Teamwork: Selective Clearing in the Woods

As of late, we've been using our dictionary more frequently.  Our curiosity  has been piqued this week by the multiple meanings of words we come across or use, notably, team and teamwork.  I was thinking about teams and teamwork recently in the context of using our horses to pull trees out of the woods.  I love Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary of the English Language.  Its first definition for team is, "Two or more horses, oxen or other beasts harnessed together to the same vehicle for drawing..."  The second definition is, "Any number passing in a line; a long line."  Nothing is mentioned of the present-day definition (from Merriam-Webster's School Dictionary, copyright 2004) of "a number of persons associated together in work or activity, such as a group on one side (as in football or a debate.)"  Our new dictionary does give the etymology of team though.  It's from the Old English word team, a "group of draft animals." 

Whit frequently tells me that when he and one other person work together he gets three times more work accomplished than when he does it alone. That would be the definition of teamwork from the new dictionary, "work or activity of a number of persons acting in close association as members of a unit," or team.

Whit has added a new line of work to his repertoire: selective clearing and thinning of trees with a minimal impact on the land.  The goal is to help landowners thin out their woods to make them healthier, without the impact and noise of using heavy equipment such as a skidder.  He uses our team of draft horses (Pat and Scooby) and the team effort of TBear and me.  The three of us working together, with the horses, really does make a huge difference in time and accomplishment as opposed to Whit working alone with the team.

For the sake of those who like picture stories, I have a few photos from our current job.  Whit first goes out and does the cutting and limbing.  He doesn't need us for that part of the job.  When he has cut enough to spend a day hauling out, the rest of the team goes to work with him (us and the horses.)  We used to just put a chain on the logs and the horses would pull them out.  Then Whit built a skid to help pick the logs up so there isn't so much drag (and leaves and dirt don't get dragged with it.  See? Less impact.)  Below, Whit is hooking up the double-tree to the skid, which he'll have the horses pull down to the woods.

Down in the woods where I hang out with the mosquitoes and black flies, my job is to unhitch the skid, drag it over the log, and chain the log to it.

Then I pick up the double-tree and carry it while Whit backs the team up to the skid to be hitched.

It's amazing how quickly these guys figure out the routine.  They watch carefully as Whit brings them up to the log to be drawn out, casing the job then carefully backing up over stumps and through low spots.  Scooby's listening to what's going on here as I hitch the skid to their double-tree.

Whit drives the team out with the log while I put another chain around the next one to go.

Here, they're walking up the hill to the driveway where the wood will be stacked until enough is accumulated to call for a log truck to take it to the mill.

TBear hangs out at the top of the hill in the driveway to unchain the log and measure the yardage.  We have to gather enough wood for a full load before calling for a log truck.

After he measures the log, TBear rolls them out of the way to stack them neatly, making room for the next one.

In between logs, TBear manages to get some of his schoolwork done so he doesn't have too much to do later when we get home.  It's nice working and schooling in the sunshine.  Soon school will be done and haying season will be upon us.