Nice video! I enjoyed the fire story. Here's something I learned many years ago: Most pine forests are what is known as a "fire subclimax" environment. Pines can tolerate low intensity fires, which are quite normal, better than most hardwoods can. This is good for the pines, as the fire prevents the hardwoods from taking over and pushing the pines out. A lot of pines have seeds that can't sprout without being exposed to fire or smoke, so pines can quickly regenerate after a mild fire. When mild fires are suppressed, the shade tolerant hardwood undergrowth eventually displaces the pines. When pines are cut away and natural fires are not allowed to happen, the pines don't stand a chance. Even if the pines are never cut, too much fire control allows the undergrowth to become so dense that fire, which will happen sooner or later, destroys everything. Not even pines can withstand a big, hot fire.

The smiling thing made me LOL, mostly because it hits home with me.

Nothing like a fall day in the woods playing with toys.

Great videos! I enjoy watching them. My family is from Southeast Missouri and our source of income was from logging. My Father started logging shortly after WWII. He began skidding logs with mules and horses, which is an art in itself. He then transitioned to Farmall M and Super M’s and that was his primary method until approximately 1978 when he transitioned to John Deere log skidders. I witnessed many times the power of the M and the rough terrain they traversed. It was not uncommon to see my Father pulling two full trees similar to the one in your video. Of course the conditions were ideal. There were times the M had the power but the front end was too light and he would use the independent rear brakes to steer when that occurred. For all the years he used the M’s there was never an accident. Thanks again!

Good Video. I liked the Tractors, I liked the History. Working in the woods with your Dad, does not suck.

Thanks for the history lesson! Thanks for sharing.

I live in the thumb of Michigan and in 1881 a fire burned over million acres, killed 282 people in 4 counties, caused $2.34 million in damage which adjusted for inflation would be $71.1 million. The Red cross' first mission was providing relief to those displaced. On October 8, 1871 there was also the great Michigan fire that burnt 2.5 million acres along with the Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin along with some area in the upper peninsula that 1.2 million acres were burnt. Both fires happened on the same day as the Chicago fire so it wasn't very publicized. The Peshtigo fire was deadliest fire in recorded history with somewhere between 1500-2500 people killed.

"Give me a lever and a place to stand, and I'll have that trunk outta there by dinner time." Some ancient Greek dude, probably.

A Senior moment on Squatch's channel is always something good.

Just love the deep torque sound of those old International engines! 👍

The bonus footage looked like a picture postcard. The log trailer would look good in Farmall Red. 👍

Excellent video the cable rigging makes pulling much easier. The 1894 Hinckley fire burnt in parts of Minnesota clear over to Clay County Mn near Fargo North Dakota I read in a family history book how all able bodied men had to go cut fire lines with a axe and cross cut saws out ahead of the fire . It burnt that year in several fires that actually originated out of a sawmill and planing mill yard in Wisconsin that year. One guy told me his grandparents had to go under their covered wagon into the Crow Wing river at Oylen MN and it crossed the river there it is about 200 feet wide in a few seconds and burnt the top of the wagon right off they survived by dunking under the water. The farm when I till the soil is full of wood charcoal chunks from the same fire. Keep up the great videos.

Thanks for the mechanical advantage and history lessons!

If you think your smiling then I think I’ll smile back . Good video thanks

Thanks for the video, Squatch. Here in my little corner of the Pacific Northwest, most of the forests are second and third growth conifers. You find the old stumps of the monster trees everywhere. Kind of sad.

Absolutely loved watching the Super M doing an easy day's forestry work!

Awesome video guys. Senior is smooth as silk on the clutch. I think he might have done that a time or two

Nice day with Sr. gathering the wood. I would love to see what you are able to recover in saw logs. Should be some nice lumber in there. Thanks for sharing.

