Sunday, February 04, 2007

Cut short

Having slept on the prospective firewood situation I changed my stance and decided to call a halt to the hauling. The gent had no objection to leaving the several trees in the gorge and suggested another tree coming down next weekend right next to a road a few minutes away would prove a more attractive prospect. Several of the trees that had been cut down had caught on others and were something of a hazard here, so we cut down two more to allow those to continue on their journey downward. The one here was a very close grained kind of oak called Kashi. Used for tool handles and plane bodies. The resulting collapse as the leaning trees and this huge limb fell was something of a crowd pleaser, had there been a crowd to watch. I am the chap at the bottom with a little line tying me on to the main trunk in case some issue arose that meant a haphazard retreat. It wasn't a complicated felling, but it is always best to be prepared. Actually the most dangerous episode was the feller up the top losing track of a cedar trunk he was cutting up on the ground. He did give a shout of alarm, I thought he was on his way down too, thankfully not, but it did mean I was looking the right way and the trunk rolled enthusiastically by me on its way to the water.
Gouache and charcoal on cartridge 25x35cm