Chip Chip Chipping

We rented a wood chipper machine for the weekend.  The deal was if we picked it up at 3 PM on Saturday we didn't have to return it until first thing Monday.  So off Patrick went to pick it up with the little truck.  Only they wouldn't let him tow it home with the truck because it was too light.  Patrick came back home to get the Toyota and had to wait until I came home from shopping.  Luckily I don't shop for hours and returned in time for him to go back to the shop before they closed.  The plan to have the chipper for a longer period of time without having to pay for two days rental went out the window because by the time he got the machine back to the house it was after dark.

The next morning Patrick had the chipper up and going and we dragged sticks, more sticks and branches to feed the machine.  Each time we thought we'd cleaned up an area we'd find another patch of rubble to work on.  By 1:30 we'd cleared three piles of branches away from the woods in front of the house and Patrick moved the chipper down the lane and into the woods.  The rest of the afternoon continued the same way, move and clear, move and pick up some more.  

There were at least 10 piles of branches on the property.  Some have been there for a few years, others are more recent because we had several trees fall during the October snow storm.  As the afternoon was nearing the end, darkness was fast approaching and there were still several piles left to get to.  Our neighbor appeared with his safety gear on and pitched in to help finish the job.  He and Patrick finished the next to last pile just before 5:30.  The last pile, way out back, will have to wait another year.

Now that we know how much chipping we can do in a day we can plan ahead and have our piles ready as soon as the rental machine arrives.  This will save hauling everything to the field for a burn pile and waiting for a breezeless day to light it.  We figure on renting once a year.  I hope this means we'll be able to clear up our woods at a faster rate than we've been doing.

I tell you there's an adventure and a new experience waiting around every corner.  We're quite pleased with the clean up job we did.  We're also quite tired today.