# I'm about all raked and limbed out!



## Chipmaker (Sep 16, 2003)

Getting up and having to do nothing but pickup limbs and rake sure has gotten old very very fast, but I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I am not really complaining as I have it good compared to most that got devastated by Ivan. I could be sleeping under the stars or in a shelter and wondering how I am gonna get a house built etc.

My method I use to get up all that debris is working pretty good, Its a lot of steps over and over, but it saves a lot on manual labor. I pickup the worst of the larger limbs, haul em to the back as far as I can g et without getting stuck in the boggy soil, and make a pile. I then hand rake around trees, house, fences etc and just fling it out in the open areas. Then I run the bush hog over it and poulverize it all up as small as it makes it. Then I take the JD GX335 with the deck set to about 3 or 4 inches and start to move it into rows. I then set the deck down as low as possible without digging into thr dirt and hit it again. I end up with windrows of debri all finely chopped up from ther bush hog and mower. Then I straddle those windrows with the trailer, and start picking up the mess with a pitch fork. It goes pretty fast. The vac cart is out of the question as the stuff is just too large even when run over by the bush hog and mower, but after its all up I will then run the vac cart around and do the finishing details. Just in time to get the fall drop of pinestraw and remaining leaves yet again. I am about 1/2 the way finished in the front and sides and back yard now, still have about 4 acres in the field to do yet, and then I can get started on thr tree removals. I still have not repaired or replaced the sections of field fence and hot wire, bust so far my goats still think the strands of hot wire thats stillup or those sections I just salvaged and hung up on the posts is still hot, and they have not made any attempts to get out of their field. Guess there is sufficient new green stuff out there for them to eat with all those limbs etc........
Squirrels and deer are gonna have a bad time if it gets really cold as I don;t hink there is a 3# coffee can of accorns left on any or my trees anywhere. I must have shoveled up what would amount to a few 55 gal drums of accorns so far, all nice and green and certainly not at the poi9nt they were ready to drop naturally..........pine cones in the remaining trees are also pretty scarce as well. 

My best buddy (My German Shepherd Kira ) has proven to be more of a pain than help. As fast as I get limbs piled up she winds up unpileing them............She thinks she is helping but what can you do....... You ghet a nice pile of limbs up, and the next thing she has them drug all over the place again, or she will bring you a limb you just threw on the pile a couple of minutes ago........

 

Oh well another day and more limbs and leaves etc to go..........Still no power but its looking better as it just may get turned on later today or tomorrow from what they say. I woke up today to actually having some water. Its a slow flow from the faucets but water none the less.

Thats life!


----------



## Stewart (Sep 17, 2003)

What are you doing with all the stuff you pick up? That sounds like a lot of stuff to haul away!

Did you get the PM?

Be carefull with the back I would imagine it might be a little sore!!!:cheers:


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

Sorry you have such a mess to clean up Chip but glad to see you are making goof progress. Make sure you boil the water unless it has been officially declared safe.


----------



## Chipmaker (Sep 16, 2003)

I am just piling it up here and there to burn, as well as dumping it down some washouts, and some areas along the stream that got really washed away. Most will get burned.


----------

