New Address...

We have moved our blog, the new site is 'nomads2.wordpress.com.'

Leo...

Our grandson Leo, is a Cubbie!

Leo is working at his Grandfather's rope factory in Kiowa Kansas. It is never too early to get that good work ethic into kids.

From this shot it is obvious that he gets his good looks from this grandfather.

He is a flashy dresser thanks to his grandparents in Kiowa.

From Ficus trees to Pine trees...

We drove from Yuma to Pinetop or from near sea level to above 7,000 feet elevation in around 8 hours. The temperature here in the daytime is not as warm as the over night low in Yuma. From ficus to pines, I am getting ready to scramble up this tree.

I climbed above my top rope and sat on a flip line to cut a large branch above my head.

Norm had expressed to me that there were no women "sawyers" and I mentioned it to Chris and he had two words for Norm, "Norm, chap up!"

Things are tough in the volunteer world of disaster relief, so Chris likes to start training new volunteers early!

Our last job...

This is where we called home for the last 10 days in Yuma.

The house belonged to Morningside Baptist Church and they were all so great to us. If you find yourself in Yuma, this church is a good place to worship.

Our last tree to cut on. Norm is trimming some low branches while I prepared to cut those broken limbs out of the tree.

The lady that owned this house went to work before we got there, but she left a cooler with drinks in it for us.

Yuma paper...

http://www.yumasun.com/sections/article/gallery/?pic=1&id=64471 Here is a newspaper article about our team.

There is always a tree to cut...

This was one gnarly tree to cut. Martin and I got the 'Big Boy' Stihl 660 chain saw with a 36 inch bar to whack it up. Using this saw is like wrestling with a gorilla!

Here is Martin and his wife Betty sharpening a chain. Betty has been a real trooper and jumped into chain saw work with both feet.

This log appears much larger when cutting than it does in this photo.

Here I am trying to make some sort of decent cut while Martin looks on. The four of us have made a great team and have been working hard. Especially since the weather has crept back to very hot and sunny high nineties.

Yuma, still cutting...

This house belonged to an 87 year young lady. She told me she woke up one day and was 87! The before and after shots are quite dramatic. We tried to get the next door neighbor to sign a release form so we could go on his property and remove his trees also, but we could not make contact with him. So, we found a way to remove them anyway.

Norm saw me with the camera, and said wait, ran to the trailer and grabbed the loppers so it would look like she cleared it all by herself.

Yuma, day 6...

I have failed to mention that the city of Yuma Fire Department has given us lunch everyday we have been here and also have provided us with back up chain saws and repair help. We even got home made cookies delivered to our work site this morning (thanks Kayla). Kneeling in front is Martin on the right and Les on the left, back row right to left is Mark, Don (our man for everything we need, even a plumber) Norm and me in front of city hall after enjoying a good meal.

We all really enjoyed helping this man, a retired fire fighter, a real hero in a world that needs hero's.

This tree is much bigger than it appears!

Don working on one of the saws. There never seems to be an end to some task that is required of these saws. They are like a bunch of toddlers, they require constant attention and supervision.

One Big Tree, part 2...

Like I said, the pucker factor was real high, so I really am more comfortable sitting there and cutting. It looks like I am all tied up in my work.

We could not figure out how to drop some large limbs without crushing this chicken coop, so we used a dolly and moved it. Mark came in real handy for this job! Funny thing about this chicken coop, the lady had a handful of chickens running around, freaking Norm out, but not a one came to the coop.

This is Martin, an all around expert on everything that has to do with trees, chain saws, and is a good example of how every Christian should live and conduct himself here on this earth. We have trained a lot together we enjoy him and his wife greatly.

One Big Tree, for me...

This is the biggest job I have ever had to climb without Chris and the pucker factor was real high!

The final product, cut as far down as we could.

Here is how we accomplished the removal.

Mark is on the right and Les is to the left. Mark is good with a saw and very knowledgeable with the mechanical side. We used him when we needed lots of strength to move something heavy. Les cuts like a specialist, very precise and always knows what the tree is going to do.

Yuma, day 5...

This is Chris, our fearless leader. We refer to Chris, with all affection, as "The Tree Whisperer." As you can see from this photo, an expert rope climber and rigger along with the ability to use a chain saw with surgical procession. The photo below, is well, the exact opposite.

"Uh, which way does the rabbit go, or no, he comes up through the hole?" Yeah, right.

Chris used five ropes, one rope was an inch thick! One of those ropes on the ground was tied to my truck and I put all 650 foot pounds of torque to the pavement. As my tires finally broke traction and started to smoke, the tree came away from the house. We did all that just to have Chris cut it off and make it fall right where he wanted, the Tree Whisperer.

The finished product.

Disaster Relief work in Yuma Arizona...

We started Monday looking over about 15 tree jobs in Yuma from a storm they suffered in August. Talk about being timely! No one knows that the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams in Arizona have the capability to remove and cut large trees with surgical procession. As you can see in these before and after pictures and this was in a small backyard, gone, just like magic.

This is just one part of a large debris pile that four of us built.

A house with a large tree leaning against it. Actually there are three trees involved. The one large one in the front fell and took the other two next door down.

I said I would do what???

Have you ever said something a while back and then kind of forgot about it or thought that since no one took you up on your offer, it was probably for the best because if you did do it, you would stink it up? Well this happened to me a few weeks ago. Norm and I were sitting around, enjoying a fruit snack after dinner, when my phone rang. It was Mike, our praise band leader from church, reminding me of my long ago, ill-fated offer to play drums for the band, if needed. I said that, really? After mumbling, uh, sure and hanging up, I told Norm. She started counting the days from the last time I played. After finishing falling off her chair, uncontrollable seizure like laughter, tears running down her face, the math began. It has been 35 days, no, 35 months, no, I got it, 35 years since you last played! And, of course, never on electric drums. I said, I have to practice! A lot! So after about 5 hours total of solo, embarrassing practice, 2 short actual practice sessions with the praise team, I played, or something like it. Most people said I did good, but only after believing I was on the verge of tears. Now I am a member of the First Southern Baptist Church praise band and the number 4 drummer. Wow! Remember kids, never say never.