Less Crooked, Less Wooded

At the same time that I've been stressing quite a bit about this building project, things are moving forward. 

A little over a week ago, my dear friend who is an artist with a chainsaw came over and in about two hours felled six large trees – two dead and four living – all too close for comfort to the site for the house (especially with all of the big storms that we can expect to keep threatening the Atlantic coast). 

Two spruces felled meticulously right on top of each other.

The smaller spruce was riddled with ants. All the more reason to be glad that it's no longer towering over where the cabin will be! 

The spruce that got taken down by my compost pile was a giant. It's hard to count the rings exactly because the ones in the centre are so tiny, but my guesstimate is about 120 years. *bows head*

The giant on the ground.

There is quite a comfy spot to sit in the branches of the downed tree.

From the perch pictured just above, there is an excellent view of this crooked pine. We left this tree standing as it is obviously leaning dramatically AWAY from the site for the house and is highly unlikely to fall on top of it. 

Two steps forward and one step back: my clothesline had to be dismantled temporarily, as it was attached on one end to a maple tree that was leaning sharply toward the site for the cabin, a maple tree that can be seen here lying at feet of the other end of the clothesline. Installing the clothesline was my first DIY project on this land and it has been consistently useful;
I will miss it until it can be set up again.

Salinger was surprisingly unfazed by the changes. He seemed happy to be the conquerer of the newly felled trees, including the "clothesline maple" pictured here.

There is much more sunlight now in the Crooked Wood. It feels a bit odd, but I'm sure I'll get used to it – and I'll be especially glad to be less shaded during the brief winter days...

Last week was a hard one for me.

I felt really crappy about deciding to kill those beautiful trees. I didn't expect to feel that way because I didn't feel anywhere near as bad when we felled many more trees to bring in the driveway and the power lines. Not to mention all of the firewood I've burned to keep warm throughout my life, each chunk of which came from a beautiful, living tree and to be honest, I never really even thought about it...

Perhaps my overall state of mind, my anxiety about the build, is what made me feel so guilty and sad about these trees. Or maybe I felt so bad because I knew these trees. I've lived here for two summers now and those trees have been some of my closest neighbours.

They were beautiful. They were my elders. They were here first. And I had them removed because they were in my way and because I could. They grew here for sixty, eighty, a hundred+ years and then each came down in a matter of minutes.

And although we honoured and embraced them before they were felled, and although they will live on, becoming furniture and/or hugelkultur beds and/or firewood and/or beautiful decomposing logs and brush that will nourish this land and give life to other trees, to fungi, mosses and insects, I mourn them. (Their deaths have made me look at some tricky questions around my own sense of entitlement, but I think I'll save those thoughts for another blog post).

As things stand now, "Them's history," as my Nana would have said. Fortunately, I'm recovering from feeling guilty and sad about deciding to cut them down. I'm doing this – I'm making a permanent dwelling for myself on this piece of land and there is no point feeling bad about it. Since I'm going to do it anyway, it's better to do it with love, gratitude and celebration than with self-doubt and regret.

This attitude adjustment has arrived just in the nick of time: we're breaking ground today. 

The SECOND driveway (A Tiny Home/Land Development Report)

On a couple of days over the past month, my forest ecologist friend (who is also an artist with a chainsaw) and I have gone to my land to cut out the "real" driveway (if you missed the back story on this one, you can check out this earlier post).

One afternoon, my friend stopped off by himself and cut down a few trees.

Today, we were able to complete the job. 

Walking down the "false" driveway toward
"my clearing" through soft and
peaceful snow.

Some tools of the trade – branch trimmers and tea.

I had forgotten how much we had already completed.

It only took us a couple more hours to finish the job.

Most of what we've cut out so far has been fir,
but my friend dropped a couple of large pine trees today.
The pine boughs smelled so good and for some
reason reminded me of being sprinkled with holy
water as a child in church. I know in Toronto
the priests used palm fronds, but in Lunenburg,
I seem to remember the priest using pine boughs.

There was one particular bit of excitement when we had to fell a tree that was close to the road, leaning toward the road and with all its branches on the roadward side. We thought we might obstruct the road and cause a massive traffic jam (in Crousetown – haha) but in the end, my friend did such a stellar job felling it that this is how much of it wound up (very briefly) on the road. Given that it was between my car (with its four-way flashers on) and my buddy's truck, I don't think it had a major impact on anybody's drive home.

Here is the final view of the driveway entrance from the road.

I'm tired and happy and I smell like pine trees.

