It’s a good thing I like mud
Yesterday ended up not as muddy as I expected. I did get some quality couch time before I headed out into the muck. I finished tearing down the one section behind the trailer consisting of 2 sizable cedar trees and one monster mesquite with 3 separate, significant trunks. I cut off and saved a good portion of the mesquite wood for burning later, and piled up the remaining branches making sure to get as many of the wicked thorns as possible. I hate mesquite trees (have I said that before?). Jud showed up later that evening, right as it was starting to rain again. We were able to get the grill up some hamburgers in the rain, and hung out for a while discussing various aspects of life. Then it was off to bed, listening to the rain come down…all night long. Needless to say, this morning was amazingly muddy. So muddy, I ended up just parking the tractor and doing manual clearing.
It was Bambi’s turn to sit and watch me do the work. So, with chainsaw in hand, I went on an old fashioned cedar tree killing spree. The approach is to pick a point in the wall of trees and just start cutting until you’re pinned in from all angles and have to cut your way out. This is probably not the safest thing to do while I’m alone with the trees falling around me, various thorned plans scraping across my arms and face as I plow through the undergrowth, and the ample opportunity for any upset snakes to let me know that I am not welcome on their turf, but it’s hard to control the tree slayer side of me once I let him loose. Eventually, I run out of gas in the chainsaw and realize my arms are dripping blood from the scratches and I have a maniacal grin on my face. At this point, I realize it’s time to relax a bit. So, beer in hand, I start a couple of small fires (still too windy for a large burn pile) over a couple of small mesquite stumps. Later, Jenna arrives for the night. She actually gets to stay with me tonight…I’m so excited. Not that Jud wasn’t excellent company, but I am a little starved for companionship. Matilda is only so understanding. So, we go for a little tractor ride and then sit around a camp fire as the temperature drops to about 50. Now we’re back in the RV (with the heater on because we are wussies) and it’s time to get ready for bed. Tomorrow is burn day. It’s supposed to be relatively still, so I have 3 large piles that need to go. And maybe, I’ll get to use my tractor tomorrow.
