Hauling Wood

Getting firewood with the sleigh was an adventure,
The horses harnessed up and Laddie alongside.

Laddie wasn’t much more than a pup then,
And he’d bark like crazy when we’d start the ride.

You’d think the horses would react to the confusion,
But they’d just go on as though he wasn’t there,
With squeaking of the snow beneath the runners
And harnesses rattling in the winter air.

The sleigh would creak along between the trees and bushes
‘til we saw a dead tree or logs along our “road.”
The horses stopped amidst our Laddie’s yapping;
My darling sawed those logs; we piled them on the load.

Crisp winter air was a refreshing benefit
For lessening nausea and clearing of the head.

A married girl can run into these symptoms;
That’s what the kindly doctor gently said.

A young man showing special consideration
While enjoying some help in this necessary task,
“Who cuts his own wood is twice warmed,” we laughed,
As in the warmth of the crackling fire we basked.

The horses munching hay in their snug stalls
As a reward for work, they’d rest and eat their fill,
But Laddie chose to let the wind blow through his fur
As he took his favorite lookout on the hill.