After some storms that came through later in the night, we were greeted by yet another tree that decided it would rather lay down on the ground than remain standing. In its defense the tree was dead and was the lower half of the trunk. The tree fell into the chicken yard, hitting the dividing fence that separates the yard from the rest of the fenced in compound. In the process of coming down and hitting the fence, the dead tree trunk knocked a few pickets from the 2x4s that make up the fence, even pushing one of the pickets straight down into the soft ground several inches. At least the tree didn't break the 2x4s but it did further weaken the two posts that are used in holding up the fence. An attempt to try and straighten out one of the landscape timber posts resulted in some cracking sounds, meaning the board was already to the point of rotting at the base, any more movement would break the post. I'd have to fix this by pounding a metal fence post in the ground next to this post and anchoring the fence to that instead. Anyway, another fatality of the falling tree was this small chicken coop/tractor we had set up a couple years ago and patched on a couple times since then, even with the car coops already in the game. This particle board and weak wood structure was no match for the falling tree. It was just as well because it wouldn't have been long before this structure fell in on itself through its own rot anyway. Well, down to business. We had to chop up this fallen tree, even the poison ivy vines that covered the trunk from top to bottom. The trunk was chopped up into short enough sections that we could load everything into the wheelbarrow in batches and move everything over to the burn pile, which was already stacked up with other garbage. This tree matter would be what was needed to top off the pile so we can fire everything. With the fence cleared, I was able to pull the pickets back up and set in place. Instead of using tacks with the nail gun to secure the pickets, I just used wood screws. At least these few pickets won't be falling off spontaneously like many of the others when the tacks weaken. With the fence fixed, I moved on and dismantled the remainder of the chicken coop, saving the screws and hinges and other useable hardware from the structure, stacking these pieces onto the burn pile just as well. With the old chicken coop broken down and stacked and all the hardware stored in the trailer in their respective hardware bins, I fired the pile, letting that stuff burn down enough before going back inside, even after the rains passed through. Last thing I need is for something to catch an ember enough to spring to life. Anyway, with this little business taken care of, I can get back to finishing up the scrapping which of course will lead on to other business we have planned for the compound.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
May 2023
|