One Trip. No More. Even If It Kills Me!

When I was a kid growing up in rural Montana, USA, one of my jobs was to haul wood for the wood stove. We had a wood shed up the back of the property where we stacked the wood. It had to be chopped and then hauled to the porch so it was easily accessible for my Mum.

I loved chopping wood. I loved slamming the sledge hammer down on the wedge and having that wedge go straight through a piece of wood cutting it clean in half.

I do NOT!!! Like hauling the wood to the house. I was bound and determined to make only one trip. No more. No less.

To make only one trip seems impossible since a wheel barrow doesn't hold enough wood to fill the wood box on the porch. Enter Rachel and her scheming mad wheel barrow loading skills.

I would take some wood that I could find that was long. Usually pinched from my Dad's wood shop. A couple of pieces of 2x4s or 1x6s. I would put them on the end of the wheel barrow that sits over the tire because we all know that is where you want the majority of the weight right? Not in the front by the handles where you are lifting. I would then proceed to pack that sucker so high and full I don't think someone over six feet could see over the top let alone scrawny short little ol' me.

The trick was you had to walk super slow and do not, I repeat, do NOT let that sucker tip over. The Native's use a wheel barrow that has two wheels. Mine only had one and was prone to tipping if not careful. In the event if it did tip and you knew you weren't going to be able to stop it then it was very important to make it tip with gusto. You helped it tip by shoving it really hard and saying words that if your Mum was standing next to you, you'd have to wash your mouth out with soap.

The wood would then be loaded back into the wheel barrow and once again a slow walk to the wood box on the porch where it would be unloaded in one, thank you very much, trip!

It never occurred to me that it might be faster and less painful if I just made a few quick trips with smaller loads...... One load. One trip. No more. No less.

I did some pruning today in my yard. I giggled and chuckled as I took some larger sticks and made my garbage can taller so I could load it up nice and high. One load. One trip. No more. No less.

Some things you never grow out of.........