ch.6

winter busy work

       lee went about his work adjusting the chainsaws, blowing the wood chips out of the carburetor , and sharpening the chains. the need for wood for the house and the greenhouse as well  for carving . he tried to utilize all his wood as if it was a valuable resource and in lee's mind it was. logs should be used to make cabins or lumber , branches could make some fancy stair rails , or firewood , and  even the branches could be used as props for tomatoes or a woven stick fence row. even the sawdust and bark had a purpose in lees life as he used  it to bed down the area where he would work . this would keep the mud from coming up and soaking his shoes and making his feet wet. as he was working on the saws he was wondering what ann  was up to at that moment. 

      lee and her  were a couple  but living separate lives , and with a distance between them of about 45 miles.   both having owned their own places and both having work related problems , they choose to spend their work week apart , at least from monday morning till friday night. when ann would meet lee at his farm for the weekend for what ever plans they had chosen for the weekend . ann also insisted on a wild card night when she would run over once in 2 weeks for a mans choice night. it was an effort to let lee know she cared. endless text messages at infrequent times helped lee with his feelings of being alone. lee really had an issue with being apart from ann , and ann knew and was proactive in this regard. 

      lee settled down in the seat in front of his workbench and began sharpening the chain for the chainsaw. his mind wandered when the routine dipping and catching and looking that would accompany each chain move till it was finished.  his big fingers grabbing the chain lightly and being nicked at times with newly sharpened blades. tonight  ann was to come home and lee had things to do as they were going to practice their tree climbing skills. ann was a bit apprehensive about climbing she had said that in the old days all  one had to do was throw a leg up and start hauling butt. she had said they were smaller then yet it seemed like she could climb higher than most. now the thought of climbing in the giant sequoias just seemed to surreal. 

    lee went over to the cupboard against the wall and took out their climbing equipment. he had used ropes slung through the crotches of the tree as a point to suspend from. this was safe for the tree. all you had to do was get the line over the limb which is sometimes 40 -50 ft. off the ground. no easy feat in itself. a new air operated gun he bought would shoot with accuracy a lead filled bag 60 -80 feet in the air and with fishing line attached , would pass over the limb and back to earth. the gun would be powered by a small electric air compressor powered off the solar grid we were going to take a long.  

      he took the equipment out to an old but sturdy oak that was at least 80 foot tall, and begin laying everything out in a prescribed order and checking his equipment for flaws or failure in any way that would hurt either of them. 2 ropes were slung over 2 opposite branches on both sides of the tree and both limbs looked sturdy as lee observed them through his binoculars. lee looked down his lane and saw ann's car approaching. she was on time for once he thought as he looked at his cell phone to ck the time and noticed the text she had sent him and he never saw till now . he hurriedly checked the text message and it read see you soon , miss you-ann. as her car pulled up in the drive he hurried to meet her and help her take her overnight bag to the house. 

      " hi dear" , ann said as she was getting out of her jeep. " so did you get my text i was coming?' 

      "yes i did," lee returned , then went on to say," sorry dear just read it and i missed you too, i was busy  getting ready for our climbing session , and wanted to make sure everything was all right.. give me a kiss." 

he leaned over her and down to hover ever so slightly above her face and leaned in to to kiss her ever so slightly at first . as if savoring the taste of her lips and then he pressed harder against her mouth as her lips parted and warm tongue played sentimental reminders of love sessions in both of their minds, enough of that lee thought as he held her close to his long tall body . ann was melting as they parted. both were ready to forget climbing but soon gathered their thoughts knowing their would be more time later to get reacquainted as they told each other, 

      after her clothes were stored in the house and they were back out in the sunshine and were watching the sun slowly beginning to set , they hurried into their climbing equipment and checked each others equipment out. \lee took out the remote control for the electric winch tied off to the bottom of the tree and soon both were feeling themselves suspended in air as the whir of the winch lifted both of them into the air and up the side of the oak. as they approached the limb they were suspended from lee threw a safety line out and over the limb to assure all was good. they were about 30 feet off the ground and looking out over the valley watching the sunset. seeing a tree up close , even this old oak , was a new experience when you are actually up in the tree. ann and lee were quick becoming experts at tree climbing and had worked everything out so they could be in a tree within 15 minutes from arriving at the tree. 

       they were hanging there taking things in when lee reached out for ann and soon they embraced , harness and all up in the air in the old oak thirty feet off the ground their legs interlocked as they were dangling , and lee thought as he caressed  the inside of anns thigh, we have to work on accessible clothing and he smiled to himself in ann's  arms , watching the sunset. life couldn't be better , till at least the sequoia trip anyhow. 

      it was beginning to get dark so lee unfastened their safety lines and they descended easier than they went up just by merely lowering themselves down with their harness. the equipment was stowed and they were soon heading back to the garage on the farm to stow everything away till their trip in spring.( to be cont.)

11.