Katie of Troy

Troy is the new addition to our house and it has to be said that Katie, my daughter, loves him. It was love at first sight. They hit it off right away. Troy works hard, is clean and tidy, does exactly as he is told, is very hard working and never answers back.

Oh, I am sorry, I should have said earlier; Troy is our new log splitter!

I must be becoming lazy in my old age, or perhaps using a bit of common sense. Anyway I decided to abandon the log splitting maul and invest in a machine that splits the logs – it is called a log splitter! Eventually I found such a machine at a price that would not break the bank and said machine arrived in a cardboard box two days later.

Once assembled and plugged in we started splitting logs. Katie took to it like a duck to water. They made a good team with Katie feeding in the logs and Troy munching through them in grand fashion. I found the whole process all very easy and effortless and the gin and tonic very tasty!

We like to name our machinery. Our Ford Dexter tractor is called Thunder. Katie called him that because of the delightful deep roaring noise the three-cylinder engine makes. I once asked one of the forestry contractors what his tractor was called, and he looked at me as if I had gone barmy!

I thought that Samson would be a good name for the new log splitter as he is strong and powerful, but admittedly not very hairy. However, the girls decided on Troy so I shut up and carried on drinking my gin and tonic.

So there we are – all very happy. Katie feeds the machine and I put my feet up and watch, while Troy does all the work. Perfect!

Stephen Habershon is Forestry Consultant to Balfours and can be contacted through Balfours' Offices in Craven Arms on 01588 673314.