This gallery contains 5 photos.
When steam came to the woods just after the turn of the previous century the logging locomotives were the cutting edge of technology. They could move logs farther, faster and in much greater quantity than had been done with horse and … Continue reading
This gallery contains 8 photos.
We affectionately call them “Nature Nooks”, but the official name is “Habitat Retention Areas” or HRAs. Simply put, they are groups of trees left unharvested inside a logging unit. The purpose is to leave mature tree thickets that provide hiding … Continue reading
This gallery contains 12 photos.
Fall has hit its peak in the high country. We were in the mountains for the weekend. The leaves have turned and were dropping enthusiastically, but Sunday was the day. Sunday was the day that Mother Nature performed her striptease … Continue reading
This gallery contains 5 photos.
Without a doubt squirrels are the most visible mammals in the forest. Now is their most active time. With acorns dropping from the oaks like big hailstones, the squirrels are in high gear. When I stopped to get a picture … Continue reading
This gallery contains 5 photos.
If you’re out in the woods and you find a big W painted on a tree, just remember W is for wildlife. When planning and laying out a timber harvest, foresters have to protect the other resources in the forest, … Continue reading
The Gray Fox
When I was a young child my mother had the record album Jimmie Rodgers Sings Folk Songs. I loved this record. One of the songs on it was The Fox And The Goose.
I came upon this little gray fox not long ago, and this song played in my head all day. I think the fox was a vixen, because she posed like a Parisian runway model.
The Fox And The Goose
by Jimmie Rodgers
Well, the fox went out upon a windy night,
Prayed to the moon, a gonna give him light,
He had many long miles to go that night,
Before he’d reach-a that town-o, town-o, town-o,
He had many long miles to go that night,
Before he’d reach-a that town-o.
Well the fox, he came to a great big pen,
Where the ducks and the geese, they were kept therein,
He said, “One of you’s a-gonna grease my chin,
Before I leave this town-o, town-o, town-o,
One, one of you’s a-gonna grease my chin,
Before I leave-a this town-o.”
Well, he grabbed the grey goose by the neck,
Throwed a duck up across his back,
And he did not mind their quack, quack, quack,
And their legs all a-dangling down-o, down-o, down-o,
No, he did not mind their quack, quack, quack,
And their legs all a-dangling down-o.
Well old Mother Flipper-Flopper jumped out of bed,
Threw back the shutter and stuck out her head,
And yelled, “John, John, John! Well, the grey goose is gone,
And the fox runs away from the town-o, town-o, town-o!”
“John, John, John! The grey goose, he’s gone,
And the fox runs away from the town-o!”
Well old John went up to the top of the hill,
He blew his horn both loud and shrill,
And the fox said, “I better hurry up with my kill,
They’re gonna soon be on my trail-o, trail-o, trail-o!”
Yes the fox said, “I better hurry up with my kill,
They’re gonna soon be on my trail-o!”
Well the fox, he came to his cozy den,
There sat the little ones, eight, nine, ten,
Said, “Pop, Pop, Pop, you better go back again,
‘Cause it must be a mighty fine town-o, town-o, town-o!”
“Pop, Pop, Pop, you better go back again,
‘Cause it must be a mighty fine town-o!
Well the fox and his wife, without any strife,
Cut up the goose with a fork and a knife,
And they never never had such a feast in their life,
And the little ones chewed on a bone-o, bone-o, bone-o,
No, they never never had such a feast in their life,
And the little ones chewed on a bone-o.
The End
Thank you Linda Martin Andersen for the opportunity to be a guest on your blog!
“Timber Sports–Lumberjack Skills in Axe’tion” by Tim Livingston and posted by Linda Martin Andersen
“A Writer’s Playground”–A place to find wordplay, writing, and monthly calendar activities for kids and those young at heart.
To learn more about the Livingstons check here:
https://theforesterartist.com/about/
Readers, please welcome Tim Livingston. In an earlier blog post, we gave Melissa Barr, our guest zookeeper, our best animal cry. What if we give Tim our best forest cry: TIM–BER. I just realized we’ll be calling Tim’s name when we do that. Must be meant to be.
