Smudge, more than any other dog I’ve ever been around, is visual. She notices everything. She picks up on cues and attaches meaning to them — from what she sees at any given moment, she predicts what’ll happen next.
Yesterday morning, she saw me put on my glasses, slip my phone into my back pocket, swap house shoes for muck boots and grab my keys off the hook next to the door. That, to this Heeler, signaled that I was about to leave the cabin without her.
And she was right. Her response was to hop up onto the back of the love seat, lay down and pout.
Somehow, she knew she wasn’t coming with me.
I was headed to the shed, where I pulled out the Ranger and ran it up the cut toward the summit. My mission was simple — to lay eyes on the wood I’d taken down and bucked in late January, then begin the process of hauling it back to the wood yard.
Honestly, I’d forgotten how much (or how little) there was. I seemed to remember three small piles.
The first two came into view off the right side of the trail, just before it levels out — not a winter’s worth of firewood, certainly, but together still a respectable amount. I continued on to the lower clearing, where I found the largest of the three piles.
I produced that on the 24th and 27th of January. You may remember my tale of rigging a large widowmaker and winching it to the ground successfully.
The pile of bucked wood rested at the end of a path I’d cleared to skid it out on the cargo sled. (You can read about dropping the widowmaker here; skidding the rounds is toward the end of this post.)
I decided yesterday that this would be the stack I’d move first. My Fiskars Hookaroon was essential — applying a variation on the kick-before-pick principle, I used the tool to pull pieces out of the pile without reaching my hands into prime baby-copperhead habitat.
That worked well. Again, I didn’t run into any snakes.
I backed the Ranger up to the pile…
…and loaded as much as the bed would hold. Only a small amount was left behind for the next run.
Now, is there anything I could’ve done to carry more wood? Absolutely. Leaving my big Husky toolbox down at the shed would’ve freed more room in the bed. Securing the load with ratchet straps would’ve let me pile it higher. And, of course, I could’ve hitched up the utility cart and basically doubled my capacity.
But I did none of those things. I don’t mind making multiple trips.
I dumped the load at the wood yard, near the chopping blocks. Most rounds that’ll require splitting can be done by hand, I think.
Once I’d put the Ranger away, I reunited with Miss Smudge. She stuck to me like Velcro for hours afterward. I love that dog, and she loves her dad.
Wednesday morning’s firewood chore didn’t take all day, but damn, it was great to be out in the woods. And there’s more wood to bring down, so I’ll be going back again soon.
Besides, work brings me joy. It’s great to be here.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable