Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Sledding Firewood with Ox and Dog


Cutting up the firewood in the woods seems more satisfactory for me than skidding the logs out to chunk-up in the open. It keeps the mess in the woods and in the woods the log is rarely laying so flat on the ground that it has to be blocked-up to keep the chainsaw from getting dulled in the dirt. The leaves and forest humus also protect the saw to a degree. The sled is very maneuverable and can skid right over obstructing stumps and fallen logs without hanging up. I cleared a trail, of sorts, and then roughly piled the firewood along the trail to pick up later with the ox and sled. Using the sled required no backing up which is difficult for an ox. I could take each load directly to the truck and trailer. The only problem I had was that the cart-reins were too short, forcing me to walk between the ox and the sled on narrow parts of the trail. I'll make longer reins for the sled.