Good news! Neither Blinky nor I ended up in the hospital or morgue yesterday although his right knee is barking today and both my legs feel like they weigh 500 pounds a piece. We picked up the gas operated log splitter at 12:30 PM and it is really a slick invention! I had rented it for a full 24 hours but working as a team we first split the logs I had rolled out of the woods on the dolly, then cut up the downed oak on the office property, walked the chunks out by hand as far as the fence line, then loaded them into the back of the panel truck and drove them over to the splitter.
It didn't take long to establish a working rhythm and by 3:30PM we had it all split and were able to return the splitter to A-! rental and cut my usage bill in half. (On the way back to A-1 at one point I had to really stand on the brakes for a "yellow" and after that the splitter's sound changed.) Noting this, just before we got to A-1, we stopped to check it out only to find that the sudden braking had forced the splitter off the ball and the ball was now lodged in the grooved shaft of the tongue!Fortunately, the crew at A-1 handled the problem while I was in paying.
I wanted to reward Mr. Johnson with a TJ's Inn sirloin but he opted for a shorter trip to Sammy's Pizza where we quickly put away a 14 inch sausage, mushroom, extra cheeser. (Probably not the smartest move on my part as this morning I had a blood draw at 8AM to check cholestrol levels.)Upon returning from said appointment we had coffee at the office and saddled up for a short jaunt to the Altoona Restaurant
for eggs and hash browns. Thus fortified, we returned to the task of loading the trailer with split oak. In tandem it took us less than an hour to accomplish the first step. I then drove the load over to the office and we began the fun task of trying to back a loaded two wheel trailer with no way the driver could see what was transpiring. Consequently it took about half an hour and much cranking the no-power-steering wheel to finally position the trailer where we wanted it.
We tried to disengage the hitch but found it stuck. On to Menard's for a tarp and a lenghty discussion on whether to buy a jack or just to go back and unload the trailer. We decided ultimately just to unload the trailer. Arriving back at the scene, tom gave the tongue one good jolt with a right leg and VOILA! It popped free!
There was much rejoicing as we tarped the trailer and called it finished! My humble thanks to Mr. Tom Johnson for his true friendship and hard work. Now I am wasted and need a nap!
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