Well stacked?

Most of my time today was spent stacking ash logs in Rose Cottage.

There is still an enormous heap of logs, piled high, outside, but I am a little nervous of stacking too many in the log shed.  The reasoning behind this apprehension, is that a pile of logs is nothing like a pile of bricks.  They are not a regular shape, and any log pile will always have an inherent tendency to collapse without warning.

Since, later in the year, I will need to skirt past the stacked ash to collect dry logs, I really don't want to be the victim of a log pile collapse. Being trapped under a ton of logs is not going to be a pleasant experience!

I am therefore erring on the side of caution, and plan to stack the majority of the logs in the carport. As I mentioned last week, "There is no such thing as an empty carport." It is a space waiting to be filled.

In the afternoon I thought I might mow the front lawn, but 30% reminded me that I would first need to deal with the old gates.  These had been abandoned on the lawn, and looked even more pathetic than they did when they were hung across our driveway.

The gates needed to be taken up to the orchard, where they will be cremated on the bonfire.  I decided to strip away as much metalwork as possible, so I picked up my impact wrench and unbolted the hinges, ironwork and other fixings.* I then employed my reciprocating saw, cut them in to manageable chunks, before we hauled them away.

While using the reciprocating saw, I probably gave it too much thought. It is a cheap  middle of Lidl item, and it rarely sees the light of day. When deployed it is a crude tool with no finesse, but its strength is that it will cut through timber and metal, using the same blade. Basically it is a tool for demolition, rather than construction and the user instructions really should state, " that it should be used like it belongs to someone else."

Basically, I abused the damned thing and it performed like a little demon. I may not use it often,** but I'm glad I have it in the workshop.

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* Including the original crudely carved house sign

** Its last outing was when I removed the timber partition from the space that became our potting shed.