Lumberjacking

This morning started off like usual-the alarm going off at 5:30, eating breakfast, milking cows, and the usual chores. Little did I know that my Dad, Steve, had big plans for us. He wanted to pull out fallen down trees and clear away brush from the fences located in the pond field. The pond field is a about a mile away and Dad told me that I had to walk there with the Maggie, while he drove the tractor. What a rip! It is full of hills, rose thorns, and broken trees everywhere. Needless to say it sucked walking to and from.

We spent the next 3 hours cutting up dead Elm and Oak trees. Dad would cut the trees into sections that I would then throw into the old rickety wagon. I pulled my armpit muscle the day before throwing hay bales around, so throwing logs for three hours the day after was not pleasant. My persistent whining to Dad about quitting was not working. He just kept saying, "Just one more tree. Here, hook the chains onto it" The only exciting part about this was a giant elm tree trunk that was infested with a colony of ants. The discovery happened after Dad swung the ax down to split the log in half. They went everywhere! They were huge-some were like an inch long! They covered the ground quickly as they all evacuated. I noticed them crawling on my shoes and made a run for it kicking and flailing me feet. What a site! My dog later felt the pain-She was soaking up the sun when all of a sudden an ambush of ants was crawling all over her. Maggie was biting at them frantically, but I imagine she ate a few in the process.

Finally Dad called it quits and of course I had to walk home with the dog. She was tired and was following right behind me like a little kid. I managed to maneuver around a rose thorn bush, but it got Maggie's leg. I look back and she is just standing there looking helpless holding her caught leg in the air. Of course I came to the rescue- and then we continued home.