Will this be a Herculean task?

Our shed was the domain of the Lord of the Manor. I stored gardening "stuff" in the space he allotted me, but the shed was his Man Cave. I paid just enough attention to be able to find any items I needed and I kept my mouth shut. Now it's my shed alone and I say it needs to be organized. 

So many things are clustered down low so he could reach them. I understand that. He did rather well in finding work-arounds to his mobility issues. Now it's up to me to sort through and organize it all. 

This will be a Herculean task. There are over thirty years of accumulation of tools, implements, and equipment in the shed. He kept a lot of things because he knew how to repair them - but he never did. I need to test everything to make sure it works. New shelving is needed, and it seems I need to obtain a good assortment of pegboard hooks. The space between the studs can be better utilized, too, as shelves for smaller items I may want to keep handy. Heck, I may even scrounge up some white paint for a few areas. 

It's going to be a big job, but in the end, I'll have a space I can work in. I may even be able to store the X370 inside year-round instead of under the carport in the summer. We'll have to see if that works. 

I'd like to say I can complete this job in an organized manner, but I know better. It will be accomplished quite haphazardly, a little here, a little there, and back again. In the end, it'll get done and I hope he would approve. Actually, I know he would. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, organization, garden sheds, life after loss, rural living, country lifestyle. a writer's life, women alone, shelving, tools, equipment, John Deere x370

How old is that log splitter?

We have an old, and I do mean old, MTD log splitter. It's been a workhorse. I think we got it around 1995 and it hasn't missed a beat - except for one thing. We got to the point in life where neither of us can give the pull starter rope a good rip to get it started. We're lucky we can call next door and my cousin will come and give it a yank, but we like to be more self-sufficient. To that end, Himself has swapped out the motor with the pull starter to one with a battery and a key. 

This should have been done years ago!  

It wasn't an easy job for him to do. He worked on it a little bit at a time over the course of many days. He had to purchase a few new tools to remove the old motor. He had to purchase new tools to mount the new one. We ordered new hydraulic hoses, too. You might wonder why we didn't simply go buy a whole new splitter with the electric start, but damn. Prices are astronomical! The old auto mechanic put his rusty skills to good use and at a fraction of the cost. 

Living among the trees as we do, the log splitter is a necessity. Keeping the trees trimmed so that they stay healthy, plus what Mother Nature drops to the ground, keeps us in firewood. Last year was an anomaly in that we deliberately cut down three trees, but those threatened the house. I can't let that wood go to waste. That wood will warm three houses in cold weather. 

I'm happy to have saved the old MTD splitter. Just like a lot of people in this world, it may be old, but it's completely functional. 

The Lady of The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, MTD log splitter, rural living, country lifestyle, firewood, equipment, electric starter, function