Monday
22Dec2008
When a Tree Falls in a Forest...
Monday, December 22, 2008 Did I mention I have a lot of trees?
Trees are a wonderful thing, but there can be problems associated with them. The first thing you must own is a chainsaw when you have trees. Sometimes they fall down, once in a while the wind whips through these mountains and breaks a tree in half, or large branches fall. So that was one of my very first purchases.
You have to decide whether they are a bane or a boon to your existence.
When I moved here, I had planned on living in my tiny house temporarily and I would build another small house higher up on the hill. My small house would be about 700 sq ft.
So the tiny house was placed on a spot farther down the hill in the easiest place to put it, considering all the trees.
I was violently opposed to cutting down a single one.
However, I really did want to have some electricity. "Power lines and trees don't mix too well," so the electric company inspector told me.
He informed me that not only would I have to cut trees on my property, but trees would have to come down on the right- a-way of others peoples property.
I had some thinking to do.
I would have loved to had solar power or wind power here, but there were some obstacles.
First, with all these trees, I wouldn't have access to much sunlight, and second , the cost made my eyes cross.
Third, in East Tennessee we don't have much wind, and fourth, the cost made my eyes cross.
So I had to reconcile myself with cutting down some trees. That meant hiring someone to do it. Theres no way I'm gonna tackle knocking down 100 ft trees, or cutting limbs off that are 75 feet in the air. My little 16 inch chainsaw wasn't meant for that kind of work anyway.
It took a while, but I finally found someone to do it that wouldn't charge an arm and a leg. I showed him all the trees the inspector said would have to come down and he got busy.
CRASH, BOOM, BAM!!
Down came the trees, and every time one fell, the pollen flew. It really was an awesome sight watching those monsters fall.
He cut those babies up into firewood lengths for me and left maybe a dozen in 12-16 ft lengths so that I could have someone saw them into lumber. He didn't tell me it was all but impossible to get someone to come and do that. I also didn't imagine the mess that would be left to clean up.
While he was here, he said there were several that needed to be cut down close to where I was going to build my house. They were either dead or damaged and it would be much easier to do it now rather than after I had a house standing there, so I agreed. A good garden spot was also an incentive.
CRASH! BOOM! BAM! Down they came.
Did I mention that I was violently opposed to cutting any of my beautiful trees down?
I couldn't help but be reminded of that old philosophical riddle "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"
I believe it does.
Eventually I got power to the site where I was going to build, however I was living 200 ft away. For lack of finances the only solution was to run extension cords from the temporary pole to my little cabin.
Viola! I now have a computer, lamps, a coffeepot and various other assorted electrical appliances.
I'm living in high style now baby!
Because there are so many trees I also found out I can't have sattelite tv. There's no way I'm cutting more trees in order to get more tv stations just so I can say there's never anything good on!
So I have an outside antenna with a digital converter box and it's wonderful! I now get 14 channels. There's still nothing much on the tube, but at least I'm not paying for it....
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Reader Comments (3)
Love this site! I find it very interesting and informative! Keep up the great work , can't wait to read more
Thanks so much. There is a lot more to come!
Wow! It must be fate. I currently live in Knoxville and have just been informed that this will be the last week of employment for me (after 20 years). After being informed of the news, I quickly began searching for ways to downsize and become self-sufficient.
I found your article most enlightening and made note of many of your ideas. Then I discovered that you are located close to home. Since I spend some time backcountry camping in the Smokies, I would love to come see what you have done.
Anyhow, if you will email my gmail account (fredmanntra), I would love to hear more.
--Henry