Early Winter ???

When we awoke this morning there was about 1 inch of snow on the ground. We'll have to get out the Old Farmer's Almanac and see if we are expecting a snowy winter like last year. We don't usually get any appreciable snowfall until mid-November, so this is early.

We were planning a trip to Home Depot later this morning. 'Home Deperate', as I call it, is about 1/2 hour away. I am sure that the snow on the trees as they are changing will look very pretty.

We are expecting repeat snow performances through the weekend. Soon we will be into November ~

"No sun, no snow, no color, November"

Snowing

Yes, we are getting snow. It is not sticking on the ground here yet (we are around 900 feet), but it was sticking to the trees and grass on the highest hill I drive over when I came home tonight (it is around 1300 feet). I gotta believe we will have some on the ground in the morning. I find it kind of exciting. I like severe weather and storms. No, this is not a serious blizzard or nor'easter, but it still exciting. I'm glad I spent time last weekend winterizing. All I have left to do is grab the snow shovels and salt bucket and put them on the porch. I could do some more raking, turn the garden over and give the grass one final mow, but I have to wait till everything dries out. We are expecting rain and snow showers all weekend, so it might be a good weekend to work in the barn. All that's lacking is motivation. . .

The Case of the Missing Church, Part 3

At the water meeting tonight, Ray S. told me he had asked Jerry C. if he knew anything about the house of worship I saw on the 1904 topo map. Jerry did not know anything. I told Ray I would drop a copy of the topo map off with him this weekend (reminder to self - print the map!).

Water, Water, Everywhere . . .

We just got back from a town meeting to discuss an ongoing issue concerning our water.

Forgive this little history lesson . . .

The majority of our town neighbors get their water from the nearby village. Living in the town, we don't have direct voting rights in the village concerning the water system. Over 2 years ago, the village announced that they did not believe they were required to provide water or maintain the system anymore. The system was established roughly 100 years ago and was in need of repair. I was part of an informal committee which was looking at options to assist the affected town residents.

The village stated that we town residents receiving city water should band together and form a water district. The problem with this is that the small number of dwellings would have to absorb all the costs for any future repairs - which could be very large. Needless to say, we were not real motivated to do so.

In tonight's meeting we found out that if we were on a well prior to the district being established, we would not have to be part of it. That being said, we will start immediately to put a well in.

(By the way, we do have a well pump like the one above on our property in the side yard. We bought the well pump and put it on a raised wooden platform that is over the septic tank! It's our little joke. Though it is not actually hooked up, we always tell people you don't want to drink the water...)

I'll be updating this blog to let you know what this entails over the next few weeks. Wish us luck!

* * * * * * *

I almost forgot - we will be getting the main barn and the gym roofed. We got estimates and have selected a contractor who will be starting soon. We will get those section of the old barn roofed in metal roofing. I'll be updating this effort also.

Brrrrrr. . .

We had our first hard freeze last night. I had already started to get things ready for the cold. Besides the odd jobs I did yesterday, I also did some last minute fix-it jobs, painting, etc., this weekend before it got too cold. Seems like there is always a last-minute painting task to do before it gets too cold.

We ran the stove all night. It was around 26 degF this morning. The pellet stove is in the living room. Because we close our bedroom door at night, our room gets pretty cold (about 60 degF). The bedspread seemed to collect on my wife's side of the bed, so I was a little cold this morning.

I hope the cold knocked back the knotweed. It was getting dark and rainy when I came home from work tonight, so I did not go down to the creek to check on it.

It was pretty driving into work. The leaves are near peak, and the frost gave everything a nice shine. I love this time of year. It is invigorating. I'll have to make some time this weekend for a walk in the woods before the leaves are all off the trees.

Getting Ready . . .

Let's see . . .

