Pondering Priorities

By Glen Wunderlich

As a lifelong Michigan resident, getting prepared for the brutality of winter seems to be a never-ending exercise.  It seems like the fruit trees just recently escaped a late frost and now we are protecting our tomatoes from an early one.  And, if that’s not enough, hunting season brings its own set of priorities.  Choices, choices.

Heating with wood means work.  The chilly night air has me thinking about a large box elder tree that has fallen adjacent to a neighbor’s driveway.  It’ll be easy access with the truck and now that the weather has begun to cool a bit, it’s about time to break out the chain saws and make some wood chips.  On second thought, it looks like that tree needs a little time to finish shedding its leaves so I can see where to cut.

Oh, yes.  That old truck.  Just last week the change-oil reminder light began flashing.  Sure glad I learned how to shut off that annoying light.  I did manage to fill the windshield washer reservoir with fresh fluid, at least.  Man, I feel good about that!

That old shed, from which I dutifully pressure washed the paint off this summer, sure needs some primer and paint.  I think it needs to dry out a little more, though.

The lawn seems to be getting a bit long and will certainly require another mowing.  At least the growing seems to have slowed and maybe if I wait another week or so, I can chop the leaves and mow all in one pass.  Better hold off.  Don’t want to waste all that fuel.

Then there are the hunting blinds strewn about the landscape.  We’ve already begun the task of renovating one of our favorite stands by replacing the noisy sliding windows but that job still needs to be completed.  That’s a good two-man job, so I’ll be content to wait for my friend, Joe, to help.

Clearing shooting lanes is always a priority before hunting season begins and it really helps to see the limbs and branches while the leaves are still attached.  But, locating interfering growth is best done with two people:  one with a good pointing finger and another with a saw.  Better wait ‘till help arrives.

Sighting in the crossbow on level ground has already been finished, but now there’s the issue of shooting from elevated tree stands to confirm point of impact.  All good archers know the trajectory changes as angles change.

That’s another suitable chore for two people.  I mean who is going to climb up and down trees to retrieve arrows/bolts by themselves?  Hey, Joe!  When we’re done with the work on the blinds and we’ve trimmed the trees…

The more I think about the list of chores, the more I think the items need prioritization.  There’s only so much time to organize the list.

Think I’ll go squirrel hunting and mix in a good session of dwelling.  Sure wouldn’t want to get things out of order.