The sun sets on another day…
I enjoyed the sunset from afar, but I guess I always do. No matter where you go sunset is far away, It’s just sometimes you can see it better. Even if you can’t it’s always there to enjoy.
Winter was quite brutal this year and the cold winds and unique weather played havoc on a significant number of Jack Pines. I spent much time this weekend cutting down trees and cleaning my Forest. As I did so I received a certain amount of satisfaction Just because.
My grandfather taught me how to cut down trees. My grandfather taught me a lot of things. When cutting down a tree, the most important part is to decide where that tree is going to go. There are times that you want the tree to go one way or another and believe it or not you have a significant amount of control over that tree. Of course there are exceptions and of course those exceptions are fairly rare. I do have one tree in my little forest that will only go one way unless I use a variety of straps and chains to redirect it a piece at a time. That is one exception out of many.
Today’s trees were already dead, and one had partially Fallen with just the top coming down on itself. I didn’t have many constraints except a large target board that I for knife and ax throwing that I really didn’t want to have to rebuild. There were two trees I had to take right next to this and the third that had already fallen and magically missed everything.
With each one, I spent careful time cutting a v and back-cutting a straight line so the tree would fall where I wanted it to. Each one fell correctly within inches of where I wanted it, and I thought about my grandfather and how quickly he had done this. Then, I moved the trees to the side. I was almost there.
It’s sometimes difficult to plan in our lives. We often find our forests full of deadwood and are trying to figure out how to cut out the waste. We should do it with the precision that my grandfather taught me. Aim away for us and keep from hurting anything important, then break it down into smaller bits so it can be removed easily and carefully. That all sounds pretty good. Sometimes it can happen, and sometimes it is a little harder. Perhaps it is something to push for. It does not always apply, but it is a good rule of thumb.
So as the sun sets on another day, there is no need to keep the deadwood and sometimes it’s important to move on. I hope you find the ability to do so and make the world cleaner for you. After all when you clear out the old fresh and new grows in its place. Find the way and the courage to make your life better everyday, no matter what.
Sleep sweet, love life, and isn’t the world amazing…