More gardening
Well, I say gardening. That will come later. The destruction and devastation has to happen first. The upright bit of tree that I was attempting to salvage turned out to be a bough that was growing perpendicular to the ever so slightly rotten trunk. The trunk itself had fallen over quite some time ago, and much of the structure of the tree is dead. The only thing maintaining the integrity of the thing was the ivy vines, which have grown in some places to be several inches thick.
At lunchtime, I set about it with one of my saws. This sort of thing:
Trying to cut through alive and dead wood with this type of saw is hard work. It will do it, but it takes a lot of time, and not a few blisters.
After I knocked off for the day, I tried again with a different saw, a hacksaw:
I knew this wasn't the right type of saw, but it was the only thing I had to hand, apart from the 4lb lump hammer and a hatchet. The blade on this is designed for cutting metal and plastic; dry wood at a pinch. Not "wet" (or "green") wood. Predictably, I got almost nowhere fast.
I eventually managed to get through though. A quick conflab with Jim revealed that he had a bowsaw he no longer has use for, and even though the blade is shagged, it still cut through soooo much easier than I had managed thus far. The end result is that I now possess a bowsaw, and a new blade is coming via the nice Amazon man tomorrow.
The right tool for the right job, as always.
Once I have felled the rest of that tree, and cut up the branches that are currently on the deck, I should be able to start making progress on clearing the rest of it.
I've taken the rest of the week off, as I need a break from work, and while this isn't going to be especially relaxing, there is something quite therapeutic about adding order and neatness to the garden.
At lunchtime, I set about it with one of my saws. This sort of thing:
Trying to cut through alive and dead wood with this type of saw is hard work. It will do it, but it takes a lot of time, and not a few blisters.
After I knocked off for the day, I tried again with a different saw, a hacksaw:
I knew this wasn't the right type of saw, but it was the only thing I had to hand, apart from the 4lb lump hammer and a hatchet. The blade on this is designed for cutting metal and plastic; dry wood at a pinch. Not "wet" (or "green") wood. Predictably, I got almost nowhere fast.
I eventually managed to get through though. A quick conflab with Jim revealed that he had a bowsaw he no longer has use for, and even though the blade is shagged, it still cut through soooo much easier than I had managed thus far. The end result is that I now possess a bowsaw, and a new blade is coming via the nice Amazon man tomorrow.
The right tool for the right job, as always.
Once I have felled the rest of that tree, and cut up the branches that are currently on the deck, I should be able to start making progress on clearing the rest of it.
I've taken the rest of the week off, as I need a break from work, and while this isn't going to be especially relaxing, there is something quite therapeutic about adding order and neatness to the garden.