Real Men at Work

Boy, just as I was thinking that I was on my way to being a real man, I watched a bunch of loggers clear a hill and realized there is still work that needs to be done.

Our neighbor is clearing perhaps hundreds of trees off his land, and he brought in a logging company to do the job. Being the nice person that he is, JH contacted us to tell us that they were beginning and if we wanted to watch. We had seen them delivering the equipment, and it was pretty impressive stuff, but nothing compared to actually seeing it in action.

They basically had a five-man crew. On guy ran the cutter, which is a big tractor with claws to grip the tree while a saw cuts it cleanly off at the base. Another tractor picks up the fallen trees and drags them to the clearing, where a third machine lays them on a platform and cuts them with this massive circular saw. Finally, there was this incredible chipper that literally ground up entire trees, some of which were at least 2 feet in diameter, and filled the back of an 18-wheeler. There was also this guy who was the rover who trimmed the logs with a massive chainsaw that made mine look like a toy, albeit a manly toy, but a toy nonetheless. It really brought to light how forests are clear cut, amazing stuff.

N couldn't get enough, it was better than TV, and I have to confess, it was pretty cool. A was a little tepid to whole thing because I think the noise and gas fumes were getting to her, but she was still impressed, just a little less so.

We could have stayed there all day, and N was bummed when we had to go eat, but I'd learned that they will be there all next week, so we have something else to look forward to. I still can't get over how quickly and efficiently they cut down those trees.

And I know one thing, when those loggers go out to eat, they sure as heck didn't spend too much time at the salad bar. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some firewood to cut.

Until then, thanks for reading.