Impeccable Green Credentials

While I may be an anthropogenic global warming [AGW] skeptic, (for good reason)
I still maintain that my green credentials are notwithstanding nearly impeccable.

Yep, me and Al Gore.

And I’m not just any Johny-come-lately to this movement either!
I’ve long been recognized as a “Tree Hugger”.

I’ve planted the trees,
Walked the hikes,
Got the pictures,
Usually say the right things in polite green company,
and my accountant even has tax records proving that I give to the proper charities.

In the picture behind me is one of the largest remaining Sequoia trees in Yosemite.
While there is professional photography
that perhaps better captures
the beauty and majestic grandeur of trees,
No picture can elicit
the pleasure,
the thrill,
the ecstacy!
of actually standing beneath a real tree,
feeling its bark,
breathing its scent,
and, noticing its slight tilt,
felling it with three well-placed cuts
of your Stihl chainsaw.

(Hey kids,
If you want to try this at home,
be sure to wear the orange, not green,
chaps, helmet, face mask and ear goggles.
Also boots and leather gloves are recommended --
I'm sure you could borrow your Dad's -- he won't care.
Just remember to be honest and say, "Yes Dad, I chopped down your cherry tree").

But I will also admit to not always needing this high ...
When my 15 year old Stihl’s carburetor needed rebuilding,
sometimes just its firing up was thrill enough.

Ever since, I’ve been insecure –

During the winter the Stihl now sits inside by the front door ...
Close, but not too close, to the woodstove.
I often start it up,
just to have the pleasure,
and reassurance,
that it starts.

It’s almost spring – perhaps time
to move the Stihl from the front entrance
back into the workshop.