Time ran out on us this Memorial Day weekend, we didn’t get quite everything we’d hoped accomplished. All the same, progress was still made, and a good time had. Here’s hoping the long weekend treated you folks with as much kindness.
I became more proficient with the stump grinder, waging war against some spruce stumps that Lincoln Electric’s line-clearing contractors left us. Thankfully they had the courtesy to cut them close to the ground, lessening our task.
It was a good learning experience – spruce are among the softer-wooded conifers we have in these parts, and tend to have fewer knots than pine or fir. All the same, one has to be careful.
Always try to cut with the forward part of the tool, lest something be pulled to the back and jam the cutting wheel and burn out the belt. Constantly shift side-to-side, to wear the stump down uniformly, and lessen the chance of getting caught in a rut.
I’m sure the stumpgrinder still has many tricks to teach me, pending user error.
In the words of Horace, the great Roman poet “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori”.
“Sweet it is, and proper, to die for one’s fatherland”. Noble thoughts, but Horace himself fled battle, abandoning his shield. Living another day can be a tempting proposition.
Sometimes it’s good to be able to rejoin battle at a later date – I know the projects will be waiting there for me come next Sunday, as will another couple of stumps.
Trego's Mountain Ear 