TIMBER!

The property I inherited is primarily wooded, with only 13 acres of farmable land.  We've known for years that we would need to clear a large amount of timber to incorporate The Dream, my recent post that you can read here if you haven't already.

We recently completed the timber clearing/thinning.  That project wasn't anything special...  People buy and sell timber everyday.  But it's the first time I've ever done it, and I consider it blog-worthy! 

I met with several timber companies, who all heard about our dream and our desires for the land.  I was looking for just the right person who could envision our dream and help guide the harvest to ensure our wishes remained intact.  You could say I was waiting for the candidate to use all the right words:  "keep the mature hard woods", "thin out the understory", "make the place look like a "park".

Those words were indeed uttered by Andy Anderson of Palmetto Pulpwood and Timber.  Being an avid outdoorsman, Andy spends as much time outdoors than indoors whether hunting or working.  He knows and appreciates our natural resources and aims to preserve them at all costs.  You may be thinking, how do cutting down trees and preserving natural resources go together?  Believe it or not, taking trees down is beneficial not only to the surrounding trees, but also to the wildlife that lives in the area.  It may be a year or so before the benefits are appreciated, but all vegetation and wildlife continues to thrive and grow faster than if it had been left untouched.

There were many wonderful walks through the woods, as we marked trees we wished to keep.  This is a difficult process considering the size of the tract, but we felt we had a pretty good idea of what we wanted to keep.  But it seemed everytime we were there, we were marking more!  I started worrying that all our marking would make our contract with Palmetto Pulpwood and Timber null and void!  But, once again, Andy appreciated our efforts because the trees we marked gave him a clearer idea of the aesthetically pleasing look we were going for.  Good thing we kept a roll of timber tape close at hand.




timber tape marking a tree we wished to keep

A contract was drawn up and signed, and then we had to wait for the weather to play on our side.  Luckily the land is sandy, therefore, has good drainage and shouldn't be too much of an issue for the very large, heavy equipment should we have some rain.  Once the perfect time was determined, things moved along pretty fast.

The project began with one piece of equipment coming in, and cutting out a large section (known as the deck). The cutter, as it’s known, cuts each tree and then holds onto them until there’s a half dozen or so trees. They are then placed in piles based on type of tree (hardwood or pine), long wood or fuel chip. 




the Cutter blade located close to the ground so as to cut the tree as low as possible

 

 

the Cutter "arms" that grab the trees as they're cut so several trees can be cut at once

 

 

the Cutter

 

Each pile is collected and dragged to "the deck" by a skidder where the long wood piles are fed through a limb stripper by the loader before being loaded onto a long wood trailer which are then taken to a lumber mill. 

the Stripper

 

 



the Loader

The fuel chip piles are fed by the loader into a massive grinder, or chipper, that reduces trees to mulch, which is blown into the back of a tractor trailer and then hauled to the mill.

the skid, the loader, and the chipper

It's a loud process, but it's amazing to watch how precise these massive pieces of equipment can be.  But that's also a testament to the gentlemen behind the controls!



lumber "chips" being hauled off to the mill

 

 

Taking Down Trees

We grow very large, tall pine trees here in South Carolina.  Not me, personally, but "We," as in South Carolinians.  My neighborhood is very wooded and the majority of those trees are pines; very large, old pines that are 100 to 150 feet tall.  My rather large house looks tiny under the massive trees rising above it!

My neighbor has been the victim of said trees falling on her house.....twice!  So she and her husband have decided to have some of their trees removed.  20 in all!  That's a lot of trees!  But there's so many other trees in their yard, the trees removed will hardly be missed.

The work began this week.  There's a lot of noise, with the chain saws and the chipper going, but the fascinating part is watching how these trees are cut down without harming other trees, cars, or, most importantly, houses.

Top Cut Tree Service sent three guys over for this job.  Two on the ground and one in the tree.  They work their precision magic with each tree that comes down.  And it's all done with the assistance of ropes, carbingers and a whole lot of skill.

First the trees are tagged, cause heaven forbid a tree you want to keep is taken down by mistake!

Next all the ropes, carbingers, chain saws, and climbing gear are strategically placed for optimum efficiency.

Next the "cutter" climbs the tree using gafts that he straps to his legs, and climbing gear similar to what a rock climber would use. 

He takes limbs down as he climbs higher.  The limbs get a slip-knot strap looped around them so that the carbinger is attached to a "zip line" of sorts. 

Once the strap is in place and the zip line is taut, the "cutter" cranks his chain saw and cuts through the limb.  As it falls it is caught by the carbinger and zip lines its way down to the ground while being controlled by the ground guys giving slack to ensure it falls in the spot they've designated.  There is no room for error.  These guys take their job seriously......

Once the limbs and the top come down, they are fed into a chipping machine.  This machine makes mulch out of large branches in a matter of seconds, as it is spit into the back of a truck.  Logging companies resell this product for landscaping beautification.

A tree this size weighs several TONS, the ground literally shakes when it comes down.

The bulk of the tree is picked up by a logging company and taken to the mill for various pulp uses.

In the end, all that's left in the yard are the stumps, and those will be removed eventually.  "A" for effort to the Top Cut Tree Service crew, and peaceful assurance for my neighbors who have dealt with crashing trees two too many times.