Chainsaw work

Chainsaws make cutting wood faster but at the end of the day I feel just as tired as if I had used a handsaw, or more so.

Having gotten my chainsaw chain sharpened last week I decided to do some cutting today. I have about a dozen trees or partial trees that have fallen in the pasture the past few years and I need to cut them for firewood. The two oldest trees are laying on the ground and starting to go soft in parts. One tree on the ground was being used by the gophers this past summer to escape my attempts to trap them as they moved their holes to under the tree in spots where parts of the tree did not lay directly on the ground.

After testing out the new chain on some logs in the backyard waiting to be cut I moved to the south pasture. I finished cutting the trees I had worked on last Fall. I seem to remember after filling my pickup with cut logs last year rain or snow arrived ending further cutting for the year.

In the course of several hours I cut two full trees, half of another tree, and several other smaller trees. Then I ran out of gasoline. Tomorrow I'll have to mix up another mixture of the special gasoline chainsaws use.

It is just as well I ran out of gas else I would have kept cutting. While a chainsaw makes cutting faster and easier, it still is a workout. By the end of my work I had taken off my coat, then my shirt, and was down to wearing just a t-shirt - and was still warm. Our high temperature today was only 58 degrees.

Even with a sharpened chain making the cutting go smoother and quicker, tonight I feel tired from the chainsaw's noise and vibrations. I'll see tomorrow how much I feel like cutting more trees. I have other projects and may do another one to take a break.

I would have had a photo to share with you but I forgot my camera at the house. The sight of a long pine cut into small logs for splitting would have made a great photo; especially as the sun made an appearance after who knows how long. The light was soft and beautiful on the logs with the river in the background.


I also talked with Dan this afternoon. His shoulder surgery went well and he is now in the recovery and healing mode. We talked about cattle, hay, and deer. Dan plans to have four or so ton of hay bales delivered this weekend and needs help in unloading them. I'll help him as he can't lift anything right now.