![\"jerry](\"http:\/\/www.appleattic.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/30227.jpg\")
<\/a>Jerry on bench #1<\/p><\/div>\n
Pam and I went to The Lot this weekend but, for once, didn’t have any major projects planned. We had driven the truck with the idea of taking\u00a0a couple of loads of slash to the burn pit. We’re working Birdhouse Ridge, so named as Pam has put several birdhouses up in trees along the top of this ridge. As you are standing on the driveway looking up toward The Box, Birdhouse Ridge is to your left. \u00a0The ridge\u00a0borders our neighbor Jessie’s property.<\/p>\n
We had cleared the lower slopes of this ridge earlier this year but had left several small piles of wood on top. Of the 4 piles up there, 3 were removed this trip and the 4th was substantially reduced. There are quite a few old pine logs in play\u00a0that I will sort through, keeping some as firewood and trashing the rest.\u00a0 While not in line-of-sight of The Box, these piles of slash date back to our early days on the lot as this area was where we had begun our lot clean-up. We used the ridge as an entry way into the saddle and had cleared a nice trail and removed a number of dead aspen up there. We felt good about getting a start on clearing this area. \u00a0More work on Birdhouse\u00a0Ridge\u00a0will be on next year’s list.<\/p>\n
A secondary project, begun on Sunday, was to clear the Pavilion Point path. This necessitated cutting a number\u00a0of dead aspen and moving wood from the path we normally use to get\u00a0 to the point. Pam raked the trail as well, making it far easier to walk (no pine cones rolling under your feet) and stacked quite a bit of old wood along the outside edges. This really defined the pathway\u00a0and, as Pam likes to say, “brings order out of chaos.” The path is not completely done,\u00a0as I\u00a0need to create a few bench\/resting places and remove quite a bit of dead wood that lies on either side of the path. \u00a0Another one for\u00a0the project list\u00a0next year. Our goal was to make the walk to the point\u00a0easier than\u00a0it now is. \u00a0Pam’s observation is when we create something – a fire pit, a path, a bench – we use it. \u00a0Otherwise, it’s just dreams.<\/p>\n
Speaking of benches…<\/p>\n
I did work on my first bench which overlooks the proposed cabin site. I found it is not easy cutting a flat surface with a chain saw, but I\u00a0did manage to get the bench into a functional state. I lifted one end with a jack while Pam slid the resting block under the main log. (Teamwork is a great thing.) Then I cut the flat area with the saw. I’ll need to bring up a plane to really finish it off, but the bench is now a part of the landscape. Eventually I’ll\u00a0move it to a different location but for now it is a nice place to sit and enjoy the view over South Park, a view I hope to enjoy from my living room in the not-too-distant future.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Jerry on bench #1<\/p><\/div>\n