There is a tiny sliver of new moon easing its way through the burnished orange and purple clouds of sunset tonight. Today has been one of those Maine days that make you forget it's winter. Sunshine, blue skies, and enough warmth to even melt some of the snow. Not that it's going to last; snow is predicted tonight, Wednesday, and then the weekend. Winter doesn't flirt with you up here; when it comes on, it's with a full court press. At least that's the way the past two years have been. The year before, it was cold but at least we knew there was still such a thing as soil most of the time.
The "thaw" allowed me to spend part of the afternoon picking up wood. Central Maine Power dropped by before Christmas to trim an ailing tree that leaned threateningly near the electric lines and left quite a bit for me to turn into firewood. More than I'd expected, actually, and it quickly turned into a job. You see, the fellows came late in the day and before they knew it, they were working in near darkness. The small pieces were turned to fodder in the chipper but the rest was left behind.
I thought about this while hauling wood into the barn, one cartload at a time. Despite the mess of twigs and chips on the edge of the yard, I ended up with nearly a cord of wood that will season well by next fall. I didn't have to tramp into the forest with a chain saw; all I had to do was pick it up and stack it.
Ordinarily, power companies don't make it a point to cut firewood for their customers, but this time, someone thought more about doing good than about following procedure. It's not a big thing, I suppose, but it was considerate. I know it's a cliche, but that doesn't make it any less true: little things really do mean a lot.
No comments:
Post a Comment