One of the Mysteries

I am finding that in my 70s I am working just as hard and almost as long as ever but only manage to get about half as much done as I used to.  After moving a pickup load of mulch for Mrs. Barn this morning, I popped up to continue building the firewood inventory for next winter and beyond.  Currently I am working my way through the pile of approximately 300-pound cherry bolts, which must be handled with great care as I am not even remotely interested in experiencing a broken leg.

I roll them to the bottom of the ramp then cautiously navigate the way up until it plunks down to the bed of the splitter with a WHAM!  I thought about raising the splitter upright but decided that wouldn’t really work any better.  I quarter the bolts then move three of those aside (I can handle those at about 75 pounds’ apiece), splitting the remaining quarter into nine full sized pieces of firewood, then repeat the process for the other three.

Once I get done with the last of these it will be time to head back up into the woods to begin processing more windfall.  I’m pretty sure we’ve got next winter covered (quite a bit left from this recent brutal winter), but you can never have too much firewood when you live in the mountains and it is your main heat source.

Not especially romantic or blog worthy, but it is a central theme for this time of year.  Along with hauling mulch, of course.  I’ll resume again in the fall when my brother returns for a visit.