by Marc Cullison    [mcullison.com]

Have you ever had one of those pissy-assed days?  I just had one.  It’s one of those that starts wrong, everything to do is wrong, and it just feels wrong.

We’re running low on firewood.  It is not a necessity because we have central air-conditioning.  But we use the fireplace to reduce our utility bill.  It makes a significant difference when our electric coop sends us the statement each month during the winter.  We had a good store of wood, but due to bad weather, priority projects, and other delays, I have not been out to cut much wood, lately.  So, our supply is dwindling.

I started a cabinet building project in the garage several weeks ago.  It has been put on hold because of the cold temperatures.  Glue requires a somewhat warm environment to properly dry.  I have heat in the garage, but it is a bit expensive to run for such menial tasks as glueing.  So, it have let it sit idle.

We also have a leak in our water line somewhere in our yard.  It’s been saturating the ground for several days, now.  I have narrowed it down to a sixteen square foot area.  The line is PVC, so in order to repair it, i will have to glue in a new section.  Well, with the temperature staying at 32 degrees or less, that makes any repairs impossible.  The cement requires a temperature of 40 degrees or more.  And besides, it’s darned hard to dig frozen ground.  So, cutting wood was the priority task for the day.

I located some trees that were already down and selected one of them in a pasture in which my brother-in-law keeps cattle.  The gate is usually locked when cattle are present, so I took along our key for the series of gates to his fields.  I loaded the car with the chains and equipment and off I went.

Once at the gate, the key did not fit the lock.  So I parked the car at the side of the road and hoped no one would hit it on the way by.  I lugged all of my equipment about a hundred yards to the tree, the cows keeping curious eyes on me.  The tree looked decent enough, all of the limbs within easy reach and nothing dangerous.  I pulled the rope on the saw and just as it tried to start, the rope jammed.  I had to disassemble the starter rope assembly, rewind it, and put it back together.  Then it took forever to get the blasted thing started again.  By the way, I have a Husqvarna 435.  It is 16″ lightweight saw.  I like the thing, but it took a long time to figure out how to start it.  I have just about mastered that, except when the starter rope jams.

With much patience, the saw did finally start and I began cutting.  About a half hour into the job, I realized the tree was an elm.  Well, I darned sure didn’t want a bunch of elm wood.  It is hard to burn and turns to ash with no coals.  So I abandoned the job and returned home.  In the meantime, I had called a fellow about delivering some firewood.  He had arranged to deliver it later int the day.

I now have a moderate supply of wood, enough to give me a cushion for cutting my own when the opportunity presents itself.  I have calmed myself, now, and am relaxing while I write this blog.  Tomorrow will be another contest with my saw in an attempt to cut wood.  Another tree that is a post oak.  Not great, but it will burn.

I am still keeping an eye on the invisible lake that is forming beneath my yard.  Next weekend promises to be warmer.  Maybe the ground will thaw and I can actually dig into it.  Here’s hoping…