That yearly jarring event once again came to fruition in our meager lives yesterday. The event that on the one hand is somewhat eagerly anticipated, yet on the other hand is desperately dreaded. And what mere incident could possibly have such an array of effect? Our income tax report arrived from our accountant. And yes, sadly, we do have more to pay. Sigh. Maybe next year.
We
did have a relaxing, enjoyable morning before the wheels came off. We took Cailyn to school. Marley came with us. Really goofy dog. Then we chatted with Nathan for a long time
while April got ready for work.
Speaking
of eagerly anticipated … desperately dreaded …
Back
at home, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather. And around here that means … yard work. Chris originally had one task in mind, but
when she realized that I was going to join her, the jobs list morphed into
something a little more … challenging.
First,
we dug up the two trees in the back yard that were dead. One has been limping along since Hurricane
Ike swept through with its salt water inundation. The other died after the intense shock of
last February’s freak cold snap. That involved
an action I haven’t taken in years – swinging an ax. Not like a lumberjack, mind you. The trees weren’t that big. I just had to snap through some ornery roots
that wouldn’t let go.
Once
that job was complete and all branches and trunks and roots were hauled to the street,
we moved on to the next much-anticipated removal. Well, not removal, exactly. We dug up a third tree, but this time we
moved it to a different location. It was
getting overshadowed in its current location by the three much bigger trees surrounding
it. Hopefully it will have a chance to
thrive now that it is on its own. But we
were not done yet.
Chris
pointed out that she had three plants growing in two different flower beds that
she wanted moved as well. Sounded easy
enough after uprooting and moving three trees.
And it was. As it turned out,
there were four of the little critters. Got
them all in place, and I think Chris would have stopped there. But now I was on a roll.
There
is a tree in our backyard that is growing right on the fence line. I mean, the fence runs right through it, somehow. I decided the time had come to at least lop off
the branches that were threatening to overpower one of the other trees that we
would really like to see grow and prosper.
Problem was, that particular offending branch was too thick to cut with
hand-held loppers. It needed … a power
tool. Our chain saw died long ago, so
this was the perfect opportunity to break out the most wonderful of all power
tools, the magnificent … Sawzall.
I
cleared a path in the garage to get to the ladder. With the extra wall of boxes of books out
there, it is hard to find unhindered access to much of anything. I grabbed the Sawzall and an extension cord
and headed back to the scene. I did chop
a few of the smaller twigs off with the hand-held loppers so I could have easy
access to the bigger branch that was my prey of the day. Finally, I grabbed the power tool and made my
way to the peak, king of the ladder.
Chris, by the way, wasn’t quite as excited as I was at my use of power
from an elevated perch. She stood at
ladder’s bottom, ready to secure it and I guess catch me should I fall. It was not an easy cut, by any means. After all, the Sawzall was designed to cut
through wood or sheetrock or even nails during a demolition process. Cutting through live tree tissue was not exactly
on the designer’s mind. But cut it
did. And after only three or four stops to
rest (rest the machine, of course. I was
fine … really), the branch came tumbling down. Didn’t even smash the fence into tiny pieces. Nope.
All was good. Between us we
dragged all the pieces out to the street for the trash guys to pick up next
week. Yeah. Wednesday is not really a good day to do yard
work when trash day is Tuesday. To quote
a beloved icon of a generation ago, Maxwell Smart, “Missed it by … that much.”
1
John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Father,
thank you for the bonus chance to chat with Nathan. And thanks for protecting us during our yard
work struggles yesterday. Amen.
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