Ti-Erd!

Written last Thursday night:

Lordy, lordy, but I'm tired tonight.  I felt like I could have crawled into bed for the night about 6:00 tonight.  VERY unlike me!  But, I worked hard, too, and got a lot done.

In preparation for it maybe going to The Peanut's house for a while, I had to access the portable sawmill built and shared between Swamp River Ridge and The Peanut and Bunny's family.  It was parked in the Back 40, and the amount of weeds and saplings growing around up and through it aren't even funny!  But, before I could even think about trying to pull it out, I had to do some logging.

When I went to jump into the truck, I found this:

I bought a chocolate milkshake on the way home the other night, and this is what the heat in the cab of the 1-Ton (and direct sunlight) did to the plastic!  Hot, eh?

Back to the work at hand, I put the truck into reverse and headed up the hill from the parking area, backwards.  Suddenly, I felt a . . . well, it's no better described as BAD . . . jolt and sound.

File this under Stoopid.  You can't tell at ALL in this picture, but that rear tire is dangling about 4" off the ground!

I remember that the ex once ran over a chainsaw with this truck, and I couldn't understand how he could have forgotten that it was sitting in the driveway.  Kind of like . . . how could someone forget she'd left a couple huge, honkin' logs in the middle of the driveway from mowing the day before?  Logs that were invisible as she drove backwards with the high tailgate up?  Until 1 of the 4 wheels was off the ground.  Yup, NUTHIN' BUT talent!  Geez, what an idiot.

 After I took care of THAT little problem, I was at the Y in the driveway where the road to the trapper cabin splits off.  During one of the summer's big storms, this poplar had gone down, effectively blocking the road.

Here's the 'Before'.

And, the 'After' - the branches loaded into the truck to haul to the burn pile, and most of the rest of the tree cut into smaller lengths waiting to be cut again into stove-length pieces.

After I'd unloaded the branches onto the burn pile, it was further up the trapper cabin road to this tree that'd been hung up on others for an age.  In order for me to pull the long length of the sawmill out, this had to come down.  So, I hooked up the steel cable, and . . . 

The bugs are still bad, and any work outside still requires head-to-toe coverage . . . which is oh, so fun in the heat.  (Mama & Papa Pea don't have any more bugs at their place which doesn't seem quite FAIR!  But, I do live in the woods . . . .)

See what I meant about the area being overgrown?!  There's the top of the blade / engine assembly.  Beyond that is a car, a pick-up, AND a Suburban!

Here, when I was turning the truck around, you can see how tall the fireweed is:  2-3' higher than the hood!!

Now I've trampled down the undergrowth (OVERgrowth?!) enough that you can see the tongue end of the trailer at the left side of the picture.

I'd hoped I'd be able to lift the trailer into place by hand, but that body is made out of STEEL (which is good)!  So, I had to resort to the oh-so-handy jack.

It didn't take me too many tries to get the truck lined up and the trailer hitch on.  I helped / watched Papa Pea do it SO many times when I was growing up!!

And, there's the sawmill at the bottom of the trapper cabin driveway.  GEEZ, I need to mow that road!  Can't even tell it IS a road!  Maybe I'll sneak some breaks away from the computer today to do so.

It's now Wednesday, the 17th, and it's taken me this whole past week to finish the above post!  But, now that this is done, I can update you on some of the other stuff that's happened since then.

The sawmill was hauled away on Saturday although I wasn't around to see my friends take it.  It was a busy, busy in-town at the office or nannying weekend.  On Monday, the first day of my weekend, I was SO exhausted and grumpy that I couldn't even see straight.  I even snapped at the dogs - a sure sign that I'm not in "a good place".  I didn't get much done that day but a 1/2 pint of jam made from some leftover blueberries and raspberries that weren't enough to do much of anything else with.  Got a big batch of dishes done, too, and more dog food made up.  (HOW does a single person end up with SO many dishes??!!  I guess that's the down side to making food - including the dogs' - from scratch.)  Then I finally gave the rest of my day over to my current good audio book ('Hard Truth' by Nevada Barr) and stayed up WAY too late rolling a hugely jumbled mess of yarn into a compact ball.  You "yarnies" know what I mean:  the fine, expensive skein of wool that your mother offers to help you roll when you first get it . . . to which you reply, "Oh no, I'll be able to keep it this way."  HA!  I ended up cutting it into a million sections and then tying and rolling those.

