A Sound in the Night

Monday night was a typical night.  After supper, we sat down, as has been our latest routine, in watching an episode or two of Gunsmoke.  We began at the very beginning of the series when John Wayne introduced James Arness playing US Marshal Matt Dillon.  We were watching Matt and Miss Kitty and Doc and Chester when all of a sudden, we heard a loud shaking sound.

Tricia and I looked at one another.  It sounded as if someone was trying to come into the house through one of the doors.  It was scary.  I ran and got my pistol and began a quick search to see what was going on.  Tricia turned on all the floodlights outside.  We couldn't find the source of the noise.  Unsettled, I went to bed with my pistol on the bedside table.

The sun rose the next morning, and we went out and fed the animals and milked the goats and cow.  We fed the chickens and opened the nesting boxes and came inside to have coffee and read the Bible before starting our day and going off to work.  We were still puzzled about the night's mysterious noise.  That is, until I looked outside the front porch.

Mystery solved!  Overnight, even though the weather was still and quiet, a rotten center of an oak tree limb had given way and the large limb fell all the way to the ground.  It was this noise that gave us a scare the night before and not some nighttime bandit.  When it hit the ground, it shook the house!

I was grateful on one account that there was no villain lurking around "Dodge City," but on the other hand I was looking at a lot more than a large limb on the ground.  I was looking at a lot of work!

The limb had fallen from quite a ways up in the tree.  Gravity had taken her down to the ground quickly.

As I looked at the task ahead, I made an inventory of what I'd need.  Basically, I'd need my chainsaw.  It's a Greenworks 80 volt 18 inch chainsaw.  I would've never thought a battery-powered chainsaw was up to the job, but this little tool has proven itself time and again.  I brought the saw and some bar and chain oil and began limbing the tree out, hauling the tree tops out to the pasture for the goats and cows to make quick work of.

It was slow going at first, but if you keep at the job with persistence, you start seeing the fruits of your labors.

A little later on and the fallen tree limb had transformed itself into firewood for a 2027 winter day.

With the job complete and out of the way, we watched Gunsmoke tonight without any interruption!

Giving the Live Oaks a Haircut

As our high temperatures aren't in the 90's anymore, it's opened up some items on my to-do list that I didn't want to attempt in the sweltering heat.  One of those chores is trimming the live oaks.  I like to clean up the suckers that grow off of the horizontal limbs.  Doing so gives the tree a cleaner look.  The goats really like when I do this as I throw the branches into the pasture where they make quick work of the leaves.  

The main tool I use for this is a 10 foot extendable electric chainsaw with an 8 inch blade.  The hard part is getting up to the branches to trim, but that's accessible with a tall ladder.  Being that the chainsaw is electric, you don't have to worry about it not starting or the carburetor being gummed up.  The main thing is to keep the chain sharpened and I do that with a 'rat-tail' file.  It gets the job done on smaller branches.  This electric chainsaw cost me $69, and it has paid for itself time and again.  I can't say enough about how faithfully this saw has performed.

Once I got the smaller suckers removed, I began to look for the next low hanging fruit.  There was a big dead branch.  We have a concrete bench directly underneath it that seemed like a bad place to be sitting for when that big branch gave way.  Time to cut that down.  This branch is too big in diameter to do with a chainsaw with an 8 inch bar.  I precariously set a ladder so that I climb up and lean over and get in position to cut it off.  I try to do this type thing when Tricia is inside as she gets nervous when I'm up in the tree.

You can see the fresh, clean cut way up there.  I moved the bench and flowers so that I wouldn't crush them when the limb was felled.

Since this limb was bigger, it requires a bigger saw.  This is a Greenworks 80 volt battery powered saw with an 18 inch bar.  This thing cuts beautifully.  It's quiet and efficient.  The battery might last 20 minutes, but I have another battery inside charging as I drain the first one.  It keeps me cutting.  I've been pleased with this saw as well.  I had been sharpening each chain for years, but it was finally time to put new chains on both of the saws.  Wow!  What a difference it makes to have a new chain on it!

With a loud thud, the big dead branch landed on the ground.  It did crush Tricia's plant hanger and a decorative flag, but I did my best to straighten them up.

I recharged the 80 volt battery and quickly cut up the live oak logs into fireplace sized pieces.  I'll also give the logs time to season and then I'll split them.  These logs went into a wagon and were pulled back by the fire pit.

Coupling this with a ton of firewood leftover from last year and we're pretty much set for the fireplace this winter.

