Wednesday, September 1, 2010

"Oh, there ain't no lumberjacks in the city..."

That was the first line to a song my sisters and I made up on a trip to the mountains once when we were younger. 

We had an entire musical going on complete with a picnic table as a Conestoga wagon, male and female singing parts, and typical musical dance moves like synchronized "cartwheels" across the picnic table benches.

Oh yes, we gave Rogers and Hammerstein a run for their money!

But, as proven by the following photos, there are indeed lumberjacks in the city: Todd being one of them.

Todd has spent a lifetime working with wood - marking, pruning, cultivating and cutting trees.  AND he's from Wisconsin.  All he's missing is a big blue ox.

He's been itching to go a cuttin' ever since we moved in to the Casper house, which has a giant wood burning fireplace.  So, he and my old friend Jeff S. went out a couple weeks ago on a "man date" to chop and bring in some wood. 

They got quite the load!  Jeff really wants to use their new fireplace as a main source of heat, while I think we're only going to have an occasional fire.  You know, the kind you sit around sipping red wine while the winter winds howl... 



Some action shots...


I just liked this shot of Todd's lumberjack boot with the wood chips spraying...


Once Todd got the logs into more manageable chunks he'd split 'em by hand.  He's got such amazing aim!  More times than not he landed that ax right in the same spot.  I'd be all over the place I think.  And yes, we are doing this in our alley.  We had several neighbors stop to chat - and admire our pile of wood!


A perfect split...


Rigby's not too fond of the chainsaw.  He ran to me several times because I wasn't making such scary noises...


He is, however, very fond of this "stick".  Look at his cute little tongue go!  


The swirly colors of the bark on this chunk remind me of the hot springs in Yellowstone... 


I was the stacker.  This is the beginning of our wood pile...
 

And this is the end result!  Todd proudly told me I did a good job stacking (which is apparently a skill in itself) and that I could be his LumberJILL...


Males: Oh, there ain't no lumberjacks in the city!
Females: Oh, there ain't no lumberjacks in the city!
Males: So, come on down and find a girl that's pretty...
Together: Cuz there ain't no lumberjacks in the city!

The choreography really brings it together...

4 comments:

MOM said...

Great pictures! Sure looks like lots of work. Good job, Todd! We used to split wood in Plainfield. Owwww, on my elbow. Kimberly, you make a pretty good LumberJill:) Looks like you are set for a blizzard.

Stacey said...

Were you cracking up this whole post? I was!!! I now have that song stuck in my head. I also cracked up when you said that all Todd was missing was his big blue ox! How many glasses of wine did you have before you typed this one and were you in tears laughing so hard?? ha ha ha. It made me feel very giddy. :) (another song from our past - I feel giddy, oh so giddy...)Or (Once, Twice, Three times a lady...) THE POINTER SISTERS!!!! WHERE???? she says. Ha ha ha.

MOM said...

Ok.Ok. I didn't mean you actually SAW them live! You three will never let me live that down will you? You girls are c r a z y !

Anonymous said...

Also remember how we got into that Alice in Wonderland song, but made it our own by turning it into a male-female duet...
"Cats and rabbits would reside in fancy little houses, and be dressed in shoes and hats and trousers, with-in that wooooorld of our own!"
Of course I was made to sing the guy's part!

Mom, you even looked around when you said, "Where?!" :)