I wasn't in a much better space, mentally, yesterday although I did get a lot of work done at the computer.  Of course, today is fairly mild with a blue sky and super high winds:  the perfect weather to get stuff done outside . . . and I am stuck to the computer with necessities, once again.  No outside work for me these past days . . . which I don't like AT ALL.  Grumble, grump.  But, at least my bad mood and aching neck are a million times better today, so that's a HUGE somethin'!

Hope YOU are having a good day today . . . and not stressing about seeing the first of fall's colors begin to appear.  ;)  WHERE . . . has the summer . . . GONE?!

Wednesday

I've got nothing much to report today.  Yesterday was a grey, grey day that brought the first rain of 2011 . . . although it was nothing appreciable.  Even though the skies were cloudy, a lot of melting occurred, so that's nice!  Today looks to be a nice one, so hopefully the sun will encourage more of the snow to turn to water and soak through the snow mass.

With the loggers working 7 days a week at the cut just down the winter driveway, parts of the road were turning into a deep, mushy, slushy, muddy mess, and I was beginning to feel apprehensive about my ability to get through with the car.  But, yesterday, spring road restrictions were posted, and there's to be no more hauling as of midnight tomorrow.  I know that means that they'll be pushing it into overdrive these last 48 hours . . . and it will also mean I'll have no help keeping the road open should we get any more big snows . . . but, overall, I'm glad restrictions will go into effect.


Due to the wet, slippery weather (not ideal for chain sawing), I spent nearly all day inside yesterday.  I got the two new locks put on the aviary door, so, until Bonzi and Dosie learn how to flip them open (!), I feel pretty safe and have removed all obstacles previously preventing them from getting to that side of the unit.  In addition to that, I worked on cleaning.

The New Me knows that, as soon as I get one room completely clean, I should be able to keep that portion of the house in good shape during my work weeks by just picking up after myself (vacuuming, etc. will wait 'til my days off).  I've done fairly well with the sunroom and living room although the latter was a disaster following my partial dismantling of the aquarium a couple of weeks ago.  So, I got that put back mostly put back to rights yesterday as well as the sunroom returned to normal.  Did the same with the large foyer which is usually my dump-spot / catch-all at the ends of my days.  So, three rooms (pretty much) down . . . now I need to maintain 'em.  I'd hoped to make some headway on the kitchen, but no dice.  I hope I can squeeze that into my day today, during the breaks I'll need from office work.  Got some of my yarn sorted and displayed in a basket, too, and sorted through a bag of paperwork that had been residing on the kitchen floor for a couple of weeks.  EXCITING stuff, huh???  ;)  I had a great talk with my California cousin last night, too, for an hour and a quarter!  That was a treat.  :)

I'll leave you with some pictures of some of my latest hats that I now have for sale at the Chicken Mama Designs gallery.

Remember that one hat that I'd sold and then the customer admitted that it was too large?  And so I made a new one custom-made to fit?  Here's the new one:

 

Here (below) are the two of them for comparison.

The new one is the top one, the original on the bottom.

Looking at them like this, I'm concerned that the new one had too much of the multi-colored yarn in it and not enough purple.  Truth be told, I ran out of the purple and was trying to stretch it . . . but, even so, ended up finding a new purple that matched well enough that you can't even see the difference here.  (Good!)  But, I think I'll check back with the customer and make sure that she's happy with the new one.  There's nothing worse than ordering a custom-made item and then not being happy with it!  And, I have concern that she might not tell me so simply BECAUSE it was a custom order.  Yep, will definitely have to follow up on this.

I call the following baby hat my Kari Toyota hat.  I crocheted 85% of it one day while I was in Superior, Wisconsin at the dealership, waiting for some work to be done on the Yaris.  :)

And, here's another new(er) one.  I picture it on a fellow, but it's definitely unisex.  It was a fun, chunky wool to work with.

