Mr. Penguin's Adventures: Lumberjacks

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Lumberjacks

We have been experiencing pretty severe thunderstorms recently. Last weekend the wind picked up so much that it knocked down a huge branch from one the trees. Of course I had to go outside to investigate; I needed to make sure my garden wasn’t harmed. Luckily, the branch did not land on the house, nor a car, nor my garden; it’s far enough away that it just fell in the yard without damaging anything except the tree.

The fallen branch obviously required the job of a lumberjack. I decided to take on this task. I went inside to change into my flannel shirt (in order to do the job of a lumberjack, I needed to looked the part).

The woman would obviously be no help to me since she is sick and weak. Clearly, this was a job for the man, assisted--er rather supervised--of course, by yours truly.

After rummaging around the garage, we managed to find a saw and some big pruning shears. The man climbed up into the tree and I tossed up some string. Once the man had his end, I tied the saw to my end…

...and the man was able to pull it up using his end of the string.

Once I was satisfied the man had the tools he needed,

I scampered away to oversee the project. I did not want anything hitting me on the head while the man sawed off the branch, so I went to sit on the nearby wall, which provided a safe distance away from the peril of falling tree branches.

This spot also provided me with a perfect place to supervise from and dictate any orders I felt necessary to the success of the project.

Petey, hearing all the commotion, felt he needed to come check things out. He was more of a hindrance than a help.

It didn’t take too long for the man to saw through the branch. Once it was disconnected from the tree it was time to pull it down.

It was really hot out, so I told the man to take a break while I pulled the rest of the branch down.

Then, it was time to prune off some of the smaller branches.

Once that was complete, we lifted up the branch…

…and hauled it away.

I have to admit we did a remarkable job. Mr. Penguin is very proud of himself and the man on a job well done. Was it smart to take on this project in the middle of a day where temperatures were in the 100's and there was a heat advisory in effect? Probably not, but we’re men--we do what we want and do it well.