Friday, December 2, 2011

A Wood Workin' Day

On one of his last jobs of the season our neighbor, who owns and operates an excavating business, cleared some forested land for a house and septic system for a client of his. D and his wife don't burn wood so he asked if we would like the birch and maple trees he cut down. (The home owners asked him to remove the downed trees from the property.) Sure! We can always use wood so we gladly accepted.

With the time we've been spending on our remodeling, Papa Pea has had very little spare time to get out back into our wood working area to get this wood cut up. However, within the last week he did spend two really long days in close communion with his chainsaw and got the huge trees cut into lengths to be split. That in itself was a humongous job.

His work left two huge piles of cut wood in a bad spot. They are right in the path of where we push plowed snow all winter long. This means that we need to move the wood. This means we need to get it split and stacked under cover in one of our wood sheds. Before it starts snowing.

So far this early winter season, we've had only one snowfall of a couple of inches but that melted and our ground is still bare at this point in time. If we get snow on the ground before getting this wood moved, it will make splitting it and moving it twice as hard. Hubby and I spent yesterday working at the task but quickly realized we needed to call in reinforcements. So we coerced Chicken Mama into spending a couple of days of quality time with her Mom and Pop . . . working on the wood with us.

Do you see the size of these logs? Papa Pea said it was some of the hardest chainsawing he's ever done. What a shame these huge, beautiful trees had to come down. Many of the pieces are so heavy we can't lift them onto the splitter. We have to roll them up a plank . . . making darn sure they don't tip off and smash a foot or two.

Today it took the two of us moving as fast as we could on the splitter (while still working safely, of course) to keep up with our daughter who was in charge of taking the full wheelbarrows into the shed and stacking the split wood.

Here's a shot of Wonder Woman (aka Chicken Mama) stacking wood in the shed while the two of us were making like Energizer Bunnies trying to get another wheelbarrow filled before she came looking for it.

A picture of our daughter and granddogs. Notice the tennis ball in Maisy's mouth? She carries it around just on the off chance somebody (Anybody? Puleeze?!) will throw it for her.

So guess what the three of us are going to do tomorrow? Put in another day of fun and recreation on the wood pile.

What is it they say about a full wood shed being like money in the bank? We be RICH!

20 comments:

Tombstone Livestock said...

Enjoy all that wood, I am going to buy a bin full of fruit wood tomorrow, nothing like a full wood shed.

Unknown said...

Yes you be rich alright. Glad you have Wonder Woman to help. Now I'm all tuckered out read'in about your hard work, whew!

Sparkless said...

Now those are some big logs! Glad you and Papa Pea were able to get some help with those.
I can only imagine that having all that wood cut and stacked for the winter must make you feel rich.

Sue said...

No wonder you're so skinny. Maybe I need to burn wood-that could be the key to a Skinny Sue.



Nah.
I like cookies just a weeeeee too much.

Me thinks we're catching a late winter this year??? I've got snowmobile trail stickers gathering dust! I hope this isn't going to be one of those years that winter hangs on until May because it's so late getting here
!?!?

judy said...

you 3 will be paid in full in someones big book because of all your hard work and good deeds---cheers ,well make mine reg. cider

Anonymous said...

Congrats on making progress on the wood! Glad Chicken Mama is there to give you a hand. Get some rest too :)

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

My husband is out chopping wood right now!

Mama Pea said...

Tombstone Livestock - Excuse my ignorance, but what is "fruit wood?" Wood from fruit trees? (Go ahead and laugh at me!)

Nancy - Rest up 'cause I'll probably have an update tonight after we three put in another day today! ;o}

Sparkless - The best part is that we won't have to touch this wood until a year from now.

Sue - A late winter for sure! And you've had more snow than we have so far.

I am not skinny. Matter of fact (don't spread it around), I am currently at my lifetime high weight as we speak. Must all be muscle, huh? (Yeah, right. Now give me a slice of that apple pie in the kitchen and nobody will get hurt.)

judy - I'll drink to that! Hee-hee.

Stephanie - Gotta say we zonked out pretty early last night!

Lisa - Isn't it handy to have a guy who can do that?? :o}

Chicken Mama said...

THERE IS NO WAY that you are at your "lifetime high weight" right now. NO way! You're right - it HAS to be muscle!!!!!

P.S. Can you tell? My alarm WORKED this morning!!!!

Jenyfer Matthews said...

Wow - those were some big trees. Seems like the homeowners could have SOLD that nice wood to someone who makes things with wood?? Then again, what do I know and hey - your good fortune right?

I saw a tiny, wood-stove looking electric room heater at the store yesterday - complete with glowing log and fake flames - and I thought of you :)

Mama Pea said...

Chicken Mama - Well, it's true. Why would I lie about that? Wait. Are you saying you've seen me when I looked a lot heavier? Them's fightin' words, Girl!

P.S. Congratulations on getting up with your alarm! What did you do, rig it with dynamite?? Hee-hee.

Jen - You're absolutely right about the wood windfall being our gain. We got several hundred dollars worth of wood FREE thanks to our good neighbor.

Karen L. said...

When we burned wood my husband always used to say it warmed us three times:once cutting/splitting it, once hauling and stacking it, and once when we burned it. Guess you guys will be very, very warm this winter. Nice to have a family member who can and will help out. We no longer have a fireplace or wood stove but have just been discussing how and where we could put one in our current house. Wood always warms you to the bone! Maybe someday ....

Tombstone Livestock said...

yes fruit wood is sold here when they tear out orchards and replace with young trees or new varities. Since they can no longer burn the tress to dispose of they cut them up and sell by the bin ... one bin will fill my pickup for $30 -$35. I have a wood stove so the logs cut are between 6 - 9 inches in diameter and fit the stove nicely. What is left of the smaller branches get run thru a chipper and recycled.

The Apple Pie Gal said...

You need a big green tractor shoved down the chimeney! ;)

Mama Pea said...

Karen L. - Yep, there IS something different about wood heat. It's a more pleasant heat. The nice thing about this wood we're putting up right now is that we won't have to touch it until a year from now so it will be at maximum heating capacity!

Tombstone Livestock - Boy, when you can get firewood that is just the right size and requires no splitting . . . that's the bestest of the best!

APG - Papa Pea said just the same thing today when he was grunting and groaning pushing one of those behemoth logs up the ramp: "Where's my tractor with the front end loader??" (Poor guy has wanted one of those for umpteen years.)

Anonymous said...

I love the feeling of a full woodshed. Tho my body doesn't enjoy the feeling after we have filled it. Congrats on your "free" wood. We got about 3 cords of maple, alder and myrtle cut and piled the other day, from when my mom had a few big trees blow down in a storm. It'll take a few trips in the truck when the ground dries out to get it up to our wood shed, but so worth it.

Leigh said...

WOW! That's fantastic! Gotta love your neighbor. I can sympathize with the remodeling forcing other chores to be neglected. What a relief to have all this done! And, I have to say that Maisy and her ball are really cute. :)

Mama Pea said...

Ruth - I've gotta admit that after three days of hard wood working, my bod is sore in a couple/few spots, too!

Leigh - Unfortunately we did not finish yesterday. But needed the day today to try to get organized and caught up on some other stuff before going back to the remodeling tomorrow. Ugh.

Maisy comes right up to you, drops her ball at your feet, then when you bend down to pick it up to throw for her, she snatches it practically out of your hand and prances away.

Erin said...

I'm catching up because I THOUGHT I had been busy until I read this LOL! A lot of work for sure but wow, what beautiful logs those are!

Mama Pea said...

Erin - Haha! Believe me, they look a lot more beautiful now that the majority of them are split and stacked in the wood shed!