Oops, did anyone besides me hear a tree…
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When I first posted A Memory In The Mist I thought it would be an unusual sight for most folks. With so many people unfamiliar with teepee burners and their use, and add to that a picture of one decaying into the earth, it would be something different. I decided I would show you a few more images of full standing burners that are still around. They represent something from the past that was left behind by the forward march of technology.
This pen and ink represents an old-time sawmill with a teepee burner.
In the old days, before sawdust was used for particle board and bark was used for landscaping, it was burned. Much of it was burned to power the boilers at the mill, but excess wood waste was just burned. Today’s mill residues that cannot be used in other products are burned in co-generation plants to generate electricity. Nothing goes to waste anymore.
The Carlotta, California teepee burner was an extra-large one.
A big one like the Carlotta burner could handle a lot of mill residue. With the mill gone the old burner stands like a grave marker of the old mill site.
It is a tall skinny teepee burner in Nubieber, California.
A tall burner like the one Nubieber was built with a tall chimney. This reduced the risk of sparks starting a fire outside the burner.
This teepee burner is located between Anderson and Redding, California.
The Anderson burner was a very typical design around here. As a child I lived about a half mile from this one.
A teepee burner in use from 1932.
The teepee burner from A Memory In The Mist.
Where once was smoke now there is foliage.
Nature is resilient and relentless and will be here long after we are gone.
Here comes the sun.
Every logging operation needs a log loader and there are all types of them. This pen and ink is of a Barnhart log loader from back in the railroad logging days. It was a big steam-powered loader for loading big logs.
The Barnhart Log Loader
Here are some of today’s loaders.
The heel-boom loader is today’s log loading staple. It is also referred to as a shovel by the loggers.
The front-end loader was the standard for years, but is still common in the woods.
The logging truck hauls the trailer, also known as a log dolly, in a piggy-back configuration. Here the front-end loader unloads the log dolly.
The self-loading logging truck has its own loader built-in.
I thought it was odd that the operator lowered the hood when he loaded his truck. I assumed it may be running hot. However, when he finished loading the truck, he went over to the engine compartment and pulled out a stick, which caused the engine to throttle down. He had wedged the stick into the throttle to keep the engine revved up while he was running the loader. He then put the stick in the tool box and said, “I gotta put it up here or the dog will run off with it!” Good thing I left Blitz in the truck.
In this picture, they used a front-end loader to assist the self-loader. Normally they use the self-loaders when another loader isn’t available.
This old green beast of a front-end loader was barely running, which is why they were using the self-loader. These were two weary old machines.
Blitz is seriously wanting the throttle stick right now.
I’ve known Bob for a long time. Bob is a Logging Supervisor or Woods Boss. His operations are a going concern. Bob is all business and his guys make logs in a hurry. When I go out and talk to his crew about log quality Bob gets nervous because I’m slowing down his operation. He isn’t the kind of man that one would think of as going around showing off a piece of art, but that is what he has done for nearly twenty years.
Bob’s landing, whackin’ and stackin’ .
Twenty years ago Bob decided he needed a dog. When he got his new dog he told me, “All of you foresters have dogs in the back of your trucks, so I decided to get one for my truck.” If you have ever seen the back of a logging boss’s truck you would know that his dog would need chemical resistant feet and armor plating. Their trucks are full of hydraulic fluid, oil, truck parts, tractor parts, chokers, cable, tools, and all manner of oily, heavy metal things bouncing around loose in the bed. So Bob’s dog was special….unique even
Meet Would, Bob’s dog.
Bob’s dog is named “Would”, not Wood even though he is wood. If you ask him why “Would”, he will say, “He would bark if he could and he would s–t if he could, therefore he is Would.” Bob recently got a new work truck and when he didn’t put Would in the truck he caught so much hell that he had to load him up again. Would has been Bob’s constant woods companion for the last twenty years. He never whines, growls or barks. He doesn’t need food or water and doesn’t mind all the stuff in the back of Bob’s truck. I think Would has mellowed over the years, even developed a fine patina. He may be the perfect logger’s dog.
The forester’s dog and the logger’s dog.
I had Blitz join Would for a group shot. The two of the got on famously. Blitz is, after all, the consummate stick dog. Fortunately, she didn’t chew on his ear. I tried to get Bob in the picture, but tough old loggers don’t always like having their pictures taken.
THE FORESTER ARTIST 