There are many annual traditions here at the Eastern 4-H Center...I am also pleased to be a part of them, no matter how clumsy I tend to be from time to time.
Today, Lee, Charles, Bud, myself, and the loyal program staff will be laying seige to the forests around the Center. Our annual "Cull" has us removing dead or dying trees from the forests. We do this with chainsaws, obviously. The best part about the chainsaw, is the sound that it makes...I am especially talented at replicating this sound with my mouth. Otherwise I don't like the chainsaw...it's a series of teeth on a chain that revolve around a bar at 100's of times per second! The sawdust is even a hassle...I just hate it when gets in my hair and ruins my hair products...but, I get to wear a helmet...which is good! The following statement is NOT a joke. I cut a tree (OK, a bush, really) with a chainsaw and it fell on my head. Don't worry it didn't hurt, but I looked like a doofel-dumby. The helmet I wore was probably the lifesaver.
We take a lot of safety precautions when it comes to tree-cutting. We all wear hearing protection...chainsaws are loud. My dad ruined his hearing when he worked at a saw mill in Goodwater, Alabama as a teenager.
We also wear face shields or safety goggles. This keeps sawdust from getting in my eyes...I once went to the emergency room to have a piece removed from the BACK of my eyeball...I was 16 years old (going on 30) and didn't think I "needed" safety goggles...LESSON LEARNED!
My personal favorite are the bright red chaps we wear on our pants...these are briar proof and blade proof...Once I don the chaps, I become a human terminator...I like to forcefully walk through briars and laugh at them when they do not harm me. Here is a taste of what I will be saying all day - "HAHAHAHA! SILLY BRIARS!"
The cutting of the trees is also a safety precaution in itself...a dead tree doesn't last long in these coastal winds...when you cut a tree down, you can dictate where it will fall...so if we do not want it to fall on an Challenge Course element or a road, we cut it...deep in the woods, we let nature take it's course. We also inspect these trees for nesting animals...this can save a tree, unless it is a dangerous situation.
We also cut up the trees into firewood for Summer Camp...it burns quick and fragrant...some trees are left where they lie...this provides important habitat and cover for squirrels, birds, and rabbits.
Nevertheless...the day will be fun...I challenge you to replicate the chainsaw sound with your mouth...but only once...I like to do it when I'm blazing through a long email response or blog post...
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