Bobcat 331 - The little excavator that could

[melli]

Hard for me not to associate a BC mini with that children's morning cartoon featuring a small tugboat given I live in an area with monster excavators....however, after clearing my land with it, it certainly deserves a little cred. If I had to pay someone on a 20-40 tonne machine to clear my land, I would have handed over more than I paid for Bobby. I just finished burning the bulk of my slash...that was the most exhausting job of the whole project (lots of stress when flames went a good 30ft into the air)...plus, I am down 30% in lung capacity. Doesn't help when one chain smokes while watching a forest fire. I'm sure the rules vary depending on locale, but in BC, there are many rules to follow, one of which is to be on site at all times. Also, I wanted the fire to burn in a day, so I could go home...Two 14 hr days later, and many tonnes of CO2 spread afar, I feel relieved. I did look into having it shipped to a mulching plant, but the price would have bankrupted me and the CO2 emissions of the trucks....Thank god, I don't have to stare at a mountain of slash anymore. If you look in the pics, you can see how big some of those stumps were...I know one was at least 4 tonnes...had to drag it to the fire...took an hour. Before (over summer) and after (today):

 

[Fishfiles]

nice job , nice looking woods -------what kind of tree are those and what kind of animals you got lurking around --------

 

[melli]

nice job , nice looking woods -------what kind of tree are those and what kind of animals you got lurking around --------

Thanks...the majority of trees on top of my hill are Douglas firs, but those twisted, craggy looking ones are Arbutus. The latter are unique to the BC coast. They look really craggy right now as the forest limited their greenery to the tops, but I've noticed they are started to fill out now that there is more light. I like them as the leaves are evergreen an it adds a little variation to the forest.................mostly deer inhabit these parts, with the odd coyote and wolf. I did see a monster black beer passing through my property last summer. I was surprised given they usually hang out in wetter and lower locales. I think he was just transiting to a better berry patch.