What's More Montana than That?

"Do you want us to haul that away for you?"

"Nah, I'd like to keep it but could you move it for me?"

We were talking about the lower section of one of the nine massive ponderosa pine trees we had cut down during a 2020 logging operation that removed about 350 of 1,000 trees across our six-acre forest. My thought was the oversized log would function great as a place for multiple people to sit on by our fire pit. And so that was its final resting place. But that thinking didn't last very long.

We asked the loggers to slice a thin section off a stump on the side of our house so we could convert it into kind of a redneck tic tac toe game. That round, as well as several others left behind, spawned a new idea. I'd previously created a couple of signs with extra barbed wire I already have. What if I applied that same approach to the rounds? 

It's no longer tricky finding the entrance to our place

And what if I used my chainsaw to cut a bunch more rounds and dole them out to family and friends? What's more Montana than that?

The first couple of wedges went to Aubrey's family here in Montana, the parents of my son-in-law in north Idaho and a round for my son Jace in Washington. I use bolt cutters, several wrenches, needle nose pliers, finishing nails and a hammer to bend, create and attach the letters, one at a time. Cap that off with a coat of wood sealant, that almost seems to make the barbed wire glow, and out the door they went.

A couple of months later it worked out that all my siblings would be together for the first time since Dad's funeral. And they'd be coming to my house. Of course, they needed to take a piece of Montana home with them. Okay, back to work. 

The happy recipients:  Kerry, Amy, Arwynn (stepping in for Mom), Alan & Kathrine

Now there's a Montana round in Missouri, one in Texas, one in Kansas and another in Idaho.

Just off the back porch at Mom's place in Wichita

On Alan's back deck in Rexburg

Back to the chainsaw and I cut off a couple more rounds - one to go to New Mexico when Lacey and her family move there and another for Hallie down in Utah.

Who's next?

Redneck Tic Tac Toe

Simply put, it's a fantastic fit! Located near the northwest corner of our six-acre property you can see it jut above the grass around it. 

The large, round stump is all that's left from what was perhaps the tallest tree on our place. It was about 20 yards from our home and a mere six or seven paces from the pump house. We had it and eight other extremely tall trees towering above our house removed during a 2020 logging operation that gave our home quality defensible space and thinned our forest of about 350 of 1,000 trees.

Down comes the tall ponderosa

Lori came up with the idea to transform the stump into a fun, kid-friendly outdoor game, so I asked one of the loggers if he could reduce it to a nice, clean cut parallel with the ground. And he obliged thanks to great skill and an the extremely long arm on his chain saw.

From there, it was my turn to implement Lori's vision. I grabbed a short 2x4, my circular saw and made four shallow cuts across the top of it in opposite directions. A little black paint highlighted those cuts. From there, I gathered five rocks and five pine cones from the property and the result was, well, let's call it redneck tic tac toe. 

Rocks vs. cones

Let's play!