Clearing to the Top

For the last few weeks I've been firing up the chain saw.  The goal in the back of my mind has been to clear the top acre and half of the property which will one day be our main home site.

The reason why I want to get this done now is that we are planning on building our septic system (located near the home at the top of the property) this year.  I was planning on completing this project and burning the slash this winter as burning permits are easier to come by when you have snow cover.  However, spring came early and our sparse snow cover melted within a couple of days!  Most likely I'll have to wait until green up to burn.  That will give me plenty of time to pick through the wood and select what I want to keep for firewood.  

At this point the procedure is business as usual: drop the balsam fir and burn it.  Then fell the poplar, take the tops off and burn; reserving any timber to buck, cure and load into the wood stove.  I've learned that it is easiest to thin the small diameter poplar first and come back to cut the timber.  That way the large trees are on top and exposed so that I can go around and cut the eight foot logs that I will pile seperately for firewood.

View from the home site

Spring is here:  Our snow has melted.  The lakes of the Gunflint Trail are ice free.  Robins are back.  My main winter project is complete.