April 5, 2008

  • Driftwood

    Finally, our annual, springtime backwaters flooding of the Ohio River has  receeded, leaving me once again with driftwood covering my, and my three neighbors, backyards. But this year instead of the many, many branches that I (alone) get to pick up and drag off, I have some pretty large logs that I am going to have to take care of before I can start cutting the grass.

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    And the key phrase in that last sentence was "before I start cutting"! Not one of my wonderful neighbors will bother to give me a hand cleaning any of this up-nor will they cut any grass,buy one cent worth of gasoline for my little mower(which, of course , I had to buy to keep doing this).

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     My 3rd, mind you, in the 28 years we've lived here. Of course when we bought the house in 1980 I was 32 and my neighbors were much older than me. So, being the good neighborly kind of dude that I was I thought I would help these "old folks" out by keeping the backyards cut for them. Now I am the "old guy" on the block!! Every year I tell myself that I am not going to do this anymore. Last year I even tried, but after cutting the area I actually own three times, no one else had made any effort to cut theirs!! By that time, their grass was a foot and a half high and I, being the wusss that I am, decided to go ahead and cut it. It was so high and thick by that time that I promptly fouled the blades on the mower and smoked the drive belt. $50.00 for a new belt and two hours on my back changing it(by myself.....is there any other way??). I have given up on giving up!!!!!! If I am going to have a backyard I can be proud of (with my beautiful view of the river)I have to do it myself!!

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    My kitchen 

    Now the question is, do I do this the easy way, or the hard way?

    The easy way would be to roll or push these logs back over the bank where they may float away, or they may just be back in the yard the next time the water comes up.

    The hard way is to rent or borrow a chain saw, spend hours cutting and stacking and burning this driftwood, and then cleaning up the mess left by that process.

    Hmmmmmmm,what to do, what to do??

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