• I got up this morning,
• turned up the pellet stove (it's getting cold outside).
• checked my email (I held off reading the news online as I wanted to read a real paper),
• made coffee and ate breakfast,
• got a phone call from my daughter and grand-daughter (my grand-daughter said 'She loves Papa'),
• went out and bought the New York Times (one of the only good papers left to read),
• drained the garden hoses,
• put all the stuff on the deck (chairs, last of the annuals, etc.) in the shed (i.e., converted chicken coop) (yes - I'll do a story on the coop soon) (and yes, winter is coming soon),
• cut an old lock off the door to the dairy shed entrance to the barn (yes, we have not been able to open this door for 3.5 years!) (I needed to open this entrance if I use the dairy shed for my workshop),
• trimmed some grass (I mowed the front yard yesterday - decided to trim around he fences, but skipped mowing behind the barn until next weekend),
• only rowed 5K meters (yeah, I am a slacker - but I did do 20K meters yesterday),
• took the air conditioners out (we definitely won't be needing them),
• did some prep work for dinner tonite,
• made a drink and started to read the Times,
• made dinner (chicken cordon bleu, risotto, and red cabbage (kinda crazy mix, but went well),
• ate dinner,
• continued reading the Times,
• and watched some TV (yes - PBS)!

It was a cool, but beautiful day. I started to rake leaves yesterday. I am already thinking about getting ready for winter.

It was a good day. I was busy, but had some time to think and relax. Back to work tomorrow (grumble, grumble, . . .).

Life goes on.

5 Reasons I Like my Tractor

I have a Husqvarna GTH 2548 (25 HP, 48" cutting deck, Kohler V-twin engine) we bought 3 1/2 years ago when we moved into our old farmhouse. I have to say, it is the single best thing I have for working in the yard. Here's why:

1. Mowing the grass is easy and quick.
2. In the winter I can plow snow. I don't even break a sweat. I can plow my 200 foot driveway after a 3" snowfall in about 15 minutes.
3. I can hook up a yard wagon (i.e., dump cart) and haul rocks, leaves, dirt, etc. It was a great help as I've been working on the barn.
4. Raking leaves is easy. You raise the mower deck and turn the mower into a big leaf blower. I raked the entire front yard and hauled the leaves to the mulch pile in about 30 minutes - no blisters or tired shoulders,
5. The best reason - Uncle Tractor gives rides in the wagon to any fun-loving kid. My niece and nephew (Sidney and Austin) want to get rides as soon as they show up when they visit. One of these days my grand-daughter will be old enough for "Papa Tractor" to give rides!

A Diversion

We spent the last few days in Las Vegas. As you can see above, their barns are a little different from my barn. This barn / bar was just off Fremont Street.

We went to the pool, ate, drank, gambled, and went sightseeing. The whole area is fun to visit, but is very unnatural. The only green (besides the money) were the plants and grasses planted everywhere being watered by the Colorado River. I find the concept of a city in the heart of desert somewhat strange. It was hectic, hot, and full of hardscapes - but little in the way of cool, soft and natural landscapes.

Being in Vegas was like being out in the heat - a little feels good, but too much drains you. We got back late last nite. We were tired, but glad to be home. It felt good to sit on my tractor and mow green grass. I need a vacation from my vacation . . .

A Deep Breath Day

This time of year reminds me of preparing for a long race. You are getting ready to put in hours of physical exertion. Just before you start, you take a deep breath, clear your mind, focus on what needs to get done, and then go - slowly at first, but smoothly you build speed.

Fall is in the air, and I start to think of all the things I need to do to get ready for winter. I know, its only late September, but the cold is coming quick.

The leaves are changing and already dropping from the trees. I have lowered the mower deck 1/2 an inch so that when I rake it will be easier. I brought 2 loads of wood pellets into the house today - we are already running the stove (it was ~ 40 deg F this morning). I will be pulling the garden up and turning it over in a few weeks. My compost bins are ready for the leaves. We have pulled our potted herbs inside to beat the coming frost. I'll trim back a few of the overgrown areas where we have day lillies so that they have nothing in their way next spring. I'll be bringing the lawn furniture into the old chicken coop soon (we use it as a shed now).

By early November, I'll be removing the mower deck from the tractor, putting on the plow blade, and putting the chains and wheel weights on the tractor. I be pulling out the snow shovels and salt bucket.

I look around and think of the things I did not get done this year. Well, all the important jobs got done. I'll paint the deck next year, trim back those hollies, grab more river rock for a wall by the road. I have got to leave something for next year . . .

The Case of the Missing Church, Part 2

We were at a water committee meeting this week. One of the local patriarchs, Ray S. was there. He lives just a few hundred yards from where the church I found on a map would have been. I asked him whether there was a church / house of worship in the area where the 1904 map showed. He was not aware that there had been a church there. He thought that another local patriarch, Jerry C. might know. Jerry and his wife Ethel had the farm nearby and have been very involved in the local history society. I'll have to get a copy of the 1904 topo map for Ray.

