I’m a lumberjack and I’m ok,
I sleep all night and I work all day;
I cut down trees, I eat my lunch,
I go to the lavat’ry
On Wednesdays I go shopping,
And have buttered scones for tea.
Here’s the rest of it…always good for a laugh: lumberjack
Yes, I now own a chainsaw. I’ve learned a lot this past week. And so much fun. Slicing through anything in my way. The branch that fell was filled in the middle with ants and ant eggs and yuck…I’m thinking the rest of the tree will soon be gone…either on purpose…or by nature (which will likely end up on the shed).
The branch was still stuck to the tree where it snapped and was supported on the ground. I worked my way closer to the tree and thought the huge branch would eventually snap off. But…instead it swung vertical and didn’t fall off. I cut up as high as I could but was stuck. So…my neighbor got a long rope, tied it around the tree, I brought it back over the top of the hill and down the other side, he drove his truck on the sidewalk (and put an orange safety cone out to make it official), and then we ended up pulling the branch off the tree. That branch easily weighed several hundred pounds and he had it completely horizontal and we weren’t sure if it was going to snap off or not…but it finally gave in and fell.
Lot of work cutting that thing up but after a week with the chainsaw my voice is lower and my chest is even hairier.
The kids love the hammock – so does Beth – but they consider it theirs!!!
Smile.
Ok, Katherine. We’ve got to talk. No more disgusting-anything presents. Complete nastiness. Yuck. Definitely disgusting. It’s hard to read the labels in this one but here the kids are with mold-filled dishes a week after they took samples of the following: Christopher’s door knob, Megan’s nose, Megan’s toes, and Colleen’s shoe. As you can see, it’s far safer to eat something out of Megan’s nose or toes than it is to eat out of Colleen’s shoes or off of Christopher’s door knob. Yep – go figure.
This past weekend was the fire department’s second annual car wash and family event to raise money to extinguish cancer. We raised 2K last year at this event (over 11K total for the relay) and did a little bit less than that this year. I helped organize it and spent 8 hours in this parking lot on Saturday. A ton of people from the department pitch in and it’s a fun day but a lot of work. The relay for life is in a few weeks – that’s when I walk around a track for the good part of 12 hours to raise more money. It’s quite an event – powerful and a huge turnout. We had someone else on the department come down with cancer this year so it continues to hit too close to home.
The 4th of July will be here soon…we’ve started doing sparklers or small fireworks every night in anticipation. Wheeee. I think everybody else is going to the neighbors for most of the 4th but I’ll be working at the fire station from 5:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. There never seems to be much excitement (e.g., no blown off fingers or kids catching on fire) but we still have a lot of people staffed that night just in case. I’m just hoping for no rain at this point. Yesterday and today have been absolutely beautiful days – 70’s – perfect.
I always loved that willow – it looked so stately and like that was the perfect spot for it. Hopefully you can save it!!! Can you burn the rest of the wood in your fire pit? I remember when Dick Ennis brought his chain saw up here when we first moved in and dad wanted to cut down ONE tree. Before they were through, dad was having so much fun with the chain saw I think they cut 10 trees down. So be carefull, it can become addicting and you don’t want just a field of flowers left. Those mold samples are nasty – Megan looks like she’s ready to lick them. Hope you all have a fun 4th of July. Dad has to work, too, but should be home by 7:30 so we can at least go see fireworks. Did dad tell you that I made a comment to your last postings, but evidentally I didn’t comment in the right section. Sorry.
That hammock looks so nice, but where is the birthday girl? I think she would fit on it with the three kids. Hope she enjoys it. Miss you all. Love, Mom
I checked out the rest of the “Lumberjack” song. Have you taught it to Christopher yet? Sounds like something you would enjoy having him sing around the house all the time… When I get a change I’ll have to check out some of the other songs by Monty.
Have you check online about saving the willow? If the ants have done too much damage there might not be much chance, but it might be worth exploring. Like mom, I always thought the willow looked nice and a natural spot for it. Chainsaws can be “fun,” but be careful. I forget where I read it, maybe “Popular Mechanics” but it was about cutting a tree leaning against another. In that situation the article advised hiring a pro. After reading that I was glad I didn’t try it myself. The tree wasn’t that big but even the guys I paid to do it found it a challenge because it was bowing and they weren’t sure how much snap it might have in it or which way it would fall.
We are in a hot spell – in the 90s for a few days. We’re trying to give the lawn some extra water, but spots are still browning. The humidity is forecasted to roll in tomorrow.
Sounds like an interesting experiment, but I think I’ll pass on your mold tasting offering.
It’s nice you are able to find the time to support the various fund raising events. It can be time consuming, but certainly very rewarding, especially if you know someone who is relying on the funding and research.
We went down to the mall last night and watched the fireworks. We weren’t sure which way to watch. We started watching the city display at Holman stadium, but someone at the apartments behind Home Depot was setting off fireworks. We enjoyed that display as much as the city’s. They weren’t as high or as spectaular, but they seemed to have as many as the city.
Hope you had a quiet and enjoyable 4th. We love and miss you all. Thanks for the update.
I agree – it’s a great tree and the yard would change a bit if it goes away…time will tell. I’ll definitely burn what I cut up once it dries out a bit. I’m also working on carving a 6′ bass for the front yard with my chain saw. Shhhh – don’t tell Beth yet. Which posting did you comment on Mom? I saw the one about Rochester a while back. Beth has been in the hammock plenty – and she rarely gets to stay in it alone. I don’t think she minds much. No, I haven’t taught Christopher that song yet – they kids teach me plenty of things that they learn from the YMCA summer camp – great stuff. I haven’t cut down any trees that didn’t already fall down. The willow branch knocked down 1/2 dozen smaller trees when it fell a few weeks ago – so I chopped those up too. The rivers out here are rising fast again (which is very rare in July) – we certainly don’t have the dry & hot conditions that you have – and you can keep it! Thanks for the comments – I enjoy reading them!