Chainsaw Mama and Her Crew of Hard Workers

Like all Country Mamas, I began the work on my land. Knowing that if I waited for my hardworking husband to get there, I might be waiting a long while, I gathered the troops, called for my tools, had a son pack our lunch, loaded the van, and headed to the land.

Upon arrival we were thrilled to see we had a Blue Heron living on our land! We had one on our last country property; it is wonderful to see we have one here, too!

My Tough as Nails Crew With Their New Work Gloves

Spring is here and the time has come! Let the Adventure begin! This will be the third time we have built a house as a family. The first time, I had four wee children: 8, 6, 2, and newborn. And they were all a help. Even our two year old, Cassidy, would sit up on the floor above and pull the electrical wires through the holes that I drilled. The older boys, Colt and Dane, were runners and labourers and helped smooth sand in the basement, haul lumber, and smooth foundations. And our wee, tiny, baby Austin, was a dream. He simply sat and slept through absolutely everything on the job site! A mother's dream when she has to wield the same tools as her husband. This made it very easy for our eight year old to be his caregiver.

The next house we built was seven years later. This time we had a bigger crew. Colt and Dane were very capable by now at the ripe old ages of 13 and 15. Cassidy, Austin, and even 3 year old Cooper, were wonderful. The link above shows August of that year. Go to the archives and you can see from June through December when we worked as a family to put our beautiful house together.



We are *almost* at the end of the hydro fiasco. We have been told that all the people involved will sign happily to let us join the line. My husband had a meeting with the power guy and they decided where the poles should go. There is one change to be made and then we will have the property owners sign the papers and then we are *good to go*.

At the moment, the first property that matters is where the transformer will hook up to our first pole. That is on property B. Property A is down the lane and is not affected in the least. So property B has to have a line of about 30 feet of trees removed to fit the line in.

Ray has gone down there today to begin cutting down trees. He has taken Dane, and a friend, who he lent his roofing harness to, has offered to come and help buck the trees. This is a real blessing, as it will help the job go faster.

The main property that we need signing from is property C. His land runs up against ours all own and around two sides. We are asking him to put an easement on the corner of his land for hydro to be able to work on the power lines. He is good about it; it is just a matter of finishing the surveying papers and getting him to sign.

It is interesting how things work out. I don't call them coincidence, either. In 1999, my husband asked for a very strange birthday gift: a shop - vac. He didn't have a shop to vacuum. Why on earth would he want this? Whatever. He wanted one, so he got one. A few days later, out of the blue, we saw the movie The Horse Whisperer, loved the landscape and decided to head out. The following day we began ripping up our never finished renovation and worked for the next 6 months completing that house. The shop vac? Very, very needed from Day 1!

Fast forward eight years. I decided to save up for an ATV for Ray. He had made noises about wanting one for the land - for work. He never asks for anything, so I began squirreling money away. We went without things and noone noticed: no more juicer (that was $25 a week; $1200 a year saved!); no more book club treats; things that were broken were not replaced - we made do; no more Tim Horton coffee stops; clothes were worn a little longer than necessary before new things were bought; no extras; Christmas was tightened up; less expensive meals were made - hearty and healthy, but less choice items.

Bit by bit, dollar by dollar, I saved up for that ATV. Each time I had a little saved I would hide it away in my hidey hole. It was such fun each time I put another envelope of cash into my spot, knowing it was growing day by day. The sacrifices were so worth it!

Finally, at Christmas, Ray was given a jar that said Hopes and Dreams on the outside. Inside, I had every single dollar bill I had saved: $11,000. Ray sat and counted out the money and when he had it all counted out, he read the card. He looked at me, and asked if I had taken an offering from friends. Can you imagine?

The following year we made the unexpected decision to move to town. As it turned out, the boys ended up using that ATV to clear our land. We would have had to pay thousands to have an excavator come in and take away the over 100 trees that we cleared. Instead, our bigger boys used the ATV to haul the logs to piles for future years firewood. Again, it seemed providential that we would have the ATV right before we really needed it.


Then the final 'coincidence' was last year. I told Ray I wanted to get a small chainsaw, so that Dane could use it to buck up firewood for us. We have a bunch of fallen trees in our greenbelt behind our home. We got the chainsaw and it pretty much sat. Dane was busy with school and we had enough firewood, and then the city came in and cleared the old trees because they were a fire hazard.