That the way they skidded wit steam donkey engines. Those old pine stumps are probably lighter or litewood by now,good for starting campfires

Nice to see old and new machines working together. And a fascinating little history lesson on the area you call home Thanks Squatch

Senior must love the sound of the M Not wearing hearing protection. But he does on the dirty diesel kubota.

That bonus footage was stunning with the super M in the woods ❤

You may have made that "M" better than the day it originally shipped 🤣 Putting the "Super" in the "M"!!!

I could smell the cut end of that oak when Sr, finished cutting it. Nice.

Farmall sounds great. Good way to get trees out. And get use out of it before it goes bad.

A great history lesson, on the fire and your woods!

What a great video! Senior looked like he enjoyed operating the tractors.

We always enjoy the footage! Don’t worry about smiling, some of us were never meant to smile. Keep the history lessons coming, you know what they say about “ those that don’t learn from history …………..” 👍

The embodiment of if ya' can't work hard, work smart!

I have a Kabota L3200 that I love but I love using my Farmall MD even more. So nice to see them still working.

Good job on the cleanup. Those snatch blocks sure make the pulling easy.

My botany professor in college taught us that oaks and pines are primary trees, that colonize bare soil after a fire or after soil is otherwise disturbed. They don't like shade at all, so as other trees begin to sprout among them, the pines or oaks will die in the shade and be replaced by other trees that like shade, like maples and poplars. The only exception to this succession growth is in areas like taigas, where poor climate and poor soil keep anything but pines from growing, so nothing else comes up to shade them out. It may simply be that the vast pine forest that was there in the 1800's was the remnants of an earlier vast fire, before there was record keeping to tell us about it, or it may just be that as climate cycles between ice ages and warming trends, that area has gone from being too cold for deciduous trees to being able to support them, and it may cycle back to being too cold again. Human intervention long predates Europeans. Burr oaks were once the common tree in my area, because they require fire to sprout. The Indians used to burn this area every spring, and that allowed burr oaks to predominate. All the burr oaks here now are over 200 years old, blasted, past bearing seeds, and dying. No one has fired this area since it was settled. That said, the trees are reverting to what was here before the human intervention of burning it every year, not becoming something new because of human intervention.

Ran a Frick 56" circle sawmill growing up. Skidded logs with a Massy 235 and if you were able to pick up on the log, the Super M would have no problem moving it. Ironically before moving to a 671 repower, the mill was run off of a Super M belt pulley adapter drive.

Thanks for the video Toby! The old M hardly worked up a sweat. Very neat bit of history for your area. Thanks for sharing. Cheers

I would love to see you milling those logs. 🇦🇺

Make great firewood when it dries. For those long,cold January Minnesota nights.

Thanks for the video Toby! Nice to hear the Super M running. These clean up videos are great for now since projects have to wait and shows your normal fall to winter things that need to be done. Thanks again and can’t wait for the next video

And thanks for the quick history lesson Squatch I didn't know that wasn't in any of the history books I've read.

Whoa that piece of fire history sent shivers down the ol' spine. Super glad you shared all that information. Be well my friend

Leverage is bought by the way you have to move the lever, that's how it works...It worked great for you! Very interesting story of the big fire, thx for the vid and the history lesson! 👍👍👍

Good snatch work. Always good to have those kinds of things around the house even if one does have the machinery to pull straight. You never know when some set of circumstances impose themselves on you and you have to figure it the old school way. Kinda reminds me of stories my grandpa used to tell me, of himself, his brothers and his father, pulling big stones from the fields with nothing but leverage and cable work. The land, too soft to support straight pulling, not that they would've had any sort of equipment able to pull some of the "dolmens" that line up our family's property. I wish i was alive back then to see it. edit: seeing that split, they were right to do it. edit 2: 18:49 doesn't get more classic than that. That's a picture worth framing. :) That Farmall is such a beauty.

