things still need to get accomplished.
@farm-mom can be seen here spraying away. Before she is done she will have covered over a mile making her way around the farm being sure to spray all of the saplings. This process only needs to be done every three months. We will do it again in January before heading to warmer weather.
By cutting a notch in the tree with the notch face pointing in the desired direction you want the tree to fall, you can be rest assured it lands where you want. This dead tree is ready to be toppled.
Once the back cut has been made you can see the tree start to lean in the desired direction. At this point, moving away from the tree will ensure your safety. I have experienced many a tree jumping off of the stump in a backward direction as it's in the process of falling. You can never get too far away from a falling tree.
Not only was I surprised that Robin captured this picture, but the clarity of the picture was also a nice surprise.
Limbing the fallen tree is made easier with the branch saw. The branch saw only weighs 8 pounds compared to the 23-pound chainsaw I used to fell the tree.
Being that we heat our home entirely with a wood-burning stove, yearly maintenance is a must.
Flue brushes come in different sizes depending on the size of your flue pipes. Here I use an 8-inch brush which is the size of our flue pipe. It comes with additional handles that screw onto each other so that you can reach even the tallest chimney. Despite cleaning our stove every year, creosote still accumulates. In addition to cleaning the stove, all of the gaskets on the stove doors need to be checked for leaks and replaced if damaged.
The United States Department of Agriculture calls the emerald ash borer “the most destructive invasive forest insect ever to have invaded North America.”
https://www.invasivespeciescentre.ca/invasive-species/meet-the-species/invasive-insects/emerald-ash-borer/
here in Upstate NY.
The tree's bark will take on a pale look at first and then start to peel off of the tree.
For the past 3 years, Ash has made up about 75% of the wood we burn.
Ash is a great wood to burn indoors as it burns very clean and hot.
Felling these three Ash trees along with four damaged Hard Maples I dropped a few days ago will give us a good start for next year.
Cutting firewood a year in advance ensures that it's seasoned properly. Seasoned firewood burns clean, leaving very little creosote behind.
With this 100-foot Ash tree now lying on the ground it didn't take long to limb the tree, cut it into sections and pull it out of the woods.
I could have left these bolts of firewood where they lie, but just in case I were to run low on firewood for this year, I'll be able to get at these rounds. All firewood is best when it has a year to season, but Ash is the one hardwood that can be burned shortly after felling.