A dead paper birch west of the house was cut down today. Prone to rapid rotting due to the amount of water in the trunk, we'll get excellent burning out of the tree after processing and about two years os seasoning. Crown pieces were still solid, so these will also eventually go into the stove.
This project is still a work in progress, with a good chunk of the tree still needing to be split. A few more images from the morning's action:
Working down the hill for three hours this morning led to a wonderful harvest. The potatoes are especially beautiful on this very sunny and pleasant day.
At 4:32 p.m. today, with inside temp at 66 and overnight low of 44 expected, a match was struck to light the first fire of the season. Decorative birch comes in over the spring to make for a lovely arrangement by the stove. This is the first wood to burn, along with the pictured kindling and shards.
The firebox was quickly ready for the match.
Twelve minutes after the initial flame, extra wood increased the stack temp to 580 degrees.
One of the signs of having bears in your woods is the destruction of old biomass. Bears really like eating insects. With their strong sense of smell and immense strength, a bear can easily find insects and tear to shreds an old stump like this one.
Old logs can also receive rough treatment from bears. Today's destroyed stump is just one of many found this year so far.
There have been plenty of berries for bears to eat, as well. Fortunately, a human picked six cups of blackberries this morning, before bears could get them. This flip top was filled in 50 minutes of walking. Today's two previous cups are already in the freezer.
The weather has been rather cool this summer, which feels great. There has been plenty of rain, which has cut back on solar production for what is normally the best month of the year. A lot of sun was visible today, making for our 7th day this month with 52 kilowatt/hours of production. Two Julys ago, we had 19!!!!! Overall, we'll have about 450 fewer kw/hrs this month than July 2019. But it's hard to complain with a lovely breeze and highs barely 70 degrees for the last few days this month. The forest looks great no matter what the temperature.
A morning of work outside deserves to be celebrated with a wonderful lunch. Raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, all picked from the hill, joined rum raisin bread for some great french toast. The raspberry patches still look great, with blackberries just starting to fill in. The three blueberry bushes have produced many great berries so far, with more ripening.
Raspberries are scattered this season due to the relative lack of sun. However, much magic has happened in the garden. Another round of lettuce, which has been especially good this summah, was picked today, as well as the lovely items pictured.
