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| It is starting to look like April out there. I have more trees coming in the mail tomorrow. |
He had a brush-hog attachment that attached to the boom and was powered by hydraulics. He quickly shredded 1600 square-feet of sumac and honeysuckle.
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| This was impenetrable and the utility pole was not visible from where the photo was taken before the contractor started clearing brush. |
The next patch was more of a problem because the stems were over 4" in diameter. I cut the stems with a chainsaw. It was nasty work because the trees were almost all hawthorn and they had gang-thorns growing out of the trunks. I got a lot of puncture wounds in the process.
The plan was for the contractor to use the grappling attachment for his skid-steer to grip the brush and make a brush-pile. That plan fell through when he blew a hose on the first trip. The grapple would not close.
We improvised and used a 20' long tow-strap. I secured the brush by lassoing it with the tow-strap and then tied the other end to the boom. He dragged it a couple hundred feet away and then I untied it. He smashed the brush up, into the pile while I trudged back and lassoed another bunch of stems.
It took about two-and-a-half hours but we knocked out the 4000 square-feet of hawthorn.
Then I was given a fun assignment. I went into town and bought us lunch and brought it back.
It was my idea. I figured that if I bought lunch the contractor would cheerfully agree. By bringing it back the contractor only took a 20 minute lunch instead of a 60 minute break. So, for the price of a Pork BBQ from Mark's Place, Southern Belle got 40 extra minutes of work out of him. It pays to treat people who work for you like Royalty.
I had some commitments I needed to attend to after lunch, so I was excused for the rest of the day.
It was a very good day for napping after the appointments were done.
Today is supposed to be a "recovery day" and I will keep an eye on my puncture wounds to see if they are acting infected.
Our mesquite down here is like that. Lots of long thorns that force you to "wait a minute". After moving a brush pile, flats and sole punctures are a given. If it rains this year, I'm gonna burn some of it. Hopefully, the thorns, too. Take care.
ReplyDeleteBe cautious about puncture wounds, especially as you age!
ReplyDeleteI invested in a pair of Hatch "search gloves" specifically for dealing with small thorny plants, as well as puncture-resistant soles (insoles really).
I wish our weather forecast looked as warm as yours. Colder than average here. I have burned more wood this year than in any of the past several. As for cutting hawthorn I do quite a bit of that with all the thorn punctures but never had one infect. Must be antiseptic thorns. ---ken
ReplyDeleteMy entirely, unscientific belief is that most thorns are essentially sterile unless a bird pooped on them. It is more an issue of them dragging skin-borne bacteria into your body.
DeleteSome species seem more intent on leaving souvenirs in you. Black Locust is bad. These hawthorn also tend to break off at the tip. I have no idea which species they are. I think this thicket suckered up from the roots.
It sounds like you earned a day off. This weekend was an awesome outside work day and my Brother and I went to ranch to do some badly needed road work, clearing the sides of new growth beginning to encroach the roadway. Nothing larger than 4" branch diameter, mostly < 1" but plenty of it.
ReplyDeleteMy brother used an electric pole saw and i used loppers. We got it done though, about a mile and a quarter of all told. Next week, weekend temps looking to be in high 90's - no thank you.
I bought lengths of light chain and some logging-type hooks that I shackle onto my box blade when clearing large brush. A light chain will still have over 1000 lb capacity, but it's much easier to pull than rope or cable, and easier to wrap around trunks too. The logging hooks are designed to ride the chain and not fall off, but they're ungated. I've got 5 varied lengths on the blade when I'm doing this, so I can pull quite a few trees out, each run. Goes fast ! Then I can use the pallet forks on the front to get the rest.
ReplyDeleteClearing brush and logging is the hardest work I've ever come across, when you're working in thicket. Every step is uncertain, briars are everywhere, and every muscle gets worked hard.