We finally received the culvert expansion approval letter from the Ministry of Transportation, so the logging company has begun major changes:
- The culvert has expanded to twice its size so now all the heavy equipment can make it onto the property;
- Dave removed about 100 trees from our sugar house area, clearing an area of about 75'x75'.
- The loggers then removed the stumps and roughly levelled the ground from the sugar house area and added some gravel.
- The logger then had heavy bulldozers come in to build and/or expand roads into the property in order to allow for the gigantic tree removal equipment and logging trucks to have access. Here are our first views of the roads and areas that have been cleared:
After having waited so long for things to get moving, they're moving quickly!
Once the logging is done, having removed as much of the undesirable growth stock (damaged or unhealthy trees, and some undesired non-maple trees in certain locations), we'll be in a much better position to run the maple sap tubing with a much reduced problem of trees falling across our lines. And just as important, with our remaining healthy trees now having increased sunlight and reduced competition for resources, we should see some robust growth in the coming years.
Here's a link to a YouTube video showing one of the logging machines (a Feller/Buncher) removing a few large trees (uncomfortably) close to our house. Just imagine two or three of these plus other associated heavy equipment operating for three weeks on the property - lots going on!
Angi