BEECHES, balloons, ROADS AND SWEAT namely: the elegy SLOITHA * 
* The sloitha is the traditional slide through which you carry (it) downstream from the wood. The association of the Letters TH is pronounced as in English form able to reproduce rather faithfully the speech dialect.
What follows is the chronicle of a fall (about 2002 years) during which the usual operations related all'esbosco assignments of firewood (deliveries) were recruited connotations more markedly than the normal comic humor!
We are now into early December, the winter now seems imminent, but the snow, to the delight of many and the concern for others seems to have chosen other latitudes on which recline.
Autumn has slipped away like that, too good to be true, chaining wonderful days, colorful, warm, distorted only by a few rifle shots.
In mid September, I saw the tops of the beeches of the fissures become colored balls, it is curious, as the shapes of autumn beech become round, do not give this feeling during the rest of the year.
The autumn colors, slip away with reckless or anticipate, because we see some marginal leaf appearance change here is that soon the whole mass begins to break away and create a constant background noise is to settle on the ground.
usually occurs at that time still a considerable drop in temperature, enough little, a few days and the degenerative processes of the cells that form the base of the petiole of a single leaf become unstoppable, the consequence is its detachment from the branch.
I also enjoyed this year's cycling event, audience at the beautiful wood of the Fratton, located between the eponymous hut hut Fossetta now undone and just in front of the fissure where the beech trees in autumn turn into balloons.
Here the forest is beautiful, it is because of various tree species, it is because I have found in the undergrowth of fern species to which I dedicated this year, it is because the slope is acceptable before increasing again and climb to the Palughet, it is because when I worked for eleven years in the Hills Fossetta through it, alone, Saturday night, returning home in a mood of happiness never equaled.
course a veteran forest a blend of Service (lot) is a forest crying suffering, soil, similar to the scarified face of a young African, is marked by the passage of a crawler. Pieces of the trunk, branches and leaves thrown in as a mass grave, the sign of the hammer on the stump forest is the death sentence of a tree that has seen my ancestors.
This proves to his view.
But for a moment!
The wood in question has suffered this year, before the cutting of conifers and later that of beech wood for heating, within the usual assignment of the quantity of firewood for domestic use, that it is the census of the town ( deliveries).
Every autumn, the approach tell me the time of delivery, I have to write something, because I know already in advance as is always the same old story; interest begins to quiver and waiting, in the form of vibrations of the ether becomes insistent.
begin to circulate rumors about the progress of construction work assignments, and their location in relation to this the convenience in relation to the access road, the size of the plants, because as we know, most are larger and are more desirable, although it must work twice as hard and above all the trouble that the amount of spruce compared to beech is too obvious.
The situation, though tense, remain quiet until mid-September.
Once this date, the anxiety becomes visible, the terror of the approaching winter and the desire to challenge the right tools are degenerate as the perception of the expiry time, and from then on, any comment in relation to foresters and allied become lawful.
Live Listen for deliveries beginning as one of the activities missed by those who live this mountain, genetically acquired over centuries of need stage.
He feels, however, more often say, when people meet with a sickle in his hand, "if cast by Vardar, needs must buy." But who gives up! The masses nice.
The last cycle was what I call involution, or guard, or of divorce, more or less forced to modern technology applied all'esbosco.
Finally, after years, have been created despite the network of forest roads, the conditions under which the common mechanical means available to those not specifically a lumberjack by trade, were almost useless; slope is too low to be able to mount a wire overhanging terrain too steep and uneven access by common tractors. So
; SLOITHA!
The first day of work: I would say the interim. Each
to clean up your area by pruning, looking at the surroundings almost with hostility, the distant road, other wood spread below us to block the road.
few words with the neighbors, some mention of gambling or other alternatives, but do not reveal anything more convincing. So
; Sloitha.
At this point, found that there are no alternatives is a problem with no easy solution, acquiree logical consequence of modernity and comfort that mom wanted to give the Province in years of political development road.
