Wednesday, November 07, 2007

City Savages

I posted in August telling everyone that I am not a city slicker. I still don't think I am, but boy have things changed for me. We had a little roasting session a few nights ago. When I was getting the fire ready, I was trying to find some dry wood. I have a bunch of logs out by the fire pit, but they were wet and frozen on one side. We borrowed an ax from our amazing neighbors and I chopped a few of the logs into smaller pieces and we threw the dry ones in the fire.
Today I finally got around to cleaning up our fire pit. I had left matches, roasting sticks, chairs, and a few other things out there. I wanted to split all of the logs I had out there before I returned the ax, while I still had the use of it. So this afternoon I went out and split wood. I can not begin to tell you how good it felt to swing that ax like I meant it, in the nice fall air, not needing a jacket on, while seeing leaves all over the ground, all alone. For some reason I just loved those few minutes out there. I didn't want it to end. I wanted a huge pile of wood to go through. ( I would have thought otherwise the next morning!) I loved splitting the wood, by the way, I don't want to brag, but I really can us an ax quite well.
One of my chores growing up was getting a bucket of chips in every night for the fire. Some of you are wondering, what in the world are chips, and I will tell you. The wood stove at my parents house lights up great if you have nice, small wood chips to get it going. Sometimes I could scrounge around and find enough chips at the wood pile to fill up my bucket, but I usually had to make them. Make them meaning split a log into 20 smaller pieces for chips. My brother Glen had to take a wheel barrow load of wood he split down to the back porch every night as part of his chores. When he went away to college, I got to take over the wood job and my sister Tori got to take over the chips job. You know, it was kind of a fire wood hierarchy at our house! I have to admit that playing basketball in high school got me out of getting the wood in alot of nights, but it was still my job and I did it most of the time. Anyway, I know how to chop and split wood pretty well. Which brings me back to my point---

I must be starting to turn into a 'City Savage' (that is my dad's phrase) because I sure missed splitting wood. I enjoyed every single second out there today. I was disappointed when all the logs were in slivered pieces all around me. I wanted to keep chopping. I think there is some strange satisfaction in physical labor that brings you closer to yourself. Makes alot of sense doesn't it?? Closer to yourself?!?! How can that happen? I might not be able to explain myself very well, but I do know that growing up where I did, doing my chores, taught me something good that alot of people never get to learn.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to see the city hasn't taken over. I am not sure that it ever will. Besides Rach, we like you the way you are...

Anonymous said...

Ditto -- Ditto-- DITTO! We will never be city savages!

Jenny said...

Rachel,
I must admit I want to be the country girl that can handle an ax as well as you can. But alas I am the one who wanted to bring the fake log that burned pretty colors.
I did have chores growing up, changing pipe, stacking wood, and sometime loading hay. The ax scares this part city savage...

BE GONE CITY SAVAGE

In the spring I bring the chain saw, you bring the ax and we will go a wood hunting...

Unknown said...

Why wait til spring, if we go up to Lyn's parents they have wood that needs choppin' Rachel you could do all the hard work and I'll just watch the kids play in the yard. I'm sure Grandpa Blaine would love the help!

Anonymous said...

You swing an axe like a GIRL!!!

Brian

Anonymous said...

Brian, did you ever hear about the guy who married an ax murderer? Well, she can also extend her services to friends' husbands.

Anonymous said...

We are amazing women thanks to our amazing parents!! Not too many chicks, at least up here, can so the things we can do!!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...