My log bench

A few days ago a standing and decaying pine tree fell and part of it landed in one of my fields. With my neighbor coming to mow in the near future, I gotta get it out of the way.

In the last couple years since I've joined Permies and also reading a lot of books, some of those about homesteading, I have developed this new way of thinking. I mean the information I'm putting in my head is making me think differently. I now look at everything and think about how it can be a resource. What can I do with it that benefits my farm, nature, the soil, or me & my wife. I'm not prepared to create a massive hugel right now, so while I'm cutting up the part of the tree that's in my pasture I'm thinking of something, anything, I can do with at least some of this material. My wife wants to have a mown walking trail around the perimeter of the farm and some of the larger clusters of trees, and this is one of those clusters, so I thought I'll make a bench that we both can sit and rest on and enjoy observing the little nuances of nature going on at any given moment. I've never made a log bench before, and it wasn't difficult. I think the hardest thing was getting the cut outs on the bench top that rest on the legs as close to flat and on the same plane as possible.

I chose a couple of the better pieces that wasn't completely falling apart and just eyeballed making two bench legs close to the same height as possible. Looking over the log that would be the bench top, I rolled the seat top so it was on its side, then using the chainsaw made guide marks as close to perpendicular to what will be the top. Instead of continuing to cut vertically and putting the nose of the chainsaw bar in the soil, I rolled the log over 90 degrees and proceeded to make my cuts. I then rolled everything into the edge of the cluster of trees and placed the bench top on the legs. I don't expect it to last long, maybe five years, it's softwood pine and has been decaying but when nature reclaims it, I'll make another when a storm brings down a tree in the future.

Aside from the bench I piled all the smaller limbs up and placed a few other tree branches that came down as collateral damage and also the chinese privet I cut to gain access into the understory which is also the spot where the bench now sits. I hope that the loosely piled limbs and brush will become home to reptiles and other critters.

I've also included a neat picture of fungal mycelium which is all throughout some of the remnants of this tree. Hurray fungi! It'll be neat to see what sort of mushroom shows up when conditions are just right. :)

Nicely done, James!  I like the way you think!  I try to do the same, with varying success.

Thanks Artie. I've got two more dead pines right next to the one I cut up today. I know it's just a matter of time before they're on the ground too.

There's a BB for that: https://permies.com/wiki/99566/PEP-BB-roundwood-sand-bench  This bench is wonderful but doesn't quite meet the specs for the BB but when those other trees fall.....