Last Round Up

Friday evening I hiked the entire property and made a treasure map of every fallen or standing dead tree the size I can use. The news wasn't good. I had to re-design the roof based on what I have left to work with. On Saturday I rounded them up and hauled them to the site. I left no stone unturned as they say, one of the fallen trees was hanging over the river, its root ball still attached to the bank. I dropped it and floated it upstream using the water to carry it. Real lumberjack style.

I'm sure this river has been used before to move lumber but I would bet it was a very long time ago.

I got two logs out of the tree and pulled them about fifty yards upstream to a less daunting embankment, closer to the cabin. I ended up with six twelve foot fairly strait logs by   the end of the day. All six have at least a 6 inch diameter at the tip. Today I cut six notches and stacked three logs. The walls are just under seven feet around and I plan to start on the roof next weekend. Weather was pretty good for felling, hauling and notching. My wade up the river was perfect. The temp is like bathwater in August. All in all a great weekend and a real treat to be finished felling and hauling logs.

Everything I ever needed to know I learned on Sesame Street

Thought I would share the video that helped me figure out how to move some really big logs out of the woods. I watched this video and noticed the older man using horses to drag a big log. I don't have horses and the logs were to far off the trails to use the tractor but I have been called a jackass myself so I thought I'd give it a try. I was able to drag three big logs out of the woods. Something about having the weight distributed across the stick and all the tension on the rope makes it possible to lift one end and slide it relatively easily. Like so. I dragged the logs up hill, downhill and through a creek bed!

Anyway, enjoy the video and keep an eye out for the log dragging.

Cherry

Rained most of the day Saturday so I didn't get much accomplished but the new windfall I found in the woods last weekend turned out to be Cherry.

I got a  nice straight twelve foot log out of it on Sunday but couldn't lift it. I didn't want to cut such a beautiful log in two so I used a rope and a stick to drag it out of the woods.

According to the Log Weight Calculator this thing weighs at least 350 lbs. I had to strap it on the trailer crosswise to keep it steady.

More logs

Spent Sunday hauling logs out of the woods.

I got four trees cut up into eleven logs of various sizes and managed to get six of them on site before the heat got the better of me.

I still have five to gather up and I spotted a fresh windfall on the hillside, still has bark and everything!

Happy Memorial Day!

Hauling Logs

The next big challenge was to get the logs out of the woods. I found that for the most part I could lift and carry anything 12 foot long with a diameter of under 9 inches far enough to get them on the trailer of the tractor

 

Once I got them on site I started stacking them to keep them off the ground and get a feel for the size and shape of each log.

It took about three weekends to get thirty logs cut and hauled out of the woods. It was at this point that I decided not to use the old French method. I started to like the idea of the more familiar looking Swiss style cabins that the American settlers of the 19th century brought to the Wabash Valley. This way I won't have to dig fifty feet of four foot deep trench!