Driveway Cleared!

With highs in the thirty's and the relatively strong February sun taking charge of the afternoon sky, this past week on the North Shore has been ideal conditions for work.

The week started at sunrise last Saturday. On her way to Duluth for school, Amy dropped me off with my sled and our beloved Adirondack chair at the bottom of the hill. The pink hues of the sun rising over Lake Superior was spectacular! As the morning light forced its way through the sky, I started by hauling the sled up the hill and over to the garage site. I then made my way back down to get the chair. Schlepping the collapsed wooden chair over my back like a #3 Duluth Pack was probably a site to be seen! I can you tell it hurt like hell, but well worth it! It is now set up at the garage site looking down the driveway. I feel like a king on his throne, sipping my tea, and admiring my slow but steady progress of clea

ring the drive.

So began a week of solid driveway clearing. Every afternoon, Luna and I climbed the hill and spent the waning hours of sunlight cutting away. Finally, one week later, I reached the bottom of the driveway! The saw must have known that the task was complete too, within seconds of limbing the last tree, the trusty Stihl choked and ran out of gas. That's fine, it deserves a little love and a new chain anyways.

The driveway is cleared 16-18 feet in width. It gains about 40 feet in elevation over the 420' length. From the top there's a slight dog leg to the left as it weaves through the white spruce. Saving the spruce (versus the fir) always took precedent in negotiating my way through the thick upland boreal forest. I cut in 25' increments. With the general alignment in mind, I assessed the canopy looking for "keepers". From there I'd measure out my width, cut the smaller shrub and pile. Then I went at the big stuff. I'd start by dropping the fir, limb it and stack. Then the hardwoods. After everything had been dropped and limbed, I piled the hardwoods and conifers separately. And so I crept along, 25' at a time with the occasional tea break.

At this point I've been burning the slash separate from clearing. We've had three burn sessions. The first two occasions climaxed with 10-12 foot flames! I must admit, I had a great time singing "O' Christmas Tree" as I tossed entire balsam fir trees into the inferno.

I've been contemplating how to manage our white spruce forest. Luckily, I know some foresters. Being a "rock-licking" geologist, I don't know the first thing about forest management. But, like all of this homesteading business, I'll make it up as I go! My plan is to thin out all the fir I can. They grow like weeds, carry disease, have a short life span and compete for nutrients with the spruce. This spring I hope to plant white spruce, red oak and red pine.

Driveway cleared, now onto planning structures...