We worked outside for the better part of the daylight hours, mostly raking and trimming trees.
About halfway through, when the ground was liberally littered with twigs from hewn branches, I started a fire in our little firepot. It lent a festive scent to the air, lifting the spirits, which weren't even low to start. Fire on an autumn day blends perfectly with the colors of the falling leaves and the bustle of seasonal chores. I enjoyed tending the fire and tossing in odds and ends that I gleaned off the ground after Shawn trimmed the trees and we hauled the branches to the edge of the road.
Shawn climbed a ladder and trimmed the trees with his chainsaw that he bought back in the summer when the giant branch fell on my garden. It is a blessing to have a chainsaw, but it is terrifying to watch your husband climb a wobbly ladder, pull the starter on the chainsaw a few times with violent backwards jerks, and then reach upwards with the chainsaw to cleave off branches.
I am thankful that we have a chainsaw and didn't have to hire all this work done. I am thankful that we accomplished a lot. And, I am particularly thankful that nobody was injured in the process.
I am also thankful for the little firepot that we bought for dirt cheap in the spring and enjoyed immensely all summer. Today was its last hurrah though. It burned through its bottom. Next spring, we will probably try to buy a better quality firepot, one that will last longer, since we learned how much we like having fires. Today, it was a joy to linger over the flickering flames, spreading out our fingers to thaw between tasks, and finally relaxing in lawn chairs after a day of hard work, watching radiant embers illuminate red dollops throughout a mound of white ash, foretelling the coming of winter.
Firepot, wheelbarrow full of sawn logs,
man putting his life in jeopardy
on a ladder with a chainsaw.
man putting his life in jeopardy
on a ladder with a chainsaw.
We survived all this and more.
I am thankful.
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