Anyway, that's me for today.  Over 'n' out.

A Waste of Time

8:08 AM

“It’s a beautiful mornin’ . . . .” (Who sang that?) At any rate, it’s a purdy one out there.

I worked in town yesterday, mainly because I wanted to get a few things DONE. (Fortunately, I have a fairly flexible schedule, at least until we open for business on June 14th.) But, of course, my plans were derailed and I felt like I was rushing all day, never really accomplishing anything.

I did have a fairly profitable day while at work . . . but not doing what I’d hoped to. Instead of getting my paperwork in order and organizing my BRAIN, that stuff stayed put while I had unscheduled meetings with one of the antiques vendors (who looks like a scruffy Axl Rose!?!), the electrician, and two of “my girls” (summertime, still-in-high-school employees) who, not incidentally, go to Canada fishing every other weekend. It’s written in the family Bible. If their summer job can’t accommodate that, then no summer job. (Oh, I can already tell how much fun scheduling is going to be.)

A minor aside: I’m going to ask the boss lady if I can change my title to ‘manager’ vs. ‘assistant manager’. Mama’s (Mama’s Pea’s) right. Besides, if *I* had an assistant (which I could already use!), then s/he’d be the assistant manager, not I! Besides, I think it’s misleading for the vendors and contractors I’m working with: “speak with the assistant manager”. “Shouldn’t I speak with the manager?” “Well, the assistant manager IS the manager.” Huhhhh? (You see my point.)

But, back to my day starting off on the wrong foot yesterday . . . . As soon as I was out of the shower and putting on my town clothes, the dogs started bark, bark, barking. I looked outside to see one of the loggers walking up the driveway, pie tin in hand (returning it from a time previous when I’d brought them morning snacks). Now, this in itself wasn’t an off-putting thing (I really like those two brothers), but when I went out to meet him, bathrobe hastily thrown on, I heard big equipment running. He said that they were back with the DNR who had insisted they come out to “do some work” on the old logging site (accessed through Swamp River Ridge). Instantly, my hackles went up and I rushed upstairs to throw on work clothes and head on out. I was immediately ticked off that:

• a) If the DNR was asking the guys to come back to do some work, it meant that they (the DNR) had driven in to check the site out in order to decide that work NEEDED to be done. Driven in over very private property to get to the site (there are no fewer than SIX ‘private’ or ‘no trespassing’ signs on the driveway). Without calling first. Or giving any sort of notification. I see that as an invasion of property. I’m funny like that. Yes, I realize that the logging site is on state land, but the only access is through Swamp River Ridge. Act accordingly, people. And with some respect, ‘kay?

• b) If the DNR wanted so much work to be done to the site that they required the guys to come out WHEN ROAD RESTRICTIONS ARE ON with their semi and appropriate big machinery . . . appropriate big machinery that had to be driven all the way up the long driveway, making nice washboard impressions the entire length of it . . . wouldn’t you think they could have picked up the phone to say, “Oh, hey, we’re gonna need to get to the logging site with some big machinery on Monday, May 17th. Just wanted to give you a heads-up.” ??????

It’s hard to not hold the young DNR guy responsible when things like this happen. Hard to not be a little resentful when I finally get down there, introduce myself and wait to be told what’s happening . . . and receive only uninterested silence . . . until I finally ask, “Sooooo, what’s going on here?”

Anyway, the upshot of it all is that I convinced them to NOT build a huge barricade in the middle of the logging road like they normally do, rendering access nearly impossible. I argued that no one would TRY to access it since they’d HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT IT, first off, and then drive in the length of a long private driveway, then know to turn up to and past the trapper cabin, then down to the back “old vehicles” parking area, and THEN down the logging road. So, he (the DNR guy) “compromised” (ah-hem) with three drainage ditches (there’s never been an issue with wash-outs on that road, so the need for drainage was just an excuse) running ACROSS (yes, across, not alongside) the road.

