Working in the orchard

Cutting brush.

Dragging brush.

I was stupid at the start and stuffed tall branches into the burner.  Of course, they fell out of the burner after the bottoms burned and I got to pick them up and stuff them back in.

I started the party with an aluminum can, some rolled-up newspaper and a bit of kerosene.  The opening was turned to catch the breeze.

This is a photo of the set-up.  The three posts keep the barrel from toppling.  You can see that the grass caught fire a few times.

Burning brush.

Mowing grass.

Labeling trees.

The stakes are treated lumber that the local lumber yard threw away.  They were top and bottom rails for decks.  I split the rails lengthwise.

The labels are 0.040" (one millimeter) thick aluminum.  The lettering are 1/4" stamped.  This stake is going next to an apple tree that is Enterprise grafted over a rootstock called Geneva 935.  This may seem like over-kill but labeling trees so they can be identified twenty years from now is surprisingly difficult.

The labels are attached to the stakes with roofing screws.  Galvanic corrosion is avoided by virtue of the rubber washer.  It separates the steel screw from the aluminum tag.  In the late 1970s many vehicles were built with aluminum bumper-bars.  Those bumper-bars started falling off the vehicles in the 1980s because the aluminum had rotted out (corroded) around the steel bolts.

I expect to be sore tomorrow.