Next, the plan is to haul out the logs that are suitable for lumber and get them milled.

After that I just need to get through winter so I can get the heavy machinery in to build a road! 

Tiny Home/Land Report: From Overwhelmed to Confident (in about 4 hours)

I admit that I have been dragging my heels most of the summer, not doing much of anything about my land, except thinking about it. (And by thinking, what I really mean is worrying, fussing and spinning my wheels).

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I needed to accept that I wasn't going to be anywhere near ready to over-winter in my tiny home this year. So, I began the hunt for a winter rental (and I think I've got that just about sorted, which is good).

Three days ago, I called a (known and trusted) contractor about putting in a driveway. Two days ago, he and I went to look at my land together. I explained my two or three tentative plans, we ixnayed one of the ideas but didn't see any major impediments to either of the other two. The estimate is forthcoming. The deciding factor between the two plans will be cost. Depending on how much money will need to be spent, I will decide on Plan A or Plan B and also whether I can afford to proceed this fall or if I will have to wait for the spring.

From OVERWHELMED...

After the meeting about the driveway the night before, I woke up yesterday morning feeling completely overwhelmed. I had intended to go to the municipal planning department to talk about building permits, but I just couldn't face it, even though I know I have a two-page list of questions I need to ask, trying to narrow down my options.

As I understand it, in my municipality, if I leave my house on wheels, I don't need to get a building permit to put it on the land and it doesn't have to meet code. The first building I put on the land, regardless of its size, does need a building permit and does need to meet the code, but anything after that does not, as long as it is smaller than 210 square feet.

One of the biggest decisions I face is what kind of building, if any, I want to put on my land.

Do I want to put a building on my land that is low-serviced? Basically a combo garage/firewood storage space, with on-grid electricity, but no heat or running water? Or do I want to build a small "water house" with running hot and cold water, a kitchenette, bathroom and washing machine hook-up (with either a full septic system or a greywater system and composting toilet)? Or do I want to build a full-on, rooted-to-the-earth tiny house with power, heat, running hot and cold water – everything contained in one place. Or would I rather not build anything at all and just perch on the land in my current tiny home either three seasons a year or year round (with the latter option obviously requiring a number of winterization measures).

Each of these options will entail very different things in terms of permits and cost.

And I don't know what I'm doing. I've never done this before so I'm learning at a great rate. If I'm not careful I get overwhelmed and I feel very lost and scared.

It's a big challenge for me to go slow, not get ahead of myself or try to take on too much at once.

And while I'm doing this project solo, by and for myself, it's important for me to remember that I don't have to do it alone.

Yesterday was a perfect reminder of that.

...to confident.

After my dismal, stressed-out morning yesterday, I was in town in the afternoon, running errands, when my phone rang. The call was from a couple of friends for whom I had done a substantial favour earlier in the summer. They had offered to return the favour with a day of work (meaning two person days of work – an agreement that seemed more than fair to me, especially since they are super-handy and work in the field of forest ecology, offering skills that I really need). I understood that they were having a busy summer and that our work party would need to wait until late summer, or even early fall.

When they called yesterday, my friends said they were unexpectedly free for the afternoon and since it wasn't too sweltering hot to work, was I available to come take a look at my land? I was mostly hoping for their knowledgeable advice about what trees to cut and what not to cut, but I got way more than I was hoping for! They brought a chainsaw and after four hours of work, we had cut out and cleared about half of the length of the planned driveway at a width of 16 feet!

It was an amazing transformation! My land has not been cleared or tended in any way in a long time. It is a stand of natural, mature forest – very little undergrowth, lots of standing and fallen dead wood. I find it remarkably beautiful, but what I was not prepared for is how much more beautiful it is with a swath of it cut out. The space for the driveway is now framed and canopied by trees. The trees look much taller now that one can stand back and really get a look at them.

The clearing sets off the trees to better advantage!
Look how tall and majestic they are!

And the things I learned about forest ecology were useful and fascinating. We selected the path for the driveway with an eye to preserving certain trees – favouring hardwoods (which are less common on my land) and a couple of beautiful old, super-straight tamaracks and pines. We mostly took out the small, crappy fir trees, many of which were standing dead anyway from a lack of light under the canopy of taller trees.

My friends explained how brush piles and piles of dead wood act as nourishment for existing trees and how they could be positioned to regulate water drainage on the property. And that I could transplant baby trees from the middle of the planned driveway to other spots on the property, where they will get more light – and not be decimated by the excavators.

