Hi, just cheering you on! Some good ideas above. I have a piece of ground in Scotland which was very heavily wooded, some plantation spruce, some deciduous. Have been clearing the spruce year on year, a bit at a time. Have needed help - these are BIG trees and also I didn't want to cut too many at one go (small and slow solutions, danger of windthrow, too great an impact all at once, finances ya de ya...) all I can say is that I have seen great benefits in taking it steady and really getting to know the land. We are also toasty warm all winter thanks to all that wood! We have been using some byproduct for hugels and also growing mushrooms (not in spruce logs but under some spruce canopy). Shade is ALWAYS an issue for us northerners!
Farming the Woods (Mudge and Gabriel) well worth a read.
Sounds like a fantastic project for you and your family - look forward to following progress.
