I’ve been waiting for a decent break in the endless dull and dreary weather we have been having to get some walking in. Cold, clearer weather seems to be on the way and hopefully I should be out soon, maybe out in some snow. In the mean-time I have had some diversions that have kept me busy. In the last lot of storms we had, a huge part of one of my trees that line the beck at home came down, bringing down another with it. That one I cleared up but the beck with all the rain was too deep and dangerous to try wading across to start to clear the mess up. (There are two photos of the beck in full spate at the bottom of the post showing how it can go from a little stream to serious river after plenty of rainfall).
Well we now had a week without rain, I can get across and start clearing up. I reduced a lot of it and stacked the brush and started sawing it up and splitting it up for firewood for next winter. I still have tonnes of it from the last tree that came down a year or so ago.
My little companion for the day was a robin that every time I paused for breath, would dart it and feed on the bugs and worms that had gathered in the large piece of wood I use as a chopping block.
I am always surprised how fearless these birds seem to be around humans. Still lots more to saw and chop up but I am now in no hurry and will gradually reduce to a large pile of firewood.
How wide the beck can get after torrential rain
Mark's walking blog 
I just love sawing and chopping wood! This is the first place I’ve lived in which doesn’t have an open fire, and I really miss all the chores that go along with them 🙂
Keeps you fit as well. Typing this next to the wood burner, burning the last tree that came down 🙂
Ooh Chrissie – get yerself over to Timperley and I’ll let you chop some wood for me!
Mark: Try a chainsaw and a log splitter – makes cutting wood a much easier job….don’t tell Chrissie though!
Somehow, I just daren’t imagine myself let loose with a chainsaw…
Geoff thinks I’m mad too – when we’ve been in Yosemite, spending some time at the Tuolumne Meadows campsite, every afternoon after our walk I disappear into the woods and drag back as many downed trees as I can find, and then spend the next couple of hours sawing them up for our evening campfire. I just love it! Geoff looks on while reading and drinking coffee, but he then has the most important job of all (he says) – lighting it!
I have a chainsaw Chrissie but sawing up stuff the traditional way is more relaxing if that makes sense 🙂
Did you backpack with a bush saw?
Hi John, I have a rather nice Husqvarna chainsaw which I use when the job needs doing quickly. However traditional methods are quieter at the weekend and give you a good work out !
We have got quite a good fold-up saw which we can backpack with, but we don’t routinely take it with us as we’re often camping above tree line, where camp fires are prohibited. It’s called the ‘Sierra Saw’ and is made by Coghlan’s. The Tuolumne Meadows site is actually a road-side site (gorgeous though, at 8,600ft, 60 miles away from Yosemite Valley), where we generally stay for a week or two before we go off into the back country, and where we can do lots of day walks and acclimatise well to the altitude before going higher.
Last weekend I rather enjoyed the act of sawing up some logs for the stove – realised how puny my arms are though as ached the next day.
That is a good log pile you will have!
Saw up a lot more and then your arms won’t be puny any more 🙂
I can see why you prefer the old fashioned method over a chainsaw, Mark – that’s the same with many kitchen utensils, the manual ones are often nicer than the electric ones! (Does not apply to washing up dishes, though…)
I chop wood so rarely that I always find new muscles when they ache the next day!