Mt. Nusatsum

Mt. Nusatsum

Sunday, October 24, 2010

More September Weather in October

Today was incredible - it hit 17 C at the Bella Coola Airport and it definitely felt like that when I was trying to finish up next years firewood.  Warm and balmy, even a few bugs out.  I was a bit behind on the two year's firewood supply I normally keep on hand -- with the interruption caused by the Great Flood of 2010.  I had a large cottonwood I have been wanting to take out and I decided I would make that my final firewood supply.  Regular bellacoolablog readers might remember I don't mind burning cottonwood.  Once I cleared out around the tree and had a good look at the situation I realized this tree was past my personal comfort zone for a firewood tree - it had a pretty hard lean on it and was nearly 24" in diameter.  Wisely I decided to get advice from my neighbor who used to be a faller.  It was a smart move, because he patiently explained the theory of what could go wrong and how I needed to make certain cuts to prevent that.  He coached me through the whole process, and it ended with a mighty crash that brought my wife out of the house to see if I'd finally done myself in - she didn't know I had the neighbor coaching me.

Oh and in case you are curious what kind of growing conditions we have for cottonwood trees on the Bella Coola Valley bottom, this tree was aged 36 years and measured out at 122 feet tall.  Grizzly

3 comments:

  1. WOW 17C – beautiful fall colors, the kind of weather that almost makes you forget the crazy unpredictability of some of our futures!

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  2. Good job taking that down. It would have been beyond my personal comfort zone too. I've taken down sweet chustnuts up to about 18 inches, but anything bigger I'll be getting help for! You definitely made the right call getting your neighbour in.

    How much wood did you get out of it once it was cut, split and stacked?

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  3. I haven't finished chopping it yet - some will be stockpiled for the 3rd year this winter - but probably close to a cord - maybe a bit shy. Grizzly

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