Pyro-Stump

The Before Picture - What it Looked Like when I started

So I got to meet some of the Worcester Fire Department last evening not because they were needed but apparently one of my neighbors lacks sufficient confidence in my abilities to control a very small stump burn. I returned from work last night determined to vanquish my foe – the ragged stump from the fallen tree I wrote about a couple times. I sawed off the top which was an interesting experiment in assembling, over and over again, my new chain saw. I eventually toppled that beast and was left with a ragged stump from the tree had split when it blew over in a wind storm.

So Yeah, It Actually Burned

The obvious (at least to me) solution was to burn it. I figured a couple small boards would get some coals going and they would eat the base out so I could knock it down to ground level easily. Since the tree was still alive I didn’t think the green wood would burn very much. I was wrong. Shortly after I started the thing I was confronted with a fairly healthy blaze. This is where the busybody neighbor must have become concerned. After a half hour it was burned down and had just some vestigial flames but a good set of coals. I had watered down the surrounding area and wasn’t concerned about it spreading.

Winding Down

Apparently my neighbor was. A guy from two houses down, who I had never met, came over and asked if everything was okay. I explained what I was doing and that it was just about out and I would stay with it until it was fully out. He said okay and headed back home where I could hear his wife yakking at him, unpleased he hadn’t ordered me to put it out. I was actually hosing it down when I heard a fire truck pull up in front of the house. The three firemen that came out back were awesome and really funny when they saw what they were called about, the smoke was almost out. We stood around for about five minutes laughing at the situation. The general consensus was I had a neighbor that didn’t like me, so good to know/learn. It was more embarrassing than anything else but the firemen made me feel better. The end result was better than I expected but it could have been better if the cowardly neighbor hadn’t intervened. I was more than a little pissed off because if he had asked me to I would have put the fire out immediately.

End Result

Finally, a huge happy birthday to the Cantankerous Friend. the past year has been a little tough on him but he remains a steadfast, if argumentative, friend. I remember so many of his birthdays from our elementary school days as some of the defining social events on our smal town street. Now we more appropriately address such occasions with sports laden beers which I hope to take care of in the very near future. I'm sure he'll want to argue about it. 

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law, formerly known both as MEF – Most Excellent Fiancé & MEG – Most Excellent Girlfriend; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt = my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Buddy – AKA the Wonder Pooch – family dog, a black lab – hates squirrels, died in 2017; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog, surrogate grandchild while awaiting arrival of the BRS; PanaGals – female relatives/friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Excellent Boss – my former direct boss at work; Deckzilla Dude – senior citizen carpenter/contractor; Voices of Inappropriate Worth - members of public who come to every Worcester public meeting to complain, all are on public assistance along with demeanor issues