This and That...: Handmade Forests

Treeitnam

A noteworthy Western Hemlock stump

Takin' 5 while I try to figure out how the heck i'm supposed to plant trees into solid rock

Yep ~ I bend over for .35 cents ~ sweet'n' easy fill plant day...still feelin fresh! Baggin' out by the road.

The foresters prescription for this particular block called for unprotected cedar...so, we played 'hide the cedar'. This shenanigan involves scouting micro-sites with contract spacing, BUT as the trees aren't planted with the vexar cone to protect them from the deer grazing, we had to find sites with enough slash cover that the deer wouldn't be able to gnaw away at them. I have a number of theories about the deer on Haida Gwaii, and with no natural predators and a 'world is my oyster' attitude, they pretty much get what they want. They will find a way to get at my little seedlings, regardless of how stealth I am in hiding them.

This was a funny block ~ I spent 2 days up there in that mess being chased around by bears. We spray all the hemlock, spruce, pine and unprotected cedar with reconstituted pigs blood, which acts as a natural pesticide warding off the grazing deer who smell the blood and get grossed out ~ Strangely, I have a similar reaction to the stuff. Well, bears love pigs blood - and I was running around covered in it.

I'm getting chased by bears, and this turkey is busy taking pictures.

Yuck.

The heli couldn't get me anywhere near this piece due to high winds so I got dumped off at a deactivated road about 800m below the block. Fortunately for me, they were kind enough to sling all of my trees in for me the day before. Unfortunately, I had to pack most of them out with me at the end of a very aggravating day.

The forester prescribed 1200 trees for this piece - which would have been a big day for me (1200 x $0.38/tree = $456 in my pocket). Well, the perscription was way wrong...

I put 135 trees in the ground. Very carefully shred my leg twice with the shiny new caulks on my boots. Packed 1065 trees out. Banked $51.30. And watched the ravens eat my lunch, again.

I did, however, have a very successful crystal hunt while I waited for the chopper!

A little mixed bag of hemlock, sitka spruce, and red cedar - fill plant day.

Anthony, myself and Cal wasting time in Dinan Bay, QCI

Calida, Muktar and I ~ we creamed her out.

The Office ~ somewhere near Holberg on Van Island

The infamous Wainwright - 2005

...and again below, perched on a giant sitka spruce stump on Louise Island

Darryl baggin out

Sometimes it's hard not to be cynical in this line of work. Treeplanting is at the very end of the whip in the harvest model... and at best, you're applying an insufficient poultice on the earth in a feeble attempt to reverse the damage of our deeds! Great money...if you can't think of a better way to make it!