Tools of the Trade

 Had a bit of an upgrade here on the hacienda the other day.  I'd been cutting down some big trees that were shading the garden and threatening the house and vehicles (as well as the usual dead tree cutting up that I'm always doing...).  Anyway, my trusty, but old, 1980s-era Homelite saw quit.  Actually the saw runs fine but the tip sprocket on the bar seized, and it's almost impossible to find a replacement for a saw that old.

Within an hour or so I'd made up my mind to upgrade to a new, efficient Stihl chainsaw and came home with the model shown above.  Used it to cut down the final tree in the trio.  I have to say that I'm impressed at how well it works and how fast it cuts.  Has safety features that didn't even exist when my old saw was made.  Should last me the rest of my life.

Today, Catherine and I finished filling the woodshed with split wood, pieces that we'll be using in the winter of 2014-15 so it has lots of time to dry and cure.  It's so nice to get that job finished.  My chainsaw work for the season isn't over yet, though.  I have lots of downed trunks to slice up and pieces to stack, ready for next spring when we go through the process once again.