STUMPS III

As per previous blogs, ya'll know that I have been fighting the "stump wars" on my beloved Tin Star Ranch.

Yesterday was the second day in a row that I spent an entire day wrasslin' them puppies into the bucket of my tractor (BIG DAWG) to stack for burning.

You would need to know that the wood you see on top of the ground for a stump is just the tip of the iceberg. When it is removed from its multi-year residence, there is a mass of roots which brings up dirt and rocks that are next to possible to dislodge. Hence, most of my stumps are 3 to 4 feet across at the bottom and weigh at the maximum of my lifting/rolling/grunting limit. (At this point they are also testing the limit of my expletive vocabulary)

So the routine is that I put the tractor bucket on the ground (under the stump as much as possible) and then gray haired lard butt groans and tugs until it is in the bucket enough to be picked up without falling out. Some of the stumps are so big all I can do is chain them to the bucket and hope for the best. Others are small enough that I can actually pick them up an put them in the bucket. When the bucket is full (no more than three stumps) I ease slowly to the stump burn pile I am creating, then go back for more.

REPEAT THE ABOVE TIL YOU FALL OVER FROM WEARINESS FOR TWO DAYS IN A ROW AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE DEPTH OF THIS CHALLENGE FOR AN OLD FAT MAN.

For the present I am stocking up the Ibupropen and liniment and buying lotto tickets (gozillions hire out this stuff while watching the work from the porch!)

Stay tuned for more exciting episodes in this Woodsmen of the World executive ecological series