Loss of our Tamarack (Eastern Larch)

mad murdock · October 04, 2011, 01:16:49 AM

I knows what yous mean about them widow makers! I was cutting a rather large and limby doug fir this summer, and one of the good sized limbs had broken from maybe 20 feet up or more, and came straight down on my head, I felt like I got pile driven into the ground a foot! I almost blacked out, even with the hard hat on. I didn't see the limb hanging, or I would have not stood where I did. Shook it off and was able to keep going without any serious damage, good I had my full brim brain bucket on! PPE is where it is at. I am amazed that I lived through the early years when I was cutting my teeth in the woods. PPE then?!? never heard of it. Not even ear plugs for the McCulloch! Just toilet paper stuffed in the ears. Sure was nice when they invented those ear plug thingys!

thecfarm · October 04, 2011, 06:39:26 AM

Lucky you Jeff. By the way,since being up there alone,I suppose you are calling Tammy every so often when you are cutting? I've never had that happened,YET. A few smalls ones bounced off a few times,but nothing of any size.

Jeff · October 04, 2011, 09:57:03 AM

Tammy and my sister have a rule for me. No felling when I am here alone. I still do, but limit it to what I consider simple falls, but don't tell them that. ;D I do call Tammy every day, but Pete and Lynda are here often and Tammy was here this past weekend. Lou is also available when I need to get more trees down. We are within radio contact distance. Lou is worse then a mom with me for making sure I contact him. If I go to my blind hunting, I have to call him when I get there. I have to call him when I get back to the cabin too. He's been that way since I had the fall 3 or 4 years ago. I accuse him of just wanting to be there first to see what I have in my pockets. ;)

treefarmer87 · October 04, 2011, 07:35:52 PM

It is always good to let somebody know where you are, you can never be too careful

Jeff · October 12, 2011, 02:54:24 PM

Well, I think I am at about 80% as a guess on the removal of the dead larch. Since I am working all by myself it's been pretty slow going. I have learned one thing about this process, well several things actually, but the thing I was thinking about that dead, dry tamarack trees and the long jagged limbs are some nasty things. I'm thinking the saying what doesn't kill you makes you stronger fits when working with this stuff. I've got cuts and scrapes and bruises all over me from working in and around it. I've been conked on the head once a couple weeks ago I think it was plus I've had at least three different incidents. The first was limbing one of the bigger trees, and stepping on a branch that I though was flat on the ground, but really laying over a hole. The branch broke and when my foot dropped in, the stick tore through my boot, my jeans, and then stopped short of tearing into my leg, only bruising it. I had my chaps on when it happened too.

Then this week, I had something happen, that I really don't know what happened. Somehow I must have created some sort of spring pole while skidding wood around a bend in my skid trail, then on another trip through somehow released it. I didn't see it coming, or even where or how it came at me, but it hit me waist high, right at the belt. it snagged my leather belt and stopped me dead while the quad's momentum carried a little bit farther without me even after my hands were pulled off the throttle. I ended up on the back fender holding on to the back rack. My leather belt ripped completely in half. Pete and Lynda were here when that happened. I took the rest of that day off and went to town and got a new belt. Then late yesterday afternoon I went out to throw some brush out of the way so I could get the arch back to some remaining skids I had close to the cabin. While wading around, I tripped and fell forward. On my way down I saw the jagged snag where a branch had driven in the ground from a felling, and then broke off like a spear point sticking straight up. Nothing I could do. It missed my neck by about 6 inches. I had my helmet and screen on too. I'm being careful with everything I do, but this is just one nasty environment. Everything is dead, hard, rigid, jagged and sharp. There is a lot of ways to get hurt out there that never occur to you until they occur.

Anyhow, things really look different then they did. Here are a couple sets of before and now photos.

Before

After

Before

after

SwampDonkey · October 12, 2011, 03:07:34 PM

I hate the stuff. :D Long limbs, when it hits the ground it's still up in the air unless it's a mature tree with weight behind it to crush them limbs. But, that doesn't always work either. Darn stuff is like tumble weeds. Just try and rid of the stuff in a plantation. :D

WDH · October 12, 2011, 08:00:57 PM

Boss, don't shoot yoreself in the foot over that larch. Don't let the spring poles larch yoreself into space, either.

thecfarm · October 13, 2011, 06:48:20 AM

I know what you mean Jeff.Lots of things can and do happen. I cut alot of dead stuff for my OWB.I see things too that can hurt a person.I try to cut all my limbs 2-3 feet long to get them on the ground. Sometimes I ran the saw up and down the limbs too.Looks real good on the ground to drive your ATV through. No high stumps I see. :D It is alot of fun to better your land. I wonder what will grow now? Have a picture of the trees on your landing?

Jeff · October 13, 2011, 08:39:16 AM

I'm getting ready to run to town and get some supplies. I need to get another can of chainsaw gas and some FOOD. ;D I do have a photo from last week.

