Sunday night at our cabin I managed to go to sleep reasonably soon and was dreaming. Suddenly, I was bolt awake. Did I put away "the saw"?
"The saw" is a nice, sharp pruning draw saw that our son gave me one Christmas. It also has a nice thick leather scabbard that one can strap to the leg. It is the middle way between nippers and a chain saw. My wife and I have both left it out overnight or longer.
I looked in the corner where we usually keep it. I no see the saw:( Nippers, yes, but no saw.
I put on a rain jacket and rubber boots. Of course it's raining when something gets left out. I took a flashlight and looked at several likely spots, including the cart by chipper where I had last used it. I came back discouraged.
By now my wife was fully awake and suggested I use a big flashlight from our car. She also said that I didn't have it in my hand when I greeted Kevin. Kevin plows our drive in the winter, does heavy equipment work for us, and has cut down some really big trees. The current job is replacing a rusty culvert along the road.
Now memories of the day came back. I was just finishing up with the chipper when I heard a heavy truck maneuvering on the road. I picked up my saw and went down the path. As I got to our parking area I saw a dump truck backing down the driveway. Why is Kevin bringing us gravel now? Kevin stepped down from the truck and greeted me. I greeted him back and we shook hands; I remembered taking off my glove. He said he came for his Lo-Boy to move a skidder for another job.
We chatted about a few things, looked at the work he had done and he told me what he still planned to do. We discussed a few other odds and ends. He hooked up his trailer and left. My wife and I went on about our evening.
With these thoughts in my head I went out again in the drizzle. I got the big flashlight out of the back of the SUV and started walking toward the chipper. Oh, wait! If I was walking toward the backing truck with the saw in my hand, could I have put it down on the hood of the SUV? I turned around and went to the front of the SUV. Sure enough, there it was on the hood with a soaked scabbard.
When I got back in the cabin I pulled out the saw and found that it was still reasonably dry. I set it aside and hung up the scabbard to dry. With a few kicks to my own butt, I was able to get back to sleep soon enough.
The story doesn't end there. The next day I noticed a chewed place on the scabbard. It might have been chewed before and I hadn't noticed. More likely a squirrel hopped up on the hood and had a small feast of protein.
Hey, Darryl! Despite our careless handling of your gift, we really do appreciate it.
