Paperwork vs Stuff That Makes Paper

     There’s a game the kids play called, "Would you rather."  When my pre-teen girl plays it with her friends it usually inolves two boys in her class and which one they would rather kiss.  Today I’ve been playing the game with a pile of paperwork inside on my desk or the piles of brush I should be making outside.

     Would I rather be outside working with a chainsaw and pulling out brush in the fresh air or inside filing away paperwork that’s been neglected for so long it probably doesn’t need to be looked at for another day?  I’d much rather be outside.

     I so enjoy my time outside working that it’s like a treat.  I almost get giddy when I fill the chainsaw up with gas.  Call me strange but sometimes I’d rather be working than paddling a canoe.  Maybe it’s because it is such a physical job or it could be the competition? 

     In case you don’t know what I’m talking about or what I’m doing I’ll explain it a little better.  You see, when the Ham Lake Fire of 2005 burned a portion of our property it left behind a mess.  Burned trees black with soot still stand upright.  Some are leaning against other live trees and yet others have fallen to the ground and started to decompose.  Around these snags and poles raspberry bushes have grown, aspen have shot up and it’s created a jungle like environment.

     When the ground was still barren after the Ham Lake Fire we planted trees.  I’ve since planted lots and lots of trees, over 100 each spring.  These trees were actually saplings, very small saplings.  They are trying to grow through the dense vegetation but the aspen and other bushes compete for their sunlight.  Hence, the reason to clear out the competition.

     I treat it like a fight.  Some days the woods win and other days I win.  How many times I twist my ankle and end up on my butt on the ground, how many branches scratch my face, how many raspberry thorns get stuck in my hands and how many tree branches impale my legs against how big of a brush pile I end up pulling out of the woods.  Like a boxing match there are numerous rounds to the competition and some rounds go better than others. 

     Today I feel the need to get back in the ring.  With gloves on(chore gloves not boxing gloves) I’ll enter the arena(outside) and enter another not-so-friendly competition.  I’d much rather leave the paperwork for a rainy or snowy day and go outside today.