Awake: 4:47am temp 59 sleep 5+29 sunny overnight @ Nicktown, PA.
Early morning I talk with Kevin about firewood; we have the opportunity to get some newly cut logs from my cousin, Andrea’s, recently cut or soon to be cut trees. Kevin doesn’t seem as excited as I am about this opportunity. His only nonchalant response was to not get too many logs because he has little space to store them.
Meanwhile, K & I drive to 8:00am Mass &, afterward, join the Koffee Klub. When back @ the bus, I call Andrea & talk with her about when her (3) brothers will be cutting the (3) trees down. She reports they are coming between 10:00 & 10:30 this morning.
K & I drive directly to the Foote house, talk with Kevin & Melissa about using their van to transport the logs, & request a tarp to protect the upholstery during the process.
At Andrea’s house, her brothers, Louie, Cyril, & Tony already have (2) trees cut down, limbs trimmed off & logs stacked up. After a short social visit, K & I get right down to work, loading the van with oak firewood. Kathy was a big help & it still took over an hr to get the logs from both trees into the van.
A (5) mile drive brings us back to the Foote house to unload the logs. Kevin gives us a helping hand so the process moves along faster. Before we know it, we are back to the scene of another fallen tree. This maple tree is larger than the other (2) oak trees together & presents a loading challenge. We use a sheet for a pad in the middle of the van to provide extra space &, with big Louie’s help, we are able to load the heavier lower trunk logs & all of the remaining logs worthy of collecting. Now K & I are both slowing down; this last load has been tough & we’re not finished yet.
Little did we realize super help was patiently waiting for us: Matthew, little Andrew,& tough guy Kevin. It only took us twice as long to unload the logs as it took to load them. Kathy spent some time playing Legos with her buddy Matthew afterward while I used Kevin’s shop vacuum to clean the van and bring it back to “travel in style” condition. We don’t know if those logs will be dry enough to burn later this yr; if not, we do have another source for the winter rendezvous.
Back @ the bus, we shower & have dinner: leftover pork, brown rice pilaf, coleslaw, & cucumbers & tomatoes in sour cream.
Lights out: 12:31am
Leave a comment