Chapter Ten – Working on the Farm

Through the wall came a gentle clatter from the kitchen, the sound of dishes being washed and put away, and Heather’s muffled voice. Sandra’s laughter broke through occasionally, she sounded very happy. Matt heard the sound of the sliding door opening.

“Awake?” asked Gary quietly.

“Yep.”

“Great, let’s get to it.”

Matt sat up. Indeed Bess was alongside him, she rolled onto her back and gently wagged her tail. Matt leaned down and rubbed her chest. Bess stretched out as long as she could and gently jiggled as her muscles tightened up. Gary clapped and Bess leapt up. “Come on, girl. We’ll need a hand.”

Matt pulled his boots on and followed Gary over to the shed.

“Okay,” said Gary while stretching his hands up high. “Our job today is to drop some trees. Six altogether. Well, we’ll see how we go. First up we need to sort the gear. We’ll take two chainsaws, fuel, chain lube, gloves and some bits and pieces. We should be able to carry that with two of us.” Gary assembled the tools onto a table. “Ok, that’s us. But what comes first?”

“Safety,” replied Matt.

“Yes,” exclaimed Gary as he punched both fists in the air. “Safety comes first, second and third. But why? All we’re doing is dropping some massive trees, with screaming chainsaws and someone who’s never done it before. Seriously, what could go wrong?”

“We could die,” replied Matt with a wry grin.

“Yes, we could die. You are SO right. Fancy doing something that could kill you without taking the time to think it through and be safe. Hard to imagine anyone would do that, isn’t it? The main risks are first getting chopped with a chainsaw, and second, having a tree land on your scone. The solution for those is simple. You stay where I put you until I call you. There are other hazards too, but those are the biggies. We’ll wear gloves, head, ear and eye protection. You carry the small chainsaw and this bucket of bits, I’ll carry the rest.”

Bess ran ahead, stopping to sniff around the sheds and tanks. Occasionally she would run back toward Gary before bounding off again. “She’s working out where the rabbits are and where they forage,” explained Gary, “every now and then she gets one. The trees we are going to fell and prepare are for garden sleepers. A team from Rotary will bring out a portable sawmill next weekend to cut up the logs. You and I will fell the trees and prep them. The Rotary folk will take the sleepers and sell them as a fundraiser, they will take the firewood and mulch as well. We do this each year.”

The sheep looked up as Bess darted around, occasionally a couple of sheep did a short run and startled others nearby. Mostly though they seemed relaxed about the dog and two men walking amongst them.

“Righty ho, Matt,” said Gary, “put your gear over behind that tree. We’ll start with this tree and do one at a time. First, we drop the tree using the big saw, which is simple with this row, they’ll all fall where we want them. Then we’ll give them a haircut and take off all the light stuff that will go through the chipper, the small saw is best for that. Once that’s done we’ll cut the remaining limbs up for firewood. Then we can cut the trunk into sections ready for the mill. Do you know what type of tree this is?”

Matt looked up and down the tree. “It’s a very big tree,” suggested Matt.

Gary looked up and down the tree, mimicking Matt. “Yes, it is a big tree. A big gum tree, a eucalyptus tree. There are several varieties amongst this stand, some for firewood and some for timber. The ones for timber grow tall and straight. These ones are having their first harvest. So we’ll leave a decent stump behind and they will regrow, but faster with the benefit of a decent root system in place.” Gary picked up a chainsaw and walked over to the first tree. “We’ll start with the bigger saw to drop the tree. First, we’ll cut a notch in the trunk on the side we want the tree to fall toward. This will go in about one-third of the way. We don’t cut too far in for a couple of reasons, one we don’t want our saw to get stuck, and it will if the tree starts to lean and compress the cut. Secondly, we want to leave enough of the centre of the tree to act as a hinge, so the tree falls in a more controlled way. Now you stand over here behind this tree and hold onto Bess’s collar while I get started.”

Matt crouched down and held Bess’s collar tightly.

“Hat, glasses, ears and dog?” asked Gary.

“Yep,” Matt replied.

Matt watched as Gary started the chainsaw and looked carefully up the tree and in the direction he wanted it to fall. It took a surprisingly short time to cut the notch. Again Gary looked up and down the tree before stopping the saw and waving Matt over.

