This is a job for a Dozer Man!

Back when we were thinking that we wanted to own some land and build a house in the middle of nowhere (what were we thinking), I had asked several real estate agents who were trekking us across raw, undeveloped land how we would go about clearing enough of the trees to make roads and an area to build a house.

"Just call a fella with a dozer. They'd come out and do it for an hourly rate."
I was further informed that a good dozer man with a solid rig could clear a 40 acre lot (flat, no mountains, gulleys and whatnot) in a day...more or less.

The plot we were seriously looking at was in the eastern part of the state, and had some serious trees growing on it -- the largest trunks had to be at least 10-12 inches in diameter.

"A big dozer don't care much. It'll clear anything."
I have to admit that a part of me was aghast at the thought of letting a hulking mass of greasy machinery (the dozer, not the driver) violently uproot and destroy pristine forest ecosystems and wildlife habitat. But then I pictured Ma and Pa Ingalls chopping down trees one at a time, then pulling the stumps loose with a team of oxen to clear their land for farming, and I calmed down a bit.

"Then, what does one do with the stuff that's been cleared?" I asked innocently enough.

"The dozerman will push it into piles, where you can burn 'em or just let 'em sit."
I think I caught a glimpse of what it looks like when such a process is done.



Kinda reminds me of the scene in Dances with Wolves, where LeuTenTen Dunbar and the Tribe come upon the slaughtered and skinned carcasses of bison left rotting in the prairie sun.

Currently housebreaking, Cesar's Way - The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems" by Cesar "The Dog Whisperer" Millan.