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View Full Version : October 20th work day


M Kerkvliet
10-21-2007, 09:31 PM
On Saturday a few of us braved the cool fall temperatures, and muddy conditions and got the wood pile area cleaned up in preparation for the wood cutting day in November (Date to be announced soon).

The biggest mess was in the north section of the wood bunker, and I do mean it was a BIG MESS! Over the years scraps from various projects, like pieces of 2X4 that were 6" long... bark, sawdust, and junk benches, etc have found their way in there. There is a sign right on the fence that says this kind of dumping in the fence is prohibited, but it apparently is ignored.

We started by cleaning out the south end so we had somewhere to throw the good wood. The south end had mostly bark in a thin layer. All of the wood was gone. Took just a few minutes to get rid of the junk that had gotten stashed in there. We then started on the north end, and that was about a 3 hour job.

This is how we went about it.

First, John Larson (Louie) would come in with the Cadillac and "stir" the pile a little. Sorting the wood is myself on the left, and Casey Dabrowski (CaseyD). Katy was helping too, but had to go take some pictures! Kelly Muhl and I traded off on the Bobcat.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s317/mbkerk/woodpile-1.jpg

Myself, Casey, and Katy Kerkvliet would pick out all of the good pieces of wood, you know... the stuff that belongs in there, and toss it to the south end of the bunker...

Here Kelly Muhl would comes in with the Bobcat / grapple fork and get rid of the trash and I get out of his way!

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s317/mbkerk/kellybobocat.jpg

Here is the pile of junk that resulted from our efforts. It will be burned next spring or summer when it dries up a little. I am sure this pile will grow after cleanup from the actual wood cutting event in November.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s317/mbkerk/junkwood.jpg

As you can see, it was a muddy mess working in the area, but I think our efforts were well worth it! A few good pieces may have went out with the trash... feel free to pick them out if you want to, but we saved one heck of a lot of good wood that was buried under this stuff, as evidenced in the next picture...

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s317/mbkerk/cleaned-up.jpg


Note the piles of good wood we saved in both ends of the areas... and how clean the rest of the area is!

Huge thank yous to Kelly Muhl, John (Louie) Larson, Casey Dabrowski, and my wife Katy, who also provided a hot meal for the crew when we were finished!

Please do your part to keep this area clean! Follow the rules on the sign! NO SCRAP LUMBER left over from building projects in the fenced area! Read the sign! It really makes a mess, and it is no fun to pick through it to get at the good wood. If we have to, we will have to designate some new area for this kind of scrap, but for now... burn it up in your camp fire!

cjmlarson
10-22-2007, 11:12 AM
I was spread to thin , so as you notice I wasnt there to help.But what a nice job and a lot of work for a small crew!. Do you think if we up graded the sign and made it a little brighter it would stand out better, or do we need the scrap wood police hand out improper dumping citations!! this will be a never ending issue I know. Especially when we at WMSTR have people like yourselves who clean up everybody elses mess.Again this looks great guys.thanks

M Kerkvliet
10-22-2007, 11:32 AM
Do you think if we up graded the sign and made it a little brighter it would stand out better, or do we need the scrap wood police hand out improper dumping citations!!

I do think it would be a good idea to get a new sign made... maybe a metal one like the parking signs so that folks are a little more aware of what is expected.

I may not be able to be there for the big wood cutting weekend, but there is one thing the crew and I would like everyone to be on the lookout for! Check out this picture...

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s317/mbkerk/cleanedup3.jpg

There wood that is circled is JUNK! Please do not put it in with the good stuff! I should have burned it last summer with the other stuff we burned, but it didn't get done! Kelly and Louie spotted it to, and would echo my thoughts. If I had my way, cut the slab wood and the logs, and then push this pile over to the burn pile!

Here is just one more shot of the cleaned up north bunker, along with all the good firewood that was deep underneath the crap! I think the only reason it was not rotten is that the junk was packed in so tight around it, it stayed dry! Even after all that rain we had the last week!

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s317/mbkerk/cleanedup2.jpg