Cutting Our Way In

[slowp]

We had a wind event yesterday. I left late for the woods hoping the loggers would have the road cut open. Apparently they did the same, hoping I'd be first. I was. I found this.

So, I got Twinkle gassed up. Twinkle took a few pulls to start. I would estimate, from the almost frozen snot in my nose, that the temperature was around 12. That's when it starts to freeze. I cut most of the way through that. The two loggers showed up, one started a saw, made a remark about the chain, and went to work throwing brush off the road. The other, who is tall, got the one I couldn't reach. We drove on. We didn't get far. I let the really experienced guys do this one, and so on. I went to work throwing the brush off the road.

We came to a long stretch of blowdown. They called it quits until they could get a skidder up. I went back to the office and played a game of 3 way phone tag. Then another logger, who is also working on that sale, decided to go up. I returned too. This is where the sun don't shine much. And it wasn't in the afternoon. He started cutting, I took some pictures including some video, which will show once again why long bars are a good thing, and then I got tired of that so started chunking up what he cut so I could get it off the road. The skidder, which was supposed to arrive, did not.

It was getting dark, I met the skidder coming up on my way home. Oh, looked like a little tornado made a clearcut in one of the uncut units. The joys of wind.....

 

[Cedarkerf]

Hey its Hemlock instead of Alder Yea the shade is like an ice box it got up to 25 here today.

 

[Meadow Beaver]

I like the mudflaps on that truck.

 

[hammerlogging]

Heck of a good time for a skidder. Be careful, of course.

 

[Gologit]

Other than that, how did your day go? Ya know, it's just one of those times when you finally make it back to the pickup, wet and cold, sit down on a damp seat 'cause you didn't roll the window all the way up, pour the last of the lukewarm coffee, eat the last half of a soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwich, look at yourself in the mirror, and say "Well...you wanted to work in the woods". And then go home and work on your saws half the night.

Ain't it grand?

 

[slowp]

Other than that, how did your day go? Ya know, it's just one of those times when you finally make it back to the pickup, wet and cold, sit down on a damp seat 'cause you didn't roll the window all the way up, pour the last of the lukewarm coffee, eat the last half of a soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwich, look at yourself in the mirror, and say "Well...you wanted to work in the woods". And then go home and work on your saws half the night.

Ain't it grand?

You mean, you usually have coffee and food left over????? I think I will be sore tomorrow, I already am. I sure wish the hot tub was hooked up. Stay tuned for some bad quality boring video.<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3Beocx0KiOw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3Beocx0KiOw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>



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[Meadow Beaver]

Looks like he's runnin' a 441, speaking of which have you thought about getting a new barbie saw Slowp?

 

[slowp]

He is running a 441. And no, I'd rather get another kayak. I know that is blasphemy here.

 

[Burvol]

Other than that, how did your day go? Ya know, it's just one of those times when you finally make it back to the pickup, wet and cold, sit down on a damp seat 'cause you didn't roll the window all the way up, pour the last of the lukewarm coffee, eat the last half of a soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwich, look at yourself in the mirror, and say "Well...you wanted to work in the woods". And then go home and work on your saws half the night.

Ain't it grand?

That was spot on Bob, I tell Lindsey all the time I know what I signed up for and what the life is, even after days like today.
It was 5 degrees when I started this morning...then I got pulled out of my strip to pack straight up a ridge 3/8 of a mile to go the far corner of the unit. East wind starts blowing 20 plus up there, then calms, changes direction, blows again. Nothing to break it, wide friggin open. I say screw this, dump a whip snag and start a fire in the back of my strip and set my stuff by it. Every tank I fuel up I put my hands on it for a few minutes, my cut finger is killing me. After a few hours I threw last night's grilled salmon filette in tinfoil on the edge of some coals and went back to work. Stopped and had a hot salmon lunch, the bright spot of my day!
Frozen pine is easy to power buck, gotta watch it. The fir does not have as much sap wood froze yet. But enough.

 

[Gologit]

You mean, you usually have coffee and food left over?????

I have to have food left over. There's a dog at the shop where we leave our town rigs and if he doesn't get a treat every night he'll spend all the next day marking your tires and fenders. He likes graham crackers.

