Aching Back

We went from a late season frost less then 2 weeks ago to temperatures into the high 80s degF.  The weather heated up, and we had frequent thunder storms.

Though the warmth has been good for the garden, the storms weren't so good for one of the larger maples on our property.

A few nights ago we heard a big creak, and then the power was out.  I large branch fell off the maple and took out the power lines to the house.  Luckily we have a generator.  We were able to keep the freezers running, as well as getting a little light and air conditioning until the power was returned.

The branch was 30 feet long, and almost 2 feet in diameter at its base.  I spent 5 hours limbing the branch, cutting debris, and hauling it to the brush pile behind the barn.

I can't imagine having to do this by myself in 5 hours without power tools.  My chainsaw and tractor were a huge time and work saver.  I still had to load all the wood and branches.  My back was so tired.

A front pushed through, and today has been cold and rainy.  Our highs were only in the low 40s degF.  What a change!  We had 4 tons of wood pellets delivered today.  We usually take delivery of them in the summer (the prices are usually better then).  The pellets came on 4 pallets, each with 50 40-lb bags.  The delivery man used a fork trunk to drop off the pallets, but I had to restack one of the pallets to make some room in the garage.

Its almost June, but we fired up the stove to keep warm.  A good night to rest my back, and ponder how different life would be without all the modern tools to make life easier.