CHAINSAWS

This week we have returned to chainsawing. Yesterday Ayla, Benn and I got certified as class A sawyers (man status up 10%). We have been working on cutting down 40 acres of Ponderosa Pine trees that are infested with mistletoe. The infection causes the trees to grow like deformed octopi…all the snarls and branches and trunks are ridiculously twisty turvy and intergrown and caught on each other, which makes for difficult swamping because the branches are all intertwined and difficult to get apart except with the chainsaw.

Cutting down trees, and swamping out branches is the best workout I’ve ever had. My arms are exhausted! And my obliques hurt every evening when trying to get to sleep, and in the morning after the soreness has seeped into my weary bones.

Last night the team watched “smoke jumpers” a movie Josh’s mom sent him (I think) which is about a girl who wants to be a smoke jumper, trains for a week then becomes a smoke jumper. The movie was campy and ridiculous, and the team spent the majority of the time making fun of the movie, and looking for firefighting flaws.

Currently we are driving into Colorado Springs with a myriad of tasks to accomplish inclusing internet/coffee, Benn needs to pick up his new phone from the Sprint store, Ayla is returning library books, and Noel wants to try to recruit volunteers for our Day of Service project this weekend.

This coming Saturday we are holding our Day of Service with the non-profit “Mariah’s Promise.” Mariah’s Promise is a dog shelter specializing in taking in Pitt Bulls. Denver, and other cities have breed specific laws (bsl) that prohibit owning pittbulls, and any dogs that are perceived as pitt bulls. You can’t even drive through the city with one in your car. If stopped, police can take and kill your dog. So Mariah’s promise is in an area not covered by BSL and takes in dogs that can no longer live with their owners. Toni, the owner, runs the organization out of her house, and tries to find new homes for the dogs. This weekend we are going to be helping maintain the area by deicing the walkway, cleaning out cages, and any other tasks such as building pens, and moving supplies.

This past weekend we did an ISP with Mariah’s promise and saw the dogs, and learned about BSLs, as well as dug pallets out of the snow, built dog pens, and shoveled out pens. We also did other ISPs, a few of the guys chopped firewood, and Ayla, Noel, Benn and I went to the Teller County Regional Animal Shelter and walked the dogs they had, and I snuck into the cat room and played with the most gorgeous cat named Cassie. She was so soft, and friendly, and her information tag had the “cuddly” personality sticker on it. If I could only find a place to keep her I would go back and get her in a heartbeat (except that eventually I’d have to bring her home and Zelda would be displeased, and then barf on my blankets).

Next week is the last week of this round. After that we are going back to Denver for a transition week, before traveling to Black Mountain to work for three weeks.