Monday, February 28, 2011

Three Helpful Guys

Jeff & Kevin




Three helpful guys—Kevin, Jeff, and Kenny—recently cleaned up winter damage at Meadow Glenn, and they did it in half a morning.


After surveying all the winter storm damage of our trees and shrubs, I wondered how many weeks, months, or years it would take me to get all the work done. In addition, I wanted to remove nearly 20 Hollywood junipers from my living snow fence because they just didn’t look right among their shorter relatives, Sea Green junipers.


But then our grandson Kevin suggested that he and his dad, Kenny, could come over and help. When the appointed day came, Kevin drove in with friend Jeff, and Kenny drove up a few minutes later.


In about two hours the three younger sets of muscles—with Jeff’s two Stihl chain saws—pruned damaged limbs from flowering plums, our ancient red maple, pines, and a wild cherry or two, plus cutting out the Hollywood junipers. They also cut the biggest limbs into sections and used Kenny’s Ford pickup to stack the cuttings on two compost piles in our woods.


They did all that in about two hours.


Two hours? If I worked on the heavy stuff just two hours a day by myself, the work might have taken weeks, months, perhaps into next year and given me plenty of back, joint, and muscle pain. It’s hard to admit, but I’m not 20, 30, 40, 50, or 60 anymore.


Thank you, Kevin, Jeff, and Kenny. Thank you very much.



2 comments:

  1. Bravo! To you, Bob, for not resisting help, and to these young men who came to your rescue.

    There is a time to serve, and a time to be served.

    As King Arthur of Camelot said, just before he was shot through and lay dying, "God made me strong so I can serve." Though true, there is a time for all things, a time for reserving strength for the events yet to come, a season like spring and planting.

    Hope you're enjoying sunshine today.

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  2. You are exactly on point, Gladys. I naturally don't like to ask for help, but I've reach the age where I welcome it! Yes, I still like to serve, but it's nice to be served! You put that so well. Thank you.

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