Coon · October 13, 2011, 02:07:47 PM

Wow, you been busy Boss. ;) Wish I had a pile of larch logs like that.... ;D

Mooseherder · October 13, 2011, 04:31:04 PM

How do you stack those larch without a loader. ???

Jeff · October 13, 2011, 05:34:57 PM

Everyone of them by hand by myself. Put one end up then pivot up the other. I'm turning into an ox. ;)

treefarmer87 · October 13, 2011, 05:48:55 PM

what is going to happen to all of the wood?

mad murdock · October 13, 2011, 05:49:15 PM

I guess you don't need to eats yer spinach when you got logs like that to pile up! Looking very fine there 8) Glad to hear you didn't impale yourself on any snags!

SwampDonkey · October 13, 2011, 05:58:48 PM

Good honest hard work. ;D Good thing most of it is semi dry, that's heavy stuff fresh cut and green, even the small stuff.

OneWithWood · October 13, 2011, 07:48:51 PM

Obviously the shoulder has healed and you are feeling better

So, what are you going to do with all that dead larch?

Jeff · October 13, 2011, 09:41:13 PM

Believe me, some of it is still plenty heavy. You will notice a direct relationship to the size of the wood to its location in the pile.

The shoulder continues to improve. What it can't do, I work around. At the end of everyday it is the sorest part of the body, but its not the pain of injury that I had before, but the pain like you get from simply pushing muscles to the limit. Same sort of pain I would get after physical therapy. At least with this therapy I have a pile of wood to look at as a result.

The firewood will probably go to fire a friends sap boiler this coming spring. The logs are going to be sawn this next spring as well. Not exactly sure into what yet. My land does not have a suitable spot to build on due to soil type and water table. If I could find one little old acre somewhere close to my land, and I have been looking for quite some time without any luck, we would be using it to build a cabin.

WDH · October 13, 2011, 10:01:16 PM

Couldn't you build on your land on stilts like they do on the Gulf Coast?

Jeff · October 13, 2011, 10:05:44 PM

I've augured down 6 feet and its still organic material. If a guy wanted to throw enough money at it, you could build, but the problem up here is wetlands and other code limitations ontop of the actual structural and foundation concerns. We have to deal with Hydraulic and frost heave.

WDH · October 13, 2011, 10:07:04 PM

Yes, I suspected that the Code would get you.

Magicman · October 14, 2011, 09:51:53 AM

Having seen, or rather seen into some of those thickets that you are working with, I can testify that you are and have been facing a challenge. Unseen dangers everywhere. Your progress has been amazing and I'm sure in part to that Logrite arch.

Will the openings be planted with something or keep cleared for possible bushhogging?

Jeff · October 14, 2011, 10:05:27 AM

We are still contemplating that. The plan is to see what comes up this next season. there is a very real chance it will be aspen, and if it is, we may go that way. We have been poisoning the tag alder stumps in hopes they don't come back. If Aspen is not the regen species, we may plant it or there is the possibility we will brush hog it. It is up in the air right now simply because this was an unplanned event and we were forced into doing something or nothing. Did that sentence make sense? :

Magicman · October 14, 2011, 01:24:43 PM

Yes, it absolutely made sense. Sometimes you just gotta scratch where you itch. ;)

Jeff · October 14, 2011, 04:54:44 PM

Since its raining steady here today and we are under high wind advisories, I couldn't do much in the woods in the way of harvest, but I did don a raincoat and spent a couple hours flagging live trees. The good thing is I found probably 60 or 70 live trees. Some are too big for me to reach around to flag with the marking tape. The bad thing is, while doing this I discovered at least as many dead trees I had not noticed.

The purpose for flagging the live trees, is for a couple reasons. One, to tell the freshly demised from the still living, as it won't be long before the needles drop, and two, to track the living trees to see if they have not just survived the brunt of the infestation to date, but continue to survive. I've found some real good ones that will make excellent seed trees if they do. several over 15-16" DBH

While I was out flagging around the field, I snapped a couple photos from the log end of my piles. The two piles in view are saw logs. I am just now getting into sawing the larger trees. I have at least this many more logs coming just from here at the cabin.

Since I was already soaked, even with the rain gear on, I took a pail of bait to put out for the no-show bears down on my place. On the way back out I swung my one of my nicer Tamaracks. I was greatly saddened to see that it to has expired. I hdidn't have the will to go on to check on the other large ones. Its just sad. All I had with me to show scale of this tree was the pail. I'm not sure how the heck I can get this one out of my woods. :-\

Tammy just called me and said she hear the wind jack-knifed a semi on top of the Mackinaw Bridge and there is at least one fatality.

Jeff · October 14, 2011, 05:01:56 PM

I just heard an update on the Mackinaw Bridge incident on the T.V. The Bridge is closed. A tractor Trailer crossed from the south bound lanes into the n orth bound lanes, hitting a car and hitting the rail 4 times. The semi driver is the fatality. They do not know yet if the death is related to the accident, or a health issue. The bridge is still closed.