Zero to One

Undefeated.

6-0. 

The football team that Elliott is a team member of is undefeated.  Hard to believe he has been playing football for 5 years.  This years’ team is having a great year. They have played hard as a team and have won every game.  Their toughest game will be this Saturday. That team is also undefeated, 6-0. One of those teams will be changing that zero to a one.  I believe it will be the other team.  I can say that because I know how this team comes together and works together for a victory.  They celebrate their win but on Monday at practice, they are there to work hard and strategize.

Not that many years ago, it was in 2012, Elliott’s team won the Super Bowl. That is their goal so they are looking ahead, one game at a time.    

Elliott has been playing more offense than defense this year and that bothers him. They have a large team so he is not playing 95% of the time. He does enjoy the fact that they play under the lights!  Last year their games ended under the lights and he really wanted to play the whole game under the lights.  It has been a great season.

Monday night at practice, the offensive coach told Elliott that he is the best offensive lineman in the league. Quite the compliment and Elliott needed to hear that. Of course, coming from the coach, it meant a great deal to him. He has really practiced and played hard this year. These youth players started practice the last week in July, they practice three times a week, have a game every weekend, and when they go to playoffs, the games end in mid-October. That is a long season for youth.  They do it because they love the game and they have a great support system.

I say this every time I write or speak about these youth, especially the boys in Elliott’s grade – they are talented.  They play well together. I really enjoy watching them develop both as a team and individually.  

Here are a few photos of Elliott from the season so far. He has had a few large boys to deal with but he has done it.

 Elliott is #75, he is to the left of #76. You can see his camo shirt under his jersey.

Here Elliott has his knees on the ground, holding the waist of the opponent.

Elliott is next to the Panther standing on the line.

I’ll be cheering loudly this Saturday night as a proud Panther parent!

Day 4 & 5: Pole Barn Build

Day 4.  Goal - finish trusses and supports.
Complete.

It's starting to look like a barn!

 All trusses installed.

 Inside looking up.

  
Day 5, was a hot, humid day AND a long day.  Not much to say as they finished what they set out to do.  Now our weekends will also include pole barn framing and walls.

John is very happy with the build.  I'd say it was a very productive week!

 As seen from the trail.

 

 With the backhoe and bucket attached, it just fits.

Timber

We don’t focus on one project at a time around the house. We like to have a couple of ‘open’ projects around the house and yard.  I guess maybe everyone does but at times, it drives me crazy.  I like to think, if we get bored we can work on one of them!  During the summer, you’d think mowing our lawn and tending the flower beds and garden would be enough.  Housework is a daily chore so that just gets done as if on auto-pilot.  Then there are projects on my to-do list.  It is a long list and every time I cross one off, I add a couple more. 

The weekend before the pole barn build, John was considering cutting down a large tree at the upper pond because it was dead.  We aren’t sure why it died and were unhappy about that fact, but it had to come down.  He was hesitant to cut it down alone and I wanted him to wait until my cousin came over.  However, he decided to just cut it down. We carried up the chainsaw, wedges, hammer and safety equipment.  Once up there, we discussed the best area to have it fall.  Then he decided not to cut it down. So we hauled everything back to the garage. 

All day he debated with himself as he gathered tools for the pole barn build.  Just before dinner, he said he wanted to cut it down.  So I grabbed the camera and Elliott and I helped haul everything back up the hill.

I was nervous. Worrying about ‘what could go wrong’ and ready to run to the phone if needed.  John took his time thinking about the tree, the method and safety.  Practice run a few times of where to go if the tree was not going to fall the way he planned.  It happens so best to plan for it.

Let me say, it took a long time to take this tree down.  He cut and put wedges in, hammered the wedges, we saw the tree shake and thought, there it goes. No go. Well, all wedges were in use so a minute of chainsaw use and Elliott got to yell TIMBER!

The view from the yard below the pond with the big, dead tree still standing.

View of our side yard from the upper pond.

Getting ready to cut the tree.

Watching from a safe distance.

The tree is down.

 Success but now the work begins.

New skyline without the tree.

What a huge project of clearing this tree but we have made a huge dent in the mess already. We spend time hauling branches over to the brush pile in the field, and we took a small wagon load of wood to our new neighbors for their fire pit (too green for this year though). We have to cut and load up the trailer as another neighbor said he’ll take a load (bartering in progress on this deal). 

We are all getting use to the new upper pond skyline without the massive dark-limbed tree in the background.

Need wood?

Pole Barn Build: Day 3

Under a cloudy, rain-threatening sky, the men continued working on the pole barn yesterday.  I was anxious to see the progress made on day three. When I arrived home, the truck was not in the driveway so I continued driving down the road and pulled in the lane.  John and Elliott were at the barn.  Elliott was tightening some screws and John was picking up tools for the day.

Here’s what they accomplished:

The reason the barn needs to be built.

Working hard and looking good!

Calling it a day.

Am I anxious to see what they accomplish today? Yes I am. I expect all the rafters to be in place and maybe (am I pushing too hard?), some roofing. Although, the workday might get rained out as the weather forecast is not good for working outdoors.