I have spent the past couple of weekends clearing out much of the undergrowth and old trees from the orchard. I haven’t cut down any of the fruit trees, but I have taken out the other trees that had grown in between. It must have been years since any of this land was cared for. I can’t believe how much I have taken out of such a small piece of land. This space looks so mucher bigger now. I have left all of the sheds in place (for now) – there are two fairly large sheds here.
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| Stihl 017 Chainsaw – Newly Serviced! |
I did get my chainsaw serviced during the week and this has made a tremendous difference. Rapid Hire Centre in Honley (my local Stihl dealer) serviced it same day as well as fitting a new chain. I notice that they have also turned the guide bar over so it wears equally on each side (hence the Stihl logo on the guide bar is now upside down). They have done a great job and are local – very local. Shame their website doesn’t mention that they are a Stihl dealer plus their latest catalogue is 2010.
I am not a great fan of chainsaws. Pretty dangerous and things can go spectacularly (and disastrously) wrong if you aren’t careful. They need to be treated with care and respect. I tend to plan the cuts, clear the area, make the cut and then turn the chainsaw off before clearing the area and starting the process all over again. This means that the work is slow and methodical, but it also means that there is no debris in the area to trip over (I don’t even want to think about falling over carrying a running chainsaw!).
There’s probably another day or so’s work here to tidy things up. As well as the over grown trees in the orchard, there is a large tree in the one corner with what appears to be storm damage. This needs tidying up. I made a start, but the light was fading fast.
The smaller upper branches are now on a rather large bonfire. The more substantial pieces have been cut up into logs. It will be a year or so before they are ready to burn, but I am sure that I can find a good home for them!