A Memory In The Mist

Posted on February 22, 2013 by foresterartist

Appearing out of the mist was this large rusting hulk. A tree growing through its roof as it imperceptibly melts into the ground. These strange structures were once as common in the forested West as family owned bookstores, and like the bookstores they are slowly fading away. They have been replaced by newer and better technology. In a few decades most of these old relics will be gone. No longer a reminder of a past lifestyle. I suspect that most young folks won’t recognize it, but does anyone else?

Mist, tepee burner, lumber, sawdust, photography

Tree branches pour through it like smoke. How oddly appropriate the tree chose this as it’s home.

Reporting Live From The East Woods

Posted on February 20, 2013 by foresterartist

This just in. The sun is shining, the trees are green and the snow is fine.
Blitz signing off .

Whoop…..Whoop!

Girls Day In The Woods

Posted on February 19, 2013 by foresterartist

After a break from going for a ride along to the woods, the girls got to go yesterday. Up in the mountains of Western Shasta County, Blitz and Teka were in dog heaven.

golden retriever, pickup, ride, dogs photography

Blitz would prefer to ride up front.

Western Shasta area.

golden retriever, snow, dog, photography

Blitz loves the snow.

Blitz enjoys a fine piece of wood.

Blitz

Teka Playing in the snow

Blitz and Teka having a romp in the snow.

It’s a race.

The girls are loaded up and ready to roll.

View to the West of the Trinity Alps.

The perfect end to a perfect day. A fiery Shasta sunset.

The Misery Whip – The Final

Posted on February 10, 2013 by foresterartist

Watercolor, watercolour, logging, historic, crosscut saw, misery whip, auction, art

The Misery Whip.

Here it is, the final painting. I hope you like it.

Now that I finally have time to catch my breath, here is what happened since my last post. I left work and rushed home. I had about 20 or 30 minutes of painting left to do. When I finished the painting, we had about an hour and 5 minutes before we had to be at the dinner auction. I cut the mat and framed it. With that complete, we got ourselves ready and ran out the door. We arrived at the dinner, and presented the painting to the master of ceremonies so he could put it on display. After an excellent prime rib dinner the auction began.

This auction is a fund-raiser for the Education Fund of the Sierra Cascade Logging Conference. The money goes for forestry education for local students. The money supports Education Day for local 4th graders to tour the conference, that is where Mary gave her presentation, https://theforesterartist.com/2013/02/08/the-misery-whip-home-stretch/ . They also support the local college logging sports team, scholarships and a Spring woods tour, among other things.

Now back to the auction. The painting was item 30 out of 50. Not a bad place to be. If it is too early, some folks are holding back, keeping their powder dry, so to speak. Too late in the evening and many bidders start to leave. The bidding seemed to be going pretty high during the early portion of the auction. I was encouraged. Finally, The Misery Whip was up. Bidding started at $200. The bidding was short and frantic. Then, “SOLD” to the high bidder for $900. I was very happy to see my effort contribute to bringing in so much to the charity fund. I could not see who the bidder was.

Mary runs our booth at the conference, so on top of everything else we had been preparing for the conference and getting product ready. As a result Mary and I were exhausted and were planning to go home after the painting was auctioned, but I had a ticket for a drawing at the end. Since, we did not want to stay that late, I took the ticket to a friend from work who would be there for the drawing. He was sitting in the area of the high bidder, so I asked him who it was. He said “it was me”! He told me when he saw it on display he was determined to buy it and it was his way of owning a piece of me. I was flattered and humbled. Thank you Ted. I’m really glad he got it.

After weeks of getting to bed after mid-night, last night Mary and I were in bed by 7pm and slept for 12 hours. The truck is unloaded. Now it is time to fall back and regroup. All in all, I would say it was a very successful conference.

Black Bird Fly

Posted on November 16, 2012 by foresterartist

black bird, pen and ink, photo, photography, logs, salvage, forestry, timber

Black birds feast.

The black birds hop from log to log. All the while, tilting their heads to and fro. Then after a brief pause they reach into the bark, and with surgical precision, pluck out a squirming grub. Then with heads thrown back they swallow the grub with the ease of an Olympic gymnast dismounting from a balance beam.

black birds, logs, logging, grubs, photo, photography

Hunting grubs on the burned logs.

This goes on all day in our log yard. As the logs from the fire salvage operations pour into the yard, so do the black birds. The swarm the logs for this feast of opportunity. Sometimes they engage in black bird battles for dominion over some particularly grub infested log. I think these birds get fatter every day. Soon they may not be able to fly.

logs, salvage logs, fire salvage, burned, photo, photography

Burned logs delivered to the log yard.

