TheBanyanTree: Cold moon

[Dale M.Parish]

Last week, I cut up and hauled home a tree that someone had dropped behind one of the rent houses.  Not sure who did it, nor why they did it, since they didn't cut it up, but it was a laurel oak-- good firewood-- and it hadn't been cut long enough to be too dried out for firewood, so I cut the top and limbs into stovewood and the trunk into backlogs and brought it home.  Since I hadn't gotten the rails on which I stack backlogs put into place from their summer storage, I just dropped it off in the back yard near the back door. 

Yesterday, while I was using the tractor, I fished the rails out and put them into place, but didn't get any of the backlogs stacked onto them.  I did, however, manage to split a few of the chunks into stovewood, so tonight, I had enough to start the first fire of the season.  All last week, Cindy wanted me to start a fire for her, but she was under doctor's orders not to lift, and I knew as soon as the fire burned down, she'd be wanting to lift more wood onto the fire.  Didn't make me popular, but kept us both out of trouble.  Wednesday, the doctor released her to be able to resume light lifting, but by then, the temperature was back up to shirt-sleeves.  

Today blew in a cold norther, and it's supposed to freeze tonight-- certainly fire weather-- so I drug in a back log and got a small fire going.  It's not much for heat yet-- the fireplace bricks haven't had long enough to warm up good, but it keeps the cat happy, and with the wireless and the MacBook, I can sit here in the living room in front of the fire, drink hot chocolate and write-- something that I haven't done in way too long.

Tomorrow, we'll head into town to do our Christmas shopping.  Tuesday, I've got to claim for my own so I can get loose to go do my shopping for her.  Could shop on line, I guess, but I've always liked to go into town and wander through the people-filled places, watching the stories unfold as I dredge for gift ideas.  Have a few ideas that I need to check out-- last time she hinted for something, before I took delivery on it, she'd bought one on her own.  

Tonight, while we were cooking supper, she reached for a tomato that has been in a hanging basked for a while, but still looked fresh, and sliced it open.  Every seed in the tomatoe had sprouted!  I've never seen one do that-- it looked like bean sprouts stuffed tightly into each cavity of the tomato.  I didn't see how that would hurt it-- we eat bean sprouts-- but she didn't want to eat it, so the poor little sprouts are drying out now and I guess will become bird feed tomorrow.  

I really need to get a chainsaw sharpener.  Or should that be chainsaw chain sharpener?  I've gotten one side of my saw pitched wrong, and it's not cutting straight in large timber-- curves to the left.  Tried to re-pitch it once, but still haven't gotten the pitch just right.  Maybe I should tell Santa Claus.  Maybe I should just change chains and take the other one into town to be sharpened.

Hugs,
Dale

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Dale M. Parish
628 Parish RD
Orange TX 77632