Stone Branch, build it, they will come.

Internet experts on anything never cease to amaze me. I’m on a few motorcycle and car rebuild groups and it never ceases to amaze me the ignorance pushed by “ experts” on the simplest of things
Fire does create the best recovery even if I dont do it.
All one needs to do is research old growth forest or early settlers or American Indian and they have tons of example of fire progression.
And I agree with you on hingecutting. I’ve found just felling trees to floor more productive in stump sprouts and structure. I quit doing hinge cuts in my Clusters long ago.
Good group of pictures


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Fire makes the regen process happen so much faster. I don’t know how a person could dispute that? I found hinging worked best when there were many smaller trees that hinged well, and you could have an area with basically a roof over it where deer could walk under. In more open situations I found just drop was best And easier.
 
Internet experts on anything never cease to amaze me. I’m on a few motorcycle and car rebuild groups and it never ceases to amaze me the ignorance pushed by “ experts” on the simplest of things
Fire does create the best recovery even if I dont do it.
All one needs to do is research old growth forest or early settlers or American Indian and they have tons of example of fire progression.
And I agree with you on hingecutting. I’ve found just felling trees to floor more productive in stump sprouts and structure. I quit doing hinge cuts in my Clusters long ago.
Good group of pictures


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Fire makes the regen process happen so much faster. I don’t know how a person could dispute that? I found hinging worked best when there were many smaller trees that hinged well, and you could have an area with basically a roof over it where deer could walk under. In more open situations I found just drop was best And easier.

I would have to agree, hinge cuts for other than creating some structure here and there and some visual separation, are about useless. Deer relate more to fallen trees than they do to inside deer beds.

Forester Bill was back out Friday, cha ching.

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Maples are sucking this week and I'm back swinging on the north slope of unit B.

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There are some nice oaks.

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Some beech are getting hurt

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while nice specimens live.

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I have a nice cluster of rubs right above the cabin.

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The higher up the slope that I worked, the higher my net worth went.

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Tree of the day, 30" dbh white oak

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and probably 3 16' logs.

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Common on my slopes, towards the top I start running out of trees to kill.

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Deer are still feeding on acorns.

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At the top and over I come to an area where I killed maples with glyphosate years ago.

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Still sucking, still swinging.

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The west facing slope that I'm now working is mostly oak, the big trees, not as straight and pretty as the oaks on the north slope but a nice piece of woods all in all.

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Right here I'm standing on the very spot where my buck died in November. I'm going through and hacking mostly red maple and beech. There are a lot of little trees that I'm hoping to top kill with fire. I have 8.62 acres out of this units 25.7 acres done so far.

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Still sucking, still swinging.

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The west facing slope that I'm now working is mostly oak, the big trees, not as straight and pretty as the oaks on the north slope but a nice piece of woods all in all.

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Right here I'm standing on the very spot where my buck died in November. I'm going through and hacking mostly red maple and beech. There are a lot of little trees that I'm hoping to top kill with fire. I have 8.62 acres out of this units 25.7 acres done so far.

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Quote from Ross Perot: I head a giant sucking sound......................................
 
Today I started up the hill through a lot of tulip poplars wondering if I was going to find some maples to cut when I came across the tree of the day.

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Above the tree of the day I found plenty of maples to cut. I was working down a steep slope cutting a maple bottom up that was hung up in an oak tree. I broke the promise that made to myself not to drop any more trees on my head when I got to the base of the oak tree the top of the maple whipped back around on top of itself and glanced my hat and smashed my shoulder. Ouch, I took a minute to gather myself and finished getting the tree to the ground.

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I went back up the slope and sat down feeling like I could puke. 10 minutes later I was good to go. I took my phone out of my pocket to take a picture of the stump and it was flashing emergency call 911. Right now, my shoulder doesn't hurt too bad unless I touch it.

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I picked a co tree of the day.

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This is already a deer area. I'm felling most trees for side bedding cover and hinge cutting a few too.

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Pushing sap already? I’m hoping to kill a few this week.


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Weekender, I had to start working around periods of sap flow back in the middle of December. Nights below freezing and warm sunny days the sap is squirting. Warm nights and warm days, no flow. Freezing nights and freezing days, no flow. Freezing nights and cold days above freezing without sun, no flow.

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Back around and down to the first tree of the day. About 70% of the little trees that I'm dropping big trees into are stunted tulip poplars that I will be putting the hack hammer into. I'm planning on keeping the saw running for a few days.

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I’ve had to make promises too Because I just couldn’t stand hung up trees. I’ve went in and cut the tree it was hung up on, dropping both at the same time. Another time, I got the bright idea to drop a perpendicular tree onto the hung up tree hoping it would break free only to get that hung up also. Then dropping another on top causing a 3 way hang up and then cut the tree holding it all up dropping 4 at once. I don’t do that ………anymore. And I promise. I’ve also been the puke feeling route as a 2 inch dead limb came down vertically on me. Took the muff off my hard hat and half my ear then buried into my shoulder. Sat on the Polaris for about 20 minutes before I could continue. LOL now. Not then.
 
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I’ve had to make promises too Because I just couldn’t stand hung up trees. I’ve went in and cut the tree it was hung up on, dropping both at the same time. Another time, I got the bright idea to drop a perpendicular tree onto the hung up tree hoping it would break free only to get that hung up also. Then dropping another on top causing a 3 way hang up and then cut the tree holding it all up dropping 4 at once. I don’t do that ………anymore. And I promise. I’ve also been the puke feeling route as a 2 inch dead limb came down vertically on me. Took the muff off my hard hat and half my ear then buried into my shoulder. Sat on the Polaris for about 20 minutes before I could continue. LOL now. Not then.

This is a good hillside for me doing what I'm doing because the big trees are pretty well spaced to allow most trees to fall to the ground without hang ups, crushing the smaller trees.

I pulled on a grape vine one time in a dead ash tree and I know how deadly dead ash trees are. A 2" branch came down vertically and I watched it all the way down like it were slow motion yet my mind didn't put it all together fast enough to react. That branch about took off my right hand that was still holding the grape vine.

My neighbor in Iowa did TSI in his woods bordering me and I called it the forest of death. He left about every tree that he put the saw onto hanging up in the remaining crop trees.

Some here say that it is safer to fell trees than killing them standing. Anytime you mix saws and trees, your life is in danger.

I promise, I'm not dropping anymore trees onto my head. My shoulder is fine today, barely sore to the press.

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Escapades: , An act or incident involving excitement, daring or adventure.
When George documents his escapades, I can relate. :)
Disclaimer, I DO NOT recommend or advise to do these activities. Personally, when I did them there was much planning and safety involved. Well thought out plans, personal protective equipment, location and time in case of emergency etc. Things happen regardless and thus we have escapades. By the vay, these areas turned out pretty nice in the end.
 
Glad you are ok. I took a good whack to the upper back on Saturday afternoon when I worked on a felled pine tree. I knew what was going to happen but did it anyway - and then it happened. At least I protected my head.
 
Looking up it looked pretty easy

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but looking down, not so much.

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I was pretty hard on the maples today.

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You’re getting it done that’s for sure. Those hills man, the deer can watch you a mile away.
 
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