A cat bitten once by a snake dreads even rope - Arab proverb

I decided today that I don't like the evening hours. I work at a pretty brisk pace (Pam says I'm driven) and by the time I get to about 5 p.m. I feel like I've been drugged. My brain thinks about things that still need to be done, but all I want to do is eat and go to bed. Stupor.

The wainscoting and top rail is all in and painted, but it needs a second coat. I'll do that and maybe get the outlets installed and then let it be until I get back from Africa. I really like the way it's turning out and can see in my head what the finished product will be. Flooring, lighting, and then furnishings. And I've got some ideas about that, too.

I mentioned some time back that a timber company was going to be harvesting on a piece of land at the top of the private road that runs along the south side of our property. I met and talked to the job supervisor one day six weeks ago about having his cutters take down some dead trees next to the creek when they're here.
Well, they're here. We've had logging trucks going by all day, up empty, back down loaded with big Douglas Fir logs. So I called that supervisor today to see if my bit could happen. He's talked to his cutters, but said the decision on taking my trees down is up to them. (see what I did there?) It's a little tricky because the trees are right next to the 20-yard wide creek that's more like a marsh, and if they're dropped across the creek - the easiest way to do it - I can't get the wood out because it's so muddy.

He told me to mark the trees I want down so they wouldn't have any questions about which trees (he knows which they are but won't be here), so this afternoon I went out with my caution tape and flagged each one, three on each side of the creek.
The way he talked I *think* they might do it without charge, which would be wonderful. I've been told that, assuming they aren't rotted, there's a cord of wood in each of these dead trees. It looks like we'll go through about two cords each winter until we get a newer, more efficient stove - when we do our tiny house. That means these six trees will give us three winters worth of wood (are you impressed with my math?), and I paid $160 for a cord of wood that was supposed to be seasoned and wasn't.
I probably won't know until I get back from Africa if they cut them down, and if they did I'll have a lot of cutting and splitting to do, but that will be fun work - a bit of an oxymoron.

Tomorrow's Good Friday, Sunday is Easter. I wish Emmaus made a bigger deal of what this week means. The pastor didn't talk about it except for his sermon, which was on the crucifixion. So far as we know there's nothing special going on this Sunday, the best day of the year.
I'll be listening to some appropriate music to get my heart and head ready.