Peeling!

Which tree is always scared?

 A quaking aspen.

Last week we took down quite a few quaking aspens for peeling.  At one point one of the kids said something along the lines of, 

"Aren't we taking down a lot of trees?  Won't there be any left?"  

Nate replied with, "Oh, we're just cutting these trees down to keep them safe."  He pointed to a piece of the tree in front of him,  "Don't worry...no ones gonna cut this tree down."

Well...we thought it was funny...maybe you had to be there.

Many thanks to Bekah, Jarron, and Mary Ellen for allowing themselves to be eaten by mosquitoes, black flies, and deer flies just so they could have the experience of peeling logs.

If you want to help us peel or cut and split what we have already give us a call or email.  We'll be up working again this weekend.

Bekah - always with a smile!

Jarron skipped out on homework to peel.  

Not only did Mary Ellen bring us some awesome food (iced tea, strawberry/water melon smoothies and quesadillas) - she also stayed and peeled a bunch of logs!

Ella - sporting the bug net and the peeling spud!

Nevin - a peeling machine!

Yes, this probably violates some child safety law...but boy!  Zane is handy with a draw knife.

Denise just kept crankin' them out.

Nate just keeps going and going.

Just an aside...the creativity of children.  Nevin put together this rickshaw out of an old trailer and some scrap lumber.  The kids in the back were the drivers and Nevin was the horse.  Loads of fun with simple stuff!  Way to go kidos! 

Time Correction for Log Peeling

PEELING UPDATE!!

If you are planning on coming up to help peel logs this Saturday (June 7th),
we've changed the time.

Because of the Beaver Camp Auction we won't be starting until 3:30pm.  Please let you friends know...and thank you for your help.

Can You Spare a Few Hours?

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
― Charles Dickens

 

 

As we stated in our previous post...we have about 10 cords of quaking aspen to cut down, limb, cut to manageable lengths, move out of the woods, peel, cut to 18" lengths, and stack.  This takes quite a while with just the two of us working on it.

 

So, we are putting out a call for some help.  You don't have to cut down trees (or even use a saw - if you don't want to) but we could use some help hauling wood, peeling, and stacking.

 

Here's the deal.  For the next two weeks we will be going at this non-stop.  We invite you to come up any of the next two Thursdays, Fridays, or Saturdays to help out (That's June 5,6,7,12,13,14).  Bring a sack dinner.

 

Here are the times:

Thursdays and Fridays - 4:00pm until dusk

Saturdays - 1pm until dusk (we will be up there earlier in the day on June 14th)

 

If you don't know where the farm is - just email us for directions.

Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated!  

 

Thanks for your support!

 

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Three Seasons of Peeling!

“Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.”

― Molière

If you would have told us in June of 2012 (when we purchased our land) that we'd still be peeling logs in June of 2014...we would have laughed. Yet, here we are, in our third go round with peeling quaking aspen for the cordwood house.

We've learned lots of lessons over the years.  For example; peel the logs where you can get rid of the peelings immediately and not have to transport them to their final resting spot.  Or - cut the logs into manageable lengths before you try transporting them.

As we end May and start June we figure on about 2 to 3 more weeks of good peeling weather.  Then it will be too hot and the bark will start to cling to the trees...making the ease of peeling the bark off into the hassle of chipping the bark off.  We need to get 10 cord done this season to have our final amount for the house.

Well for all of you who have never seen the proccess (or have forgotten how it is done) here is a little video we've put together for you.  It takes you from standing tree to peeled log (we don't have video of cutting the logs to 18" lengths, splitting them, and stacking them....but you can use your imagination).

Enjoy (and come help)!

If you want more blog entries on peeling logs (after you watch this video) look here...