Among the Drop Bears

Hi everyone,

 

It's been another good day here.  I was up reasonably early and headed over to the TAFE College in Shepparton for Day Two of the Chainsaw Operator course.

 

We started off the day cutting up green wood at the TAFE premises.  It was good to work with Beck and Madison

 

As I've said elsewhere, you always find good friends in orange overalls.

 

 

After an hour and a half of this we breaked (broke?) for a late morning tea / early lunch and then drove over to Emerald Bank to work on cutting up dry fallen timber.  I should say that I was wearing a helmet to protect against drop bears, and not because of SES policies on using Personal Protective Equipment.

 

 

I'm not sure who had stripped the saw I was using down yesterday, but they might not have tightened the nuts holding the sideplate and bar in place too tightly: I'd just cut through one log and stepped back, when the bar and the chain fell slackly from the powerhead.  Yikes! Thank God I wasn't revving it when it let go - I might have been short a few fingers tonight!  Some repairs later ...

 

 

... I was back cutting away happily.  I think part of the reason for letting us just cut to our hearts' content was as much about attitude as about technique: about gaining the confidence to control and use that powerful, roaring power-tool.

 

We finished about 3:30pm and said our so-longs.  I went back to Kialla to pick up a few odds and ends from the supermarket at the shopping plaza.  I was a little surprised to think how unremarkable the sign for the shopping centre looked.

 

 

I found myself thinking that I could have been posting from "Anytown, Anglosphere". I'm not sure how I feel about that: it should have felt like home but ... not.  Anyway, I drove back to the farm.  I was thinking about going for a run or a cycle, but the dog was so happy to see me and really wanted me to take him for a walk, so off we went while the sun went down.

 

 

The old boy was still ploughing and will finish tomorrow.  Not sure what the week will hold; I guess it depends on the weather.

More tomorrow.