The new 68 CC Proyama just did not want to start in the sub zero temperatures this morning. So I picked up my handy-dandy Stihl MS170 and got to work with that instead. Burned a whole tank of gas clearing myself a spot in which to begin stacking the full logs I’m bucking up under the barn. It was fairly fast moving as a lot of those logs are four years old or more. I believe a good few of them are from the wind storm/Jericho that blew across southern Ontario during the pandemic.
It took me about sixty pulls to finally get the Proyama to start, and I immediately needed to lie down, and dry heave because it make me so sick to have to yank that hard, so many times, while in a crouch. My hand is fried from the pull cord. But! It did finally start, and I got into a good number of cuts before I was overcome by burrs, and the icy winds. I have made a terrific start to the pile.
I can see myself cutting there for another several days if the temperatures are mild. I’ll need to pre warm the saws in the car with the heater blasting on high if 8 don’t want to keep over vomiting trying to get the damn thing started. It was a process. One I’m not keen on repeating all that many times. I can’t wait for my arm and one side of my chest to ache starting tomorrow.
If the snow storm comes down from the lake this far then we won’t be going climbing tomorrow, so I can suffer my aches & pains without exacerbating them. Otherwise I’m sure I will add sore hips, forearms, shoulders, and abdominal into the mix with an hour or more of climbing with my kids.
It’s Friday, hey yeah! Nice. Work got busy right near the end so that’s cool and all. I can’t get over how numb my hand is from yanking on that cord. It’s fried. Just gone man, solid gone! Not going to lie, it made me sick to my stomach reefing on that damn cord. Pull after pull, after gods be damned pull. If I pulled it sixty times, I damn near pulled it eighty I’d wager. I got kinda dizzy, my guts churned, I drooled a fair bit, and my guts quakes and I reached on the road beside my car. I even had to lay down inside the back of my vehicle for several minutes. I am out of shape. I was sucking air, and cramping up in the thighs. I was a sight to behold I imagine.
The next big thing to do if pick all of those burrs off of my new chainsaw gloves, my chaps, and my coat. It took me a good fifteen minutes to do the cuffs of my sweater, so it’s going to be time consuming, and suck the whole time. I will say this, the gloves were functional, and warm. I was very comfortable cutting once I got over the bodily harm I did myself getting the new saw to start in this blasted cold. Didn’t know saws needed a block heater! Ha.
If I don’t cut again until spring both saws are filled up ready to be stored away should they need to be. Premium fuel, and a rich oil mixture. I have to think about getting more chains for the big saw though. More money spent! Silly man that I am.
Didn’t take any pictures of the progress because I am wiped out. My hands are tired. And by the end of two tanks of gas I was ready to go home, and be done with Pile Three for the day. Ciao Bella!
On a side note, something has kicked off in Singapore because my views there have picked up considerably. Don’t know why. I might just hit 4K views on this here blog this year. Wild. Check out my books while you here, they’re free! Read ’em too if you would be so kind.
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