Wednesday, fair and warmer, 50, snow left in am. I cleaned some. Made brownies for Carol. Worked on my coat. Paul Ellis stopped in am to see where Earl was. Luella and I cleaned church at night. Carol went to Freshman dance with Wayne and Laura.
Comment: Paul was always pretty close to Uncle Earl. For a year or so, he rented Uncle Earl's farm and ran a dairy herd.....here is a memory I have of working with Uncle Clarence cutting and splitting wood in the beech woods next to Doug's property on Hubbard Hill...
Uncle Clarence
Uncle Clarence could wield a splitting axe like Rembrandt used a brush
Split wood outside in the winter cold and never seemed to rush
He’d pick a block and set it straight then peer through squinted eyes
Then one quick flick with a single blade and a stove-sized chunk would fly
He’d size things up, another swing, and as the axe head hit
He would twist the blade to the outside edge and another chunk was split
Another flick on the other side and another piece would fall
He always used a single blade, abhorred a wedge or maul
He’d smoothly work around that block, axe flashing in the light
And never had to hit it twice, he always hit just right
Precise and quickly fluid, split lots of wood and yet
All afternoon, he never stopped and hardly broke a sweat.
“Chop wood and carry water” are words that come from Zen
I understand that meaning now by thinking back to when
Uncle Clarence with axe and “Dickies” in that beech-wood forest stand
Worked mind and soul and body at that simple task at hand
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| Madeline, Doris, Glendon, Clarence, Paul In Front |
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