Cutting Up Firewood with a New Tool (Review)

We have had a number of water oak trees die due to borer beetle damage.  I usually call a guy I know and he comes and puts the trees on the ground.  I then chop them up for firewood.  In the past, I've borrowed a chainsaw and also rented a chainsaw.  Borrowing doesn't cost anything.  I rented the chainsaw for $50 a day.  It always seemed to me that either of those options was more cost-effective than purchasing one.

However, I was out of firewood, and we have two trees on the ground that need cutting.  I figured it was time to buy a chainsaw.  Here's the problem:  We use a chainsaw so infrequently that I was concerned that it would be troublesome to keep a gas chainsaw running.  The guy that cuts our trees down told me that all that they have been using lately is battery powered chainsaws.

I did some researching and found a good deal on a Greenworks 80 volt 18" bar chainsaw and bought it back in July.  I charged up the battery and waited for cooler weather to try it out.  The cooler weather got here and I've been putting it through a workout.

I've got to report that I am very pleased with it.  It doesn't make near the noise that a gas-powered chainsaw puts out.  It obviously doesn't use gasoline or two stroke oil, but does use bar chain oil.  I had to work through a few bugs, though.  The bugs were with me, not the chainsaw.  After about 20 minutes of cutting, it shut down and started beeping.  I had no idea what that was about.  I read through the owner's manual and couldn't find out what happened.  I called the Greenworks help line and spoke to a technician who helped me troubleshoot.  I felt like a dingbat when, after 15 minutes of talking, I had to admit to the technician that the battery needed recharging!

I popped the battery out of the saw, walked inside and re-charged it.  It took less than an hour of charging before it had a full charge and I was able to resume cutting.  

Now, I have to tell you, I'm not cutting up little twigs.  This tree is about 30 inches in diameter.  When I say that I put the saw through a workout, I'm not kidding!  The chainsaw is a workhorse.  

Speaking of work, once I have the logs cut, I then use an ax and a sledgehammer and wedge to split up the firewood.  It was a nice day and it felt good to get out there and split wood.  I had to stop every 20 minutes and recharge the battery, but I needed a break and a glass of water at that time anyway.  The smart thing to do, and I think I'll do it, is to buy another 80V battery pack.  That way I can charge both and when one runs out of charge, I could use the second one while I put the first one on the charger. 

While it charged I split wood with the ax.  A lot of the wood had knots, so it was a slow process, but the pile of split firewood began to grow.  I often talk about instant gratification - doing something and being able to (almost) immediately see the fruits of your labors.  Such is the case here.  As the size of the felled log diminished, the pile of split firewood grew.

I filled up the area between two pecan trees that I usually store our firewood with split firewood.  It was actually more wood than you see below, as I filled up our firewood stack on the back patio.

I split it up in easy-to-handle sizes and it's all stacked up. 

I have a lot more to cut up and split, but this was enough for one day.  My shoulders were sore and I was tired.  I slept real good that night.  I love sitting in front of the fireplace on cold winter evenings.  It's nice to have a good inventory of firewood and more coming.

How relaxing!  In closing, I am very pleased so far with the Greenworks 80V 18" bar chainsaw.  I am glad I bought it.  It was well worth the money.  After used, I cleaned it all up, refilled the chain oil reservoir and re-charged the battery.  I also got out the 5/32 file and sharpened the chain.

I give two thumbs up for this chainsaw.  I would buy it again in a skinny minute and recommend it to anyone curious.  Five stars and two thumb's up!

Sharpening Up on Skills

"If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.  - Abraham Lincoln

I listen to a podcast called "The Art of Manliness."  I'm subscribed to their weekly newsletter and they send me emails.  Of of the things I like is they send a weekly "Skill that Every Man Needs to Know."  Some that come to mind are: How to start a campfire in the rain, How to escape a riptide, How to Whistle with your fingers...  You get the idea.  HERE IS A LINK to 100 skills every man should know.  I was thinking about incorporating this into my life.  

One of the things I don't think is in that list is, but should be if it isn't is:  How to properly sharpen a chainsaw.  One of the things that makes cutting logs difficult is if you've allowed your chainsaw to become dull.  You'll know this because you are working too hard!  You'll also know it's dull if your chainsaw is making sawdust instead of wood chips.

My little $69 electric pole saw was doing just that.  I ordered another chain just to be on the safe side (1 is none and two is one!)  I have more than gotten my money out of this little saw, but it has a lot of limbs yet to cut.

Even though I have a new chain, I wanted to do a good job in sharpening the chain on it and get some more use out of it.  I've sharpened chainsaws before with a little rat tail file, but really didn't know what I was doing.  This time, I figured I would learn and do it correctly.  I purchased a 5/32 circular file with a guide.  It cost me a whopping $9.99.  You'll note it has angles on the guide.