So, guess what I’m gonna be doing today . . . and probably a few more times, too, until the job is done? I feel like I need to take the opportunity to fix the road now, before the piles of gravel harden and compact. But, that’s okay. I didn’t have anything else to do today. Really. Especially since today is the last day I’ll have “at home” to get ANYTHING done before 12 solid days of go, go, going. (Sigh.)

Firewood Delivered!

I've really missed blogging!  

But, since a week ago last Sunday,
I've been home only long enough to sleep (briefly) at night
and do the barest minimum of chores around here.

I'll explain why just as soon as I'm done and CAN write a proper post.

In the meantime,

enjoy these pictures of next winter's 12 cords of birch that were delivered,

after all, last week.

I

My Wednesday

I'm so in love with the new look of the blog & the header that it's not even funny!  Maybe this will help me blog more!  Truth be told, blogging more was one of my New Year's resolutions.  I enjoy doing it, and I love the idea that I'm doing the modern equivalent of journaling.  Kinda.  And, being able to blog wherever, whenever I want (now) really makes a difference, too.  For example, these last couple of nights I've taken the laptop to bed with me, and right now I'm snuggled underneath my heating pad (it's part of the family) in complete darkness (save the glow of this screen) with the window open just inches behind my head (listening to the breeze through the pines).  Granted, I'd rather have a happy hubby in bed next to me, but, for now, I'm taking advantage of being able to do this.  If life hands you lemons . . . get out the tequila, right?  ;)

Whew, hot flash.  Heating pad . . . OFF!

So, today.  It was a GORGEOUS one!

As I wrote this AM, I'd heard the loggers working, so I made a batch of Jam Dandy Muffins with strawberry jam.  Then, as soon as they were out of the oven & cool enough to pack in a tin (the muffins, not the loggers), I threw the dogs into the truck and away we went.  

Here's a picture of the road they (the loggers, not the muffins) cut thru the trees to their current logging site.  When I got back there (the road's about 1/2 a mile long), one of the guys (they're identical twins, so I had no idea which one I was talking to) was loading / unloading in the staging area while the other could be heard cutting in the woods.

As he climbed down from the rig and pulled off his ear protection, I said, "I brought treats!"  He smiled and said, "It's a good day for treats!"  (I'm sure ANY day would be a good day for treats for them!)  


Anyway, I asked about the chances of getting a load of birch from them this winter yet.  And, whether it was coincidental or not (i.e. if "the word's out" about Tom and me), he said, "Yah, we were just talkin' about that - like, a week ago!  We been lookin', and we got some birch over there at that other cut.  How much?"  I said I wanted 8-10 cords (that's about a year's worth), and we talked price.  It seemed a little higher than last year, but I haven't looked that up yet to compare (last year's price).  Still, it was a decent price for 8' lengths delivered right into the yard.  And, I'd much rather give the money to them, who are working right here, than to someone who would haul it in from farther away.  Plus, they're good guys.

When I was leaving, brother #1 asked if I'd "plowed in".  I was surprised that he would ask:  usually, loggers don't care much about the shape of their logging roads as long as they can navigate them.  I collected myself and said, "Uhhh, no, but I will on the way out" . . . just thinking I'd help them out.  He continued on to say that they'd just gotten a pickup this past weekend but that it didn't have a plow on it yet, and he'd "opened up one side of the road with the cat but that was it".

It wasn't until I was halfway back out to the road when I realized, "He was talking about the ROAD road, you dummy, not the logging road!"  Duhhhh.  So, instead of heading directly home once I got out of the woods, I took a right and continued plowing.  I only had to plow about 2 miles because it's there (midway in on the road) that the other loggers are working, and they've kept those first 2 miles of the 4-mile long wintertime driveway as wide as an airport runway!  (Beautiful!)  

When I drove out last week and saw the impact their (big!) operation had made, I was surrrrprised!  I'll have to take a peek at the plat map to see how many acres this job was, but it's HUGE (relatively speaking, of course)!  Here's a shot taken out the passenger window while I was out plowing today.  It sure has made that part of the drive look COMPLETELY different!