 

[Gologit]

That was spot on Bob, I tell Lindsey all the time I know what I signed up for and what the life is, even after days like today.
It was 5 degrees when I started this morning...then I got pulled out of my strip to pack straight up a ridge 3/8 of a mile to go the far corner of the unit. East wind starts blowing 20 plus up there, then calms, changes direction, blows again. Nothing to break it, wide friggin open. I say screw this, dump a whip snag and start a fire in the back of my strip and set my stuff by it. Every tank I fuel up I put my hands on it for a few minutes, my cut finger is killing me. After a few hours I threw last night's grilled salmon filette in tinfoil on the edge of some coals and went back to work. Stopped and had a hot salmon lunch, the bright spot of my day!
Frozen pine is easy to power buck, gotta watch it. The fir does not have as much sap wood froze yet. But enough.

Dead right about the frozen pine...that stuff will keep you light on your feet and ready to go. If you stop your saw while you're cutting you can hear that stuff really talk to you.

And I gotta say...grilled salmon sure sounds better than a twelve hour old mystery meat sandwich.

 

[Spotted Owl]

Good times. Nothing like road clearing. I was home today and got a call from our friendly Gov't land operator. He was wondering if I was wanting any firewood. The wind that came thru a while back made a mess of things. Hmmm, I pay for the wood permit, including road usage fees and clear the road for him. Well alright. We got this deal going a few years back. It works well for both of us. His end he doesn't have to do anything other than paper work for the permits. My end endless firewood and resource that isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I do have plenty of wood after this last May though.

Went up and scouted it out. The boy took a thermometer and it was 14* up there. A fair bit like the first photo, and a whole bunch like the third, don't like those as much.

Good times, buddy/sister, good times

Oh a tip on soggy sandwiches. Forget the jelly. A strait stick to the roof of your mouth peanut butter samich won't be as soggy at the end of the day. Make sure you toast it in pitch fire smoke, that nice black color will take the moisture right out of it.

This whole thing reminds me of a song. "It don't get any better than this". Anyone know that one?

Side note: How cold does it have to be for the window to freeze shut? Answer: 8* here right now and the bathroom window is frozen shut.

Have a good cold spell stay safe and warm


Owl

 

[Gologit]

Oh a tip on soggy sandwiches. Forget the jelly. A strait stick to the roof of your mouth peanut butter samich won't be as soggy at the end of the day. Make sure you toast it in pitch fire smoke, that nice black color will take the moisture right out of it.

This whole thing reminds me of a song. "It don't get any better than this". Anyone know that one?




Owl

Good advice on the PB&J but it won't work for me. The combination of straight peanut butter and dentures...well, just picture a guy trying to thumb his upper plate loose from a wad of peanut butter, wiping it on his jeans, getting it inside his gloves. Trust me, some day you'll know exactly how this feels. :bang:

And the song "It Don't Get Any Better Than This" was absolutely perfectly right. I have it on a CD that some guy from Willamina sent me. It gets played a lot.

 

[hammerlogging]

Other than that, how did your day go? Ya know, it's just one of those times when you finally make it back to the pickup, wet and cold, sit down on a damp seat 'cause you didn't roll the window all the way up, pour the last of the lukewarm coffee, eat the last half of a soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwich, look at yourself in the mirror, and say "Well...you wanted to work in the woods". And then go home and work on your saws half the night.

Ain't it grand?

Thats it right there. Cant help it though, I'm in... walking out the door right now in fact.

 

[slowp]

Argggh. The wrists are sore this morning. Blowdown makes for some strange postures. 16 degrees this morning.

 

[slowp]

Argggh. The wrists are sore this morning. Blowdown makes for some strange postures. 16 degrees this morning.

Spotted Owl: I used to live in "The Siberia Of Warshington" in a house built in 1910. It was insulated with sawdust. When the temps dipped past -10, the shower drain froze up. Then when temps warmed up to -10, it would thaw. I could shower, but had to bale out the water afterwards.

 

[Gologit]

Argggh. The wrists are sore this morning. Blowdown makes for some strange postures. 16 degrees this morning.

Just the wrists? Get up and get out. I'll have some more coffee and crullers. :greenchainsaw:

 

[Cedarkerf]

Good morning Bob this practice retirement is all right.

 

[Gologit]

Good morning Bob this practice retirement is all right.

Darn right. I'm glad you're getting the hang of it. We'll just have another cup of coffee, put our feet closer to the fire, and wave as Slowp drives by on her way to the snow and blow downs.

 

[Cedarkerf]

Gotta be cold out there Chocolate muffin and hot apple cider for me