Hey all,
I decided I've been lurking here soaking up entertainment and advice for long enough that it was time to share something. I've always had a passion for woods work and been fortunate enough to get a bit of experience in my pretty short time on the planet. I think I was about 13 when my dad taught me to run a saw, our old but trusty Echo 400EVL. Got a bit of practice cutting firewood at home over the years, then after graduating college I worked for a year on a farm in Osceola WI where the first photos are from. Word got out that I was into tree work so I was put on lots of jobs trimming the fence lines and collecting firewood from trees felled. Well thats probably enough talk... These photos have been sitting for a while so the season is a little off.
Loading up the wood trailer in mid-January, I think it was about -15 that day. I know very little about the trailer except that it wasn't ours, had a dumper, and held approximately one afternoon of wood. The tractor is a 4440.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vezinapotomis/9734363380/" title="Trailer by mattjv89, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3745/9734363380_9994c08566_z.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Trailer"></a>
The split pile towards the beginning of the season. The white shack in the background held a homemade OWB that heated the greenhouse. Almost all of what we cut was box elder and dead elm, not the greatest but we didn't really have much forest so use what ya can. Couldn't tell you much about the splitter except that it worked, tractor here is a 4240.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vezinapotomis/9734364326/" title="Split Pile by mattjv89, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2867/9734364326_0c74e278a1_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Split Pile"></a>
Noodles are served! These rounds were just a little to large for heaving over the side of the trailer to be a fun proposition. The saw is an MS310, used that the most along with a Dolmar 420 occasionally. the Stihl sure had a little more heft than a comparable pro saw but ran fine every time and had plenty of grunt for what we were cutting.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vezinapotomis/9731137061/" title="Noodles by mattjv89, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7448/9731137061_d63e65ea02_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="Noodles"></a>
Here's a dry elm I felled in mid-April as we were scrambling for firewood to continue maple sugaring. Learned from you guys to make the face on these higher up to facilitate getting the hell outta there if things go wrong.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vezinapotomis/9731137065/" title="Elm Laid Out by mattjv89, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5496/9731137065_374c343674_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="Elm Laid Out"></a>
I know you guys like critiquing stumps so I'll present one for you to chew on. This was about a 10" box elder with a hard lean, as most of them along the fence line had.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vezinapotomis/9731135999/" title="Box Elder Stump by mattjv89, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7333/9731135999_2a8366c7bf_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="Box Elder Stump"></a>
That's all the photos from Wisconsin, since leaving there I moved up to the Rutland VT area working on a therapeutic farm for adults with mental health & substance abuse challenges. Among other activities we process 40-50 cords per year for maple sugaring, sale, and our own heating. Most of our felling work is done in fall/winter but there's this large pile of sugar maple we've been slowly working through in summer. I'm not great at estimating cords but for some perspective the rounds in the foreground are 24-28".
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vezinapotomis/9562693449/" title="Woodpile by mattjv89, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3712/9562693449_4eb7fda43f_c.jpg" width="800" height="531" alt="Woodpile"></a>
That's all I've got for now, I'm sure there will be more when felling season comes around. Wouldn't mind hearing from other members in this part of VT if you're out there.
I decided I've been lurking here soaking up entertainment and advice for long enough that it was time to share something. I've always had a passion for woods work and been fortunate enough to get a bit of experience in my pretty short time on the planet. I think I was about 13 when my dad taught me to run a saw, our old but trusty Echo 400EVL. Got a bit of practice cutting firewood at home over the years, then after graduating college I worked for a year on a farm in Osceola WI where the first photos are from. Word got out that I was into tree work so I was put on lots of jobs trimming the fence lines and collecting firewood from trees felled. Well thats probably enough talk... These photos have been sitting for a while so the season is a little off.
Loading up the wood trailer in mid-January, I think it was about -15 that day. I know very little about the trailer except that it wasn't ours, had a dumper, and held approximately one afternoon of wood. The tractor is a 4440.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vezinapotomis/9734363380/" title="Trailer by mattjv89, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3745/9734363380_9994c08566_z.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Trailer"></a>
The split pile towards the beginning of the season. The white shack in the background held a homemade OWB that heated the greenhouse. Almost all of what we cut was box elder and dead elm, not the greatest but we didn't really have much forest so use what ya can. Couldn't tell you much about the splitter except that it worked, tractor here is a 4240.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vezinapotomis/9734364326/" title="Split Pile by mattjv89, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2867/9734364326_0c74e278a1_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Split Pile"></a>
Noodles are served! These rounds were just a little to large for heaving over the side of the trailer to be a fun proposition. The saw is an MS310, used that the most along with a Dolmar 420 occasionally. the Stihl sure had a little more heft than a comparable pro saw but ran fine every time and had plenty of grunt for what we were cutting.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vezinapotomis/9731137061/" title="Noodles by mattjv89, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7448/9731137061_d63e65ea02_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="Noodles"></a>
Here's a dry elm I felled in mid-April as we were scrambling for firewood to continue maple sugaring. Learned from you guys to make the face on these higher up to facilitate getting the hell outta there if things go wrong.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vezinapotomis/9731137065/" title="Elm Laid Out by mattjv89, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5496/9731137065_374c343674_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="Elm Laid Out"></a>
I know you guys like critiquing stumps so I'll present one for you to chew on. This was about a 10" box elder with a hard lean, as most of them along the fence line had.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vezinapotomis/9731135999/" title="Box Elder Stump by mattjv89, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7333/9731135999_2a8366c7bf_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="Box Elder Stump"></a>
That's all the photos from Wisconsin, since leaving there I moved up to the Rutland VT area working on a therapeutic farm for adults with mental health & substance abuse challenges. Among other activities we process 40-50 cords per year for maple sugaring, sale, and our own heating. Most of our felling work is done in fall/winter but there's this large pile of sugar maple we've been slowly working through in summer. I'm not great at estimating cords but for some perspective the rounds in the foreground are 24-28".
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vezinapotomis/9562693449/" title="Woodpile by mattjv89, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3712/9562693449_4eb7fda43f_c.jpg" width="800" height="531" alt="Woodpile"></a>
That's all I've got for now, I'm sure there will be more when felling season comes around. Wouldn't mind hearing from other members in this part of VT if you're out there.
