page 11 a penny saved is a penny earned

Page 11

A penny saved is a penny earned.
So true in so many ways


A few days after clearing the brambles, I decided to walk round the perimeter of the field to see how the fences were holding up. The farmer who uses the field does a good job on the hedges and mowing, but we can’t expect him to do everything.

“I see the ditch on the top boundary needs clearing and there are fallen trees, along that hedge row as well” I informed mother when I returned to the house.

“Has the stock fence been damaged” mother asked.

“No, but the one tree has fallen across the fence and needs clearing desperately. I’ll get some tools together and make a start” (I am so practical, or it’s any excuse to demolish something)

“You cannot manage that by yourself, its hard work clearing trees and what will you do with the wood. I will have to get someone in” (mother is of again. Yes it is hard work but nothing I haven’t done before and it needs doing.)

“Mother I will clear that hedge row. I don’t believe in wasting money paying someone else when I am fit and able” (no wonder the older person gets conned out of their money so often)

Mother looked at me, (possibly deciding if she could argue or not) then said,
“Ok do what you want, you normally do, just don’t get hurt” (yes finally)

I filled the trolley I use for field work with tools and went over to the tree that had fallen down to start work. Weighing up the best way to remove it from the fence, I realised that the only reason the fence hadn’t broken, was because the trunk was being kept off the fence by two branches that the tree was balancing on.

Now this was more like one of those puzzles that are meant to baffle your mind. Well in for a penny in for a pound, I have never been defeated yet. Carefully I hacked away the top branches with a saw, throwing them to one side and checking that the tree was still balancing. I carried on like this until all the branches had been removed, but the two that were keeping the tree up. Now I had to take one of them out to make the trunk roll and land in the ditch clear of the wire fence and not get hurt myself.

Well with a lot of thinking and pondering, plus calculating the angles of the branches and which had the most weight on it, I made my decision. Finding an old saw, in case all went wrong and it got broken, putting my phone in my pocket and taking a deep breath I went for it. Standing on the opposite side to which I had calculated it would fall, I started sawing. Half way through I stopped and gave the trunk a hard push on the off chance it would just roll over, who am I kidding no movement at all. I cut a vee shape out the branch and once again pushed, nope not a wobble.

 Not much un-nerves me but this was starting to.

I stood in the field looking at the situation, double checking that I hadn’t miss calculated anything at all. As far as I could see everything should happen as I planned, so back to it, with three more cuts of the saw there was a cracking noise, I dropped the saw and ran as the branch gave way the whole trunk rolled over landing in the ditch, the fence wire even stayed intact, amazing I got it right!!

That was the start of a job that lasted most the winter, which I had great fun doing with mothers input


Till next time

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