Festival of the Tree Cutting

Every December, Cindy Lee and family get together to attend the Festival of the Trees in Salt Lake City.  This is not about their annual adventure.  Thirty plus years ago, when Syd's family planted a bunch of pine tree seedlings. As the trees grew bigger they were cut, often leaving the bottom branch and sold for Christmas trees.  The bottom branch was then staked up and a new tree began to grow and grow and grow.  After many years they got too big and not really ideal for Christmas trees, as they grew and grew and grew.  Eventually, some were thinned out.  But there was still on problem.  Pine trees like to shed needles and pinecones year round.  This problem makes for extra work when it comes time to mow and water.   Afton was getting tired of the extra work and wanted them all cut down. We compromised and said we would cut a few this year and maybe more next year and see how it all went. 



The boys in action.  Give them a chainsaw and they are in heaven.



We put a call out to the Hendrix/Walk bunch.  They jumped at the chance to get together and participate in the Festival of the Trees cutting down, especially since it meant using chainsaws and train rides.   

The rope was tied to the tree to guide it in the direction it needed to fall.  After it settled on the ground the men cut off the branches, which were hauled to the burn pit and the trunk was cut into three foot logs.  The logs where loaded on the trailer. 



Hauling the cut logs


The kids love to pile on the trailer and ride along. 

Even the adults like to ride, even though it is shorter to walk, but there is something about everyone riding.

No fair, the kids get to ride

Every jumps into help, even the little ones.  They quickly realize that it takes team work to tackle the job. 

Everyone unloads

 

Even the little guys help, it take team work but they do it.

There is never any problem getting someone to mow the lawn.  April was excited to do it, as it had been more than nine years since it had been her turn.

The lawn get mowed

Cousins are so much fun

The day was a hot one.  Lots of water was consumed and poured on each other to cool off.  The sun was generous in the burns it gave to those who chose to let it, despite the frequent use of sunblock.

Cooling off

Fudgesicles at four.  We were due for a break.  Some wore as much as they ate. 

F. A. F.

As the day wore on we ran water in the ditch.  The kids had a waterfight. 

after the work comes the fun

The fire was kept going all day, burning the branches off the trees.  Those burning it were jealous of the little ones and their waterfight. 

burning the branches, an all day process

Poor little B-boo. She was running a temperature and felt terrible most of the time.  She did feel well enough for a little swing time between naps.  She was a real trouper.

Finally it is time for a little swing time

Grandma with her newest great-grandchild

Trying out Grandma's green apples....SOUR

 

At last it is the adult turn to relax.

Ten trees later, everyone was tired.  We had a delicious supper of grilled chicken and dutch oven potatoes.  Then it was time for the highlight of the day.

Train Rides!



the newest train rider



The engineer and his son





The engineer and his neices.

The engineer and his daughter

What a cuties (mom covering ears so the train horn doesn't scare him)

We are the luckiest people in the world, because we have such a great family who will help out, despite it being hard work.  We enjoy the day, we enjoy the company, and we enjoy the fruits of our labor.  The yard looks better.

 

The perfect end to beautiful day.



When the family gets together - Work Day 2011

When the family gets together it makes light work of a big project. Each spring they gather to get Grandmas yard into shape after a long winter. It isn't fun, but we have a great time doing it. The folks from Utah come up and the party begins.

The pictures aren't in any specific order, but they show all that was done.

Trav and John discuss what needs to be done, who has the better chainsaw and how they will outdo each other. It's all in the family.

One of the most important tasks is to get the train ready for the upcoming season. That was Patrick and Kristan's job. They tightened chains, changed the oil and checked the gauges. It started on the first try, which was a good thing as the little ones would have been devastated if riding the train wasn't part of the activities.

The field behind the house is rough from the gophers digging holes, the various vehicles that drive through, and of course winter with it's snow.

Digging out the stump of the tree that was cut down. This was important as the little ones who use the slide would probably have tripped over it.

Taking a break during the day for the first ride of the year. It goes slow so the track can be checked for any unusual bumps or clangs.

The tractor gets a good work out. It may be old but it does the job.

Holding the branches down that were trimmed off the tree that was cut down. They were hauled up to the bon fire pit.

The pine trees do their job by shedding more than enough needles. This requires some serious raking and raking and raking. With many hands it goes fast.

We load them up and haul the off to the burn pit, which is different than the bon fire pit.

Some of the trees have the nerve to grow too close to the power line, so our family electricians took on the task of taking care of this job.

Even Charlie has a job, locating and taking care of the mice. She was sure they were in the irrigation pipe. Sadly she didn't find one there but she did elsewhere, I refuse to post pictures of the dead mouse, you will just have to believe me.

This is what we call twin work. They would load and haul off the needles, then take turns pushing each other back for another load.

Digging out a start of the lilac bush. This bush has been their probably 60 + years, with many hands grabbing it as the train goes past. Oh the memories.

It's critical that the trailer be properly attached. Of course there must be several supervisors to make sure the job is done correctly.

Keeping the chainsaws filled. They were well used.

A lawn that is 80 years old is bound to be a little bumpy from all the worms. We tried using a roller to smooth some of the out. Next time we water (flood irrigate) will prove whether we wasted our time or not.

The little ones kept themselves entertained quite well. They took turns pulling each other on the putty car.

The planter boxes got a greatly needed new coat of paint.

Another load of limbs, this time it was the cottonwoods from out behind the shop. When the wind blows they scatter all over and when they fall on the tracks it causes derailments. Derailments are no fun.

what little boy can resist an opportunity to drive the tractor?

Cousins of the best kind.

Even girls like to drive the tractor.

Group shot of most of the bunch.

Burning the weeds that plug the ditches. A stinky task, but give a boy a flame and he doesn't mind the stink.

After a long day, silly faces are in order.

It's a long day, one can't help but be tires. We were all jealous of him.

It takes a lot of food to keep this crew working, thus even the little ones get recruited to cook.

Most years we cook hot dogs for our finale dinner, we decided to try something different, Grilled chicken and dutch oven potatoes. YUMMMMMMMMMMM

Remember all those leaves and needles we raked and hauled to the burn pit, well here they are in the height of their glory burning away. At one point the flames were close to 15 feet high. We forgot to call the fire department and let them know we were burning. Needless to say the county sent out an officer to investigate, he was able to call off the fire crew.

John and family came, (he's taking pictures and didn't make it into to my copy)

April and her girls came

Denice and her boys came. They sure worked hard.

Patrick and Kristan put in the time.

Rose and Derrick came

Travis and his family came but the picture just disappeared. So just imagine them here.

Cindy and Richard came

There were others but they weren't available to pose in front of the fire.

The fire burned for hours, we roasted marshmallows and had smores. A great way to end the day.

Just a few of the faces that made the day successful...

Branden the tool man

Carson

Trayce

Nathan

Twins

Smiling Sierra

Miss Rylie

Chief John

the main man, Syd

He organizes, prepares and just keeps the day moving along smoothly.

Thanks everyone for another successful work day. Let's do it again next year.