We drove out to the cabin on Friday evening, leaving after rush hour and arriving after dark, some time around 9:30 pm. Typical for an after dark arrival, we rushed to unload the car and get inside to go through our "opening" procedures of turning up thermostats, turning on the water, etc.
The next morning, enjoying a cup of coffee outside on the brick terrace, I noticed that sometime in the last two weeks we lost a pine tree. This first photo is the perspective that caught my eye. The tree is one of several in the yard that are scrubby and have clusters of small cones on them. It had grown up next to an old stump and an oak, which looks to be about 15 years old. I think the mix of root systems likely weakened the tree.
This tree was about 80 feet tall, and up to two feet in diameter at the base. It fell parallel to the house, missing all the structures and taking down some branches from the neighboring pines with it. Kenny, our friend at Southern States, told us that there was a storm with strong winds last Sunday, the 10th of February, so that is likely when the tree came down. Here are a few more shots of it.
The question before us is what to do with the sudden bounty of nature-provided firewood and gardening materials. Should we take on the project of clearing the tree ourselves, or hire someone to do it. Some preliminary research indicates that we can rent a chain saw for $65/day at the Farm Co-op...we can get a mulcher for the same price...and this tree trunk would make a substantial quantity of firewood for next fall and winter, during the camping and hunting seasons. More to come on this.
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