13: Over the River and Through the Woods
1. It’s interesting to me the way electric tools and equipment run are still measured in horsepower, especially after attending Biological Woodsmen Week events over the weekend, seeing restorative forestry horse logging first hand and even watching a horse powered treadmill log splitter cut wood for firewood. See it HERE. 
2. When President Kennedy was shot I was 13. Mostly I remember the initial paradox of liking to get out of school early but not liking the reason.
3. I recently posted the photo to the right with some personal reflections on meeting Wendell Berry and titled it Horsing Around with Wendell Berry, but Over the River and Through the Woods was the first caption I thought of for it. The song was a favorite of mine that we used to sing as children in the car on the way to my grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. Hear it HERE.
4. During a panel discussion on restorative forestry, Berry was asked the question (presumably by a young school student) ‘what’s your favorite season?’ He replied, “You ought to be fair to all the seasons. The present is a very dear time.”
5. While getting dressed to go to Wendell’s Berry’s book signing at the Floyd EcoVillage I realized that black pants, a white shirt, a vest and a scarf is my version of a man’s suit and tie.
6. I just read something by astrologer author Robert Hand, which reminded me that I know a Robert Foote (pictured here with Wendell).
7. Poets and the moon have a lot in common. For one thing, they both wax.
8. Sometimes blogging feels like stand-up comedy without the thrown tomatoes
9. As a writer, it seems that I seesaw between the fast-paced productiveness of writing and the dead end crash it leads to when the bottom falls out. When I’m inspired, I complain that can’t write fast enough. When I’m not, I whine about having nothing to say.
10. If I was one of those young people quoting songs on Facebook, I’d be quoting the late Lou Reed: Some people, they like to go out dancing and other peoples, they have to work. And there’s even some evil mothers, Well they’re gonna tell you that everything is just dirt.
11. Facebook status update from my niece: Ima slap you all on the bum and call it Spanksgiving.
12. She nailed it. See the art THIS artist makes amazing portraits by wrapping a single thread around nails.
13. It’s not happy people who are thankful. It’s thankful people who are happy. Seen on Facebook
_________Thirteen Thursday
November 28th, 2013 11:50 am
#8 funny some retired today sigh never even thought of it
November 28th, 2013 6:14 pm
Hope your Thanksgiving is filled with 13 perfect blessings.
November 28th, 2013 11:18 pm
Love your thoughts on #3.
November 29th, 2013 1:07 am
That treadmill for a horse amazes me. The horse totally takes it in stride.
November 29th, 2013 1:19 am
A thought provoking 13, at least for me.
A team of Percheron in the woods dragging logs on twitching trails is much more esthetically pleasing than giant log skidders which damage the root systems and the forest echo system. That said the horse powered woods splitter seems more of novelty. I think of the 90 year old man whom my brother purchased 15 cord of split birch (my brother normally splits his firewood but could not due to surgery). The 90 year year old, cuts and then splits by hand 300 cord of wood per year (he had a splitter but sold it, he found it to slow).
Kennedy assassination; I was 4, yet I swear I remember hearing about it when it happened. I know I didn’t but it rippled strong for another decade for us younger to live through it. Now a days, the conspiracy theories are lessening, the discussion now -what would the history be if he had lived.
Anyways, another interesting set of 13, very enjoyable to read, muse about and ponder.
Am sure your having a wonderful Thanksgiving. All the best from north of the 49th.
November 29th, 2013 10:00 am
The log horse powered splitter is for real. The family who owns it uses it as far as I know. Maybe the guy who thought they were slow had a bad working one. Here’s a clip of Joe using one (that gets the most hits of all my video clips on youtube). It’s fast! Happy holidays! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxzcNhKchnE
November 29th, 2013 10:48 am
Thank you, going there now.
As for the man who thinks the wood splitter was slow, I think it is more an off the cuff statement to the times and the type person he is. He is just the kind of man who changes his own oil, builds his own house, raises his own chickens and knows what warm innards feels like on his hands, fixes everything he owns himself. The kind of person who splits woods by hand because it makes him feel alive. We forget the virtue of hard work, labour does has its rewards.
November 29th, 2013 11:21 am
I remember those long rides, “through the woods” to nana’s house. I’m a thankful and happy person for that and for a sister who can write like you.
p.s. Ozzie sold his log splitter. After 37 years of it he’s taking a rest.
November 29th, 2013 12:41 pm
Great list, Colleen. That status update by your niece made me laugh out loud. Too funny. I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
December 2nd, 2013 1:01 pm
Hope you had a good Thanksgiving, Colleen. Thanks for visiting my T13 last week!