Salvage logging continues at break neck speed. The beetles invading the logs are an indicator of the oncoming decay. Next will be stain, splitting and then rot. Time and decay are our enemies. The black birds are a constant reminder of the ticking clock.

fire salvage, burned timber, timber, forest, golden retriever

Ponderosa burn fire salvage. Where have all the squirrels gone?

Skidding Logs

Posted on November 3, 2012 by foresterartist

Logging, Horses, horse logging, skidding, historic logging

Skidding logs with a big wheels and a team.

Skidding logs is the process of moving cut logs from the woods to the landing. The landing is where they are loaded for transport to the mill. After the turn of the last century, draft animals and steam were the engines of choice for moving these huge logs. The “big wheels” in this pen and ink, was the pinnacle of technology in ground based skidding way back then.

Cat skidder, Cat, skidder, skidding, logs, logging

Cat rubber tire skidder

Diesel powered skidders are the work horses of today for skidding logs. These machines come in different sizes and configurations for different jobs. The rubber tire skidders are used on gentler slopes. They are built for speed.

John Deere skidder

The track laying skidders often used on steeper slopes. They are built for traction.

Cat skidder, skidder, Caterpiller, skidding, logs, logging

Cat track skidder

The forwarder is today’s pinnacle of technology in ground based skidding. It loads logs onto itself instead of dragging them.

Valmet Forwarder

Let’s not forget the original skidders, the horses. They can’t be beat for sheer beauty!

Horses near Burney Mountain.

From The Field

Image

I’m in the field today. Rough, rocky, dry, dusty and burned. This will be no picnic for the loggers.

The Hot Seat

Posted on October 5, 2012 by foresterartist

The Hot Seat

While cruising down the road through the burn I came across this chair. It was sitting quietly off to the side of the road in what had previously been a thicket. It was out of place in the middle of the forest. I don’t know for certain how it came to this place. Probably an old hunter left it behind. Someone who used it to sit comfortably for a long time in a place where he or she could watch for unsuspecting deer to cross the road. Why had they left it? Perhaps, it was simply forgotten, no longer useful, or maybe the hunter was successful and in all the excitement forgot to return for the chair. I think it had been here a long time. It sat there waiting for it’s hunter to return for season after disappointing season. This year, as the anticipation of deer season grew closer, something else came. Not the hunter. Instead it was the conflagration. For a few fiery minutes it became The Hot Seat. The fire roared passed leaving exposed the transformed steel skeletal remains of what was once the chair. Quietly, it still sits and waits.

The Arrowhead

Posted on October 4, 2012 by foresterartist

Water Break

During my travels today, I stopped at a spring, so Blitz and Nellie could get a drink and cool off. They were busy running around, swimming, drinking, and eating some grass. Then, I spotted a small shiny black object in the dirt. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was an obsidian arrowhead. I have no idea how long it had been there, maybe hundreds or thousands of years. The tip was chipped. It had probably struck a rock or bone when it had been shot at it’s prey many years ago. I imagine that once it was chipped the hunter removed it from its shaft to replace it with a new point. It was probably dropped, lost and forgotten, until now. As I looked at the features and the delicate workmanship of this point I can see that the maker took great pride in his work. It was shaped with precise care. The joy in the workmanship of this little obsidian projectile point was evident. It was a utilitarian object, but also a piece of art. I took a picture of the arrowhead so that I could share it on this blog. It is little piece of art in the forest, and history. In California we’re not allowed to collect such artifacts. Maybe in the future, someone else will see it and it will tell them it’s story, as it told me today. I can only imagine, if I had met the maker of this arrowhead that he would have said to me, “hey check this one out, pretty cool isn’t it.” I would have to agree. Like a blog from the past, I was fortunate to take this picture so that I could share it with all of you and I hope you enjoy it.

: Obsidian Arrowhead

Fire Salvage Begins

Posted on September 25, 2012 by foresterartist

Burned timber being skidded into the landing.

The race is on. Salvage operations on the Ponderosa Burn are now underway. They race to harvest the fire killed timber and deliver it to the mills before it breaks down, and loses it’s value. The small landowners managed their timberlands to provide additional income, maintain healthy timber stands, and create an attractive forest. This fire has changed their management plans. If they don’t recover the value of the timber they will have no money for reforestation. The large timber companies will replant their lands as a part of normal operations. Replanting fire damaged timberlands in California is not required by law due to the massive cost it represents. The timber companies replant after these fires because it is good stewardship and good business.

The landscape on the big canvas is being repainted as this latest transformation begins. Fire was the first paint brush to change the canvas. Men and their machines are the next one.