Thank goodness for good chainsaws, pole saws, good sharp chains and a tractor with a grapple. Five big dead cedars took me about a week to take down and relocate the debris to the back of the place. That Kubota MX5400 was money spent well. Without that grapple, I really don’t think I could have done all that. Age has diminished me….a little….some….maybe.

All thanks to my neighbor for buying his new tractor and causing my tractor envy.

Big decision now - beer or whiskey?

Beer for hydration. Couple of those, then switch to whiskey.

Beer after hard work. Whiskey for social occasions.

Good job!

🤠

Big cedars? Did the thought occur to trim out the trunks and make some lumber?

Not needing cedar lumber, and my friend with the mill sold it. But, if anyone wants the bigger trunks, they are free for the asking.

Sounds like my day tomorrow only mine is cleaning up dead Black Jack oaks and cutting down several small cedars.

Grapple, grapple, grapple - stays on my FEL unless some dirt needs moving. Handy attachment.

If anyone is in need of cedar logs for fence post or making lumber with, I have many standing cedars lost after last year's hot summer. Free for the taking.
Located just north of Fairfield Tx.
PM if interested.

Now you need one of these to clean it up. We found we spend less time chipping where the tree was cut than hauling off the branches. And it looks nicer too!

https://woodmaxx.com/product/woodmaxx-wm-8m/

Wow! That’s a Fargo level wood chipper. Still, it was easier and faster to just move all the limbs and trunks with the Grapple than it would be to feed the machine. We have a 3” chipper, which is handy for small stuff, but honestly not that useful.

Good job , cutting trees by hand is a next level suckfest!!! I’m proud you got that finished up,,,

Ol Thumper, I was thinking about you and JG when I was cutting with my Stihl MS251. That saw, with a fresh chain just buzzed through those cedar trunks, which were up to about 20”, except for one maybe 30”. I managed it with an 18” bar. What I was then thinking about were the big Godzilla Stihls you guys have. They must be amazing, and even more so than my old 029 Super, which is a beast, and a heavy beast at that.

My wife has been prowling the yard looking for more dead trees. It’s been that way since I got her that Stihl battery saw. I hope everything leafs out before she does something crazy. She has her lumberjack eye on our one and only Redbud. She says she hates it because it leans. I’m gonna hide her Stihl battery.

A bored woman will always find you new projects It’s just a matter of time before you have to pull the saw out again for the boss but enjoy the completed project while you can…

Beer after hard, then a shower, then whiskey.

I thought about you today and snapped a pic of this pair

Wow!

Is that a 36” bar? My back hurts just looking at it!

Can make short work of a large brush pile with a grapple. Always impressed at the amount of work we get done with a skid steer.

The answer is always whiskey once the job is done. Beer is during the job. And age - meh turning 60 this year - what I used to do by brute force i now use me head and fortunately have the money at this stage of life to purchase whatever mechanical advantage i need. Those oak rounds are still heavy as %^&* though.


And agree - Kubota and Stihl for the win:



Notice i had to have the hoe end boomed all the way out to keep the rear end on the ground:

Yes sir it is, we have a 50” bar on the 881 but I don’t touch them anymore

Last weekend, I brute forced half an elm that had fallen on my field fence. Gotta go back this weekend with the FEL and get the big chunks. That's the start of the 3rd trailer load that day. Not pictured is the 16" ECHO 58V electric that did almost all the work on the limbs up to 6'". Used the 362 CM for the bigger stuff.