Firewood Day #1
Got up at 6:00 a.m. to go to the mountains with my dad and cut down some trees for firewood. He wants to get four cords this year, which means seven more trips. Ugh, now is not the time to think about more trips. But then again, who could turn down a chance to use a chainsaw?
We had some technical difficulties to start out with, namely one set of the saw's teeth was a bit off-center and dull besides. Basically, it was sending up a terrific amount of smoke without really cutting anything. Dad finally got that fixed and finished sectioning the first tree - though it took three tanks of gas to do it! It had carpenter ants and some punky areas, so we couldn't take all of it. The other trees were easier, except when the saw refused to start because it doesn't like hot weather. That was bad for a while, because we'd dropped a tree across the road and if the chainsaw didn't get going we wouldn't be able to get back up that road. Anyway, I took a turn cutting while Dad loaded up, and then we found a fallen tree and plundered that as well. The only problem was that it was wet from lying on the ground, which means the 19-inch logs Dad cut were very heavy. VERY HEAVY. We managed to haul those back to the trunk and put them on top of the giant, awkward ones from the punky ant tree. We left at about 1:00; we were planning to be back for lunch (it's an hour drive).
As soon as we got back, Dad left to get more fuel and oil for the chainsaw, I went in to have a late lunch, and then we unloaded a whole truckload of wood and cut up the pieces that we'd left longer to save fuel. I only just now took a shower and had something to drink. Liquid probably should have figured into the schedule a lot earlier, but I just wanted to get everything done. Heavy trees, ornery saws, weird-shaped logs - let's hope the next several trips are not so tough.
But the story has a happy ending. I slaked my life-threatening, post-forest-ravage thirst with a tall glass of Bahamian punch. Here's the (very easy) recipe if anyone cares to try it:
1/2 part grenadine
1 part pineapple juice
2 parts Sunny Delight
With ice, of course. And a cherry, a straw, and a little umbrella.
We had some technical difficulties to start out with, namely one set of the saw's teeth was a bit off-center and dull besides. Basically, it was sending up a terrific amount of smoke without really cutting anything. Dad finally got that fixed and finished sectioning the first tree - though it took three tanks of gas to do it! It had carpenter ants and some punky areas, so we couldn't take all of it. The other trees were easier, except when the saw refused to start because it doesn't like hot weather. That was bad for a while, because we'd dropped a tree across the road and if the chainsaw didn't get going we wouldn't be able to get back up that road. Anyway, I took a turn cutting while Dad loaded up, and then we found a fallen tree and plundered that as well. The only problem was that it was wet from lying on the ground, which means the 19-inch logs Dad cut were very heavy. VERY HEAVY. We managed to haul those back to the trunk and put them on top of the giant, awkward ones from the punky ant tree. We left at about 1:00; we were planning to be back for lunch (it's an hour drive).
As soon as we got back, Dad left to get more fuel and oil for the chainsaw, I went in to have a late lunch, and then we unloaded a whole truckload of wood and cut up the pieces that we'd left longer to save fuel. I only just now took a shower and had something to drink. Liquid probably should have figured into the schedule a lot earlier, but I just wanted to get everything done. Heavy trees, ornery saws, weird-shaped logs - let's hope the next several trips are not so tough.
But the story has a happy ending. I slaked my life-threatening, post-forest-ravage thirst with a tall glass of Bahamian punch. Here's the (very easy) recipe if anyone cares to try it:
1/2 part grenadine
1 part pineapple juice
2 parts Sunny Delight
With ice, of course. And a cherry, a straw, and a little umbrella.