That Wood's Got Attitude!

Alrighty then! I guess it's a bit past time to post an update here! Sorry I've been MIA for so long. It's been a busy time in the Boondocks!

Last February we were fortunate enough to acquire a permit to get 2 cords of wood from a BLM site. It was a beautiful site. We were all four truly impressed with their harvesting methods, which left so many standing trees, as well as other smaller growth undisturbed. We believe in using not abusing, and it seemed to us that's what had been done at that site.

That 2 cords of wood helped us out a lot with our home heating, but it sure wasn't enough to keep us going into this season. A couple weeks ago we were thrilled to be able to get another permit, again with BLM. While last winter's site was impressive, this site purt near took our collective breath away. It is just gorgeous! They left a minimum of 80 trees per acre, and again, there was minimal under story damage. There are a couple small clear cuts to be seen if you look in the right direction, but other than that, the view is spectacular. I couldn't help but think what a lovely spot it would be for a home site. Of course BLM has other plans, so we just enjoyed it for the short time our visits allowed.


We had a great time gleaning wood from this site, and were thrilled with the diversity of the wood available. We got a good mixture including a bit of fir, some alder, and the biggest thrill of all, Myrtle wood! While the Myrtle was the biggest thrill, it was also the biggest challenge, and it actually seemed to have a mind of it's own!

All was going well until Wednesday afternoon. Pa was at the top of the hill sawing up the top portion of a Myrtle wood log.


Nathan and I were down at the bottom, staying safely out of the way until he finished, and Lindsay was patiently waiting in the back of the truck for us to finally bring some rounds over for her to stack neatly. When we heard the sound of silence signalling the saw shutting down, and saw Pa stand upright we knew it was safe to proceed. Nathan and I eagerly rushed over to the rounds waiting for us and began picking them up.


They were some good sized rounds, and even heavier than their size might indicate. We managed though. We each took a round over to the truck and helped Lindsay stack them before returning for more.

I saw Nathan grab one, and was leaning over to grab my large round when all of a sudden I felt a very painful pressure on my leg. One of the rounds at the top of the hill had rolled down, bounced off a branch along the ground and attacked me with so much force that it nearly knocked me over! I screamed, both from the pain and the shock of the surprise attack. My family all rushed over to see if I was alright. I replied in the affirmative as I leaned back to sit on a nearby log, grasping my leg. I sat there for several minutes before I decided to try standing up, just to make sure it wasn't broken. I'm happy to report I don't yet suffer from brittle bones ;-)

Once I had limped around a bit to get the feel of walking again we all set to work, finishing the job we'd started. I felt a sharp pain on occasion but was able to put it off and keep up with my family. Once the truck was loaded to the point of overkill, we all hopped in and headed for home. About 90 minutes later we arrived home and my family all spilled out of the truck, eager to get started unloading all the wood. I, however had a bit of a problem. I did manage to get out of the truck but was surprised at the pain I felt when I put weight on my leg. I helped unload the wood in spite of Pa and the kid's suggestions that I go inside and rest my leg. Imagine my surprise when Pa tossed that round of wood that had attacked me in the woods up to the top of the pile and it proceeded to roll down and right over to me. I stepped out of the way, staring at it with disbelief. That thing really seemed to have it in for me!

By the time we were finished I could barely make it into the house, where I sat down and placed my hand on my leg where it was hurting.I was only mildly surprised to feel a lump. I lifted my pants leg to take a closer look. I really was surprised to see a very colorful huge lump on the side of my leg. It so amazed me that I just had to limp back outside to show Pa. "Look at this! There's a basketball growing out of my leg!"

Pa ushered me back into the house where we were soon joined by the kids. I was ordered on the couch. Nathan brought me a chair to put my leg up for elevation. Lindsay brought me a bag of frozen peas for an ice pack, and someone brought me something to drink, as well as a book to read. Pa then headed down to the store to get me some Tylenol, both for the pain, and in hopes that it might help with the swelling. It seemed my work was done for the day! I did get a lot of reading done that evening, as my children took turns exchanging the bag of peas for another so my leg would be well chilled. Several hours later when it was time for bed I was amazed at how much the swelling had gone down, and pleased to note I could walk into the bedroom without the assistance of the crutch Pa had pulled out for me.

Next week, we hope to get yet another permit for another 2 cords of wood. Hopefully, the wood in the next location won't be quite so vicious.