope that your 2024 is a big improvement over 2023.
For moving logs, these are worth the money:
https://www.amazon.com/YITAMOTOR-Pallet-2000lbs-Attach-Tractor/dp/B0CF17P2K2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3HR5W0UC71BSV&keywords=bucket+forks&qid=1701394529&sprefix=bucket+forks%2Caps%2C320&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
Lots less work that trying to roll into a bucket. Old men like us need to work smarter, not harder.
DON’T get greedy and overload the forks though, It will bend yer bucket.
Great minds think alike. I’m looking into a set of pallet forks for the 3 point hitch.
I think of Martin Luther.
Martin Luther is attributed as saying, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
It sounds like the old saw about wood heat keeping you warm twice still works, even in this day and age. Glad to hear your moving it to storage space worked well.