Clearing the Driveway (by hand)

(Sorry about my undies hanging out...it was way too hot and buggy to care.)

Clearing the road back to the house took a wicked long time. All we used were handsaws, a chainsaw, a rake, a machete, and our own blood, sweat and tears. We also made sure to strip the bark off of all the cedars we cut down as we went. The bark peels off really easy if you do it right away, and it's actually kind of fun (not unlike peeling glue off your hands!) I think Brian and I were secretly competing to see who could pull off the biggest chunk of bark in one piece. It was a lot of extra hours, but it'll be worth it if we can use some of our naturally harvested cedar in our house--perhaps lintels, or banisters on our staircase. We're trying hard not to waste anything, and our imaginations are seeing all sorts of potential in everything! Brian made some saw horses out of scraps, and we put the trees up off the ground (and out of the bugs' reach) to dry. By the way, the smell is fantastic!