“Okay, that looks good,” said Gary. “The next step is to put in the cut that will drop the tree. Now the temptation is to put the cut in down here opposite the notch. That will work, but the hinge will be very small and the tree will drop more suddenly. What we’re going to do is put in a few small cuts on the back of the tree above the notch so the timber on this side does not snap and let go with a bang. We will deepen a couple of those cuts until the tree starts to move. That will let the tree hinge down using the heartwood in the centre bent in a big bow. Make sense?”

“Sort of,” said Matt. He went back behind the tree and crouched down holding Bess’s collar. Gary turned to look at Matt and touched his head, ears and eyes. Matt held out his hand with his thumb up.

Gary started the chainsaw, had another long look at the tree and started making the cuts. As Gary made the final cut the tree top started to move, there was a cracking sound. Gary stopped the saw and walked back behind the next line of trees. The tree fell very slowly at first, before gathering speed and landing with a mighty thump. Gary inspected the stump and waved Matt over.

“This looks good. Now when a tree drops it’s still not necessarily safe to be around. The branches at the top can be bent into springs that will flip the tree over as you work on it and the stump could be only loosely attached and ready to let go when you least expect it. However, this looks good. See this big hinge here?” asked Gary pointing to the stump. “This will stop the tree from rolling as we work on it. Okay, time for the small saw and a haircut. Grab the small saw and meet me at the top of the tree.”

Matt walked back to where the gear had been placed and picked up the smaller chainsaw. Bess was running back and forth excitedly. She jumped up and sniffed the chainsaw when Matt picked it up. Gary was looking around the top of the tree and pulling some of the branches.

“This looks stable to me, Matt. Should be straight forward. Now see this branch? From here back to the trunk is firewood, the rest is for mulch. So what we’ll do is trim all the branches we can easily access, drag them off to one side, then cut some firewood. I’ll cut a few branches, when the saw stops come in and help drag them out. Got it?”

“Yep.”

“Don’t worry about Bess for now, she will bark and run around, but she’s all good.”

Matt nodded and walked back a few steps and put his ear muffs on. Gary started the chainsaw and began trimming the branches. Matt was very surprised how quickly this happened. It took less than two seconds to cut each branch and Gary had trimmed all the exposed branches in what seemed like a minute. The saw stopped and Gary waved Matt over.

“Grab one branch in each hand and follow me,” instructed Gary.

Matt did just that, however after a few steps one of the branches stopped moving, he gave it a good tug and it broke free. After another step, it caught for a second time and Matt gave it another good tug, it came free but caught again as soon as he started to drag it. Matt turned around and there was Bess, her jaw firmly clamped on the branch and pulling as hard as she could. Matt heard Gary laughing.

“That’s the real reason you’re here, buddy, so she’ll leave me alone! Try walking backwards and looking at her, she just wants attention.” Matt started walking backwards. Bess growled and shook the branch. Matt pulled and pulled, eventually getting the branches over to the pile.

“We’ll line up all the branches the same way, it makes them easier to put through the chipper. That’s the plan, let’s get it done.” Matt could not keep up with Gary of course, but he tried. He would not have kept up even without Bess’s interference, but there was no chance with it. Each time Matt walked back to the tree Bess was there, barking and wagging her tail, waiting for him to choose a branch. When the cut branches were cleared Gary called Matt over. “The trunk is thick enough from here for a sleeper, everything above is firewood. I’m going to cut the trunk here, then every two metres back to the base. The sleepers will be two metres long. Before we do that though I will cut the exposed branches into firewood. When that’s done we can top the tree and roll the top over to get to those last few branches underneath. So earmuffs and a safe distance.”

Again Matt watched as Gary effortlessly cut all the trimmed branches into short sections of firewood. He started from the tips and made a series of cuts back to the trunk.

“Of course we could do this by hand as a training exercise,” joked Gary.

Matt shook his head.

“Come on, that’s what the karate kid would’ve done, might’ve even done a couple with his teeth.” Gary tied a piece of rope onto one of the remaining branches. “We’re going to roll the top over by pulling on this, that way we can keep a safe distance. When the top starts to roll, let go of the rope and jump right. I’ll jump left and hopefully not run you over. Okay, on the count of three.” Matt pulled as hard as he could, but he could tell that the tree only moved when Gary was pulling. It started to roll over.

