[Baystatetom]

I have never tried this but it could work. I have seen old yokes with different bow sizes, say an 10″ on one side and an 8″ on the other, they must have been a different height too. If your pulling something more then a few pounds you want well fit bows, but if your just walking around learning commands I bet you can get away with ill fit bows without causing too much harm. (I don’t really know that just guessing) I think using a trained ox as an anchor is good thought.
Tom

[Baystatetom]

The proper organization of a landing site is an area I need work in as well. I am always thinking of how I should have done it after its too late.
Hopefully my current project will wrap up this week, then maybe I can swing by and say hello.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

At the Saturday evening dinner somebody spoke about the use of draft power in Cuba and seamed to know of connections there. I meant to speak to him but…. Who was that? (what is worse is, I spoke to him earlier in the day and I still forget his name)
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

This was a great event, thank you to all of those whose labor made it happen. I had the opportunity to have conversations that I can’t have anywhere else, and my son had a great time playing with the other kids and and messing around with his team. I can’t wait for the next opportunity to spend time with you all.

[Baystatetom]

I use arc gis. I did try Q gis and just couldn’t quite get it. Its hard to teach an old dog new tricks. I bet if somebody in the know sat down and showed it to me I would have been better off. I have been getting Arc for free by being a member of a land trust and they have been putting me on their user list. Last I checked it was around $2000 to buy it.
In Mass. we have a online data viewer “Oliver” it really is quite useful. I often use it together with arc or as a place to download data. I can get soils layers, endangered species maps and assessors info off it.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

I am not bring anything for sale, but I am definitely looking forward to hanging out with you all!
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

You are right, the forum has been kind of slow lately. I think we all waist our time on facebook now rather than here. You can however search through topics and find a wealth of knowledge unequaled anywhere else, especially facebook! While there is more horse people than ox people here, a lot of the same techniques can be applied to either. Moving a log is moving a log weather its a horse or ox in front of it.
Best of Luck,
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Red Oak took another dip a couple weeks ago, sure doesn’t help anything that’s for sure! So far as I know softwood and birches and red maple are strong. Prime red maple is actually worth more then Oak right now.
At least here in Mass we had a really hard winter in 2014 and a lot of folks ran out of firewood so in 2015 they bought an extra cord, then we had the easiest winter in memory. I would have to imagine firewood is going to be slow and cheap this fall.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

I think combining forces to tackle bigger jobs is the way to go. The ability and desire to do what we want, when we want, and how we want may make it difficult to work with each other though! I am always trying to get other horse and ox men to help out on my jobs but I put the kids on the bus at 8, and don’t work weekends so it takes a lot of potential helpers out of the mix and also limits how much I can help somebody else. That doesn’t mean though that I wouldn’t love to help out anyway I can, where I can be useful.
As far as the big picture, I think we are rapidly gaining ground. Patience is what is needed most. I have only been ox logging for a few years and already I have gone from fighting and scrapping for every job to being so buried in work I don’t know how I’ll ever get it done.
It is true that a lot of foresters don’t see the value of animals in the woods, but it is also true that more and more landowners see their forest as more then timber harvest $. I have a lot of forestry clients who are telling me they are most interested in a healthy forest that is good for wildlife and recreation with timber being a distant 3rd. I think our niche is growing and our day is coming. People who know logging may learn animals and people who know animals may learn logging. At least if you start with one or the other your not learning everything at once.
Stay safe out there friends,
Tom

[Baystatetom]

Thanks Tevis, I will stop by sometime and check it out. Maybe I can trade you some labor, if things ever slow down for me.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Thanks Carl! Although at $215 each plus shipping, then the cost of wood and nuts/bolts. Never mind lord knows how many hours of labor, I am thinking maybe I should just go out and buy a used tractor model in working order.

[Baystatetom]

I bore into my notch and take the center out. I started doing it on ash because I was taught it was the safest way. I have gotten so used to doing it now that I do it on pretty much every sawlog.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Misery loves company right? I’ll chime in and say it has been a rough few months for me too. I tried to start logging in October but my landing was such a soupy mess I quit and waited until it froze. That took me into January when we got a good coating of ice, but then the wetter half of the lot was still mud so I didn’t shoe the oxen. I spent Jan and Feb falling on the ice on high ground and knee deep in mud on the low ground just a few feet apart. I am completely mudded out now in the woods but my landing is still frozen or at least it was up to last night. By the time the woods dries out my landing will be soup again. I never would have guessed that logging 20 mbf would take 3 winters.
The other thing to remember is there is no such thing as average when it comes to the weather. The average is what is in between crazy extremes.
Stay safe out there everyone,
Tom

[Baystatetom]

I have a muddy mess in western Mass. too! The woods is okay but even after taking a couple of weeks off from logging I got my trailer stuck on my landing today. I have plenty of forestry work to do while I wait for cold weather but I really just want to ox log! I’ll work on a management plan tomorrow and maybe just start stacking logs up on my main trails down in the woods for later extraction.
Stay safe out there everybody!
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

I’d be interested in an 11″ yoke if you have one.
bluedogforestry@comcast.net
~Tom

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