Walnuts lying in crates which scatter the kitchen floor waiting for their turn to dry above the warm stove. Fighting for space are my clothes after another wash from all the clinging mud in the woodland. Another seasonal slash with the chainsaw in the trees which has perfectly timed to follow the worst deluge of rain this year. A slimy surface and boots clogged with twice their weight in mud. An annual chore to collect our wood supply but now that the sun shines and the full Autumn colour illuminates around, I feel very fortunate to be here. Not least two days previous when I had slipped and landed on a protruding small tree stump whilst holding an 'on' chainsaw. Shaken and winded, my composure slightly bruised. Maybe I was getting too cocky or there was an invincibility thought about the work I was doing. I needed that reminder that anything good can change in a split second.