“Get ready, RUN,” called Gary. There was a rustle of leaves as the top of the tree rolled over. “Righto, exactly the same as before, let’s get the branches off and cut this up.”

Bess had lost interest in pulling on the branches and Matt was able to clear them quickly. By the time Matt had finished dragging the branches away Gary had reduced the entire treetop to firewood.

“Great, the next step is to start cutting the trunk. In one of the buckets there is a measuring tape, spray can and a piece of framing timber with some pink paint on it. Go grab those please.” Matt walked quickly to get the requested items, whilst Gary was not rushing, Matt was aware he did not wish to muck around either.

“What I’ll ask you to do is mark the cuts,” began Gary, “measure two metres from the end, put the piece of framing timber at the mark, put a dot of paint up against the timber. What have you got after taking the timber away?”

Matt looked down at the semi-circle of paint on the tree. “A straight line.”

“Exactly, it makes it very easy to get the cut in the right spot. Each time I complete a cut I’ll step back. Once I am clear of the tree, measure out the next section and put a mark on it. Happy with that?”

“Yep,” replied Matt with enthusiasm, he was starting to feel useful now.

Off they went. The first few cuts went very quickly, but as they got closer to the base and the trunk got thicker the cuts took longer and longer. Gary stepped back from the tree and stopped the chainsaw. “Time for a drink, fuel break and to sharpen the chain.” Gary’s shirt was soaked in sweat and his legs coated with sawdust. He sat down, took off his boots and tapped them against a tree, some small sticks and sawdust fell out. “That should feel better,” said Gary as he handed Matt a water bottle. He leaned back and took a long drink. “It’s getting warm isn’t it.”

“Uh-huh,” replied Matt as he did exactly the same.

Bess pushed her head in between Gary’s legs, she was panting hard. “Would you like a drink too would you?” Gary held out his cupped hand and Bess put her muzzle in it. As he poured water into his hand Bess lapped it up. The water splashed all over Gary’s legs.

“Sorry, Bess, all done. Have you got any spare water, Matt?”

“Yep,” replied Matt as he cupped his hand and held it out.

Bess jumped over Gary’s legs and put her muzzle in Matt’s hand. She pushed down quite hard. Matt could feel the cold water from around her muzzle and the warmth of her lips and tongue as she explored for water. When Matt poured some water into his hand Bess started lapping it up. Her tongue was warm and the whiskers around her mouth tickled the palm of his hand.

“We’ll head down for afternoon tea once we finish this tree,” said Gary, “you can top up with water then.” Gary stood up and fossicked around in one of the buckets. “I’ll show you the basics of how to sharpen a chainsaw. See how I have left a cut in the trunk?” asked Gary. “We can use this to hold the bar steady while we sharpen these teeth,” said Gary while pointing to the cutting teeth on the chain. “Ideally we would do this in the shed using a vice, but out here this is good enough.” Gary put the chainsaw bar in the cut and lifted the safety bar until it clicked. “Okay, the safety bar locks the chain. See how it’s locked tight,” said Gary as he pulled the chain forward and back. “Now we can get the chain file. I have brought up the filing guide so you can see the angle that each tooth should be cut at. See that?” said Gary as he passed the guide to Matt. “Once you have done it a few times you won’t need the guide, you can just do this,” said Gary as he ran a round file through a couple of teeth. “See how I rotate the file? That keeps the file evenly worn and is faster. I will do these for now, you can have a go with the other saw back in the shed.”

“Yep,” replied Matt. “Gary is really going to let me do that?” he wondered.

Gary finished sharpening the saw and topped it up with fuel. “Let’s finish this in one burst and get some afternoon tea,” he said with a smile. “I’m getting peckish.”

Matt was surprised just how much faster the next cuts went with the sharpened chain. He was looking forward to learning how to do this. When the last section of the trunk was cut Gary set about tidying up the stump.

“Top-up both saws with fuel and bring the fuel container with us, we’ll need some more for the next tree.” Matt was glad to be having a break. Although he’d not done much work, it was hot and he was tired. He was very pleased once back at the house to be greeted with some baking and cold water. Bess lay down alongside him on the cool concrete, gently panting.

“Lie down for ten minutes, Matt, I’m going to do the same. We’ll then go and knock another tree over, should be a lot quicker now we’ve had some practice.”

Matt nodded and lay down. He listened to Bess panting, then with one big breath, she stopped panting and went to sleep.

