Grumpa vs the Stump: The Final Chapter

     On the hot summer morning of August 17, 2013, fortified by Grandma's hearty breakfast of whole wheat zucchini waffles and a bowl of fruit, Grumpa sharpened his axe, picked up a shovel and the borrowed chain saw and with measured glare strode across the backyard to do battle while his arch enemy of the past 3 years, the unyielding cottonwood stump. The stump had reluctantly surrendered 1/4 of its girth earlier in several previous assaults.  Grumpa was determined to enact a complete victory on this day and was not going to allow a blinding sun and rising temperatures to be an obstacle.   

       The obstinate holdouts are pictured below, displaying the scars from previous attempts at removal by fire, charcoal, hacking with axe, saw and assorted oaths and curses.  Perhaps the curses and curses are not visible, and thankfully, are no longer audible.





After several thrusts with the shovel to expose defiant roots, Grumpa wielded his trusty axe and after multiple blows, the roots reluctantly gave way.  The stump was bisected into two large sections.  Each was removed separately,  The last remaining block had to be stripped of clinging clay before Grumpa was able to wrestle it out of the hole.
 

Grumpa poses with the vanquished foe

 

The remaining crater is longer than a shovel length and probably measures 4 feet wide by 2 feet deep.  The next task will be to return the misplaced dirt back into the hole.




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In the absence of the stump, we'll have to determine what do with the space previously occupied by the stump.  Deanna is of the opinion that a new tree should go into the hole.  It seems to be a no-brainer because the hole is already In place.

Several utility lines cross the yard along the back fence line.  While fighting the stump, I severed a coaxial cable line that could have caused ill will with neighbors.  Apparently the cable was not relaying any signals to anyone.  No harm, no foul.

 

I think the hole will be replaced by a smooth covering of dirt, perhaps as early as this Saturday.  If not this Saturday, it may not be for some time.  College football season kicks off the following weekend.  Its arrival sometimes leads to a reduction in outdoor activities around our house.

 

 

 

 
 



 
 
 
 

 
 

Another long weekend - Aug 8-12 - Kansas City

Our kids all converged on Liberty, Missouri to participate in the baptism of Samantha, Jon's first-born child on Saturday, August 10.  Deanna, Emily and Grumpa Wendell flew into Kansas City on Thursday, Aug 8, picked up a rental car and drove to new Tolman residence which is the former Thorne residence where Jon's wife Becky grew up.  They've invested a little bit of money and a lot of sweat equity to make it their home.

 

 Thursday afternoon while awaiting the invasion of other family members, we spent part of the afternoon at a nearby indoor amusement hall where the girls ran, bounced and apparently received some loving counsel and admonition from their father. 

 

After arriving home, Sam, Lucy and Nora claimed counter space in the kitchen to make cookies.  The cookies were tasty and disappeared before bedtime.

 

 

Later in the evening the Benefields arrived after a drive from the Ozarks where they had spent a few days doing the kinds of things families can do in the Ozarks.  No birds or small mammals were harmed during the backyard archery experience.

 

 

 

 

Preparations were made on Saturday morning for the 10 am baptism.  Donuts were a popular breakfast selection.  One might wonder if Nora had snuck a secret ingredient into her cookies.

Grandma Deanna and Samantha shared a quiet moment.

 

 

 

While waiting for the adults to get dressed, the girls played "hitty, pinchy, flatty, cutty, cow"

 

 

After the baptism, the extended Thorne and Tolman families were guests for a luncheon and swimming at the lovely home of Steve and Kim Thorne.  Jon's pale back would indicate that he has not done any swimming this summer.  It would take on a pink tone by the end of the afternoon.



 

Hair artistry was performed in the late afternoon.

 

  On Sunday morning, the Benefields dressed, packed and began their long drive home to Austin.  The rest of us attended church services in Liberty.  After lunch, Rachel, Ben and family headed home to Lincoln.

 

The girls demonstrated that their hair coloring expertise can also be applied to grey hair.
 



 

Cousins Sam and Eva had a good time.







 

Nora and Lucy

 

 

On Monday evening, we flew back home through some impressive clouds.  Emily took a connecting flight from Denver to Salt Lake City with a connecting shuttle back to Provo.  The color washed out of Grumpa's hair and he was not detained by security for looking suspicious. 

 

   

 

 

 

Long weekend trip to Utah - July 31 - Aug 5

After putting in a half-day at the office on Wednesday, July 31 Bubbles and the Prince of Diminished Brightness drove from Denver to Salt Lake City, arriving at my mother's Taylorsville home in time to enjoy the 10 o'clock  local news.

 

On Thursday morning, we took my mother on an excursion, around the old Taylorsville neighborhood where our mink ranch had been located.  Our home on 4800 South had provided fuel for a recent fire.  I took a couple of pictures of the aftermath.  It doesn't appear that repairs have commenced.

 

 

 

We dropped into a retirement community in Sandy just in time for lunch and stopped by a second related independent living facility in Murray. 

 

Thursday evening, Rachel and Ben arrived with 2/3 of their children after a long, somewhat less than scenic drive across I-80 from Lincoln, Nebraska. 

 

On Friday, we were spectators of the dance performance of Rebecca, the other 1/3 of their children, at the conclusion of her ballet intensive workshop at BYU.   After the performance, we had lunch at the Wilkinson Center, then took a hike on the east side of Mt. Timpanogos up to the first waterfall.

 

 

 

On Saturday we had a family service project around Mom's home, weeding flowers beds, washing windows and general cleaning.  In the evening we enjoyed a round of miniature golf.   

 

On Sunday morning, mother opened a box to show the girls a family heirloom - a doll that had belonged to my father's mother. 

 

Becca and Eva modeled Mom's mink coats.  Spencer joined them for a photo.

 

We attended the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's performance at the Conference Center and made a short walking tour of Temple Square and City Creek before the Terry family hopped back into their minivan for the journey back across scenic I-80.   Deanna, Emily and I drove back home to Denver on Monday.