Relay For Life

Thank you to our family, friends, coworkers and businesses who supported us in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Together with our teammates and our supporters, we raised just over $2,000 of the $60,000 raised for the event. Thank you!! The event was held this past weekend at the Lancaster, NH Fairgrounds. Our team, DJ's Collaborators, joined over 20 other teams and 100+ participants for the event. The weather started out perfect on Saturday afternoon. Rain didn't set in until about 1 in the morning.

Event Staff did a skit

Some participants dressed up

And finally, the luminarias at night

All shapes and sizes

Our trees soaked up lots of sun today. We produced more than 37 kw/hrs from the solar panels. In all shapes and sizes, the trees really benefit from the sun. Like a little white oak and big paper birch

The lovely weather provided time for additional brush cutting today. Thinning several young paper birch stands continues. Two are pictured below:

Both saws received work over the weekend. The little one thinned some trees too big for the brush cutter to handle. More wood for next season (or the one after that!)

Enjoying the sunshine

We've been busy the last month. Lots of things to do, like watching deer:

Gathering birch bark, our favorite way to start the wood stove:

Getting the big stuff moved before next burning season:

Gazing at our lovely lupine:

And seeing the electric meter go backwards. May was our best solar production month so far, nearly 800 kw/hrs. Today promises excellent production. We were under a frost advisory early today!

Sunset panorama

Four days of warm sunshine!

A busy woodpecker was photographed this morning

Another sunny day had birches shining brightly!

Oaks always take their time to bloom out. Here's an up close shot of buds about ready to become leaves on a young one.

Latest battle in Birch-Softwood War

Some time was spent today in another spot with way too many trees crowding each other out. Something had to be done to resolve the intense competition between yellow/paper birches and some softwoods, mainly balsam fir. As this latest brush cutting before/after shows, the good guys won again, thanks to the power of the Stihl FS 250 and the 8-inch saw blade.

The picture looks to the north, so the conifers in the distance won't bother the birches that just gained lots of more room to grow and absorb sunlight. Maybe our small chainsaw will execute the remaining larger conifers at a later date.

Turkey confused by snow

Two turkeys were out yesterday morning. After walking up our south hill for a bit, the big male took a break, seemingly bewildered by late April snow.