I collapsed in bed last night without writing a single word in this journal. I forgot how much work splitting wood can be. An old cherry tree, at least 90 feet high, was knocked down earlier in the summer in a storm. The bottom had been weakened by bugs but the rest of it was good wood. After it fell, the top of the tree was cut up into logs and tossed into the woods.
It was these logs that needed to be split, so I rented a log splitter at Home Depot and rolled it down into the woods. It started right up and soon I was splitting away.
My Brilliant son in law showed up and we really went into production mode. Here’s a short video of our little operation.
By the time we had split up all the logs there was quite a pile of wood.
It’s very satisfying to make something out of what would otherwise be wasted. We’re looking forwards to some nice campfires this year, especially now that the days are getting shorter. The wood is dry and split easily, so we’re hoping it will burn well.
There’s enough for everyone that wants some I think, and if not, we can try to cut up the big trunk log that remains.
We rolled the log splitter back up the hill, with lots of help, then paid the help with a pickup load of nice split cherry. I returned the splitter and crashed for the night.
I fell asleep tired and a bit sore but with that sense of satisfaction you get from a hard days work. There’s a lot to be said for the dignity of hard work. Too many people look down their noses at those who follow a trade, who sweat in silence, every day, doing their job no matter what, often without recognition.
Enjoy your Sunday! Thanks for reading, sharing and liking! ❤️
My husband and I spent many a year stacking and splitting wood. Though I miss the firelight, warmth, and the fact I can warm up a pot of soup when the power goes out, I do not miss the pain and stress on my body. Time to rest on that score. I do wonder if our need for recognition these days is one reason why people turn up their noses at manual labor and the satisfaction it brings. You're right about that satisfaction. It feels good to get such a project done and out of the way. Seeing that stack of wood squirreled away for winter gave us a sense of wealth, as did the bottled fruits of our garden labors. Did people a few generations need anything more than that from their labors?
That looked like real hard work. That wood looked like many future scented fires to enjoy and I liked the words at the end about respecting hands on work.