A Short Wood Hauling Session

 

Song:  Eternal Queen

YouTube Channel:  Legends of Fantasia

I was lying down in my bed after breakfast when Bandi looked out my bedroom window...

and at first...

began to bark.

Then she just stared intently out towards the back forest.

I got up to see what she was staring at...

and there was a wild turkey just standing above where I presently 

have Bandi use the bathroom.

It was unconcerned about Bandi...

as it could see that she was in the house.

I walked over to the spare bedroom to get a better look

and to get a photo of it.

It is blurred because I had taken the photo through a window screen.

I then decided to haul some cut logs from down the ridge 

to where they will be chipped for free later next month.

We can stack wood up to 5" in diameter...

and in up to 5 x 5 foot piles. Then several times throughout summer...

the community center sponsors a chipper to cut up any timber cut from the properties.

They do this to encourage fire and tree disease control.

I walked down the ridge a bit and tied Bandi to a tree in some shade as I loaded

up some of the wood from a tree I had earlier cut down.

Bandi got to enjoy some fresh air as I worked on hauling up some wood.

I bought a log hauling bag and loaded it up.

Although these logs don't look particularly heavy...

they were far heavier than I had imagined...

especially while walking up hill.

I just grabbed the handle and slung it over a shoulder.

I stacked them to the side of the road and went down to get one more load...

after resting for a few minutes  :)

This was the last of the large pieces of wood and branches.

I stacked them neatly and then went back down.

As I had just finished stacking the wood...

one of my neighbors from down the road walked past with his two large dogs.

He takes them on a walk everyday up to the top of the mountain.

He is walking back home in this photo.

He said his dogs are still puppies.

They are going to be huge when they become fully grown.

I got back and Bandi was glad to see me.

When I had unleashed her from the tree and took her up to sit on the 1st floor deck steps...

she began licking at my face.

She may have been worried that I wouldn't go back for her for a while.

The remaining small branches I just spread around a tree's drip line.

They will eventually decay and provide nutrients for the tree...

as well as shading the ground above the roots and holding moisture to drip gently

upon the buried roots.

I still have another bunch of wood in another area I must haul out to the pile 

by the road...but I will be hauling just a couple of loads at a time.

I will do so before a workout to warm me up...

and to prevent it from becoming a dreaded chore.

I will then cut down some more trees that need to be cut...

and haul out the wood once several more trees are cut or trimmed.

I will be soon buying a Japanese Bloodgood or Osakazuki maple tree.

As it must have excellent drainage and a plentiful source of water...

I will also have to dig a trench and run a line for a drip irrigation system...

which I will have to make sure is heavily insulated from the sub zero weather in winter.

This will be an experiment...

but if it grows well...

I plan to add many more Japanese Maples around my home.

I will probably do this late next month...

as all through April and May...

we can still expect snow here

(April and May is the rainy season in Colorado...

but at my altitude...

it usually snows instead of rains).