Catching up!
1 year ago
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Stacked
Had an amble up the granite cross route a few days after that little pine forest had been cut down (see previous posting). As I neared the previously forested area, I heard the rumbling of a big diesel engine. Sounded like the lumberjack man was back in action. Put Sprocket on his lead and approached with caution. Rounded the bend and came across a couple of huge timber stacks. Then looked down the valley to see the massive timber truck swinging trunks around like matchsticks. Fascinating to watch. Strange to think that just one man in a giant vehicle can flatten and clear a forest in just a couple of days. Must be quite a specialised job though. So many buttons and levers to push and pull in order to operate the crane, cutter and dangler. I suppose the next job will be to cart the logs off in one of those huge timber lorries. Amazes me how these vehicles manage to get through the tight lane by the church. Then, I presume, the forest gets re-planted. And the whole exercise gets repeated in about thirty or forty years' time.
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I have often wondered how the French provide the enormous amount of wood used for log fires each winter. Judging by the smoke coming out of peoples' chimneys in LGP, at least two thirds of the village burns wood for heat. It's a very pleasant way to get heat and I am pleased to hear how the forests are managed.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, seems most French homes are heated by wood. Certainly in rural areas like here in the Creuse region. Neighbours Christian and Isabelle have a massive woodburner in their garage that heats their water and provides central heating. But Didier prefers liquigas rather than wood - he's in the minority. Nobody round here uses gas. Maybe nobody does in France(?)! However, just to get technical, pine is a no-no for woodburning. Fine for floorboards and furniture etc. I presume most of it gets exported.
ReplyDeleteAh, you have spoiled my comfy feeling about the forests. If this lots gets exported as useful materials, what are they chopping down for heat, then?
ReplyDeleteWood for heating is provided by trees such as oaks, birch, elm, etc. In fact, all trees except pine which, I gather, gums up chimneys - not that I'm an expert in such matters. Up here in the heavily forested Creuse region, wood is used as an income provider by those lucky enough to own forested land. Forested areas get cleared to provide reclaimed fields as extra grazing areas for the famous Limousin cattle. And sometimes forests get thinned out to allow the stronger trees to grow. Forests around these parts are prized and nutured - unlike, say, South America where forests are decimated, thus altering the delicate eco-balance and contributing massively to global warming. If you ever get to fly over the Limousin region, you'll be pleased to see a mass of green. And long may it stay that way. So rest assured, the forests are doing okay.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I am happy again now.
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