You guys are getting it cleaned up! Good seeing the M working. Kinda related to the fire in MN., I live in southwest Michigan and an older gentleman told me after the Chicago fire they came across the lake and cut a bunch of timber to rebuild. Where we are it's about 60 - 70 miles across the lake. Some of us older folks complain that they took all the good wood! lol!

There's something very satisfying about moving immovable objects by the clever use of snatch blocks 💪👌 great video nice to see father and son with a common aim 👍

Jaw dropping story on the fire! Truly amazing. Iowans getting the Mn. smoke reminds me how Canadian wildfire smoke came down into NY state over the summer. I love the old trailer. To save ripping up my yard skidding storm felled trees, i made a trailer from scrap lumber and tires from two junked wheelbarrows. Easy pulling with my Super A.

From what I have learned, our property in SE Todd county was mostly clear cut between 1890-1910 or so. We have some big white oaks about 4-5' at the base, but the oldest they could be is 100-130 yrs old. Lots of big Basswoods, maybe 100 yrs old, most get core rot or storms take them down. Property in the family since 1948. It's mostly under a forestry plan now, lowers the taxes and keeps it from development not that I'd want to do that.

What good day when you can go out in the yard and just pick up the fire wood! I distinctly remember hearing about the fire back when I was much younger. I'm shocked that the land didn't have cedar, ash and elm running rampant.

Another fine video! Thank you. Regarding your smile. If you look at photographs of Native Americans, there expression is always a flat line. You can say that a smile is in the eye of the beholder. You may have a little native American in you, or may be just a warrior!

enjoy working in the dry leaves while you can, it snowed here in Canada last night. i'm about 500 miles NW of you.

It’s just gone midnight- Wednesday morning and watching from Australia 🇦🇺, look forward to every episode.

Always enjoyed working with my Dad in the woods,we logged out many loads...Its something you don't forget.

Really enjoyed the history lesson!

During the depression my Father worked a logging crew somewhere in Northern Minnesota. I've been to the Fire Museum. On that thought the museum in Tracy has a engine block with straw driven into it. Interesting video. Thank you.

While we all would've wanted to hear the torque monster doing a little pulling, we'd much rather you listen to your doctor. Luckily, y'all did a good job on the Super M to where it didn't even notice the weight.

nice video squatch, always try to find videos of the old iron getting put to work pulling logs, just such a good feeling when you hook one up and have to hit the brakes individually to keep her going while the engine is purring, love it!

Man that’s a trailer full!

You lost me after guide block. 😂 After that it’s all spaghetti to me. Pulleys frighten and confuse this old cave man. Well done!

When I'm cross-cutting or bucking a log I like to to put one or two 8" STIHL plastic felling wedge/s into the top of the kerf to stop the log from binding on the bar & chain. Easy to carry two wedges in your back pocket.

Nice video Toby, I enjoyed the history on the fire. Great to see you and Sr working on a project together and the M in action too. You guys have the rigging down to a science and that makes all the difference. I throughly enjoyed this video thanks.

Excellent Video and narrative. Good to see you are able to get out and around more and more and do more and more each day!

Great video, buddy! I've never used a snatch block but man are they useful!

I have just read a book about the Great Hinkley fire. Those stumps are probably Fat Lighter. A sliver of the stump will burn like a candle. Surprised that you did not use something to protect the bark of the anchor tree. I use a 3" choker strap around trees when I am pulling on them.

Those super m's were great

Red River Lumber, and other logging operations were only interested in the lumber logs and they left the tops and brush because that was what they did in those day. That lumber from the logs built a lot of homes, but there was a price to pay

That is a beautiful tree and will make great lumber. Lots of classic tractors moved logs for years up here. Smart rig, using what’s handy; I can tell you’ve done this before. Quite a team. Thanks for the history. My area was wiped out by the 1918 Cloquet fire. Took my farm but skipped the neighbors place. Great video.

