Laurel was recovering at the hospital, and the rest of the family was buzzing around her and the baby, so Danny decided not to head straight to Madison to see his new grandson.
That gave us the day to mount Danny's latest creation: The M.O.A.T. Stand
M.O.A.T. stands for "Mother Of All Tree" Stands. And boy, it was a whopper! Danny's neighbor Pete provided his ATV to get it up into the woods. Pete's friend Burkie joined us for the adventure, too.
The path was deeply rutted and a little muddy. The mud is rarely a problem in November when the ground is frozen solid. It leads from the field beyond the Farm out into the woods and down into Bruce's land.
Danny made the tree stand by welding together several bed frames. The hunters should find it quite roomy.
Danny chose this balsam tree for its size and location. There are a couple of other tree stands in the neighborhood, but this one should have awesome views of the surrounding area.
Our first task was to remove the tree limbs up to the final mounting height. The tree saw wasn't long enough. So, to get some additional height, we mounted the tree stand temporarily, several feet off the ground.
Danny removed the limbs and we hauled them away.
The deck of the stand will be about 18 feet or so off the ground.
Notice how Danny is sitting precariously on one of the few limbs he left on the tree. It made Burk very nervous.
(Danny was wearing a safety strap, by the way.)
Next task: mount a bracket to hold a pulley, strap a cable to the stand, and hoist it up there with the ATV. It worked great!
(Note the use of a steel cable. There's a story there...)
Last task: Danny righted the stand and affixed it to the tree.
The crew: Ma, Danny, Burkie, Pete, and me
The guys told a great story while we were together in the woods. They had learned their lesson on using nylon ropes to haul anything heavy. Pete and Burk were attempting to raise the concrete pyramids atop this entry gate at Pete's place. They had strapped up the slabs and hauled them near the top. But at that point the ropes had stretched beyond their strength. Wham! The concrete launched several feet through the air and landed on the ground. Danny heard the ruckus (and the subsequent cursing). The guys then redesigned their little hoisting scheme and placed the tops without further incident.
Ma and I just
had to check out the finished product. Very nice!
Danny spent quite a while in the tree. His hands were coated in dirt and tree sap.
After we finished putting up the tree stand, we had a lovely evening at Danny's. Burkie's wife Hilda joined us, too. Ma made delicious ribs.
The next morning, Ma and I went kayaking with Hilda. Danny went out to the tree stand to get the tree saw we had left behind, and then went south to meet his grandson.
It was a wonderful weekend. I love the north woods!
And I can't wait for deer season!
...oft go awry.
Danny emailed me these pictures. His words: "The M.O.A.T. (Mother of All Treestands) is now the F.M.O.A.T. (insert creative free license for letter "F" here). The high winds that left me
