Day 70 of 365

Day 70

One dead tree and a few sharp axes.

Today's adventure was not without a tiny bit of excitement. I've never chopped down a tree before and I'll be honest when I say I'd still be out there if I didn't have a bit of muscle helping me swing those axes.

On day 70 we attacked a very tall and very dead pine tree. I'm guessing it was about 30 feet tall. I had plenty of space with no danger of dropping it in the wrong direction but I was pretty sure it was going to hit in the way it finally did.

That old story about George Washington chopping down the tree. It must have been a small one or he had an accomplice because it is a ton of work.

My kid and I have been splitting firewood by hand for years. Swinging the axe vertically is so different and we very rarely have bounce-back that places our shins in danger..

From start to finish it took us about 90 minutes and that's after cracking the handle of our better tool. I swing a hammer as a blacksmith but after 30 minutes of chopping, this axe felt like it weighed 1000 pounds.

The tree was a real sucker to drop. We made it all around the base and I was sure it would fall over but it didn't. I'm no expert but for a dead one this tree was pretty solid.

As we stripped away the bark and chopped deeper toward the center we uncovered all kinds of crawly things. It was like a mini wildlife adventure, super gross and extra icky but that habitat of a tree is still there because I don't have a chainsaw and I've never used one. Can you see a future adventure?

Day 70 was so much fun but next time I'll use more power. Enjoy the video.

Love & Light