Gary watched Matt’s chest gently rise and fall as he slept. He smiled to himself and reflected on when he was that age, trying to keep up with his father. Gary reached down and gently touched Matt on the shoulder. Matt rolled over and opened his eyes.

“Ready for round two?” asked Gary quietly.

Matt nodded and stretched his arms above his head before sitting up.

“Good. I’ll meet you there. If you take these scraps to the chickens I’ll mix the fuel. Just throw the scraps outside, wherever the chickens are. Bess thinks she is a chicken so watch out,” said Gary as Bess pushed her nose into the scrap bin.

Matt picked up the bin, put it on the seat and gave Bess a rub. Bess wagged her tail hopefully. She decided to follow Matt with the scraps, rather than Gary to the shed. Again she spent some time poking around the tanks where the rabbits had dug their burrows. Matt opened the gate to Feather Mansion, taking care not to let Bess in. He did not fancy trying to coerce her out once the food was on the ground. The chickens were rather wary of Matt and kept their distance with their heads turned sideways so they could keep an eye on him. They stood very still until he emptied the scraps onto the ground. All caution regarding the new face ended at that point, clearly the food was a higher priority than caution.

As Matt turned to leave he saw Sandra and Allicia further down the path. They were walking slowly, holding hands. Matt could see that Sandra was pointing things out to Allicia as they walked. Allicia leaned against Sandra with her head against Sandra’s shoulder. Sandra stopped walking and put her arms around Allica from behind and pulled her close. She leaned forward and kissed Allicia on the neck. Allicia leaned her head backwards and kissed Sandra on the cheek. Matt watched them embrace for a few seconds, turned and walked as quietly as he could to the gate.

Matt dropped the scrap bin back at the house and ran with Bess back up toward the trees. Bess sped ahead, stopped and jumped at Matt as he tried to get past, nipping him on the leg. Matt was getting used to being nipped, it didn’t hurt much. He had come to realise this was just the price of playing with Bess. Gary asked Matt to repeat all of the safety rules and the process that they would follow for felling the next tree. They then set about dropping and cutting up the tree. There was much less talk this time and no breaks. It did, Matt noted, go much more quickly than the first.

“Two trees in an afternoon, that’s not bad for beginners,” said Gary, smiling. “Let’s pack up the gear and call it a day.”

Matt filled his bucket back up with the tools and picked up the smaller chain saw. He felt like a real farm worker now and not awkward as he had at the start of the day. This was going to be fun.

“You’re thirteen right?” asked Gary as they walked across the sheep paddock. “Well, your brain is going to stop working properly soon and stay that way for a few years. It’s called adolescence. Do you know what’s coming?”

“Pimples?” offered Matt cheekily.

“Yes, pimples and some other weirdo boy stuff.”

Matt laughed, he knew what Gary meant.

“Two big things are, you’ll think everyone’s mad with you when they aren’t and you’ll start to feel overwhelming emotions. The good news is probably no one’s mad with you at all. The trick with the emotions is to learn to manage them and stay calm, we will cover that during karate training. The other trick with emotions is to learn the golden rule. Do you know what that is?”

“No,” Matt replied, he didn’t have a clue.

“It’s simple enough, just hard to get right,” Gary paused. “Never let your emotions become someone else’s problem. What might that mean?”

Matt thought for a few moments. “Don’t get into fights?”

“Kind of,” Gary replied. “It’s okay to have emotions, in fact, we can’t avoid them. It’s okay to share emotions, that’s what relationships are all about. But we need to share our emotions in a way that, if they are a problem, they remain our problem. For example, if we’re happy, or appreciative, we can share away, there probably won’t be any complaints. But if we are angry or annoyed it’s our responsibility to share this in a way that does not require others to manage our emotions for us. We shouldn’t make people scared or wishing they never said something. Our emotions are ours. I might get mad, but it can never be that you made me mad. If I’m mad that’s my issue and I need to deal with it. Simple, isn’t it?”

“I guess so,” said Matt slowly.

Gary laughed. “You’re onto it, Matt. It might sound simple, but it’s one of the hardest things to master. Let’s get you fed and watered and on your way. You can think about it while riding home. By the way, would you like to come up the coast on Wednesday? I’ve got some property maintenance to do.”

“Yep.”

“Great, ask your father and let me know if he’s good with it.”