One, because the summer of 2016 was a year of drought and heat for Alabama. The timber chopping crew arrived daily at the break of dawn to beat some of the heat! Yawn!
Second, JR once had a bulldozer but he sold it thinking he would no longer need it. (I shall refrain from saying, "I told you so.!") Needless to say, JR is on a quest for another bulldozer.
Third, no matter what the timber companies tell you, just remember that they will leave a MESS - a land that looks like a "WAR ZONE". (Hence the need for a bulldozer.)
Fourth, once the timber cutting is completed and clean-up can begin, it will begin to rain and it will rain every day for a month! Yes, I am grateful for the rain - which brings us to this blog and the fact that with spring just around the corner, there is a lot of cleaning up to do on our farm/ranch. But first JR must find a bulldozer! Tractors and human power can only do so much!
Here is a portion of the timber land that was designated for cutting. JR marked the trees with a blue X that he wanted the timber men to cut. Plenty of young oaks were left standing to eventually grow into mature trees. Some timber companies come in and do a "clear cut" in which they cut everything there is in sight. Not the case here.
Every morning at sunrise, for six long, solid weeks, rain or shine, the timber crew would begin rolling in! (Never mind about the rain part, we only had one tiny drop during the six weeks of cutting! -- And I seriously think it was from a bird!)
This piece of equipment was huge! JR did give me a lesson on the names of these mammoth machines but I have since forgotten - being that was six months ago! Oh memory, oh memory, where art thou??
This piece of equipment could do the work of 20 men!
Meanwhile, while most species of humans were still slumbering, the timber crew would follow the farm roads until they reached the timber site.
There they would begin the chop, chop, chopping! And the crunch, crunch, crunching!
Each day the men would cut, trim and clear a portion of timber and pile the excess into rough stacks.
Then the crew would clean the fallen oak trees of small limbs and such and load them onto trailers to be taken to the lumber yard.
As the drought continued to worsen, the cows would eat the leaves from the fallen trees. Here is one good old "Bullie Bullie" enjoying a tasty treat. This old bull can have whatever he wants - whenever he wants it - however he wants it! He is the BOSS!
JR would take one of his tractors, equipped with a loader and rake, and attempt to push and pull the smaller limbs into piles for later burning.
JR and hired help cleaned up a small portion of the felled timber. The heat and dust were everywhere which made working more than a few hours a day nearly impossible. Burning brush piles soon became prohibited as the drought worsened.
JR's solution? What the tractors couldn't do, maybe the backhoe could......Note: Normally, our pastures would have been eight inches tall with lovely, green grass. In this picture, the cows had eaten the grass down to the soil.
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| Even though we had three months without a drop of rain, we were blessed to have one creek and pond that continued to provide water for the cattle. This still amazes me considering that all the other ponds and creeks on the farm had dried up. (A good lesson: God continues to provide even in times of drought!) |
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| As Autumn approached, the grass gave up completely until there was nothing but brown, brown, everywhere. And dust! And more dust! |
Fast forward to February, 2017! Now, as spring approaches, the "battlefield" sits desolate and empty, waiting for the roar of a bulldozer. These dead, dried limbs will be scraped, pushed, and hauled to a burn pile so that tender, new growth can begin the life cycle once again. That is, if the rain will stop!
NOW FOR A FEW ENCOURAGING PICTURES because I can't leave you with the "battlefield" picture imprinted on your brain! No way! That is the picture nightmares are made of!
"Trigger" came to say "hello"! And to nibble on a few tasty morsels.
The "little cowboy" mixing up "snow" on a warm winter day is beyond cool!
The conclusion? Making snowmen beats eating a Popsicle. Weeeeell......maybe. Or maybe NOT!
The "little cowboy" meeting up with friends at the county park on a sunny, spring-like afternoon. This picture says it all!
And here, ladies and gentlemen, we have the area varsity basketball champions! They could not have won the title without number 25! No doubt about it! And don't they all look like they have just been in the fight of their life??!!
Until next time,
Dee Dee