The problem was: who have a sloitha in the attic?
And if there is, under what conditions? From the census
media, carried out on the field, it appeared that something was still there, but as a condition were made pretty bad. After
the first half day of work are counted the number of defections among the means employed.
The parties most at risk have proved the Branch, namely the appendages through which the sloitha you pull and then you drive, followed by the legs, that the media upon which the structure of cargo, Bachet, ie the number of sticks linking together the various parts of the structure of the load. Finally, I believe in a whole, the main part of the medium that is, the Strothil, shoe.
do not remember having seen the failure of any Sela, that the strong cross-timbers of the structure.
The second day of work in the afternoon, I show up on the spot, my sloitha, which I had diligently leaning against a big fir tree, there's more! Mbeh?
He was just replacing one of her colleagues admitted!
was missing, among other things, an important requirement was also the result of a lifestyle had changed, the efficiency of personnel. The
said the sloitha you bring up and pull down is a symptom of how little it may have been loved and how much physical fitness is essential for its endurance.
In short, then, the side of the road found itself draped wreckage of mechanical and ... human.
The first, arranged with makeshift equipment, trees of the forest to replace the branch, tied or nailed with little art certainly the second distressed and sore, but stubborn.
At one point, and luckily had done myself, is a pop ... sloitha iron!
Excluding the "heretical" metal presence on the field has witnessed the battle between two categories of means, one long and one with shoes shoes with shorts.
The length of the shoe, is not relevant to the part that slides on the ground, but to the one represented by the curvature of the shoe itself, shows up.
The first category is therefore part means that the curvature after the deadlift, continues for another 50-60 cm up to engage with the branch, where it is tightly bound by a thin string.
the second those whose curvature is interrupted after about twenty inches, just enough to allow scrolling.
The challenge, however, has not led to prove the validity of one type or another.
What is the source of diversity is hard to say, the shoe "stretched" is typical and exclusive Sagron (and Gosaldo), the other is used to Mis and is commonly found in other valleys.
The geographical component, related to the topography of the respective areas, it seems irrelevant compared to the development of a system or the other, probably all comes down to simple manufacturing practices.
The only justification for more to be seen, is perhaps the fact that on the steep slopes of Piz Sagron, there is greater opportunity to find the beech trees that appear to be necessary to obtain suitable curvature Stroth stretched.
would be worthwhile to learn more.
Just this evening, at the solicitation of my father, I chose my new slòitha, has built four, this autumn, the Boards have flocked like never before, in the wake of the result of the survey! A new
sloitha, induces much less to be used, it weighs a ton. Fortunately, as often happens, the weather improves and things dry wood loses much of its moisture, pulling the weight about 15-20 pounds.
for its realization are used from four to five types of wood.
As previously mentioned, the share of the medium are: The
Stroth
legs
The selection
I Bachet
Branches
Each is made with a specific wood, the beech Stroth strictly, because hard, resistant to friction and stands up well with other parts of the joints, so the legs, which sometimes also see the use of ash. The Sele
are normally manufactured in ash, if there is a possibility that the tree is used, however, must be obtained from young plants and much branched, calls Spinaruol dialect, the large number of small nodes prevents the timber is opened following the grain. Bachet
I see the use of the rowan tree, as it is very flexible and resistant in relation to its small diameter.
For the last branch, made of hazel wood because, as the mountain ash, flexible and resistant to bending. This last quality is rather significant, as just above the point of connection with shoe suffer a sharp bend forward to reach the ideal position for towing. The folding is facilitated by heating the part.
addition, the development of this particular shrub species, offers the possibility of obtaining sticks provided with a natural grip fold, from insertion date to about 45 degrees, a branch to another person.
I will spare you more detailed information on construction techniques to say only that it is forbidden to use any glue and screws and nails.
Not to make this description as long as the time that never goes pulling the SOITHA conclude by saying that the forest roads are certainly convenient, but there must be a limit to everything ...!
