10/20-24/25 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 5 days: Monday through Friday.

I had to stop at the drug store and the eye doctor, so I was late getting started. I arrived at Camp Serendipity at 1:40. It took two trips to take my gear up to the cabin because of the extra load of my new chainsaw. I also brought the old gas-powered saw back and I had a gallon of bar oil that the store had given me. I spent $1700.00 on the new saw so the gift of bar oil was appropriate.

I used the wheelbarrow to carry the load for the second trip, and I hoisted the flag in between the two trips.

After lunch and a nap, I did my exercises but didn't have time to walk to the grave.

On Tuesday morning, I called Robert first thing and left a message that I had bought a new chainsaw. He called me back a few minutes later and I told him about my experience buying the saw. I had asked the dealer to figure out why I had so much trouble starting the old saw and we figured it out right away. It was because of old age. First, I was not strong enough to turn the engine over because of the high compression and second, I could not hear well enough to tell when the engine kicked. It all sounded the same to me.

With the old saw, when it kicks the very first time, you have to change the throttle setting and take off the choke for the very next pull or else the engine floods and won't start.

After talking about various alternatives, it didn't take long to settle on the cordless model. The salesman thought the smallest version with an 18" bar would be best, but he didn't have one in stock. There was one in their Greenlake store, but I decided to buy the next one up which has a 20" bar and the store had one in stock. That was pricey but I love the saw and think it was worth it. The battery alone, which is the top of the line, was over $500. I drove away happy and excited in less than an hour.

Robert immediately offered to buy my old saw, but I had already talked it over with Ellen and we had decided to give the saw to him. He is a little reluctant to accept the offer, but we'll work that out later. He said that he could use a small light saw for when he is limbing high in a tree and he has to run the saw with one hand while hanging on with the other hand. My old saw would be perfect for that.

After we hung up, I had my breakfast and practiced the piano. Then I went outside to work on the huge alder tree that had fallen above the hairpin turn. There were two trunks on the tree, one shorter than the other. The short one had broken off of the big one and I was able to skid it down the hill with a rope tied to the truck. When I backed the truck down, the log skidded right down onto the road.

I used the new chainsaw for the first time to buck up this smaller trunk. I left the rounds in a pile on the road to deal with later.

I went in for lunch and a nap and then walked to the grave. When I got Internet service, I downloaded the news headlines for reading later. When I got back, I read the headlines and then took a shower.

On Wednesday I practiced the piano and then went outside with my chainsaw. I cut the maple stump by the dosing tank. The stump keeps producing shoots that I have to try to kill so the roots don't invade my tank.

Next, I took the saw down to the big alder log and climbed up the hill so I could reach the end of the log. I was surprised that it was cantilevered up off the ground a foot or two which made it easy to buck rounds off the end. Easy, that is, after I cleared enough vine maple brush away so that I could get to the log.

I bucked a dozen rounds or so, slowly making my way up the hill when, after cutting a round loose, the whole log slowly lifted up about 3 feet. That meant that the log was teeter-tottered over the top of the outcrop ridge and that there was a huge butt log on the other side.

I bucked a few more rounds off the log and it adjusted one more time but not as much. Then the battery showed signs that it was running out of charge, and I felt extra happy at the progress and the performance of the saw. I took it in, cleaned it up and put the battery in the charger. Then I had my lunch and a nap.

When I got up, I walked to the grave and on the way, I talked to Barb who was driving by giving Ken a ride to somewhere.

On Thursday morning, I fertilized Tiger and then practiced the piano. Then I went outside without the chainsaw and rolled all of the rounds I had cut, down off the hillside and onto a pile on the road. I used my firewood picker-upper for part of that work. Gravity was my helper for that job, so it didn't take too long.

Next, I worked against gravity and used the wheelbarrow to wheel rounds from the pile up to the cabin where I stacked them on the firewood stack under the scaffold. I took three rounds with each trip and that was just the right load. I didn't have enough breath to take more but I could handle three without too much problem. I made six or seven trips before I stopped for lunch and a nap. When I got up, I walked to the grave

On Friday, the forecast called for increasing chance of rain for Friday, so I decided to walk early to beat the rain. I left around 9, and for the first time in a long time, I left my 20 lb. sack of rocks behind. That made a noticeable difference in my speed and comfort. I didn't get rained on but after I got back, it started raining at 10:00 and rained pretty much the rest of the day.

I practiced the piano a little, and then had my lunch, closed the place up, and left for home at 12:45. It was a good week, and I was happy with my accomplishments. And I love my new saw.