Sunday, March 1, 2015

Wood work

My weekend was off to a slow start but the weather cleared after lunch on Saturday and I grabbed the loppers and secateurs and headed off to attack one of the many woodpiles that will keep me busy for a month of Sundays.

Woodpile #1

Woodpile #2
Woodpile #3 - now over 20m long
I started at the tyre end of the woodpile and by 9pm had made a decent pile of kindling-sized twigs and leaves, along with a pile of bigger stuff that I could cut with the loppers. Anything bigger than that will need either the bow saw or maybe even a chainsaw.

The birds kept me entertained whilst I snipped and lopped; a piwakawaka (fantail) checked out what I was doing and flitted about over my head. A few light showers breezed through which was a good excuse for having a cuppa and resting my fingers and wrists.

Going well - the kindling pile is about waist high

My first day of Autumn 2015 started off with a kiwi duet at 6.53am - the female was right outside the house and the answering male probably up near the road. Magic! It's going to be a great day!!

A quick shower and breakfast then wood time again. It was a cool and cloudy start but that's ideal weather for getting physical, unlike mid-afternoon when the sun came out and the temperature shot up to 30°C. I finished up at 8.30pm and could see a lot more grass!



Kindling pile now almost as tall as me

A beautiful Rakiura evening
The area I've cleared is a tiny percentage of what still needs to be done but I find it very satisfying to achieve it using hand tools and human power - no noisy machinery or fossil fuel required.