Friday we went back up to Kentucky for a couple days and while we were there Carrie and I helped her parents with the cleanup task in the wake of Ice Storm 2009. Seeing the pictures gave us an idea of the extent of the destruction, but it paled in comparison to what we felt and saw when we got to the Jackson Purchase area (the part of KY hit hardest). It reminded me of the scene in Band of Brothers when they are in the Bastogne woods after the German bombardment with trees down everywhere, snapped in two, and debris everywhere.
The morning started with a hefty breakfast of pancakes, coffee and bacon (which I believe I ate my body weight in). We got going around 8:30 with gathering limbs and burning them in what had to be the biggest bonfire this city boy had ever been around. A couple hours in, I began to hurt in places that have never hurt before, and muscles were aching that I didn't know I had. Carrie and her mom did a wonderful job gathering pine needles, small limbs and sticks, and giving us encouragement as we took trailer load after trailer load of timber to the fire.
By the end of the day we carried... well I lost count... trailers of debris and the property began to take on a sense of normalcy despite the damaged trees. It was a pleasure and honor for us to be able to come alongside them and work. It was hard and demanding work, but far more satisfaction and joy in knowing that we were able to be a blessing to them!
The casualty count for the day
Scott - One nasty scratch across my back, burn holes in my shirt from sparks, a sore back and shoulders
Carrie - Trembling hands from having to hold a rake tightly all day, a sore back from constant scooping and bending
Let's just say that night we had no problems resting :)
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