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Post by Clipper on Sept 1, 2023 12:34:30 GMT -5
I am either a cheapskate or totally insane. (maybe I am insane cheapskate. Hmmm.)
I had a guy lined up that has a dump trailer. He was going to haul away the wood from the big maple tree for $200. He called and raised his price because the landfill charges are higher than he thought. I told him to never mind.
I started hauling the wood to the back yard to be split and stacked. I moved a face cord of the small wood that doesn't need splitting and piled it. I also moved over a face cord of the large blocks that are anywhere from12-18 inches in diameter and piled a full face cord of those. Our friend that loaned me the splitter to do the walnut wood when they took down the big walnut tree last year, is going to bring the splitter down again later on this month and we will split all the maple wood and she will take a pick up truck load or so. I probably have another face cord or more of the small wood to move and stack, and and another 2 or 3 face cords or more of the blocks, some of which will have to be split before they are moved because it will take two of us to lift them onto the splitter.
I haven't started burning the walnut yet. It has seasoned for a year so I will be able to burn it this winter. I still have a half of a face cord of the oak that I bought last year. I imagine that I will end up with around 9 or 10 face cords of wood in the back yard. I may sell some. I wouldn't burn that much wood in 10 yrs in my shop stove and camping. Hardwood firewood is selling for 75-100 dollars a face cord, depending on the quality of the wood.
My shoulders, back, and legs are once more telling me that I am 76. I still love to do the work, but I have to do it much slower with about 15 minute breaks every hour.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Sept 1, 2023 13:04:26 GMT -5
If you are still able to do that great. My hands would tell me "No" long before the first hour.
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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Sept 1, 2023 15:45:16 GMT -5
Clipper find some beavers or even termites to work on that wood! Then sit back on a lawn chair with a tall glass of ice tea and relax watching them do the work.
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Post by Clipper on Sept 1, 2023 16:48:45 GMT -5
If you are still able to do that great. My hands would tell me "No" long before the first hour. My hands will be killing me in the morning. Sometimes after we bowl I can hardly hold a coffee cup the next morning. The arthritis makes my finger joints sore as hell. I will pay in the morning, but I will be right back out there moving some more of the wood while it is cool. I worked from 7 to 11 today and by 11 it was 85 and humid. I love the cooler mornings of fall. |
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Post by Clipper on Sept 1, 2023 20:12:05 GMT -5
I love being outside working and always have. I am not content unless I am actively doing something, either in the house, around the yard or in my shop. The sad realization is that with the amount of work it takes to maintain this 100 yr house, and the 3/4 acre lot with brushy hedge rows on two sides and mature trees all around, it is only a matter of time before age catches up with me and I am forced to pay someone to do some of that work.
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Post by Clipper on Sept 3, 2023 9:53:19 GMT -5
I love being outside working and always have. I am not content unless I am actively doing something, either in the house, around the yard or in my shop. The sad realization is that with the amount of work it takes to maintain this 100 yr house, and the 3/4 acre lot with brushy hedge rows on two sides and mature trees all around, it is only a matter of time before age catches up with me and I am forced to pay someone to do some of that work. Wow. How quickly that realization made itself manifest with a trip to the ER and an overnight stay in the hospital. It was a warning to slow down. I pushed a bit too hard for a bit too long and ended up in the ER with chest discomfort and pain radiating down my left arm. I came in and rested when the heat got intense and I was soaked with sweat and went back out after supper to cut some of the larger and unmanageable size chunks into smaller pieces with the chain saw. I came in at dark, took a shower and flopped into my recliner. It wasn't long before my left shoulder and arm began to throb and I developed an aching pressure across my chest. Off to the understaffed, overcrowded ER we go. After an hour in the waiting room they finally took me back and put me in a room in the ER at 9pm. They did an EKG, chest xray, and blood work to test for troponin cardiac enzyme. At 1am they drew another sample to test for troponin and decided to admit me. Kathy went home at 1:30am. At 4am, after almost 7 hrs in the ER, they took me upstairs to a room hooked me up to telemetry and IV fluids. They tested every 4hrs for troponin, determined that the problem was probably heat exhaustion, dehydration, and over exertion causing my chest muscle and arm pain. As a result of their testing and the EKG they did however recommend a stress test and heart catheterization through my cardio doc and forwarded my chart to his office. I haven't had a stress test in several years. They discharged me at about 4pm diagnosed me with dehydration, and strained intercostal muscles and recommended that I let them heal for a couple of weeks before resuming any heavy lifting. My chest is still aching today. Kathy says no more firewood moving until the weather cools down. It is going to be hot here for several more days before we get a break and a little bit of a cool down. The new plan is to split the wood where it lies and move the much lighter split wood rather than wrestling the large blocks onto the trailer and back off in the back yard. I can put the splitter in it's vertical position, and I will just have to roll the blocks to it and stand them on end. Once I have it split into manageable size pieces my raggedy old self can just peck away at it like an old man. Just pecking away somehow defeats the purpose of physical exercise. |
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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Sept 3, 2023 12:05:48 GMT -5
Wow the wood can wait till you mend. Lucky it was not a heart attack but do not push it by doing heavy lifting or any lifting . I cannot believe with the condition you were in when you went to the ER that they made you wait for an hour before examining you. Gee when I went to the ER because I could not breathe I was taken immediately into the ER by a nurse and hooked up to oxygen and given first dose of prednisone. Please take care and rest and no more working outside in the heat......
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Post by Clipper on Sept 3, 2023 12:32:15 GMT -5
No doubt that I will be waiting for awhile before I am doing any heavy lifting. I just come in from grocery shopping and by the time I carried the 12 bags of groceries in from the car I could feel it.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Sept 3, 2023 22:57:54 GMT -5
Get the kid next door to do things like carrying groceries until the doc gives you clearance.
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Post by BHU on Sept 4, 2023 8:09:10 GMT -5
Hope you're feeling better. One solution? Grab your fishing pole, pack a lunch & head to the nearest lake or stream for a relaxing day of fishing. That's what we're doing today with heat indexes of 90* or so & my sore back. The yard work here can wait.
Happy Labor Day!
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Post by Clipper on Sept 4, 2023 12:23:55 GMT -5
I hope your back heals quickly. We are off to an estate sale and then to dinner with friends. No fishing today. We are going camping on the 27th through the 1st of Oct on a lake with good fishing. Too hot here today for outdoor activity. I went out to the garden and picked tomatoes and broke a sweat just standing still waiting for the dog to pee. Have a good day.
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Post by Ralph on Sept 4, 2023 17:46:03 GMT -5
Relax Clipper! You're doing too damn much at a time, and your body is letting you know to knock it off.  |
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