3 February 2007

Yesterday, in the height of the day's heat (14 below at the "warmest"), Tom and I headed outside to get some chores done - in specific, to take two standing dead birch trees down. In the cold weather, though, the process was a bit of a comedy of errors. First off, Tom's chainsaw had to be brought into the house to warm up before he tried to start it (but that was expected). Then, after the first tree was down and he unexpectedly ran out of gas, we realized that the bar oil had become slower (and thicker) than proverbial molasses in the cold. So, the rest of the logging had to be put on hold while the gas and oil can was brought into the house to warm.

Meanwhile, I got the wheelbarrow and loaded it. When it was full, I put all my weight behind it to push it up the slight hill to the garage and wood furnace. "Uuuuuughhh!" Nothing. Flat tire. So, while Tom got the ice-cold air compressor out and hooked up to pump up the tire, I got the second wheelbarrow. That one had only a slightly flat tire due to the cold temps. Hmph. But, the air compressor prevailed, and that second wheelbarrow tire got properly inflated. I was off again.

Meanwhile, Tom struggled with the first flat tire that was so flat and the rubber so cold and stiff that getting enough air in it to expand out against the tire rim proved to be impossible. So, that wheelbarrow project was shelved for another - warmer - day. Back to wheelbarrow #2, now loaded high. Tom wheeled it up to the wood furnace . . . only in time to have one of the handles snap off, having broken in two. Ah, yes . . . . At least we weren't in the situation where we HAD to get this stuff done - that's when Murphy's Law USUALLY comes into play! So, the rest of the transportation of the freshly cut tree into the woodshed happened log by log. At least all those trips back and forth kept us warm, relatively speaking!