Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Chopping Wood

A chip off of the old block.
Dustin and Reese have moved back home for a while and life has changed.  Their Dad decided to take advantage of their strong backs to do winter chores.  The only thing more thrilling than handling a chainsaw...



...is swinging a manly ax.


As they worked hard, I began to feel sympathy so I offered to help.  Rather than split the large pile of wood drying on a big rock sitting in the backyard, I suggested they move the larger stumps to my flower bed.  


All they had to do was to move them past the hoop houses, around the wood rack, beyond the house, across the driveway, through the flower bed and then gently place them under the large oak tree in the far distance.  


"Mom, how is this chore easier than chopping the wood?"

I think he has a chip on his shoulder.
 "I can't believe you are serious.  Do you realize how much these logs weigh?"


"Methinks I know an easier way to move these stumps and upset Mom at the same time."


"NO REESE! STOP!  STOP! You are going to smash my flowers!" yelled Mom.


"Don't panic Mom.  There is plenty of room.  I won't smash too many of your flowers, or break any of the rocks or knock down any trees.  Trust me."


"See," bragged Reese, "there is plenty of space".



"The only thing more fun than irritating Reese, is irritating Mom." chuckled Dustin.


The stumps were (unceremoniously) dumped into my flower bed at the furthest part of the yard under the big oak tree.  They need some heavy flowerpots full of dirt placed on top, but that is for another day after they have rested.


"Life is much more exciting now that my pack is larger. Watching the drama is entertaining.  As long as no one is irritating me, I don't care who gets bothered." said Scooter.

8 comments:

  1. It's so interesting to see snippets of your day to day life! And it looks like your boys love you very much, and enjoy spending time with their family, which is lovely to see.

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    1. Thank you Margaret. I hope they really do love us and aren't using us for free rent and board. Well, I suppose it isn't really free when we work them hard chopping wood.

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  2. It's great that you have the guys back. I hope they're still there when you need those heavy pots on the stumps.
    Just think, Scooter....two more humans to wrap around your paw!

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    1. I will make sure they move the pots before they get to leave. It is a joke around here that every time they come home to visit I have something heavy for them to move. We laugh, but it really is true.

      Scooter already has Dustin wrapped around his paw. Dustin can't walk past him without petting him or hugging him. Scooter sees him coming and you can hear him sigh. Reese is a different story. They both seem to only tolerate each other. Scooter makes it obvious he considers Reese below Pack Leader on the pecking order and Reese does not like being snubbed. If Reese is rubbing Scooter and Pack Leader walks by, he jumps up and follows. Reese will say, "Was I just disrespected by a dog?" We all laugh.

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  3. Chopping wood is hard work, so the calorie consumption is high. I bet, your boys enjoyed
    a good tasty meal after that. And for your family it is a good feeling to have a supply
    of firewood for really cold days. As far as I know, you have them right now.
    Here in Southern Germany there are strong winds now, but it is not yet cold enough. Nature
    would need this cold period. It is not good for the plants when they think, spring is soon coming. But February could bring us winter temperatures.
    Christel

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    1. They were hungry and I did feed them a huge meal. It is a good thing my garden was large last year, they are enjoying all of the food it produced. I do wish I had planted more in the winter garden but it was too late to plant when I realized they were returning home.

      It seems all of your cold weather has decided to move here. Our ground is still covered in snow, it is bitter cold and today I have a dental appointment in town. I prefer not going anywhere when there might be a chance of a slick spot on the road. Dustin will be driving me to help if the car slides off of the road. I like snow, but only if there is a big roaring fire in the fireplace and I can stay home. It would not do for me to move further north.

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  4. I love wood gathering, especially when someone else does the heavy lifting! I do like to stack wood. Today, as I was taking one of the girls to her job cleaning house, I passed the woodworking store and grabbed several bins of the free wood they put out from their scraps. I got what I could in the back of the Rav4, took that home, and Patsy and I went and did it again when I went to pick J up. I feel virtuous! It's super good wood for starting fires with, and there are some pieces that burn for a while, so it's stretching the log supply. Next summer, we are going to have to source more logs.

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    1. That was a wise thing to do. It saved that wood from filling up the landfill, saved you money by heating your house, plus it was already cut and ready to go in the wood burning stove. It was even on your way so you didn't spend gas driving there. Good job Becky!

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