I really enjoyed the story time, thanks

enjoyed the fire story and explanation

Wisconsin forest land in parts had somewhat the same transition of trees from pines to hardwood. although they did not have some of the fires and the pines took over again before the hardwood had a chance mostly because the dropped pine meddles contain a chemical to hinder the hardwood seeds from germinating.

Enjoyed the video. Thanks.

Love the safety measurements. You never know when a cable clamp gives in. The loose ends will whip all over the place cutting everything in its way - be it a trunk or a limb.

Another good job done.

It's no so much a smile as resting mechanic's face. It's impressive what you can do with a cable, two snatch blocks and some thought, two oxen probably could have moved that log the way you had it rigged. I think you also demonstrated two tractors are three times more useful than one.

I was always told to use straps not chains on trees, prevents ring barking them.

Good video Squatch. Thanks for sharing with us.

I’m curious about your families property. What a cool place.

I don’t think Senior was smiling either it’s because everyone knows winter is days away!!!😀🇨🇦

Love those Ms. In the future you may want to protect the bark on the standing tree stump from chain damage.

Super video Toby, good to get fall chores completed.

Nice job with cleanup.

I got now a good idea how I can haul some logs that are not accessible by machines. A question for Senior: dose he use hardened steel or regular chain to cut the oak trees? Very cool history lesson, had no idea that nature had changed or altered so drastically.

Don’t worry about smiling, as long as you’re seeing out of that right eye that matters. It’s crazy, in the part of Georgia where we live pine trees are more of a nuisance.

Hey up mate another sweet video, surprised you had chain round anchor tree and not a sling don't want to ringbark them, power companies dont care about trees that oak had a lot more than ten years left in it

I like it when you mess with the RD6

10 years?? That tree looks like it's got 50 years left in it easily!

Yup,,red power!!

Amazing how well the mechanical principles help reduce stress on the equipment, great video demonstrating how well those principles work, thanx for sharing.😃

Really liked the story.

They are currently clear cutting a nice timber stand of 150ish acres on my way to my farm. Mostly hardwood for pulp. I would guess there are well over 10,000 cords of limbs and tops that could be gleaned for firewood. They will be left to rot: nobody wants to put in the labor to recover that.

Great video. Working with your Dad out in the trees isn't really work, is it? Treasure those days buddy!

Thanks guys !!

All those pine stumps likely will be good for lighter knots.

Nice work guys

Awesome video. How is your eye doing ? Hope for the best. Where I live in Santa Rosa CA it used to be all redwoods. It was clear cut .now very little redwoods and oak. About 20 years ago they put a law in for every tree you cut down you have to plant a tree .the timber industry didn't like that rule but the courts told them to bad .I live out in the county and the rule applies to individuals cut a tree plant a tree.i f you have redwoods or oak trees on your property you have to get a permit and someone from the county or city limits will come out to inspect the trees you want to cut . I had an oak tree pushing the foundation of the house and the inspector gave me permission to cht the tree after I paid the county 194 dollars. The tree was 101 years old. Denis from Santa Rosa CA

Seemed to be some conifer seedlings around those stumps.

Is the clevis on the back of the super m supposed to be twisted like that, or did that twist get put in there? Great video. Thanks for showing us how it's done.

Hi , really enjoy your video, I did a lot cable/pulley work as a millwright, as a safety note, your cable clamps are not on correctly. The ( u ) part of the clamp always goes on the dead end of the cable. Hope this helps, sincerely, Tom

To bad we couldn’t see the m grunt it probably could have pulled it without the blocks great video thanks for sharing

Boston Corbit, who shot and killed John Wilkes Booth, homesteaded about 40 miles from where i live here in Kansas, he then moved to Minnesota and died in the Hinkley Fire

Son, you're not the smiling type, so don't push yourself, it might break 😂 But seriously, we all know when you're pleased wi' summat cos you get a right satisfied look on yer face.

Very interesting.

Toby, would there be an advantage in pulling a heavy dead weight if you hooked the chain to the front hitch on a two wheel tractor like the M or H? Just curious.