Then, lo and behold, this move to the country happens, and if I didn't have a chainsaw, I would not have been able to begin work on the land. And trust me, I have great plans for nature trails, snowmobile trails, ATV trails etc. I will certainly be using it a ton!

So this week, it was my turn to begin. We had to take down any trees in a 40 foot stretch across the proposed driveway. The first five poles were easy, as they are on the front pond stretch where there are little trees. The next four poles run down the fence line into the property where they have logged. During their logging they left lots of small pines, spruce, or fir trees, plus all the spindly poplars. Lots of work!

The View Down the Second Part of the Driveway
(before it was cleared)

The View Down the Second Part of the Driveway
(after it was cleared)

Our first day on the land, wouldn't you know it, it had to snow! Can you imagine? We have had no winter to speak of, and on the first day of work the weather hails, blows cold winds, and then shines sun here and there through the day. But was I going home? No way! I had my crew and we were about to begin!

See the Blowing Snow?

I did sweeten the deal on the first day with a bag of jelly beans. It is amazing how much work little children are willing to do for a few jelly beans! The second day, it was much warmer, so I headed out half way through the day and told my troops that when I returned if they had worked hard until the guidance of their older brother, that I would bring a treat.

Work they did and a treat I brought! Two litres of yummy ice-cream, a scoop, and cones. And of course, being it was so hot, we had to eat all the ice-cream, so they each got two cones. What a refreshing moment in the middle of all that work.

We had a treat of seeing all the ducks on the pond. I can't describe for you the awe and wonder I felt sitting on the side of our marsh observing our own nature reserve! We saw a huge white duck hanging out with the Canada geese and when it flew down to the pond we could see black stripe markings at the tips of its wings. It was not a swan, and so I am not sure what it was. In time, we may find out.


We also have our own Canada geese, and lots of them!



We also saw a whole family of deer. We know there are moose because we have seen scat. Hopefully, they will not move away once we move in.

The picture below shows some of the big piles of brush the children had to haul after I cut them down. This stretched out for 400 feet. The following day, Ray told us to leave it there and the excavator would move it when he comes in next week. That was a relief to hear!


So the following day, when I took the children back to work some more, I had them do a different job. I continued clearing the 1200 feet x 40 feet of any small trees, and they had the job of clearing our 'front lawn'. I picked an area that was pretty much in front of where the house would be and had them pick up all branches, logs and mess.

The Pile of Brush From a Small Area of 167 Acres!

Cassidy came up with the idea of using an old sandbox lid and had them load it up and then they hauled it away to the burn pile. Much faster than when they were carrying it by the armload! They did a fabulous job and in three hours the front lawn was as clear as we could get it for now. We will have stumps to remove later. Then we will get soil and make the lawn. But for now, at least it looks a little better!


Briton hung with me while I cut down trees. He thought this was a wonderful find! I have no clue what it is.

What I love about an Outdoor Classroom is all the learning that takes place. There was a dead tree stuck in the ground. One child said it was too hard to take out. Raine told me how she took another one out of the ground. Problem Solving 101: She picked it up, walked around in circles and twisted it. She then tossed it one way, and then back the other way, until it come loose from the ground.

Raine: Showing the Kids How It's Done

Team Work!

Lunch Time Prayers

Nicely Cleared 'Lawn'
(see the lake in the foreground, behind the trees that we have yet to clear)

Heading Home After a Long Mornings Work is Done

But First the Children Had to Stop to Play!

The drive out or into our property is gorgeous. I can only imagine when the real spring and summer arrive and we are in full bloom! Already the grass is coming in greener and the buds are beginning to appear on the trees. When we lived out in the country last time we had an incredible drive of fifteen kilometres through the meadows and forests and valleys. This time we have a similar drive, yet it is only about seven kilometres long.

First You Drive Down a Long Windy Dirt Road

Next, We Have a View of Grassy Pastures and Lakes

Then, You Will See the Railroad on the Left

And Finally, We Cross a Cattle Guard and Drive Over the Train Tracks

After our long day on the land, like for all Mamas of Many, the day was not yet done. There was dinner to be cooked. Yummy turkey pot pies were popped in the oven.

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