Negotiations between Your Scribe and Bob the Woodsman did not go well.

My goal is to nudge him off the dime to start cutting wood.

To recap, I have contracted with Bob to thin out some of the woods in which the cabin sits.

Some hardwood will be sold, and softwood will be felled so it doesn't fall on the roof.

But a call to Bob this weekend resulted in yet another explanation that it is still too wet in the woods for him to bring his equipment.

(An aside: "But Bob, there is a logger working across the road, and he is doing fine.")

So it goes.

Maybe in September, he said.

Observations:

- It was good to see that the logger who is working across the road has a permit from the Department of Conservation. He has left plenty of trees along the road, so the dirt thoroughfare still has its leafy character.

- Your Scribe made progress on the project to dig out part of the bank so we can launch the canoe in the river. I judiciously put in river stones along the bank to harden it for launching. It will still take some work, but it will be all natural.

- The cool weekend meant fewer bugs. In fact, I fell asleep at the river's edge, which can't be done when the insects are on the attack.

- The pumpkins are blossoming but there are no actual pumpkins yet. The corn is about 18 inches high. The corn was planted in mid-July, so who knows if it will produce ears before the frost.

- There are still no critters visible on the land, such as groundhogs and racoons. This puzzles me.

- I hope to have Bob cut up a couple piles of dry wood that are left over from two years ago. Or maybe I will take the plunge, and buy a chainsaw myself.

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