When I came to the river on my way back home, I stopped & got out to take a couple of pictures.  I haven't posted any images of the river in quite some time (stay tuned tomorrow).  What was funny was that at that point in the road, there wasn't much snow and I figured I was just doing what I call "clean-up plowing" . . . and I wouldn't have much snow in front of the blade.  HA!  Look what I saw when I turned back to the truck!  (The blade's 9' wide and about 30 - 36" high.)  And, yep, I still gotta get that headlight fixed.

Finally, I thought I'd show you the little you can see of Swamp River Ridge at this time of year (in the summertime, it's completely hidden).  This is just as you come down a little hill to cross the bridge over the river.

Finally, here's an aerial shot I took in September of 2005 while we were building.  It's basically the same layout as the above picture (although taken from a more southerly direction).  From left to right:  the house (pad), the solar panels, and the garage.

Oh, and last but not least, my new work gloves.

I got them for Christmas.

I dunno:  do you think I'm working hard enough?

A Gorgeous Day!

I must have had some inkling last night, for it is a GORGEOUS day today!  I just wanna do FUN STUFF, all day long!  I wanna do THIS and I wanna do THAT and then I wanna get THIS done and then there's THAT . . . .  Well, you get the idea.  ;)  But, since I can't afford to take many (any?) of those days anymore, I will balance it with gettin' stuff done.

The first thing I have planned is a trip out to the loggers.  I can hear them today, so I know it will be a good one to get the 2nd round of Jam Dandy Muffins baked up . . . then, while the boys are softened up with goodies fresh from the oven, I'm gonna hit 'em up for 8-10 cords of birch, delivered to the yard.  Wish me luck!

More tonight, I hope.  But, until then, I'll leave you with these pictures from nannying last Friday.  The Peanut and I were in her parents' bedroom where there is a bird feeder suction-cupped to the window.  I opened the window to refill the feeder and looked down to see . . . SNOW ANGELS!  How fun!  In the left-hand picture, you can see the Mama Angel (on the right), and then the teeny-tiny Baby Angel (courtesy of the 2-year old Peanut) on the left.  So sweet.  :)  

But then, I noticed the absolute NETWORK of highways that the angels had interrupted (right-hand picture).  Talk about ACTIVITY!!!  I'm guessing that's a main thoroughfare for mice, right?  Maybe squirrels, but I think their tracks would be bigger.  They run from trees (out of camera shot to the right) to the solar panel bunk at the top left.  I've never seen anything like it:  how cool!

Snow's Coming

Well, the first storm of the year is predicted for this weekend, so it's time for us all to get out and finish up those last-minute chores . . . of which there are always TOO MANY! For me, that means putting my cold on the proverbial back burner and bundling up to finish putting the batch of perennials (that I got for free last month) into the ground so that there's some slight hope of preserving them and enjoying them year after year to come. That's what I'll be doing as soon as I publish this post . . . until the rain comes (before the snow).

Tom subcontracted out his Trapper Cabin Handyman Services to a fellow Mr. Fixit yesterday and helped install a new, large livingroom window. One of the big bonuses of doing this-and-that work is that we often get to take home the "discards" from the job. In this case, it was a nice 4' x 5' tempered-glass window that will go into the greenhouse (that I still hope we'll get built yet this fall). So, you can't beat that: getting paid for a job + taking home free materials!

Today Tom's off installing a new kitchen sink (and ripping out the old one) and fixing a hot water heater. This weekend, he's helping another guy (or the other guy is helping him?) install a new bamboo floor. It's at the home of our massage therapist, so I hope to post some pictures from that job later on.

As you can see from the blog title photo, all the leaves are gone. Once the killing frost hits (it STILL hasn't - which is UNBELIEVABLE!), the grass will brown up, and Bleak November will be here.

The loggers seem to have kicked things into overdrive and hauled 3 or 4 loads out yesterday. I suppose they're trying to beat the weather. Oddly enough, there's something almost comforting about the rumble the big rigs make as they climb the hill out of the cut and up towards the trapper cabin and then carefully idle down the curves of our narrow driveway out to the road. I'm sure that (mental) connection exists because logging was SUCH a founding aspect of this part of the country.

