We’ve added another 40-50 feet to the hiking trail. Lots of rocks and tree roots in this stretch so it was slow going.
The illustration below is a rough approximation of the trails path. I’m as far down the hill as I can comfortably go so we’ll be heading back up the hill (toward the road).
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Hiking trail update 5.9.23
We added another 40 or 50 feet to the hiking trail today. I remind myself (and others) that this project (?) is more about clearing cedar trees than creating a trail. Cedar trees are the crabgrass of the woods. They choke out almost all other trees. I quickly discovered I enjoyed cutting them with my trusty chainsaw, but getting rid of them hard work. As noted in previous posts, the wood chipper changed that. But I quickly generated big piles of wood chips and that was when the idea of making a hiking trail “paved” with cedar chips came to me.
My routine goes something like this:
- Use marking paint to flag the trees to cut
- Fire up (battery powered) the chainsaw and cut the marked trees
- Drag the trees/brush to a pile near the wood chipper
- Fire up the chipper
- Line the hiking trail with rocks to keep the chips from washing away. Works better than you’d think.
- Drag the chips to the end of the trail, dump and rake.
The rocks part is the most physically demanding. There’s no shortage of rocks on our property but there’s no easy way to get them to the trail. It usually comes down to picking them up one at a time and carrying them to the end of the trail.
I find all of this satisfying in a way I can’t describe. Mindless, physical activity out in the woods with no clear plan for where the trail leads.
New septic tank
After 35 years our septic tank developed a leak. (In my book, there’s no such thing as a small septic tank leak. Any odor is unacceptable.) Two years ago we had our tank pumped and an aerator installed. We’d had a little odor and hoped that would fix the problem.
It did until a few months ago when the smell returned. The company we used found a leak in our aging concrete tank and tried to patch it. Worked for a while …then it didn’t. Today we had a new tank installed.
Living “in the country” means a big old propane tank, a very expensive water well, and a septic system. There’s no where I’d rather be.
The sweet sound of the chainsaw
After cutting –the fun part– everything has to be dragged to a pile near the chipper. Less fun.
Final step before chipping is clipping the limbs to get the trunk < 3 inches.
After an hour of chipping I had enough chips to extend the trail 30 or 40 feet.
As I move down the hill larger rocks (to line the trail) are harder to find so I’m sledding them down the hill.
Spring 4.10.23
Hiking trail inching along
Stacking stones
There are a lot of articles on stacking stones. Why some people stack them… and at least as many on why you should not.
Because stone stacks are built using unaltered stones, they require your full attention on the task of the present moment to find the perfect connection of the stone’s centre of gravity to its foundation to balance the next layer. The process is meditative; it heightens present moment awareness/mindfulness. Even the simple act of choosing the stones heightens mindfulness!
I have no interest in balancing stones (the fad that seems to piss off conservationists everywhere). I just like making a little pile. I do find the process meditative.
Autumn 2022
Books and a place to read them
A place to sit
I’ve been spending a good bit of time in the woods and find there’s no good place to sit when I need stop and catch my breath. At least not in our woods. I’m not ready to put a store-bought bench along my hiking trail but spotted some nice logs in my neighbors wood pile.
After unstacking –and restacking– his logs, I would up with several that will do nicely, once I flatten the top with my chainsaw.