Plus, we piled up a good start on next year's firewood!

One of several piles of firewood,
ready to be bucked up!

All in all, it was an extremely satisfying, informative, fun and uplifting afternoon!

In one short afternoon, I went from feeling stuck and stymied about my land to hopeful and heart-lifted.

It is very good to have good friends.

I am very, very grateful.

And I am strongly reminded to be open to receiving help when it's being offered.

Where once there were only trees...

PS: because our work party had been planned so spontaneously, I had to take off around 6:15 pm to keep a commitment with some friends who are visiting from out of town. My friends said they would continue cutting and clearing for another half-hour or so. When I went back today to take the pictures I had forgotten to take for this blog post, I was amazed to see how much more they had done. They must have stayed much longer than a half hour, and they cleared about the same distance again that we had cleared in the first four hours. I am amazed and humbled by their hard work, efficiency, diligence and their generosity with their work and talents. 

And I am even more grateful than I was yesterday, if that is even possible. 

Chainsawin'! Day 2

It's taken me a few days to write this post.

I wrote my Chainsawin'! Day 1 post on my phone during the evening after the first day of the course. At the end of the second day, I was so tired I just wanted to be able to drive home safely. I was so tired, I almost stopped by the side of the road to have a nap in the middle of my 50-minute drive home!

And it's been a very busy week – so much typesetting and also a family BBQ with some visiting relatives.

But I really do want to report on the second day of my Chainsaw course – so, better late than never!

Our second day was focused on falling trees.

Again, breakfast was at 8am and we got going pretty promptly after eating. We spent a little time in the classroom and then went out to the "simulators" to practice our notches and back-cuts.

A fellow participant practicing a notch in the "simulator"

I think these are my notches, but I can't really remember...

The weather was cool and grey. Around lunchtime, it POURED! We went inside and ate and the rain had slowed up by the time we were ready to go out into a stand of trees and fall trees for real.

Our instructor, Patrick, felled the first tree in a semi-clearing to make a bit more room in the hope that none of our trees would get hung up.

Then, each participant took a turn falling a tree – relatively big ones – maybe between 8-12 inches in diameter and 30-40 feet high. Once it was down, each tree needed to be limbed.

A fellow participant notching a tree.

I put down a spruce: notch, back-cut, hinge, pushed it over with my shoulder and stepped back into my escape zone. Then, the limbing. I had safety glasses, but I wished for a face mask as the chips flew up into my face while I took the limbs off the top side of the tree. The sides and bottom where easier and more comfortable to do. Limbing felt like it took forever, and I was very physically tired by the time it was done.

Tired and also exhilarated.

It was a really good course – thorough and a nice mix of hand-on and theoretical learning. And the food was awesome! And so was the company: I had great conversations with our volunteer hospitality co-ordinator, Anne, and the other participants in the course.

Good times.

Chainsawin'! Day 1

End of Day 1 of my two day chainsaw course at the Harrison Lewis Centre in East Port l'Hébert.

It's 9:20 pm, twilight, and I'm sitting in my non-electrified cabin, looking out at the shoreline. It is beautiful here. 

I have a cabin to myself, which is lovely. So peaceful and quiet – it feels like home. Except of course, that I miss Salinger.

What a full day! Breakfast at 8 and a full morning of classroom stuff started at 8:30. Lots of safety rules and explanations about how chainsaws work and how they are to be maintained.

Then, out to the big pile of wood where we all donned chaps, ear protection, safety glasses and of course, our chainsaw boots and everybody got a chance to start a saw and buck up some wood – compression on the top, tension on the bottom, then the reverse and finally a bore cut.

The saw felt awkward to me at first. I'm very left-handed and the saw is a right-handed tool. Our instructor, Patrick, strongly recommended that I learn to use it right-handed in the interests of safety.

The adrenaline pumping through me, I made my first few cuts. When I enrolled in this course, I suspected that I would love using a chainsaw and I was so right!

Over the past couple of weeks, I've had several people warn me seriously about the dangers of using a chainsaw. I definitely have a healthy respect for the saw. However I feel that in time I will become a good chainsaw user and I'm excited by this prospect. While my first few cuts filled me with adrenaline, after four or five cuts, I could already begin to feel myself gaining confidence in my skills and relaxing into it.

We spent the evening sharpening our chains and chatting. Now it's early to bed for me as I expect I will be awake early in the morning (as usual) ready to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the Harrison Lewis Centre, before we resume our work at 8 AM.