We're supposed to finally be meeting our "nephew" this weekend (the son of my oldest girlfriend and her superhubby), but with our colds that may not happen! :( He was the one who was so sick with heart problems when he was born, and they still have to be super careful about germs around him. But, with seemingly EVERYONE being sick right now, that might be an impossible proposition! Anyway, the decision will lay within the parents, and we'll just sit tight until then. But, if we DO visit, you can be assured that pics will follow! :)

Last Saturday, we had an early 50th celebration for one of our dear friends. (Incidentally, that's also where I was introduced to the cold germs, thanks very much!) He doesn't turn the big 5-0 until November 1st, but he's been doing bunches of traveling lately and will be gone for the special day. This isn't the most complimentary picture of such a good looking guy, but he WAS illustrating the imminent "death" of turning 1/2 a century old! ;)


The gal who hosted the intimate gathering suggested this Guinness cake (I'd offered to make it). She'd just had it at another birthday party and coerced the baker into sharing the recipe. And, let me tell you, it is TO DIE FOR! I've been looking for that "ideal" chocolate cake for years since "chocolate cake with white frosting" is what Tom wants every year for HIS birthday. And, I've never found that perfect cake . . . until now. I don't know what makes it so moist (the Guinness?), and it's just barely sweet . . . not too sweet as most chocolate cake recipes are. The frosting is heavy & creamy (from cream cheese) - and the frosting it supposed to imitate the foam on a pint of Guinness. Anyway, this one is THE new chocolate cake recipe around here!



And, to be fair to the Birthday Boy, here is a MUCH more complimentary picture of him (far left) with us and the rest of The Usual Suspects taken . . . when? . . . 2005, I think? (And, no, J in the front isn't really that short . . . !)

Spring MIGHT Just Be On Its Way

Despite the fact that it's still 90% winter outside our door (and that 7-12" of the white stuff is predicted to fall between tonight and tomorrow night), we have seen two sure signs of spring: the first robin day-before-yesterday, and four geese flying north yesterday. So, spring might still actually arrive to the northeastern
tip of Minnesota . . . sometime!

I posted the new April picture of the house/yard this morning. I surely thought that this picture would look MUCH different when I commented about how similar the December, January, February, and March pictures looked, but it doesn't! It was only on Wednesday that the warm sun melted through the snow-packed paths enough in one spot to reveal the slate walkways underneath (bottom right on this picture).


Tom and I have been trying to take walks each night when he gets home from work now, and we checked out the latest logging site that "our" loggers have been working on - just east of our place - a week or so ago. It opened up a beautiful new vista of our river from an angle that we hadn't been able to see before. (You'll have to click on the picture to enlarge it if you want to see the distant river and its tributaries.)


Tom (and the dogs - Maisy with one of her usual massive rocks in her mouth) climbed up to the top of one of the lumber piles to give a perspective of the size of some of the trees the loggers are taking. Fortunately, many of these are fast-growing trees that will replace themselves.

I'm sure it's Murphy's Law that the snow is lasting so long this winter/spring . . . because I want to get the greenhouse built on the south side of the chicken house. I can't wait! And, I'm sorely behind on chicken house up-keep. The nest boxes need fresh litter, and the couple of feet on the south side that has melted free of snow has now become a quagmire of mud and chicken poop. Nice. I've been trying to get to the local lumber yard to pick up fresh wood shavings for weeks, it seems, but one thing or another has interfered. It's getting to the drastic point now, though, and I'll absolutely have to get it done this coming week.

Tom and I went to Duluth (3 hours, one way) for dental appointments on Wednesday. The deer are SOOOO thick along the highway right now. We would have lost count had we tried to number them all, but I'll bet we saw easily 400-500 combining the down and back trips. At least it's "good" for the auto-body shops!

Anyway, Menards was having a door sale, so we picked up the door for the closet in the utility room ("Tom's closet") . We plan to put that in this weekend. Every little bit of forward progress counts, right?!