Thursday morning, kicked back in the La-Z-Boy with Shiba on a pillow on my lap, I was distracted by the strangest sight ever in the front yard/field.
A HEAP OF ASSORTED TREE LIMBS WAS CRUISING TOWARD THE ROAD.
I was so flabbergasted that I didn't think to grab my cell phone and rush to the door for proof. It takes me a while to get up from the La-Z-Boy. It's not called an Energetic Gal, you know. And that Heap of Assorted Tree Limbs was moving at a good clip. I have to be careful not to forget the TREE part of that label. Because a heap of assorted LIMBS would be OH SO WRONG.
Even in my dotage, I know that a Heap of Assorted Tree Limbs is not ambulatory without help from another force. Floodwaters, winds, tractor beam from a hovering flying saucer...all of which were absent from my front yard/field. However, I remembered Farmer H telling me in a text that woke me at 9:20 a.m. (DON'T JUDGE), that HOS (Farmer H's Oldest Son) would be trimming some trees around the Mansion. About 30 minutes later, HOS came zipping across the yard in the Gator. Mystery solved! He had loaded all those severed boughs on the back of the Gator to haul them over to the BARn field burn pile.
HOS wasn't around when I left for town. I was going to offer to bring him a BIG SODA, or some lunch. I guess he went home for lunch. Anyhoo...when I returned, as T-Hoe was coasting down the driveway, I saw HOS on the Gator. He was pulling another Heap of Assorted Tree Limbs. This time, they were on a come-a-long behind the Gator. That's a flat strap used for tying down stuff on a truck. This Heap of Assorted Tree Limbs looked like it was on a trailer. But there was no trailer.
Just as I was opening the garage door, I saw the pink hose flapping around. It's the one Farmer H leaves hooked to the outside water pipe, the other end being at Poolio now. HOS's Heap of Assorted Tree Limbs had caught on that hose, and pulled lose from the Gator. Poor HOS. He had to pull that load like a mule towing a barge down the Erie Canal, to get it moved off enough hose to get slack for untangling.
I stopped to talk to HOS, and I think I left a puddle like that dissolved Wicked Witch of the West. It was freakin' HOT out there, and I was just standing still. I don't envy HOS his labors. Even though Farmer H is paying him for his trouble.
Tree trimming is hot, hard work that's for sure. I remember cutting down a tall shrub last summer with my tiny $5 pruning saw, then taking several weeks to cut those limbs small enough to fit in the wheelie bin. The one you'd call a dumpster.
ReplyDeleteHOS probably could have used a Big Soda.
River,
ReplyDeleteHOS also had to cut down three trees out back by Poolio, and move them over to the other field for burning. Of course, he had a chainsaw. Your work was probably more difficult, with that little saw. After the first tree, he had to sharpen the blade. Which is like a chain, you know, and requires a little file thingy for sharpening. Farmer H paid him $150 for the whole job, which took him two days. I'm sure HOS could have used a couple of Big Sodas, but he helped himself to bottled water that Farmer H keeps in the BARn fridge.
Hard work in the heat is not my thing. Actually, make that ANY work, in ANY temperature!!
ReplyDeletefishducky,
ReplyDeleteYou're preachin' to the choir! Oh, wait. That might work up a sweat. You're telling that to someone who agrees completely!