So the plan was this, for Saturday morning: My wife and the girls planned to wake up by 5:15, to hit the road by 6am. Heading out to visit a nearby monastery and attend an early service. For me, this meant possibly sleeping in a bit, maybe a casual cup of coffee in the sun room, perhaps reading Vino Italiano in a comfortable chair. You know, a relaxing morning.
Ummmm … no.
The reality of it was that I woke up between 3 and 4am, although closer to the former, I suspect, for no apparent reason. Could not get back to sleep, so I started the day a bit restless.
The solution? Application of a power tool followed by hitting things with a large piece of metal to break them into smaller pieces, of course!
This was the intended recipient of the effort…
To really do this right, I started by taking a large section out of a fallen trunk in another part of the property, to use as a splitting platform. Chainsaw did a fine job!
That in place, I started to work through the wood pile. Almost all of this was the accumulated loss of large limbs and some full trees, resulting from a full year without watering, when the house was under repair. Sad to see them go, but we will certainly make use of them next winter, and I was able to install new timers and sprinkler valves so perhaps this will be a strong growth year!
Halfway through the process…
At this point, I felt I had earned my second cup of coffee…
That, and perhaps a couple of cookies, later… I returned to stack into the half-cord rack I had built the previous fall.
So, before you look to provide “creative observations” about my wood stacking, I will freely admit that the wood often ended up smaller than a lot of purchased fire wood, and that my stacking might be a bit … wonky … at times. The over-chopping is probably due to work, of late. The wood might be filing a grievance, if it survives long enough to push the issue.
In the end, we have wood (including the oddly shaped pieces that I placed on top – holding them for camping trips!) and a much more organized parking area.
I finished sweeping just as the family pulled back into the driveway. May not have been the original plan, but still a good morning.
Tight lines…