An offer of firewood in exchange for a hard day's labour clearing an area where a large gum tree had blown down was too good to pass up. The large stuff had been chainsawed through but the wood needed stacking and all the tops moved out of the way. Most people dump the tops but I find the leaves and twigs perfect for lighting the fire and small branches burn with a lot of heat - plus the smell is lovely! The morning started out wet but the adage 'raining at 7, fine by 11' held true (though 50 minutes early) and blue skies appeared as I walked the 3km to the site.
It's a lovely walk down to Bragg Bay from my house (A), along Back Road, down Hicks Road on to Horseshoe Bay Road as it runs along Butterfield Beach, then a right turn into Bragg Bay Road and along to my destination (B).
At the red cross on the map, there's this lovely view on one side of the road...
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| Mill Creek (on the right) where it meets Bathing Beach (middle) |
...and in the opposite direction a view of the road down to Butterfield Beach.
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| Butterfield Beach looking back towards Halfmoon Bay |
A nice walk along the beach, then up a sharp hill and turn right into Bragg Bay Road. Halfway along there is a fairly recent slip - I'm glad I wasn't walking past when it came down! The road is only single lane and there's a sharp drop off the other side.
Round the corner and down the hill, then along the picturesque Bragg Bay.
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| Bragg Bay |
I got to the site at 10.45am and set to stacking all the large bits of wood over in the corner, then slowly but surely worked my way through all the top branches piled up beyond. Loppers and a bow saw are a lot less stressful to work with than a chainsaw and don't make anywhere near as much noise!
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| Before Pic at 10.45am |
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| and After Pic - with the trailer all stacked up at 3.45pm |
I unloaded the trailer this afternoon and went back with it to fill it up a second time. I've got enough kindling to last a few years I reckon but if it works well as a fuel as well as kindling then I should be able to get away without buying in wood. The house heats up so quickly since I got double-glazing so worth experimenting - I wonder if I could make bricks out of compacted gum leaves?
Today dawned cool and clear after a starry, starry night so I'll leave you with this pic from my deck just before the sun rose...
