Monday, April 7, 2014
"The Reality of Tree Cutting"
Last week was the first time I have ever cut down a tree. This isn't a common achievement. When I first came to acknowledge that I had never cut down a tree before, I can't say I was thrilled. Being that cutting down a tree is an odd and unique achievement that can only really be appreciated once one has cut down said tree. The actual act of cutting down a tree is a vigorous, afternoon-consuming project that can only be accomplished with extraordinarily good aim and extreme devotion. Once the tree comes crashing down to your feet, and the axe you used to bitterly chop small chunks out of the massive timber is swung over your shoulder, then you can realize what you have achieved. And from now on you can know that 60% of the people you encounter from day to day have probably never cut down a tree.
The Second Thing
After massive shop and barn clean out and organization, we finally got to work outside and do the second thing on our list. We went out into the Pingree woods in search for a tree to chop down. The tree we found had relatively few branches which would create knots in the wood. It also had a good drop zone, where the tree would fall.
After clearing the area around the tree, we were able to start chopping with our special guest, Mr. Holmes. We started by cutting the area of the tree closest to the drop zone. After about 2/3 of the way through, chopping started on the other side, higher than the cut we already made.
As we got closer, we started to watch the top of the tree for any signs that it was going to fall. With about twenty minutes left in our day,we finally got it to fall. The video above shows the amazing detail of the scene.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
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Wednesday May 29th ,
Today was a rain day and as the
last rain day left me stranded without a plan, Mr. Esty and I agreed that I
should head down to Walden Pond and go see the replica of Thoreau’s house. I
had already read the section of Walden about building the house on my first day
and wanted to see for myself what it looked like. So I set out to see what the
finished product of my work at Pingree would resemble and began my journey down
the I-95 super speedway. Then I went
through swirly, twirly route 2A, where I came upon the familiar sight of
construction. Soon I found Walden Pond and began my trek from the car past
about six trees to the small house on the side of a well paved road. All I
could think was “ Mr. Esty would deem this a real Thoreauvian journey”. I couldn’t help but draw similarities to the
Pingree House and where it was going to be built, due to the fact that it would
also be surrounded by man-made objects. Thoreau’s dream of a life alone in
nature has been replaced with a road, a parking lot, an automated parking
ticket machine and of course the restroom right across from the house. I mean, they couldn’t even make it look like
an outhouse? Due to the length of my journey, I was faced with the dilemma of
sticking to Thoreau’s ideals and digging a hole next to the house and doing my
business there or using the restrooms with running water. Sadly, the only
Thoreau like thing that I would be doing this day was going inside his house.
Based on my interpretation of the
reading I thought the house would be slightly bigger and seemed more finished
then I would have thought it would but overall it was as expected. The logs
bark left on one side and a small chimney. I think that if you put some of the
wilderness back and most likely some of the deer I could probably learn to
survive however the realities of myself alone in the woods probably wouldn’t
settle in till about the third day on the brink of starvation. It is hard to
image a replica at Pingree, mostly because in my lifetime going to Pingree,
since I was about 4 or 5, the few changes to Pingree were a science wing and a
hall way to the gym. However the Pingree replica would be about the same as the
other replica and have the similar views of all man-made objects.
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