Lil Takes Charge

In the coveralls and fedoras and ready to get dirty!

Christmas vacation--and what better way to spend your time off than helping your cousin dig out stumps and chop down trees.  Hey, I didn't say it, that was directly from Lil (OK, so maybe I took a few liberties).  Anyway, our story begins on an unseasonably warm day in mid-December at the Drymalski homestead.  Lily was moping around the house, still sore from a good Playstation 2 NCAA Football whippin' she received at the hands of yours truly (she may beg to differ, but remember she LIES!)  Anyway, her feeble attempts at trash-talking weren't getting the desired effect, so we decided that a more constructive (or destructive, I guess) way to channel her aggressions might be a little lumberjacking. 

                              "I hate getting beat at football..."

After getting the tractor out and loading up our equipment, we headed out into the lawn to get rid of some stumps that had been plaguing the place for the last 10 years.  Lil hopped on the tractor and instantly was at home with the controls.  She scooped, dumped, and cruised around as if she drove a tractor to school every day.  It wasn't long before we had all three stubborn stumps dumped. 

                         "I am Lil, hear me roar!"

Lil had, about 5 years ago, learned how to drive the old Ford, and although I caught her aiming at me a couple times (memory of her defeat still lingering), she managed to steer clear of almost all living and inanimate objects (except for a log that she tried to ramp over Dukes of Hazard style).

                  "I can't believe I almost rolled the tractor..."

After a THOROUGH AND SAFETY PRECAUTION-LADEN lesson (Bold print for Deebles), Lil was ready to take the Eager Beaver for a spin.  We were now in the apple orchard, and our mission was the removal of some severely-deformed apple trees.  Lil was up to the task.

      "Cutting my fingers off won't help my swimming career..."

She dove into battle, engine roaring, teeth chattering, adrenalin pumping, pigtails flopping. 

Hands numb with the thrill of victory and accomplishment (plus, that chainsaw really vibrates a lot!), Lil stepped back to admire her work.  We took out three trees in the orchard, but Lil was hungry for more.

So off we went to a bigger task--a 30" diameter boxelder tree and some little brush trees surrounding it.  Lil made short work of the little trees, then used the tractor to help me fell the boxelder.  A satisfied smile crossed her face when she delivered the fatal blow with the tractor, and the tree came crashing down.

                              Ok, now she's becoming a lumberjack!

What we could we made into logs--Lil's labor would contribute to a warm house after the logs had dried.  The rest of the trees and stumps, most of which was rotten, Lil dumped into the woods where they would be home to some critters (unless the dogs had anything to say about it).

After we were done, we plopped down, exhausted, on the couch and enjoyed a Bears victory intermixed with a movie about ballet dancers.  You draw your own conclusions.

Thanks Lil!