Kimler Adventure Pages (http://randsco.com)

Buzz & Chop

In the Hills Behind Chase River - Saturday morning was another early wake-up call for the Oop and Dad, who got up at 5:30 AM. The Oop was dropped off at Miki's house, while Dad and Travis headed into the hills, determined to be the first at the Island Timberlands U-Cut site.

Buzz - The new side rails worked a treat and I don't think the truck could haul much more wood without something breaking! One tough truck! _{Randsco Newswire}

They got there at 6:45 AM and were the second group of cutters admitted into the clear-cut area. They set up shop and worked like little beavers, cutting, hauling and splitting the rounds that were too large to lift. The cutting went well, but was hot work under a cloudless sky. The only snag came when Scott went to change a dull chainsaw blade, discovering that he was given the wrong sharpened chain at the store. (He was given one for a different saw, as it didn't fit). It took a half hour to field-sharpen the dull chain. Even with that, they finished by 11:30 AM, with two pickup trucks of wood.

Scott picked up the Oop and returned home, ate lunch and had a couple of well-deserved beers, then it was time to unload the truck (calculated to be about a cord and a third of good Douglas Fir, Maple and Hemlock wood). It made quite a pile and when Rachel awoke (she had worked a 12-hour shift at the hospital, the night before) she was quite impressed.

Chop - It took a solid day to split all the rounds into fireplace-sized pieces, using an 8-lb maul and a wedge. (You can see the first batch of rounds, two rows, in the background). Scott is SORE! _{Randsco Newswire}

Sunday was spent mowing the lawn and then Scott set about the task of splitting all the wood, into fire-place-sized pieces (so that the wood would dry faster, over the summer months). It took all day, wielding an 8-pound maul and wedge, to move the round log pile about 10 feet, making it a pile of mostly pie-shaped logs. Some of the largest rounds created about 24 individual pieces, they were that large.

Two days of hot, sweaty work! It just needs to be stacked for the warm, dry summer breezes to cure and about a 1/3 of our winter wood needs, will have been met. (Mind you, there remains the other pile of rounds to split and there's even a rumor that the clear-cut might be opened one more time. Hard to pass up a cord and a bit of wood for $30, even if it requires two full days of work to get it.)

Cat Fud & Dog Fud

Dog Fud - Sasha looks on dolefully, whilst Tuxedo gnoshes away at the dog fud in Sasha's bowl. Each is more interested in the other's food, than their own. _{Randsco Newswire}

Hutton House - Readers know that we've been taking care of Rachel's parent's dog - "Sasha" - whilst they're away on a cruise up the Inside Passage of Alaska.

Nothing against Sasha, who is a very nice dog, but having her for a week, has confirmed that we're not ready to own a dog. Alex didn't play with her as much as we thought she would. Sasha required a lot of trips outside and fitting time for a dog walk with Rachel's shift work, was difficult. Then there's the messes on the lawn (and in the pasture) and "surprise!" some other place you don't expect to step into. LOL ... we have 5 acres of woods, you'd think Sasha could find a quiet spot to do her business, but noooo ... right in the middle of the path is her preferred spot!

On the plus side, our cat, Tuxedo, hasn't been too bent out of shape over the new canine guest. In fact, it's been rather humorous to watch, as each animal seems infinitely more interested in each other's food bowl, than their own. I guess if you eat the same dry/wet food every day, anything else is considered a luxury! Sasha's bowl is often commandeered by Tuxedo and Tuxedo's bowl is coveted and cleaned by Sasha. Tuxedo is a bit perturbed by the fact that Sasha is fed twice a day, whilst he has to writhe in misery, waiting for the 5 o'clock hour, till he gets his meager bit of food.

"No worries," he says, "I'll just eat dog fud in the morning and cat fud in the evening!"

Even the chickens don't mind the dog and it's interesting to see the dog, cat, chickens and Alex all in the yard, playing, pecking, lounging ... all within yards of each other!

Lot 7 Owner's Response

Randsco Email - Lot 7 owners (the lot where trees were cleared, some inside of designated Park land) stumbled upon Randsco while looking to see if any other lots were sold.

They emailed, to tell their side of the story, which has been posted as a comment, to reach a wider audience. They feel horrible about the damage and have offered to replant or do whatever the Parks Department feels is fair.