He Loaded 16 Ton

Over the past two weeks I have wheelbarrowed 367, 20-inch or so lengths of firewood up three hills from my neighbor’s yard next door. Sometimes I can get three into the wheelbarrow; sometimes one is plenty. For fun, I weighed one and it was 119 pounds. Some are lighter. Some I cannot lift. Some I need to split so I can load them. But I will have to wait until they dry. I guestimate four cords of white oak and a little cherry.



367 x 119 pounds = 43,673 pounds of too-soon-to-burn firewood -- maybe for 2012; for sure for 2013.

I haven't felt the need for exercise during this time.

Come for a visit this winter. You will not need a sweater. Come next year too, when these logs are dry and stoveworthy.

Deaths in the National Parks

I read the books" Death In The Grand Canyon" and" Death at Yellowstone" and most deaths were really the result of stupid actions. I remember Yellowstone was mainly being out on Yellowstone Lake in the afternoon when the storms came in, and you ended up in 45 degree water. Grand Canyon was dehydration and getting too close to the edge for the perfect photo.


Fiery Furnace

My friend Tom Egan and I hiked to Delicate Arch at Arches National Park in Utah years ago. It is my second favorite National Park. We especially enjoyed the Fiery Furnace Hike. When we reached the top of Delicate Arch we started to break our food out of our knapsacks. A man came over to us and asked us to please NOT have lunch there. It just stopped us cold.


Delicate Arch

Then we looked over and saw that his wife was sobbing. Their son had fallen off the edge on their last visit. So we didn't eat, but just sat there quietly until a group of Cub Scouts came up and started running all over the place.

There is a rocky but flat pitch to the edge and if your water bottle gets knocked over it rolls very fast and will go over the edge before you know it. We got really nervous that one of the Cub Scouts would go over the edge, so we got up and left.

We followed the couple who lost their child down off the high part of Delicate Arch, "the one on the stamp." They took a right, going to the spot where he landed, we guessed, and we continued on to the trail head.

On the TV show "Hill Street Blues," the sergeant, after muster, would always say, "Be careful out there."

- Tocino, Believer of All Written Words