Видео

That is terrific! I hope that you are involved and committed to carrying on the family tradition. My best wishes! Vince

John, we killed the raspberries because our goal on the sites discussed was to establish a new forest, not to grow raspberries. By no means have we eradicated, and clearly do not want to eradicate raspberries from our more than 200-acre property. They offer an extensive variety of benefits, but pose a serious problem where we want our young trees to have a chance of survival. You are welcome to come by in August and pick as many gallons of ripe berries as you desire. What we pick never makes a dent in what our multitude of bushes produce. Thanks for your comment. Vince

Joshua, oddly enough I never thought of taking any video footage of the trails after they were made. I am going to keep your comment in my follow-up list so that i will remember to shoot some video clips or at least a few still pics this summer. If you don't see them on my channel by this coming autumn, please remind me. Thanks! Vince

Michael, thanks for your comment. Safety in all projects is #1. Another viewer expressed concerns similar to yours to which I offered a reply. Please check out the comment from about a month ago from yvesjolicoeur747. Hopefully, my reply to Yves adequately addressed the safety concern. Thanks again! Vince

I hope you found them useful! Be safe in the woods! Vince

Kelly, good to see that you viewed the entire trilogy. There are many more acres on Bombadil Tree Farm, not seen in this video series, helped along with a chainsaw and tractor back in the 1980s, that now form a stunningly beautiful late succession or old growth forest that, at about 100 years of age, is only now entering middle age. During a wonderful festival atmosphere Forestry Field Day we hosted back in September 2022 to celebrate receiving Maine's Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year award, a forester friend led an inspiring tour through parts of that stand. Too bad you didn't know about it. I think that you would have enjoyed joining Ashlee's tour. Be safe in the woods! Vince

Thanks, Vince. If I'm ever up that way I'll give you a ring. I would love to see it. @@bombadiltreefarms314

Hi Kelly. I am glad that you found it informative and useful and encourage you to view all three videos in the series. I also encourage you to download and read a free PDF copy of "The Farm Tractor in the Forest." The link to the download is, www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwissfCRo9OEAxVD_skDHfjaCDQQFnoECBIQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.maine.gov%2Fdacf%2Fmfs%2Fpublications%2Fgeneral_publications%2Ffarm_tractor_in_the_forest.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1syWkQz8wRgZpeMQU767cT&opi=89978449 Don't be afraid of such a complex link. It bypasses multiple pages in the Maine Forest Service's website to give you the document download in one easy step. Be safe in the woods! Vince

You are very welcome. Vince

Good hunting! You should be able to nail a few if they are in common use in your area. Vince

Thank you for your comment! Vince

@bombadiltreefarms314 Vince I've hit subscribe and notify. Looking forward to more videos from a fellow Mainer and on forestry. We pull our own firewood with a small collection of antique Wheelhorse tractors and other equipment.

Thank you! I am flattered. Depending upon how you operate and your woodlot management goals, one or two of my earlier videos might interest you. Several are directed at a rather narrow viewer audience, or better stated, group of interested students. All are educational. None were produced merely for entertainment. Thanks again. Vince

@@bombadiltreefarms314 Excellent. Appreciate the information. I'll check them out.

Emerick, I am happy that you found the video helpful. Thanks for your comment. Vince

Richard, sounds like you could be the guy who might just make a longer train, perhaps 10 tubs long. Go for it and shoot some video clips of it in action for the rest of us to see! Be safe! Vince

Sounds like you saw their potential long before I posted this video. Since I was a child I have been an incorrigible scavenger, and it sounds like you might also be one. Always good to meet another one of that breed. Thanks for your comment. Vince

Thanks for the reply ,and yes always have been a person to repurpose things before it was “green “ to do so plus its fun@@bombadiltreefarms314

You've got that right! Vince

And I hope that you give it a try! Vince

I am glad that this video sparked your imagination. Good luck with your project. Vince

Yes, I fully agree with the advantages that you mention. Years in the past, I had set them on my forwarding trailer but soon came to realize that pulling them on the ground as shown in this video was preferred. Always good to hear from you! Be safe! Vince

Nope, no reason at all except that the various lengths of old cable and short chains I had laying around looked suitable. The train would probably follow better on trails having a lot of bends if the spacing was closer, and a narrower space would also probably be better in a longer train. Why don't you give it a try and let us know how it goes? Thanks! Vince

@@bombadiltreefarms314 thanks for answering my question. Your operation seems to be already geared up for a time wasting exercise so I'll let you experiment.

