This March is colder than February. I hope we can start around the beginning of April.
My job at times like this is to go out on woodcutting trips here and there to secure firewood for the stove. Also, the Kenninji fence is about 10 years old, so I am starting to repair it. I also burn bamboo to make bamboo charcoal.
Securing firewood (traveling lumberjacks)
This time we were in Nagaoka City (persimmon trees and Koya-maki) and Shibata City (red pine and zelkova). The red pine trees were dead due to pine weevil infestation. Pine wilt has been conspicuous in recent decades. The situation is especially bad in pine forests along the coast of Niigata Prefecture. My mansion also lost all of its pine trees about 10 years ago.
Some of the wood is not suitable for a wood stove, but I plan to use it for a Dutch oven in an outside oven.
Repair of Kenninji Fence
Ten years have passed since it was made, and the oshi-edge (holding down) and tama-edge (shade) are getting tired, so we replaced them with new ones. The split bamboo tachiko is still usable, so it is left as it is.
before
The half-split bamboo of the horizontal hold down is getting old and should be replaced.
after
The ball edge and the oshi-edge are tied up with a warty knot using a palm rope. It is still in process.
Making bamboo charcoal for fields
We sometimes make bamboo charcoal in the winter and early spring to organize the bamboo grove and put it in the soil of the field and stock it. The charcoal is porous and is said to be a home for microorganisms.
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