In the latest episode of “Shit You Don’t See in Country Living Magazine”, I did a chainsaw course. Now I’ve learnt to do a few crazy things since moving to the farm but, quite frankly this 2 day chainsaw course takes the cake!  

Why did I feel the need to learn how to use a chainsaw? Good question. Before the course I was terrified of chainsaws. I’ve heard so many chilling stories that may or may not be true, plus I actually know someone who was injured while using a chainsaw. They are noisy, heavy and basically what I consider to be “man’s domain”.   

Unfortunately, a few recent events have made me re-think this position.

In the last 2 years we have experienced, bushfires, floods and storms that have sometimes left us cut off and without power for days. That’s fine when we are here together, but what would happen if I was home alone? (All the ladies on the course had similar motivations for doing the course .)

Most likely it will be a tree across the road that I need to clear, or a large tree branch falling and taking out a fence. Once a fence is down, you end up with horses and cows wandering everywhere, because they will ALWAYS walk through the broken fence. Even if their own paddock has belly deep grass. So, whilst I can’t see myself cutting firewood or felling large trees, just knowing that if I need to use the chainsaw effectively and safely was a weekend well spent.

It was a fun weekend with a great bunch of ladies and absolutley fabulous instructors.

Cheers

Kylie