It Don't Get Much Better

[slowp]

Ah, the coffee is drunk, I have picked out the appropriate clothing for today, it is raining briskly and I look forward to a wet walk uphill through the fell and buck, aka brush first thing this morning. It don't get much better.....Fall has arrived. opcorn:

 

[madhatte]

You ain't whistlin' "Dixie". 'Course, we did get in a good 50-acre burn yesterday pushed by the winds leading the rain in. Just as the column began to collapse, the rain snuffed out the fire. No mop-up! Can't beat that!

 

[Jacob J.]

You ain't whistlin' "Dixie". 'Course, we did get in a good 50-acre burn yesterday pushed by the winds leading the rain in. Just as the column began to collapse, the rain snuffed out the fire. No mop-up! Can't beat that!

We're wrapping up a 600-acre burn here on the Chemult district. How was your fire season?

 

[slowp]

It was a good day. Yes, it was wet. The faller was considerate and had worked elsewhere so we wouldn't have to go through his strip. He said he learned from his dad to never plug up the trail you walk in on. We got things straightened out, literally.

Learned something. The yarding crew had a South Bend configuration rigged up. I'd seen it years ago--as a diagram in a book. Since we straightened out the corridors in the bottom unit, that might be the last time I see it.

Ahhhh, an educational day! It does get better. :greenchainsaw:

No pictures. It was dark and foggy.

 

[madhatte]

How was your fire season?

Got a lot of prescribed burning in, but not a lot of wildfire. The wet June kept things pretty mellow. We'll keep burning until we just can't get anything to light. That's the good thing about 1- and 10-hour fuels -- lots more opportunity to burn. We're way ahead on timber sales, though, and next year is looking to be especially soldier-heavy, so having a few finished sales in our back pocket is gonna buy us some leeway. Also, this year's seasonal crew is OUTSTANDING. I hope every one of them comes back next year. All in all, it's been a pretty good season.

Yourself?

 

[Jacob J.]

Learned something. The yarding crew had a South Bend configuration rigged up. I'd seen it years ago--as a diagram in a book. Since we straightened out the corridors in the bottom unit, that might be the last time I see it.

I've also only seen a South Bender once myself. I was actually cutting logs in the "bend" of it, so I got to watch the rigging crew fly wood all around my strip the duration of the day. They had about 4k feet of rigging out on that one.

Got a lot of prescribed burning in, but not a lot of wildfire. The wet June kept things pretty mellow. We'll keep burning until we just can't get anything to light. That's the good thing about 1- and 10-hour fuels -- lots more opportunity to burn. We're way ahead on timber sales, though, and next year is looking to be especially soldier-heavy, so having a few finished sales in our back pocket is gonna buy us some leeway. Also, this year's seasonal crew is OUTSTANDING. I hope every one of them comes back next year. All in all, it's been a pretty good season.

Yourself?

Sounds reasonable up there...we had moderate IA but I spent most of the season on the road getting some high-end aviation stuff buttoned up. Between the forest (Fremont-Winema), KIFC BLM, and the three southern Oregon/northern California parks, we're getting in about 9k acres of prescribed stuff. I have 1800 acres of commercial thinning to lay out also this winter...

Like you, we had an excellent seasonal staff this year. Funny how a recession brings out all the good ones. Five years ago we couldn't hardly hire anyone, now we have high quality people knocking our doors down.

 

[madhatte]

Funny how a recession brings out all the good ones. Five years ago we couldn't hardly hire anyone, now we have high quality people knocking our doors down.

I'll be damned if that ain't the exact gospel truth.

 

[slowp]

Took my boy along to "the office" today. We just got done traipsing around in the timber so I thought he'd enjoy the riparian area. He did.