For the sheer pleasure of it, I’d just as soon spend all of my time down-Mountain at Daybreak Point, nesting and building and making it perfect. I have other work to do, however, necessary stuff that keeps this life running.
The whole firewood thing is essential. And I have to make it happen this time of year.
But it need not be an all-or-nothing proposition. There’s no law against doing a little of both.
When I left a pouting Smudge behind in the cabin yesterday morning, the first thing I did was fell two standing-dying hickories in the woods behind the well. As usual, I carried out log lengths and bucked them on the tailgate of the Ranger.
A nice little haul. I took it straight to the wood yard and stacked it on the pallet-in-progress.
And then I made more cookies.
This time, it was a matter of trail maintenance. Small stumps are unlikely to be tire-biters, but they have an annoying tendency to interfere with traction at the most awkward times. Cutting them as low as possible helps prevent that.
Tuesday’s objective at Daybreak was to process, stack and cover the wood I’d gathered just before leaving the other day. Heavy rain is coming Saturday, they say, and I didn’t want to wait ’til the last minute.
The small pile of log lengths basically tripled my supply of bone-dry, ready-to-burn fire-ring wood on the rack. That was satisfying.
I fiddled around the place a little more before heading back. I leveled the top of the stump from the wind-downed oak I harvested last month, so I can use it as a proper chopping block. I picked out the pair of trees from which I’ll hang a hammock.
And, believe it or not, I found a spot that’s flat enough and big enough for pitching a tent. It’ll still require clearing, and the surface will have to be developed, but I’m pretty jazzed about that.
I flopped into my chair, enjoyed the view and reveled in the utter stillness. I regret that I can’t share the quiet with you, but here’s a 230° panorama of what I saw.
Perfect moments in a perfect place.
I hung out with Smudge awhile and took a midday nap. Then I was ready to knock out a bit more work, beginning with re-filling the kibble canisters down at the shed.
In the wood yard, four fat rounds remain from the roadside oak I harvested 13 months ago. They sit there, taunting me, daring me to try splitting them by hand.
I attacked a couple of them yesterday with the Wood Grenade. Success.
That produced eight splits, which soon felt the bite of my ax. Success.
I stacked 33 stove lengths on the latest pallet, which now is almost full.
Y’know, I think I’m gettin’ the hang of this.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable