A: Waders, Towels, and a Small Inflatable Raft

Q: How do you get a thousand pounds of wood from one side of the river to the other?

Yesterday morning I took a friend's borrowed chainsaw and set out for the downed trees across the river. As the crow flies, it's maybe 75 yards. Driving there takes about ten minutes, and another couple to walk to the water's edge. Thank goodness there isn't a road that goes to the riverbank, but had I wanted to carry logs home in the trunk of my car, I couldn't have gotten the big ones through the brush and woods to my car in any easy way. And it would have taken at least ten trips.

Physically the hardest part of the whole day was getting the chainsaw warm. For the first 45 minutes, I expended huge energy pulling and pulling to get it going, only to have it work a minute, then sputter and die. Once warmed up it worked great, and I'm grateful to Marty and Susan for lending it to me.

I got ten big logs (18" diameter) and 28 small (6" diameter). My path is artfully charted below.
Paddle to the tree, put one large and a couple small logs on towels in the raft, shove off, and paddle to the dock. Empty the raft, repeat.

By the time I got the last logs over, it had been raining hard for a couple hours. My waders worked perfectly, and while I was cold, I wasn't wet.

After a very long shower and a big dinner of lasagna, sparkling cider, and ibuprofin, I sat by the fire and listened to the pouring rain. I'd like to get more of the tree, but I'm sore. Hands, back, neck, shoulders, intercostals... all of it.

Best part of the day was the wildlife. Saw two turkeys the size of barstools, a small ruffed grouse, and while struggling to get a log into the raft, a bald eagle flew upriver, only twenty feet off the water. I love owls and ravens, but bald eagles are so impressive.

Today will be about a walk, maybe watching "30 Rock" and "Scrubs" on the internet, and stretching. I should take advantage of the chainsaw while I have it, yet self-preservation and pragmatism will likely win out. I appreciate this about myself.