I AM A LUMBERJACK AND I AM OKAY - I SLEEP ALL NIGHT AND IWORK ALL DAY!

Some time ago I realized that we had an elm tree that was looking very dead and that it was leaning precariously towards the garage. We called a tree specialist, Matt Staudenmaier, who came out to look over the situation.

He told us he could drop that tree successfully. He also pointed out that the huge oak next to the elm was dying and should be harvested at the same time.

So Last Saturday Matt and a helper dropped both trees and cut them up in lengths that could be split into firewood for the office.

so I called my friend Tom Johnson who lives near Madison but quite often treks to Superior, Wisconsin, to look in on the homestead there, as he had expressed an interest in helping me split any wood that I might acquire. Tom is a great friend who has been helpful over the years and we always have a great time in each other's company.

Saturday afternoon I went to A-1 Rental and rented a hydraulic gas driven splitter which I towed home with "the Big Tamata". Tom arrived just about dusk so we waited until Sunday morning to attack the mound of wood that Matt had dropped in the yard in front of the office.

After a good hearty breakfast of buttermilk blueberry pancakes and lots of coffee we set to work feeding the splitter. We would work for 50 minutes, then take a 10 minute break. The night before I had set the DVR to record the Packer game, so we worked right through the noon hour up until around one o'clock, at which time we had both had it! It was all I could do to climb the stairs to watch the recorded game.

Now I wish I hadn't watch it!

This morning, we were both up and at it for about an hour before we returned the splitter which was due in by 8:30 AM.

What you see in the photo is the result of our labors! I am typing this in a very cozy office!

My sincere thanks to Tom for helping me with a pretty monumental task. Later in the year I will be going down to help him out with an English class he is teaching as a way of paying him back.

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