Blizzard.

[WA Martin]

Thanks for the story, JackKnife. I always enjoy your essays.

Stay warm and fortify yourself with the Ovaltine, good stuff!

 

[sixgunner455]

The blizzard I remember most from my time on the east coast was when I lived in Virginia, just outside of Richmond.

My dad and brother and I (we were kids - 10 yo or so) went up into the mountains to get a load of hardwood for the stove. Dad had access to an area where they were cutting and topping, and rather than burn the tops, since they just wanted the lumber parts, they let some of their friends cut up those parts for firewood. Oak, ash, and other stuff.

So, we cut and loaded and cut and loaded and cut some more, and then dad was moving a six or seven foot long section and fell, face down, with this stupid log on his back, and two little kids trying to help him get it off.

We finally did get it off him, and he sat up against the tire and rested for a bit while we finished loaded what was already cut.

Then it started to snow. We all jumped in the truck and headed down the mountain. By the time we got to the house, it was just dumping. My dad went inside and mom put him straight to bed, since he could barely walk after the fall and stiffening up in the truck. He told my brother and I to unload the truck, but my brother went inside with him, and I stayed out there in the snow and unloaded every stupid stick. Stove-length, but a pickup-full, and I was, like I said, 10.

And it was snowing. I was laughing so hard, because every time I picked up a piece of wood, more snow fell off it than there was wood. I piled it all up by the splitting stump, and by the time I got the last of it done, the whole yard had a foot or more of new snow on it. The woodpile was buried, too.

We lost a tree in the yard that night. Shattered in pieces, right down the trunk. Top took out a fence.

I do not envy you folks and all that snow. Good luck.

 

[m. wohlwend]

Welcome Mark, once you sit a spell and spend a little time here you'll never leave. Good group here.....don't know if you've seen it, but there's a separate sticky with some more of JK's stories, hard to beat!

Thanks! I am sure I will be hanging around. not only are the stories good here and remind me of growing up with my Grandpa, I am trying to learn how to build slippies.... plus slip joints really get to me. I just picked up some slipjoints this weekend, couple of them being the Old Timer stockman pattern.