Well, what do you think about the opening quote? Does it make a noise? Does it not? Well, all I know is that the ones we cut down around camp all make noise!
Every year since I have been a part of the year-round team, we have harvested trees throughout camp in the fall. Most of the trees we take down are rotten and unhealthy trees. Other trees we take down are in areas that are potential hazards to our active campers and our facilities and equipment.
In the fall of 2010, we harvested in the neighborhood of 25 trees. It was an exciting and new experience for me and one that I will never forget. Before coming to camp, I had just a little experience with cutting down trees and operating a chainsaw. With some training from a tree harvesting “expert” and help from camper families, the Ryan’s, and the Welch’s, I have come a long ways. We had so much wood that after filling our woodshed, we gave the rest to needy people in our community and had the satisfaction that they had fuel for winter heat.
This past fall we had some more trees to drop. When you come back to camp I am sure that you will notice some of the larger trees that are missing like the two big oaks next to the Shop and a couple of smaller birches on the girl’s end next to Tekawitha and Matoaka. But the biggest and heaviest one that came down was the prominent tree on the corner of the tennis courts!