Author: Diana Blakney

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Fog and Wind

Driving to the farm up Henkle Way, the fog looms large.
Left over now dots the Shiver River fields.
Neither fog nor snow will stop the need to stack firewood.
The wind blew our new shed into the neighbor’s yard and broke part of the frame.
Sid and Gio got one bay of the barn cleared and organized. Indoor work! Yay!

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Shiver River tour

Shiver River Tour, Tuesday, October 25th, 9 – 11 am.
Come join 2019 BSWA Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year, Diana Blakney and Sid Picht, for a visit to see beautiful Shiver River at the base of Marys Peak. Shane Hetzler of Trout Mountain Forestry and logger Shane Russell of ShaneCo Timber Inc. will lead the tour of the 60 acre commercial thinning that was completed in mid October. Along the one mile moderate loop hike on a logging road, we will learn how the trees were selected, how the markets were chosen, and the various challenges faced. Trout Mountain and its predecessors have helped manage Shiver River’s 140 acres of timber sustainably for nearly 50 years. 
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 25 from 9 to 11.   
This is a great opportunity to bring a friend or neighbor and talk about trees!
 
Young hemlock tree growing out of a stump.
Whipplea modesta
Whipplevine
Mat of trailing stems. Main stem somewhat woody; bark gray-brown, peeling in narrow strips. Leaves oval to egg-shaped, shallowly toothed, on very short petioles, with coarse hairs. Leaves persist on stems after withering. Inflorescence consists of dense terminal clusters on short erect shoots from main stem. Flowers small, with 5–6 white egg-shaped petals. Grows in conifer forests, openings, on banks, below 5000 ft.
Rarity: Common
Flowering Time: Late Spring, Early Summer
Life Cycle: Perennial
Height: Mat
Habitat: West-Side Forest
Found In: Olympic Np, Mt. Rainier Np, N Cascades Np, Siskiyous
Native: Yes
Thank you, Shane!

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Education and an Excellent Farmhand

Bill admiring a hot saw? feller buncher? both? on a tour we took of a Starker project. We learned a lot!
We also attended the Marys River Watershed Council’s Annual Picnic and got a wetlands tour.
Only one more load of chip & saw logs yet to go before the logging is complete.
Sid enticed Gio, a young man who worked with him on the Annex, to do some other work around the farm. He was unstoppable! He put in laundry room windows.
Helped Sid finish the irrigation system Sid and Alex had trenched.
Built structures around plants that need protecting in the winter.
Gio, hard at work as always!

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Firewood Galore!

Preparations being made for a new storage location for firewood that is handy to access during a cold and rainy night.
The larger, less handy firewood storage shed is full.
And there is more coming!

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Ready for Rain

Time to either tarp the firewood or put it in the woodshed tent
Lots of progress on barn insulation
Bill and I on a Bald Hill tour of the work the Greenbelt and Trout Mt. are doing to liberate oaks and recreate the meadows of old.

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Load of small logs to chip mill

This truck is not only extra long, but it can load itself!
Driven by none other than Riley, neighbor Johnny’s grandson.
In December 2020, we dropped off the secretary to be rehabbed. It was sent to Kay and Judi’s mother, Aloise, by the Pooles. It eventually found itself at the farm, and then at Bopcha’s house in Corvallis.
Back to the farm, looking good. The glass is now flat, where once it was curved. I broke the curved glass when I was a kiddo staying out at the farm.

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FSC Auditor at Shiver River

FSC auditor Evan (from San Francisco), Trout Mountain’s Matt and Pamela, all stand with Sid after having taken a look at how Trout Mountain manages its client’s woodlands. Trout Mountain is FSC certified, and will likely be recertified. As its client, Shiver River is FSC certified as well.

From the net: FSC is a non-profit organization headquartered in Bonn, Germany. The letters FSC stand for Forest Stewardship Council. FSC was founded in Toronto in 1993 at the initiative of environmental organizations from 25 countries.

In 2022, FSC is supported by international business, governments, social and environmental organizations such as World Wide Fund for Nature , Greenpeace and ICCO .

FSC Certification is the process to obtain the FSC certificate. With an FSC certification, a company shows that it purchases and sells wood from sustainably managed forests. The certified company is part of the so-called Chain of Custody and is therefore a link in the trade chain from forest to end user, of wood from sustainably managed forests.

The FSC organization was established to promote responsible management of forests. The so-called FSC standard (also called the principles and criteria) for responsible forest management balances social, environmental and economic interests.

Forest management in accordance with this standard, with associated possible wood and paper production, protects forests for current and future generations.

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Logging continues

Bill, Tory, Sid, Kay and I (and Bianca, of course) inspect the latest logging progress.
The landing where the loop trail splits is full of felled trees at the moment. They smell wonderful in the summer heat.
This was once a giant patch of blackberry bushes!
Fire precaution

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Sunday walk to inspect logging activity

We saw four big machines in the woods: a cat; the red and white beast you see in the photo above; another beast painted green; and an oldish model firetruck.
I think this red beast picks up logs and puts them on the log truck.
A very “cool cat”
I think the green beast actually cuts trees.
The green beast’s attachment looks ominous and complicated.
Beautiful logs!
There are lovely log piles in spots along the loop trail.

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Logging begins!

Woodcutter Mike split the big pieces of wood that were on the flatbed that brought them out of our woods.

Bill got a little stacking done on a trip out to deliver/return a fire extinguisher that had been safety checked.
Logging requires safety measures. Here goes the fire truck that will serve as part of the fire suppression preparation.
The red container holds/held water for fire supression.
These are Shiver River logs!
Even Bianca is impressed.
Rick brought dirt to help Sid level the ground in front of the entrance to the annex.
How hard can the work be if it is the source of such laughter?

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