Your reply made me laugh. Yes, you are so correct! I can't tell you the number of times I have kicked myself for spending time on great ideas that just didn't pan out. Countless! This, however, is one that did. Thanks again! Vince

Hi Victor. Go ahead and give it a try. Vince

Yves, very good point since, as your comment indicates you know rather well, fuel tanks, especially ones that have held gasoline, can be very dangerous to expose to flame or heat, especially welding. Many years ago I learned from a welder at a machine shop, and even watched him do it, how to safely weld gasoline tanks. I have employed the same technique over the years welding diesel fuel tanks. Without getting into those details, in the case of me cutting the lid off these discarded fuel oil tanks with a spark producing cutting blade, the most important things are to make certain that the tank is empty and that it is open and well vented to the atmosphere. Every old fuel oil tank I have ever obtained had been laying outdoors with its threaded ports open and had accumulated considerable water inside. After rolling to empty the water, the most that has ever remained inside has been a thin film of oil on limited areas of the tank walls that takes much more than a few sparks to vaporize before becoming even a potential hazard. Thanks for your comment. In retrospect, I should have addressed the issue in my video because it is an important one. Vince

thanks for the details...... I'm overly cautious by nature. It has kept me alive for many years....lol@@bombadiltreefarms314

Denis, yes that will work very well. I often use my front end loader to dump them in the way you mention. Thanks for your comment. Vince

No, I don't have drain holes and do not leave wood in them any longer than it takes to haul them to where I stack the wood. For procrastinators, however, that would be a good idea! Thanks for your comment. Vince

Hey Brad, think you might make one for southern NB?

I can see how they would come in handy and we have some old oil drums kicking around the woodlot! Will send pics if I get around to it! Have you finished cutting wood for the season? We have been busy cutting stud wood and pulp wood. Had a straight truck pick up 3 loads this week.

Yep, finished this winter's harvest block. Nearly all stud wood with a half load of logs and 13 tons of 100-inch aspen. All straight truck loads. Be safe! Vince

Gracias, amigo! Yes, coppice regeneration of aspen is impressive, taking advantage of an already well developed and extensive root system. From seed it is a much slower process. Thanks y nuestros mejores deseos para usted y su familia. Vicente

Thank you too! Vince

Yves, so good to hear from you, and thanks for your kind words. Vince

Thanks! Vince

Victor, do you mean why replanting only with conifers? The clearcut sites that we chose to replant with spruce are naturally best suited for spruce. Other areas within our forest are naturally well suited for northern hardwoods and other sites naturally well suited for a mix of the two. We try to work with and not against nature as exemplified by our enthusiastic acceptance of the natural regeneration of aspen in the northeastern clearcut. For management of our mixed stands, I suggest you view my video, "Salvaging Spruce Blowdown on a Beautiful Autumn Day" where I touch upon managing that type of mixed forest. Too bad there is only limited space here, because your question is one that is very fascinating and invites challenging exploration and discussion. I hope that my brief comment has helped at least to some degree answer your question, and I just might put together a video on the topic as you suggest. Thanks! Vince

I will 100% watch the video you suggested. I’m trying to learn little bits and pieces. Thank you very much for sharing!

Victor, do you own your own forestland or hope to some day? If so, and if you are as motivated to learn as you seem to be, I suggest that you download what I believe must be the most comprehensive self-study course available on private woodlot management in Maine and the Maritime Provinces of Canada. Produced by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, it is by its very length designed for the motivated and devoted student. It is organized in multiple modules that are really volumes of amazing information. Spending 20 or 30 minutes three or four days each week and you might get through the entire course in a couple years! The link is, woodlot.novascotia.ca/ Please keep me posted on your progress. Vince

Thank you too, Mark! Vince

Hey Mark. That's too bad your ground never froze. We have had a very warm winter but that means only a few days below 0-degrees Fahrenheit and none 20 below. However, most temps have ranged from the single digits into the 20s, plenty cold to freeze the ground and keep it frozen. Take care, Vince

Thank you for your comment. Take care, Vince

Good to hear from you. It has been awhile. Hope all continues well with you. Vince

Yes, it is amazing growth. I hope to put together and post Chapter 8 before the weekend is out that takes a look at growth at the end of last summer. That should really impress you. It certainly impressed me. As you point out, despite herbicide treatment weeds will return and it's a race against them that I am confident our trees will win. Good to hear from you, and your deer thank you. Vince

Thanks, Brad! It always makes me feel good when I hear that other stewards of the forest benefit from my few videos. I have footage already shot for the next two follow-ups in this series and plan to put them together this February. You will be amazed at how much those seedlings have grown in only a couple of years. Right now I'm about a week into this winter's timber harvest and, despite the weather being ideal, my daily productivity is about a third of what it was forty to fifty years ago and noticeably less than what it was a mere five years ago. I suppose that's what being old and getting older is about! A very Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year to you and your family! Vince

Warren, thank you for your comment. You are incorrect, however. As I state in the opening minutes of the Chapter 1 video, there are a couple small extensions of the North American boreal forest into the lower 48 states. One of those is in the northernmost region of the state of Maine. I quote the following from one of the many scientific publications that I have: Taiga (/ˈtaɪɡə/; Russian: тайга́; IPA: [tɐjˈɡa]; from Turkic[1]) also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces and larches. The taiga is the world’s largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States (northern Minnesota through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Upstate New York and northern New England), where it is known as the Northwoods.[2] The local species mix does vary considerably. In northern Canada and Alaska, white and black spruce predominate but gradually shift to primarily white spruce as you approach the arctic tree line. As you move east through Siberia, spruce (Picea abies) give way to primarily larch. In my video I discuss what we have in the transition zone in which our forestland is located. A mere 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of our location the forest type cannot even remotely be referred to as boreal forest. I hope that this clarifies your confusion. Thanks again for your comment. Vince

Just saw at the end of the video Ashland ME.

