Two Cycles Are Better Than One

This weekend in the SC we were inundated with some freakishly bizarre weather. It snowed; a lot. It wasn’t your average snow, but a very heavy wet snow. In some areas they reported accumulations of seven inches. As a snowboarder this would normally be fantastic, but in this case it was a different story.

Since we’re just getting into the heavy fall colors, the trees are still covered in leaves. This, coupled with the wet snow caused a lot of trees to lose branches or come down completely. They actually declared a disaster and opened shelters due to the power outages (that still hasn’t been completely restored). Fortunately I had power, but I, as well as several friends, had a lot of trees and tree related parts lying on the ground, hanging on roofs, or bending well beyond where they should due to the extra snow-load. In order to clean up from Mother Nature’s cruel joke I got to run my chainsaw.

I don’t often get to play with the chainsaw but it’s definitely something I really enjoy doing. I was offering to help friends, neighbors and anyone who had tree appendages that needed to be cut. There’s something about a finely tuned chainsaw effortlessly slicing through a piece of hardwood that’s quite gratifying. Apparently I’m not the only one who feels this way because the neighborhood sounded like a sawmill.

While it might seem as though I’m making light of the events from this weekend I’m not. It’s incredibly nerve wracking to lie in bed at night and hear nothing but the sound of cracking wood followed by loud thuds that you hope are not the roof of your house. Fortunately the weather warmed up enough to melt out the snow and give some relief to the over-stressed trees. Also, power has been restored to most of the community. Even with all the craziness, I was able to find one more thing that I really enjoy doing and now I also have some free firewood.