Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[Thomas]

Good looking standing trees.

 

[Yogi05]

Tried to do some work today but only lasted 2 hours. It was 95F in the sun, which is all there was ironically, and 107F with humidity.
Was trying to drag some already fallen trees out to the saw area. Only got one out and cut 3 usable 8 foot logs. Then carried them to where the saw is.
I have use of a telehandler which is great, and very generous of the property owner. Would have been easier with forks rather than a bucket and chains.

Here's where my saw is set up. That house on steel beams is a deer stand. Been there for decades. I'm not brave enough to climb up there to see inside.

This is a small example of the red pine I have available.

There's about 50 acres total he said I could clear cut, all the while knowing I'm not that energetic.
It would take years.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Finally got my camera out of the tractor with the first before and after pics.
The before shot is 180* from the after shot
We had only been cutting in there a few hours in the after shot.
A lot more canopy is open now that we have a few days more cut.

Thanks, good pics. Try to take some of the same spot to make it easier to really see what you are trying to do. I am just interested in what others do in their woodlot and why so I can learn something. Are you working to a prescription to produce a desired change or thinning by eye for better growth ?

gg

 

[MoKelly]

Tried to do some work today but only lasted 2 hours. It was 95F in the sun, which is all there was ironically, and 107F with humidity.
Was trying to drag some already fallen trees out to the saw area. Only got one out and cut 3 usable 8 foot logs. Then carried them to where the saw is.
I have use of a telehandler which is great, and very generous of the property owner. Would have been easier with forks rather than a bucket and chains.

Here's where my saw is set up. That house on steel beams is a deer stand. Been there for decades. I'm not brave enough to climb up there to see inside.

View attachment 710545

This is a small example of the red pine I have available.

View attachment 710546

There's about 50 acres total he said I could clear cut, all the while knowing I'm not that energetic.
It would take years.

That is one first class deer stand!

Great pictures.

MoKelly

 

[fruitcakesa]

Thanks, good pics. Try to take some of the same spot to make it easier to really see what you are trying to do. I am just interested in what others do in their woodlot and why so I can learn something. Are you working to a prescription to produce a desired change or thinning by eye for better growth ?

gg

The hemlocks are way overstocked, not having been touched for at least 75 or more years, and need thinning so we are going to harvest the bigger, mature trees and release some of the better understory trees.
I tried counting rings on an 18 inch dbh tree and after about 55 years the rings were too small to count without some magnification but I would guess near 90 yo. and not growing much diameter in those last 35 years.
There is also some large 36"+ pine growing in there too which will also need harvest as they are def overmature though some may be too big for anything but "let 'em grow"

 

[Gordon Gould]

The hemlocks are way overstocked, not having been touched for at least 75 or more years, and need thinning so we are going to harvest the bigger, mature trees and release some of the better understory trees.
I tried counting rings on an 18 inch dbh tree and after about 55 years the rings were too small to count without some magnification but I would guess near 90 yo. and not growing much diameter in those last 35 years.
There is also some large 36"+ pine growing in there too which will also need harvest as they are def overmature though some may be too big for anything but "let 'em grow"

Up here in Caledonia county we have a lot of shake (ring separation) in our Hemlock. A mill I used in Littleton, NH would not take Hemlock from here unless he knew the lot it came from to be OK. Do you have trouble with shake in your Hemlock?

How old are your leave trees? I have Hemlock but no pure stands like you do - just scattered around so I don't know much about it. But in my pure stands of fir that look like your Hemlock the trees are all about the same age. No matter if they are 24" or 6" . The small ones will never recover from their stunted condition if released. Hemlock may be different - I know it lives a lot longer than fir. Well over 100 years vs 75 for fir.

gg

 

[hunt4570]

Tried to do some work today but only lasted 2 hours. It was 95F in the sun, which is all there was ironically, and 107F with humidity.
Was trying to drag some already fallen trees out to the saw area. Only got one out and cut 3 usable 8 foot logs. Then carried them to where the saw is.
I have use of a telehandler which is great, and very generous of the property owner. Would have been easier with forks rather than a bucket and chains.

Here's where my saw is set up. That house on steel beams is a deer stand. Been there for decades. I'm not brave enough to climb up there to see inside.

A grapple is even better, I'd be climbing up to have a look in a heartbeat!

 

[Yogi05]

I agree about the grapple except I have to carry them a bit of a distance at the moment, so loading a bunch onto forks is better than one at a time with a grapple.
As I've said, I've benefited from the landowner's generosity providing equipment to work with, but I think I'll talk to him Monday and sheepishly ask if he can park
his seldom used mini-excavator at the sawmill area so I can just pluck from the pile I make and turn 45 degrees to place on the saw.
Much easier than a huge telehandler going back and forth moving logs around.
Don't want to push my luck though either.

 

[two_bit_score]

Probably safer too. For the equipment.

 

[Skeans1]

Up here in Caledonia county we have a lot of shake (ring separation) in our Hemlock. A mill I used in Littleton, NH would not take Hemlock from here unless he knew the lot it came from to be OK. Do you have trouble with shake in your Hemlock?

How old are your leave trees? I have Hemlock but no pure stands like you do - just scattered around so I don't know much about it. But in my pure stands of fir that look like your Hemlock the trees are all about the same age. No matter if they are 24" or 6" . The small ones will never recover from their stunted condition if released. Hemlock may be different - I know it lives a lot longer than fir. Well over 100 years vs 75 for fir.

gg

Different species but our Doug fir and Western Hemlock are the same way some guys try the thin forever program. I’ve done some playing with over the years and about 10 years taking something that larger out the understory is ready for clear cut.