Slow and Steady

This morning as I was eating breakfast with the kiddos on the picnic table, I caught myself thinking, 'Man, if only we could get more mornings like this one... I'd get back out into the woods and clear out some more brush!'

Then the stupidity of that thought hit me and I went inside, changed into my grubby jeans and shoes, and dove in. I mean, really, in this area and this season, how could I sit there and waste a morning of ideal weather wishing for more ideal weather?

Well, I could have stood for it to be 10-15 degrees cooler, but compared to last week this morning was ideal.

So out I went this morning, and two hours later I had another story on the top of our now-towering burn pile, a few new blisters and scrapes, and a few more yards of woods opened up.

Before I got started...

...and after.

I was able to open up more of the woods that you see immediately out the family/dining room windows, though I hit a few spots that made me detour (like the area on the right side of that large central oak that is composed mostly of dead and fallen over trees... I'll need a chainsaw and an assistant to tackle that... and the area on the left border of the picture where a copperhead slithered out of reach and out of sight).

It's slow going, and I swear it feels like way more than what it looks like when you're out there dragging the brambles to the burn pile! It's a good thing we're not wanting to clear all the wooded acreage, though! Right now we're only wanting to be able to see into it a little more than a few feet, and maybe some trails here and there... eventually.

This has only been my third go of it, and I feel satisfied with my slow and steady progress. I'm only one gal, after all. And what is it they say?

Oh yeah- slow and steady wins the race... or something like that.