Started Storm Cleanup

I planned on starting cleaning up the storm damage yesterday (Thursday). Before getting to the cleanup I spent over an hour clearing off a little, and I do mean a little, bench space in the shed so that I had a place to set my chainsaw and sharpen the chain. After I got the chain sharpened I moved the tractor out back, took the rear blade off and hooked up the trailer. Back in the shed I filled the saw up with gas & bar oil and was ready to go. My saw wouldn't start, no matter how many times I pulled the starting cord. I took the plug out, it was dry (no sign of engine being flooded) put it back in & yanked the cord some more. Still nothing. Left the choke full on & yanked the cord more. Took the plug out and it was still dry. I took it over to the Stihl dealer in California and left it.

Yesterday evening I with with Kathy to a Bible study group she has been attending (I know all of the people in the group). The discussion and some videos were all related to some people who are predicting a major biblical Christian event on September 23, 2017. Some say that is the day the rapture will occur. I think the people who say they have figured this out are mistaken. As Christians we are called to always be ready for Christ's return. We are also told that no one knows the day/time that it will happen. I knew virtually nothing about the Jewish calendar, and how drastically it differs from the calendar we use. That part was interesting.

I once tried to read "Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan. It was written in the late 17th century. It is a "dream sequence" about a man named Christian who is on a journey from his home town, named "the City of Destruction" (this world), to the "Celestial City" (Heaven). I didn't get very far because the 17th century words/phrases were just to foreign for me. Recently I read "Eternity" by Randy Alcorn. It seems to me that it is a modern version of "Pilgrim's Progress". I found it thought provoking and well worth the read.

This morning I picked up my saw . The mechanic had the day off so I don't know exactly what was wrong with it. All I know is that he made a note that the problem was in the fuel system. $25 labor, no charge for any parts. It runs now.

My helpers and I were unloading smaller limbs, cut from the limbs that had fallen in our front yard. Kathy did double duty as a babysitter and limb loader. I just cut the small stuff loose from the larger limbs. Nolan picked up a couple of leaves and loaded them but his main goal was to be ready to ride the tractor any time it was moving.

Then it was back to load the wood from the larger limbs. Doesn't look like much but I burned almost 2 tanks of gas through the saw cutting it up.

I finished loading the larger stuff while Kathy & Nolan went up to the top of the driveway to wait for Lydia. The bus drops her off around 3:45PM. Andy came over and picked up both kids around 5:30PM. Kathy & I were/are both pooped.

Tomorrow we will see if we have enough energy to start on the tree that was uprooted in the side yard. As a minimum I need to go to the other side of our small pond and, with the tractor, pull a partially submerged limb out of the pond.

We got some bad/good news today. Brenda Daniels called Kathy from Niantic, IL, where we lived for 12 years. Phil & Brenda Daniels were friends from church. Phil ran the school bus garage and Kathy worked for him, driving bus, for several years. Not sure of their ages, maybe late 50's. Phil went in to have a stint put in to improve blood flow to his heart. Clots formed during the surgery and he died during the operation. The bad/good news is that while Brenda & their 2 adult children will miss Phil terribly, we all know that Phil is in Heaven, a far superior place. We also know that all his Christian family & friends will be joining him one of these days.

God is good, may He bless you and yours.