Jeff has a new toy. A big one. It weighs about 14,000 pounds and its tires are as high as me.
It’s called an Iron Mule. It hauls logs. (In the winter, it can also plow snow.)
Did he really need a log-hauler? He already has a tractor, bulldozer and backhoe!
I guess so, because we are felling a lot of trees and no other equipment does what this does — at least not efficiently. The mule has already proven that in two days’ work at Camp Many Moons. When we’re done here, Jeff will use it at his own camp in the nearby woods.
So we’re loggers now? Sorta. Well, Jeff is — I’m an assistant logger who hooks up cables, or pulls while Jeff saws, or cleans up the small pieces. Sometimes I’m a spotter, though Jeff doesn’t really need that. If diabetes has affected his eyesight, you can’t tell it when it comes to trees.
It’s not my favorite task, but it is interesting…and necessary, because of how many trees have died here. They are not Dutch Elm, as I reported before. Read more in photo captions below….
This is how a tiny critter can kill a 60-foot tree. The Emerald Ash Borer is a beetle from Eastern Russia, Japan, Northern China and Korea. Its larvae feeds on the underside of bark, leaving this deadly trail behind. (Speaking of insects, I’m fighting ants in my tiny camper/studio. Less dramatic than this but almost as irritating…)
The app called “Picture This” identified the dead trees as Black Ash, not Dutch Elm. It’s a handy app, and free unless you want to save your data. It also told me that this plant needs attention! Um, yeah….too late….
We cut down three of the ash before the Iron Mule arrived, and the ground was littered with logs. In the past, we’ve cut and stacked them on-site, creating wood piles all over. Sometimes, Jeff has hauled them to his camp one at a time. Enter….
…the Iron Mule, delivered to Jeff’s camp on a flat-bed truck. He jumped in immediately and starting playing with its levers. (It has at least six.)
He was as delighted with his new toy as a toddler on Christmas morning…
…and, within minutes, was learning how to pick up logs with the huge claw.
Soon, he was filling it up.
We cut down three more trees after the Iron Mule arrived and will continue tomorrow. It’s my job to pick up the mess after Jeff removes the logs. You can see Huron Bay in the background. I’m sad these trees have died, but we can do something with the open space left behind. We were planning to build a woodshed here, but maybe something bigger…? We’ll think more about that when the house is done!
You could say we are doing forest management. There is diversity here, but it sounds better than it is. Besides the ash, we have cedar, balsam, maple, jack pine, spruce, white pine, white birch and a few basswood and hemlock on the two acres that comprise Camp Many Moons. Most of the cedar and white birch are slowly dying or leaning so badly that they will fall soon. The balsam is most plentiful but needs pruning, and its sticky sap drives us a little nuts. I planted seven tiny white pines last spring and hope they’ll survive.
His-and-hers chain saws! (Guess which one is mine. 😉 ) I got Jeff a new one this week, and he’s delighted with it, too. He has three already, but all are used and in various stages of disrepair. He deserved a new one. After all, they are essential to the clean-up of Camp Many Moons…
You’ve heard the saying about “all work and no play?” We took a break for a spin on a neighbor’s jet ski and a visit by Jeff’s brother in his cute little jet-boat.
Eating healthy is important any time, but especially with the kind of work we’re doing. A camper isn’t convenient for complex dishes, even if I wanted to make them. This is an easy favorite…a salad of black beans, red pepper and frozen corn, with spring onions that I grow in a pot, a good dose of garlic, and balsamic vinegar. Delicious! (You can add many options but we like it simple.) I store it in this rectangular pitcher and just pour out as needed.
Yup, sad that these diseases can kill so many trees. The Iron Mule is proving its worth! Probably more than Jeff has spent on any machine, but he seemed convinced of its value and now so am I.
I neglected to add to your post on your visit to the Ravine River: did you see the eagles nest right there? We watch it every time we go down Skanee Road to see if mom and pop are “at home” and a lot of times they are. Their eaglets did not survive the storm in the spring and we are glad that mom and pop are still around.
Toys or Tools? Play or Work? It’s a great combination when one can do both at the same time! I love seeing the evolution of Camp Many Moons through your blog.
For Many Moons 
I feel sad that the black ash is dying from the Beatles. When I was in grade school but that jump disease took out all the elms and lower Michigan.
The iron mule looks like a good tool with a big job ahead of it.
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That was the Dutch elm disease in southern Michigan.
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Yup, sad that these diseases can kill so many trees. The Iron Mule is proving its worth! Probably more than Jeff has spent on any machine, but he seemed convinced of its value and now so am I.
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I neglected to add to your post on your visit to the Ravine River: did you see the eagles nest right there? We watch it every time we go down Skanee Road to see if mom and pop are “at home” and a lot of times they are. Their eaglets did not survive the storm in the spring and we are glad that mom and pop are still around.
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We didn’t know about it but will look for it now, thanks!
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Toys or Tools? Play or Work? It’s a great combination when one can do both at the same time! I love seeing the evolution of Camp Many Moons through your blog.
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