Saturday 8 November 2008

I've started so I'll finish



Perhaps one of the most satisfying aspects of smallholding is that it is so different from my paid job. Most of my work involves meetings, assessments, complicated analysis and predicting future events. Guess work in essence, albeit guesswork underpinned by research and theory.
But you seldom get to see an end result.
Smallholding is different. You have a job, it must be done, otherwise things go wrong or if its not done you or your animals suffer. There is a start and most definitely a finish.
Today I nearly finished a job we started late September when we began to clear the fields of fallen branches. This resulted in a mountain of timber piled up at the end of the lane. Well today, despite the weather it has been transformed into a different pile of timber thanks to a chainsaw borrowed off Steve from across the valley. My chainsaw is still on holiday with JJ in the Bristol area.
My Dad would be surprised at the satisfaction I take from cutting up enough logs for winter as it was a job I detested when as child I had to help him get the logs in. Now as its a necessity here at Rock HQ it is indeed a satisfying task and the feeling of accomplishment once the huge pile was cut to stove sized logs was marked.
Now all I have to do is load them in the wheelbarrow and bring them into the dry store. That's another day. Oh and chop them up with the axe.
I cant wait for William to be able to carry them for me!



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