The reason why is that you are supposed to sharpen the teeth at a 30 degree angle.

Pick out the tooth you are starting with and mark it with a Sharpie so you know when you are finished.  You simply line the file up on the teeth, positioning your file and guide with the 30 degree angle and push forward until you are even with the last 30 degree line.  Only go one way.  I did it three times.  Then I moved on to the next one.

Before long I was finished.  I want to show you something crazy.  Look at the directions on the back of the file!:

SHUT OFF SAW MOTOR BEFORE SHARPENING

What type of a meat head would try to sharpen his chainsaw while it was running?  I guess a meat head with missing fingers.  What in the world happened to us as a people?  It reminds me of reading this the other day: 

Car manuals in the 1960s told you how to adjust valve clearances, now they tell you not to drink the battery fluid

Ha!

So with the chainsaw sharpened, it was time to test it out.  There were some live oak branches that had grown to where they are touching the roof.  Time to do some trimming.  I leaned the ladder on the roof and set off to test the sharpness of the chainsaw blade.  

Tricia hates when I do this.  I assured her that my affairs are in order as I headed up the ladder.  I pushed the button and the blade chewed through the limbs like a hot knife through butter.  What a difference it made!  It was so easy to cut, I've gone all around the house trimming branches.  The goats and cows are enjoying eating the green leaves off of the limbs.  

The Top of the World

I'm on the top of the world lookin' down on creation
And the only explanation I can find
Is the love that I've found, ever since you've been around
Your love's put me at the top of the world

Way back in 1972, the Carpenters sang a song with the above lyrics as the chorus.  It was about being on "top of the world" because of being in love.  Although I am indeed in love with my wife, something else put me on top of the world on Saturday - a desire to cut some limbs from one of our live oak trees.  The limbs in question had grown and were being pulled by gravity so that they were rubbing on the roof on top of the dormer windows.  This is no good.  I don't want them to damage our roof, especially with hurricane season coming up in a month and a half.

Trimming the offending limbs was the last thing on my to do list for the weekend and it was last for a reason.  Tricia is not in favor of 'risky' tasks like this.  I surreptitiously got the pickup truck backed up to the house, extended the ladder almost all the way and braced it against the front of the pickup truck bed.  The plan was to get this done like Seal Team 6.  Move in.  Move out.  Mission accomplished.

There was a kink in the plans.  Before I could execute it, Tricia saw my non-OSHA-approved aerial apparatus.  I was able to talk her into allowing me to get the job done by helping me to hold the ladder steady and to hand me the extendable pole chain saw.  

I gingerly climbed the ladder, got the chainsaw lifted up, and cut through four or five limbs and watched them (not me) tumble down the roof and to the ground.  I was pretty high up.  Like being on top of the world.  I am not afraid of heights, but I wasn't keen on falling and hitting the ground either.  A quick joke about the life insurance being paid up was not appreciated by Tricia.  In the end, we had Success!  We filled the back of the pickup truck with live oak branches and drove around to the back and fed them to the goats.  Goats love browse.  In no time flat, they had eaten every single leaf off of the limbs.

I love it when a plan comes together that is a win-win for all involved.  A task was taken off the to-do list without loss of life or (my) limb and the goats got fed.

An Old Swing (and a New Electric Chain Saw)

My oldest son bought a home in a nearby town.  It is an older home, but was in great shape.  He's been working on it, making small repairs, painting, and working on landscaping.  He really enjoys home ownership.  He called us and asked if we could come give him some help on a couple of projects that he needed assistance on.  There are a few things that need an extra person or two. 

We drove over Sunday afternoon after church on a beautiful afternoon to assist.  The first project was hanging a swing on his back patio.  The swing has a story.  Tricia recently made a trip to Corpus Christi, Texas to visit her mom and attend her high school class reunion.  While there she brought a swing back that her mom gave her to give to Russ.

The swing was in an old cardboard shipping box that was deteriorated.  Tricia's Dad passed away many years ago.  Before his death, he had bought a swing that he intended to hang.  It is still unclear whether he wanted to hang it at the Garcia home in Corpus Christi or at the ranch.  Regardless, it never got hung and has resided in a box on the floor of my mother-in-law's garage for years.  Tricia's mom decided that she'd like Russ to have it.  He put it together and we hung it on Russ' back patio.  I took the photo below of Russ and Tricia, sitting on the old swing.  After many years, it got hung and will provide relaxation and enjoyment for years to come. 

"Just a swingin'"

Russ had asked me to bring my pole saw.  I have a nifty electric chain saw on a pole that extends out to catch limbs way up high.  Russ had some limbs that he wanted to prune to get away from the roof as well as to thin out excess branches to allow more sunlight to filter in to allow grass to grow better on his shady property.

