we have hit gray matter!!!

I am so proud of my hubby. He actually chopped wood yesterday!!! And he finally (FINALLY!) understands the difference between a log splitter and an axe.

For years, like since I bought the log splitter at a garage sale and attached a new handle myself, both he and our best guy friend have never understood the difference between an axe and a log splitter. We have a heavily wooded city lot and cut up felled trees to use in our fire pit for entertainment fires. No matter what I told them, they both would try to chop a huge log into smaller logs with that stinkin log splitter and wonder why they couldn't get anywhere. They would complain about how dull it was and how this is never going to work. You're right. It won't. I told you that it was a log splitter.

Sometime later, we acquired a little hatchet. This also is not an axe and shouldn't be used as one. Yet they would and I'd have to sharpen it again, and again. Finally, very recently, I bought us an axe and hubby was given a little electric chain saw soon after. Hubby enjoyed cutting up a big mimosa tree that had blown down into logs and we stacked it under the deck. Yesterday, he gets it in his head to split some of those logs to make them easier to use. I said, have fun (really meaning it!) and went back inside. It is very possible to enjoy this type of work when you're not depending on it for your only heat in the house. I hear him chopping away out there for about 10 minutes and go to look. He's got the axe and hasn't managed to split a log yet. I go fetch the log splitter and explain the difference once again.

He takes the log splitter, and with all his might, hits the log and it dramatically splits into 3 pieces!! Oh wow! he says with awe. Finally! I think, we have finally hit brain matter. Some minutes later he says, "this thing is dull as hell and it just doesn't matter." I go through the difference in the design of the heads of the two tools and the basic physics of why they work differently and maybe maybe I won't have to explain it again. He asks me to stand in a safe place in case the head flies off the handle. I attached the handle myself a couple years ago and understand his fear and am not offended. I stand back. Flying split wood is also a hazard and scrapes his shin at one point.

He splits logs for about 30 minutes, until his arms and hands start to get shaky and our company is due in a few minutes. He split quite a few logs. More than plenty for about 3 or 4 fires.

I am so proud that my city-boy husband did some really hard physical labor and really enjoyed it!! And it was a big manly thing to watch.