Just outside Ashland, a little less than 20 miles west of Presque Isle. The closure of Loring AFB in the early 90s hit northeast Aroostook County hard, and it still hasn't recovered. You were there, as you know well, in its final days. Thanks for your comment, and my best wishes to you in your current pursuits. Vince

Mark, the tires specifically specify they are not for highway use. The manufacturer does, however, offer other models with axles and tires designed for highway travel. Thanks for your question. Vince

Well, Ross, the great blessing is that it will never be done! My woodlot's annual growth increment exceeds what I am currently harvesting. The problem is that I am definitely slowing down with each additional year, and spending more time in pampered luxury with my wife on a tropical beach becomes more attractive all the time. You know any younger person interested, capable, and devoted enough for me to pass the torch to? Vince

@@bombadiltreefarms314 I have almost the same equipment as you and have been working my wooded properties for 34 years. As the years roll by and our return date with the earth gets closer I think we would both like our life's work to continue. Sadly, the most likely outcome is that after the land changes hands the standing timber is liquidated to repay the purchase price. I for one would like all my work to be more than just a nice run of logs at the sawmill. I don't know your family situation but I would recommend a sale/donation to a non-profit or at least a conservation easement. Ross

@@rossprior8968 Ross, you and I share the same concerns and seem to have considered the same categories of options. There was a time when I had a donation to a specific land trust specified in my will until I became more familiar with the trust's actual purpose and management style. I keep looking, and wish you the best in your search. Vince

I am glad that you are finding this long series, and bound to get longer with each passing year, informative. Thank you for your comment. Vince

Yves, coming from you those words mean a lot, and I thank you for them. Vince

I know a few but not many such people. In the past 40 years only two certified Tree Farmers here in Aroostook County, Maine have received the state's Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year Award. Kathi and I are the second, and the one prior to us, Larry, is now 90+ years old. Fifteen or twenty years ago, perhaps more, Larry began harvesting trees that he had planted back in the 1960s. That's in this slower growing northern forest. If I had owned land in the South like we now do in Georgia, I would have performed a first commercial thinning at planted age 13 to 15, another at around age 20, and a final harvest at around age 25 to 30. In that case, I would now be about ready for my first commercial thinning in the second forest. So far as the warmth that it brings to my heart, I must say that the 40 years spent watching and nurturing those trees in Maine is priceless and quite possible would be less if the wait had been shorter. Thanks for your comment. Vince

Eric, yes, I have wanted a Tajfun fully radio controlled winch for a long time, and finally justified buying one two years ago. I sold my indestructible 40+ year old Farmi JL30 to a fine young man and friend here in Maine who is infinitely happy with it and took my Payeur/Metavic winch to our Bombadil Nutzwald in Georgia to replace the Farmi. That gave me a reason to buy the Tajfun. It is, without a doubt, the Porsche or Ferrari or Lamborghini of tractor mounted logging winches! Do you have one? Vince

@Bombadil Tree Farms that's great, I hear good things about them they are becoming more popular in the maritimes here as well. I have a farmi 351 behind my L3450 kubota, and it amazes me what it does for such a small combination. Maybe someday I'll upgrade to a newer and larger tractor and winch, but for the foreseeable future, it's been a great machine for what I do with it!

@@ericsimp14 Eric, sure looks like you are equipped in exactly the same horsepower range as me but newer. Yes, it is amazing what such a combination can do. Like you, I would like to have something larger. A Kubota MX4800 is my dream machine, but will it make me any more productive? Probably not. Nonetheless, I'd love to have one. Take care! Vince

Mark, you are very welcome, and I wish you a safe & successful harvest that benefits all. Vince

Michael, thank you for your comment. It's always very gratifying to receive favorable comments from experienced woodsmen. I do envy your ownership of a small dozer. That's one very useful piece of equipment. I fully appreciate, as you obviously do, that each additional piece of equipment carries the curse of maintenance and breakdowns, and expect that you, like me, find the trade-off between the time and annoyance of implement change-outs and the time, cost, and annoyance of owning and maintaining multiple pieces of equipment hard to gauge. And yes, leaving the legacy to future generations brings priceless satisfaction. Be safe in the woods! Vince

Will, I am very happy that you find this series useful, but your praise is far too kind. My channel will never match Milton Nilsson and Nils Forshed's accomplishments. By the way, Milton passed away in May of 2021 at age 94 after an amazing career. I was very fortunate to have exchanged several letters with him during the final years of his life, and he was aware of the video series I published on RUclips based upon the system that his team from the National Board of Forestry, Sweden, developed. Thanks again for your comment. Vince

Thank you for your comment, and it's great to hear from you again. Be safe in the woods! Vince