It was the first time I'd taken the electric chainsaw out of the box.  I have to admit, I was a little leery of an electric chainsaw.  I wanted an electric one because I felt that it was so rare that I used it, if I got a gasoline powered saw, it wouldn't crank when I needed it, but it just doesn't seem like it would be strong enough to do the job.  It did have good ratings on Amazon, but I wanted to see if it warranted those "stars" on the review.  It did!  Russ climbed on top of his garage roof and trimmed limbs from his magnolia tree.  I dragged the cut limbs to the road where his town provides pick-up.

He told me that he was working up on his roof the other day and the ladder fell off the side of his house when he was up on the roof.  I asked him how he got down.  He told me he jumped off the side of the garage and into the magnolia tree and climbed down the tree.  Magnolia trees are great for climbing.  While he trimmed his magnolia tree, I told him to leave limbs to give him a back-up plan should he get stranded on the roof again.

In his front yard facing the road, he has a water oak tree that shades the yard.  The limbs block sunlight and prohibit grass growth on certain parts of the yard.  Russ trimmed limbs until he felt things had opened up a bit.  He is facing east in the photo below and the morning sun will now shine into his yard.

When we were done, Russ asked us to come inside.  He paid us for the work with a slice of chocolate cake and strawberry ice cream.  That sounded like pretty good wages to me!

Rock A Bye, Baby

Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall

And down will come baby, cradle and all

Remember that crazy song?  Why would you rock your baby up in a treetop?  That is reckless endangerment, child abuse, and infanticide.  Furthermore, why would you sing this to your baby in a soothing voice when you are singing about a baby likely plummeting to the earth where the baby would either receive a fatal would or serious injuries?  What does it mean?  I haven't a clue.

Anyway, we had some boughs breaking this past week, but fortunately there were no infants up in our trees.  One of the trees that succumbed to the red oak borer beetle was leaning over the garden and was threatening to fall on our fall vegetables. You can see the precarious lean.

Leaning over the Garden

We awoke to find that a number of branches from high up in the tree had fallen into the garden.  It messed up a few sugar snap peas and kale, but really, I can't complain.  It could have been a lot worse.

Is this why they call November, Fall?

I picked up the broken limbs and tossed them over the fence.  They will serve as fuel for our next bonfire.  Fortunately, most of the falling branches missed the veggies as they fell between rows.

The trellis for the sugar snap peas kind of broke the fall and deflected the force of gravity.

Our neighbor happened to be outside when all the limbs fell.  He heard the ruckus and came to check on us to make sure no one was injured.  A little while later he came back over with a long rope, a chainsaw and his four-wheeler.  I leaned a tall ladder against the dead tree (not smart, I know) and climbed up as high as I dared and secured a rope around the highest point I could reach.

Climbing Jacob's Ladder...

To the other end, we attached the rope to his four wheeler and pulled the rope taut. Our goal was to pull the tree to make it fall not where it wanted to (the garden) but where we wanted it to (the barnyard).

The anchor point

Benjamin revved the engine of the four-wheeler, keeping the rope tight while our neighbor cut a big notch in the side that we wanted it to fall.

We had a nice big notch cut in the tree, begging it to fall in this direction.  Would we be successful? Or would our fall tomatoes be chopped and diced by a falling tree instead of in our kitchen?  Stay tuned, we'll show you further down below.

Then my neighbor began cutting through the tree on the back side, motioning to Benjamin to pull and pull harder.  The wheels began to spin.  I jumped on the back to give the four wheeler some weight. Not good.  The four wheeler didn't have the weight or the power to pull the tree.  Oh no!  We went and put the cows and goats in the corral.

A lightbulb flickered in my head and I raced off to get a "come-along" (cable puller) and a chain.  We anchored the cable around a large oak tree, tied the chain to the end of the rope and attached the come-along and began using the lever to pull the tree over.  Slowly the tree began to stand erect and then began to lean in the direction we wanted it to.

Then with a crack, the tree fell right where we wanted it to.  It bounced right after we said, "TIMBER!" It missed hitting us, the hay ring, the animals, and the trunk almost fell on one of our burning piles.

The tree top fell squarely on another burning pile.  Bulls-eye!

Right in the burn pile.

So we cut up the tree for firewood.  Benjamin and I had fun throwing big fat white worms that burrowed in the fallen tree to the chickens and watched them gobble them up.  We threw what remained of the branches on the burning pile.  Then we breathed a sigh of relief that no more branches would fall into the garden and also relieved that we removed the temptation for those that might want to rock their babies in dangerous treetops.