(no subject)
This was a good weekend. Saturday was spent splitting wood, using a rented gas-powered 34 ton splitter.
That went well, especially after I realized I could sit on a log and work the machine without bending quite so far, with the girls bringing me logs and taking away the split ones.
Even so, I'm extremely sore today, especially in my neck and shoulders.
We got two full cords of Locust done, and about half a full cord of Maple.
But then during a break, we noticed that the hydraulics line had sprung a break, so back to the store went the splitter, which brought splitting to a halt for the weekend, leaving me no choice other than playing a couple of hours of video games.
All in all, we're about a third of the way through the logs that resulted from taking down trees this year (13 of reasonable size), and about half-way done with the wood we'll need for heat this winter.
I plan to finish up the remaining Locust, but I'm willing to leave at least some of the Maple to season in its skin. I'd prefer to split it, but I won't rent the splitter for a third weekend just for that. Plus some of the logs are just so big (a few are over four feet across) that splitting them will require some thought.
In case you don't know, you can burn Locust the same year you cut it, but Maple has to be seasoned first. We burned a bit of the Locust over the weekend. It lit and burns fine, though you can hear it popping and spitting through the vents in the woodstove.
Very satisfying, as always, though it's a far cry from splitting Elm with wedges and hammers, which I did as a much younger man.
Sunday was shed day. We bought and need to assemble a plastic shed to shelter some of our yard tools which are currently sheltering under an overhang.
First, though, I got to use my shiny new leaf blower (a birthday present from last month), because that's a weekly task. Plus it's fun:watching the leaves swirl and tumble as they fly is hypnotic.
After that, we started on the shed. As a lesson in humility and in project management, step 1 of the 40 step process took seconds, but step 2 took us over an hour: getting the door window gaskets into the groove on the doors was extremely time-consuming.
Leveling the support feet was tougher than we expected too. We didn't pour cement, because that would make the structure "permanent", requiring permits and approvals, so we chose to just put down cinder blocks, bricks, and bluestone in varying combinations to make a flat(ish) support.
Incidentally, in my head, "permits and approvals" always comes out in Arlo Guthrie's voice.
But then it got to be time to shower and go to our new neighbors for drinks, so we had to stop, leaving the sides stacked on the floor, on the plywood foundation, but under the assembled roof, and off we went.
Had a pleasant time, though I talked more than I usually do. Normally, when there are women in the room, I tend to be relatively quiet, and let them dominate the conversation, but something triggered me, and I delivered a full-on fifteen minute lecture/rant/sermon about investment banks, mortgage-backed securities, the Glass-Steigel act, risk envelopes, and How It All Matters. (let the congregation say Amen).
Got home just in time for Walking Dead, and I won't plot-spoil, but I will just say that Rick and his little band can be amazingly stupid sometimes.
I hope that each and all of you also had good, happy, productive weekends.
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