So despite the fact that there those that believe I may be turning into one of them, old guys can be funny.
My neighbor is a man in his early to mid 70's judging by the hard-earned wrinkles on his face, his slight stoop, and gravely voice reminiscent of a classic John Wayne movie. He may be older because when he turns to look at you he doesn't use his neck, but instead has an odd way of contorting his entire body in a way that I've never seen. It's almost as if you have words written upside down on your forehead and he is trying to read them without being noticed. He has offered me a couple loads of firewood since summer because he knows that I burn wood and he does not. I actually use the term firewood with my best effort of utmost respect to those that sell it. The parts of trees that I have gotten from him, while they do technically meet my criteria for the OWB, would not be classified as firewood except by the all-too-common Craigslist poster who wants their yard cleaned up for free. (For reference, my OWB burning criteria is from another AS member, "Did it come from a tree?") I took two loads a few months ago and he called this week to tell me the great news that he had more.
The first time I took it I was hoping for some of the 10-16" Ash that the power company had cut on the right of way through his property. Those guys had cut the trees to perfect 18" lengths that would stack, split, and burn nicely. Alas, I was let down to see a mound of wood disguised as a leaf pile when I pulled my truck past the end of his driveway. When the leaves and bark were swept aside I could see my score - mostly 2-3" diameter and less cut to 8-12" long. This jackpot was better collected with a rake than with log tongs - a wood scavenger hunt of sorts if you will. He mostly puttered around while I loaded up my truck declaring proudly several times that it was all "good Oak". There were a few larger pieces that required splitting - it's possible, though unlikely, that they could have been Oak. More recently they had been condos an ant city with a population of at least 500,000 residents. I found the inhabitants by touching the Fiskars to them whereupon the wood spontaneously combusted into a substance resembling wood dust, not unlike the ash that I remove the OWB except lighter in color. What I was able to shovel up of those went directly to the burn pile.
This time I thought he must have some wood left from the dead standing trees that were removed near his house and propane tank. He had insisted that he had at least two truckloads so I was eager to find the stash as I had removed all of the 57 year old trash wood that he cut as a young man to store on the ground until I came along. Turns out I was mistaken as another leafy pile had appeared where the previous wood-like decaying piles had been. So again, I scooped up whatever didn't slip between my fingers and loaded up the truck. Fortunately for my sake he had overestimated the amount and I was able to fit it all in my shortbed truck and travel home with the tailgate down with no fear of any spilling out. I think it was four loosely thrown wheelbarrow trips to unload it, not counting the loose stuff that fell to the ground.
I'm still hoping that someday this could turn into a score as he has a bit of acreage. And I'm not complaining - I got wood that will (mostly) burn and it helped him out by getting it out of his yard. Price was right and it was just over 1/4 mile to get it. Heck, he probably even feels proud that he "helped the young guy out" with all of the premium wood that was already cut and seasoned. I just found it comical that he and I have slightly different definitions of things. Call it point of view. In a way he reminds me of my grandfathers, so I will continue to endure his efforts to treat me well.
It is good to have well-meaning neighbors!
resent:
My neighbor is a man in his early to mid 70's judging by the hard-earned wrinkles on his face, his slight stoop, and gravely voice reminiscent of a classic John Wayne movie. He may be older because when he turns to look at you he doesn't use his neck, but instead has an odd way of contorting his entire body in a way that I've never seen. It's almost as if you have words written upside down on your forehead and he is trying to read them without being noticed. He has offered me a couple loads of firewood since summer because he knows that I burn wood and he does not. I actually use the term firewood with my best effort of utmost respect to those that sell it. The parts of trees that I have gotten from him, while they do technically meet my criteria for the OWB, would not be classified as firewood except by the all-too-common Craigslist poster who wants their yard cleaned up for free. (For reference, my OWB burning criteria is from another AS member, "Did it come from a tree?") I took two loads a few months ago and he called this week to tell me the great news that he had more.
The first time I took it I was hoping for some of the 10-16" Ash that the power company had cut on the right of way through his property. Those guys had cut the trees to perfect 18" lengths that would stack, split, and burn nicely. Alas, I was let down to see a mound of wood disguised as a leaf pile when I pulled my truck past the end of his driveway. When the leaves and bark were swept aside I could see my score - mostly 2-3" diameter and less cut to 8-12" long. This jackpot was better collected with a rake than with log tongs - a wood scavenger hunt of sorts if you will. He mostly puttered around while I loaded up my truck declaring proudly several times that it was all "good Oak". There were a few larger pieces that required splitting - it's possible, though unlikely, that they could have been Oak. More recently they had been condos an ant city with a population of at least 500,000 residents. I found the inhabitants by touching the Fiskars to them whereupon the wood spontaneously combusted into a substance resembling wood dust, not unlike the ash that I remove the OWB except lighter in color. What I was able to shovel up of those went directly to the burn pile.
This time I thought he must have some wood left from the dead standing trees that were removed near his house and propane tank. He had insisted that he had at least two truckloads so I was eager to find the stash as I had removed all of the 57 year old trash wood that he cut as a young man to store on the ground until I came along. Turns out I was mistaken as another leafy pile had appeared where the previous wood-like decaying piles had been. So again, I scooped up whatever didn't slip between my fingers and loaded up the truck. Fortunately for my sake he had overestimated the amount and I was able to fit it all in my shortbed truck and travel home with the tailgate down with no fear of any spilling out. I think it was four loosely thrown wheelbarrow trips to unload it, not counting the loose stuff that fell to the ground.
I'm still hoping that someday this could turn into a score as he has a bit of acreage. And I'm not complaining - I got wood that will (mostly) burn and it helped him out by getting it out of his yard. Price was right and it was just over 1/4 mile to get it. Heck, he probably even feels proud that he "helped the young guy out" with all of the premium wood that was already cut and seasoned. I just found it comical that he and I have slightly different definitions of things. Call it point of view. In a way he reminds me of my grandfathers, so I will continue to endure his efforts to treat me well.
It is good to have well-meaning neighbors!
resent:
