I saw my first robin last week. And I’ve been hearing cranes. I love spring, and what it brings back to us, or we hope it brings back to us. Many landowners report bird watching as a favorite activity in their woods. Do you know what birds are using your woods and trees? Are there […]
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The right technique and schedule for sharpening a chainsaw
Sharpening a saw requires focusing on all the cutting surfaces and consistent filing motions. My last article covered the necessary tools for sharpening a chainsaw. This article will cover the right techniques and schedule for sharpening to ensure safe and efficient cutting. All the time and money you spent on sharpening and the tools associated […]
Determining the value of a log
The process for determining the value of individual logs is complex and involves a number of variables. As is nearly always the case, a family disagreement took place while we were working in the woods. Now it may seem like we are always disagreeing in the woods, but that is not true at all. In […]
The right tools for sharpening a chainsaw
The only way to ensure the work you do to sharpen your saw is right and will last more than 1 minute of cutting is to use the right tools. There is nothing like cutting with a sharp chainsaw. The chain slicing through the wood with ease. Chips flying and the sticks of firewood piling […]
Ode to a compass
A compass is a simple yet powerful tool for navigating in the forest. As much as I enjoy trying out and embracing new technology, I am still using the compass I bought almost twenty years ago for navigating in the woods. I have tried GPS units and even a compass app on my tablet and […]
Tips for involving the next generation in the tree farm
(Guest Article by: Clint Bentz) The best fertilizer for the land is the footsteps of the owners. This piece of advice was given to me years ago by a 5th generation family forest landowner and I have taken it to heart. What this really means is that you can’t truly love or care for […]
Dealing with problem beavers on your property
Beavers can make dramatic changes to a landscape and you need to learn to live with them, or how to deter or remove them. A friend of ours (let’s call him Wayne) has had a continuing problem with families of beavers taking up residence along the creek that runs through his property. He bought the […]
How do trees and forests grow?
This month we are going to get our hands dirty by digging into how trees grow and how trees interact in a forest. My quest is to help you understand how it ties to the trees you see in your woods, and why the types of trees changes over time. Understanding tree biology is also […]
The Mighty Bug
Insects, either individually or as a large group, can kill your trees, so it is a good idea to keep an eye out for them and monitor the health of your trees. I was assessing the health of our trees recently, and noticed some that looked a bit under the weather. Many of the branches […]