hillwilliam
ArboristSite Operative
I'm back home and getting up into the woods, cutting load after load of firewood with my good ol' Pioneers. Lots of serious wildfires in Colorado but nothing big close to here. And we got some rain yesterday and today!
I even brought some Nicaraguan friends back with me - parasitic little critters they are. When they put me on the scale at the doc's office, I was at least 10 lb. under my normal skinny weight. I'm fortunate to have little body fat in the first place, but this means I've lost 10 lb. of meat! No wonder my saw looks bigger than me in the little avatar picture.
I was working on rural water systems for little communities out in the hills, and some trees needed to be cut where the largest (70-meter) suspension bridge for the aqueduct was to be built. The trees would be sure to take the bridge out if they fell on their own. I was glad I showed up late, after a three-hour ride standing in the back of an old Soviet-built 6x6, on the day the guys had decided to cut the trees.
View attachment 243519
The most affluent guy in the little community had an Oleo Mac 965, and I'm not sure they would have wanted some gringo to fell the trees. (They figured out later that I knew what I was doing.) It would have scared the b'jeezus out of me to watch them do it! The trees were hard leaners, and I'm not sure of the species - maybe guabo? These stumps are scary, but at least they put a damn good backrest on 'em! Geez, the firewooders here do that too.
View attachment 243513
By the time I showed up, they were starting to mill planks from the logs. I could hear from a distance that the saw was running way lean and kept misfiring. Right away, they agreed to let me file the chain. I dislike round filing anyway, and I really hate working on someone else's chain, because they're usually a nightmare. But this one wasn't bad at all. Then I tuned the jets: I had to back out the high-speed jet two full turns to get it right! It must be a really good saw, not to have lean-siezed. Anyway, it cut at least twice as fast after a few minutes of tinkering. It's good for an old, beat-up former logger to feel useful.
View attachment 243517
Folks seem to have one of two kinds of saw in Nica: Oleo Mac 965 or Brazilian-made MS361, either one with a 28" hard nose. I did see an MS381 in a hardware store after the 361s were sold.
A lot of the big hardwoods have been logged, some legally and many illegally. I saw some huge trees with big buttresses on the butt swell and a good six feet of diameter above that. I would need my corks, some springboards, and my 655BP with its 36" bar, and I'd still be askeert! Maybe that's why the big ones I saw haven't been cut.
I sure enjoyed working with the Nicaraguan people. They're fun, smart, and have a great sense of humor.
Here's what an old gringo looks like on the way back to town:
View attachment 243518
I even brought some Nicaraguan friends back with me - parasitic little critters they are. When they put me on the scale at the doc's office, I was at least 10 lb. under my normal skinny weight. I'm fortunate to have little body fat in the first place, but this means I've lost 10 lb. of meat! No wonder my saw looks bigger than me in the little avatar picture.
I was working on rural water systems for little communities out in the hills, and some trees needed to be cut where the largest (70-meter) suspension bridge for the aqueduct was to be built. The trees would be sure to take the bridge out if they fell on their own. I was glad I showed up late, after a three-hour ride standing in the back of an old Soviet-built 6x6, on the day the guys had decided to cut the trees.
View attachment 243519
The most affluent guy in the little community had an Oleo Mac 965, and I'm not sure they would have wanted some gringo to fell the trees. (They figured out later that I knew what I was doing.) It would have scared the b'jeezus out of me to watch them do it! The trees were hard leaners, and I'm not sure of the species - maybe guabo? These stumps are scary, but at least they put a damn good backrest on 'em! Geez, the firewooders here do that too.
View attachment 243513
By the time I showed up, they were starting to mill planks from the logs. I could hear from a distance that the saw was running way lean and kept misfiring. Right away, they agreed to let me file the chain. I dislike round filing anyway, and I really hate working on someone else's chain, because they're usually a nightmare. But this one wasn't bad at all. Then I tuned the jets: I had to back out the high-speed jet two full turns to get it right! It must be a really good saw, not to have lean-siezed. Anyway, it cut at least twice as fast after a few minutes of tinkering. It's good for an old, beat-up former logger to feel useful.
View attachment 243517
Folks seem to have one of two kinds of saw in Nica: Oleo Mac 965 or Brazilian-made MS361, either one with a 28" hard nose. I did see an MS381 in a hardware store after the 361s were sold.
A lot of the big hardwoods have been logged, some legally and many illegally. I saw some huge trees with big buttresses on the butt swell and a good six feet of diameter above that. I would need my corks, some springboards, and my 655BP with its 36" bar, and I'd still be askeert! Maybe that's why the big ones I saw haven't been cut.
I sure enjoyed working with the Nicaraguan people. They're fun, smart, and have a great sense of humor.
Here's what an old gringo looks like on the way back to town:
View attachment 243518
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They actually went to the base of the valcano hunted a few iguanas brought them back and made a stew. So yes I have ate iguana and it tastes like chicken. Oh and the rice and beans are to die for. Thank you for posting the pictures. I will never forget going there and will be back. BTW any chance you have the rest of your pics loaded on the net? I would love to see them. Its been about 13 years since I've been.
