Christmas Departure and Mishap!

        

Right before our departure with Sunday and Katie

      We made our lists, we checked them twice!  We ‘Christmased” with the family and were finally ready!  Our daughter took some ceremonial photos as we loaded our horses, Sunday and Katie, into the trailer for the first time.  We hugged goodbye and our daughter and her boyfriend headed out the driveway.

        Paul had a rough previous night of coughing, so I offered to drive.  As we slowly set off up our narrow, curvy, tree-lined driveway,  he said, “Don’t forget to swing wide,” and then I felt a small jolt as a trailer tire went slightly off the edge of the driveway.  I immediately stopped, looked in the rearview mirror, and my heart lurched as expletives came steadily out of my mouth.  The top edge of the trailer was directly up against a tree!  We both got out to assess the situation.... the truck and trailer were facing downhill with barely any room to maneuver.  Plan A was to try to back up... it wouldn’t budge!

Rut-roh! We didn’t get very far!

        I suggested we take the horses off and try again.  We humbly walked them back and tied them to the gate of the same paddock they’d just come from.  The trailer still wouldn’t budge.  While Paul went to get the tractor (he had to take a scooter to the barn, because our cars wouldn’t be able to pass our stuck rig), I turned the horses back out and looked at the situation again.  We both agreed when he returned that even if the tractor could help us back up, there was no way to avoid potentially major damage to the trailer!  It would possibly rip up the fender and yank off the ladder and slideout awning.  That poplar tree, about 18 inches in diameter and 50-60 tall would have to go!

        This was one of those (countless) times that Paul became a genius problem-solver, a true Macgyver, and my hero.  He thoroughly assessed what could go wrong... if he cut the tree it could fall the wrong way, crushing him or the truck or trailer.  All I could think of was, “please don’t let anyone die on Christmas!”  Paul had always been fascinated by the tree-cutters who have removed problem trees around our yard and farm, so he knew what to do.  He went to get the chainsaw and his 200 ft long sturdy arborist rope.  Then he climbed on top of the ginormous trailer and lassoed the tree about 20 feet up (with me praying that he wouldn’t fall off).  About this time, I was thinking that travel to a condo in Hilton Head would be a whole lot easier!

Paul attaching the arborist rope up high on the tree

He climbed down and threaded the rope over to the tractor chain and pulled it tight.  Then he went over to the slick, thorny hillside and started cutting a notch at the base of that big old tree, a few slices at a time (with me praying once again, this time for no chainsaw accidents on Christmas!).  After much effort and more tension put on the rope, that tree finally fell exactly the way Paul expected!  He drove the truck and trailer easily away with no more than very minor damage to the trim, we re-loaded the horses, and off we went!  (I told Paul he would have to drive the rest of the way on our driveway and on our little windy roads until we were almost to the interstate).  We were several hours off schedule, but we were both grateful for a safe outcome.

By the time we had Christmas dinner at our friend’s in Tennessee that evening, we were able to laugh at the fact that we couldn’t get out of sight of our house before having the first mishap!  Oh what an adventure this is going to be....