Shaving Horse

Shaving Horse at the Old Sturbridge Village Museum

Fall is officially here (hooray!) and I will start to think about indoor projects. One of the projects I hope to get get done this fall is to build a shaving horse.

A shaving horse is use to hold a piece of wood in place so that you can use draw knives and spoke shaves to work the wood. I always found them to be interesting. Seems like I have accumulated a number of shaving horse pictures when I go to museums. Here is a picture I took this past summer of a shaving horse at Sturbridge Village.

There are a lot of plans available. Many of the shaving horses I have seen are different. Some are very primitive, while others are quite finished. I'll probably keep on the lookout for old draw knives and spoke shaves.

I also want to build a spring-pole lathe. Such a lathe uses foot power to spin the stock. If you are a fan of the Woodwright's Shop, you will see Roy Underhill build all sorts of things using simple / primitive tools like a spring-pole lathe. I wish our local PBS had this show on, but you can see it on the internet. I guess I'll also need to look for old chisels and gouges for the lathe. . .

Move the Workshop

Original Workshop Space

I currently have my workshop in the second level of the main barn. However, that space is very large and difficult to heat in the winter, it is somewhat dark, and the bats tend to leave droppings everywhere (I don't want them on my tools!).

I realized that I could move the workbench, tools, etc. into the second level of the milk shed. It is unused space, it is much smaller (I can heat with a simple kerosene heater), and there is no evidence of bats! I spent a lot of time last year cleaning up this space, fixing the flooring and the windows.

.

Space in Upper Level of Milkshed

I'll tackle this after I get the stairway to the lower level of the milk shed opened. It has been nailed closed. The stairs look to be in good shape. Hopefully I won't find any 'problems' in the stairway. It should only take a few hours to move the workbench and tools into the milk shed. Luckily, there is a doorway / access from the top floor of the barn to the milk shed. This is a good task as the colder weather moves in. I'll have to get the wiring fixed. It is a much brighter space, so it should be good for the workshop.

Typical Weekend

My work schedule gives me every other Friday off. Unless the weather is lousy, I am usually busy with all sorts of chores. Let's see . . .

Friday -

Exercise (row 20K meters (I do indoor rowing on a Concept2 rowing machine))

Scrape paint

Prime bathroom ceiling

Trim the boxwoods by arbor and the holly bushes by the deck

Mow half the yard (started to sprinkle)

Saturday -

Exercise (row 15K, mountain bike ~ 1 hr)

Some weeding of side yard garden

Put some dying annuals into compost bin

Trimmed back bleeding heart (the recent cold weather has knocked it back)

Consolidate compost into 1 bin

Finished mowing the yard

Put screen on bottom of north door to barn lower level (those rascally rabbits . . .)

Went out for a late lunch (Italian - yum)

Ran errands (shopping in the city)

Sunday -

Exercise (row 10K, road bike 32 miles)

Scraped and painted door on garage

Cooking (made salsa with the remains of this years tomatoes, pork medallions on the grill, apple and brie quesadillas)

Yep - this is a typical long weekend.

I sit here typing in the late afternoon with a cool drink beside me. Thanks to the technology gods for wireless computing - I can be outside enjoying the day. Soon it will be too cold. Enjoy the outside while you can!

Plane Talk

I received a few old tools a few weeks ago. My wife had been visiting my daughter and son-in-law and had stopped at a giant flea market. They bought me a wooden clamp and an old wooden bench plane. The clamp is in good working order, though the plane needs the iron sharpened. The wooden body is worn, so keeping the iron blade fixed may be a challenge. I started to sharpen the blade, but I will have to bring it into the barn and work in the vise first before I can tackle it with the oil stone.

I came across a few good site on older tools and prices. I am sure I will follow these sites. Maybe I'll start to collect some old tools just to see how well they work and what it takes to care for them.

Where's the Church?

I came across a topographic map from 1904 of the area on the web. On it I noticed an old church site noted just down the street from our house. My wife volunteers with one of the local historic groups. She asked if they knew the history of the house of worship. They were unaware of such a building. In looking at recent aerial photographs, it looks like this area is now wooded. It is near a residence. I'm going to have to poke around sometime and see if there is any evidence of a church there . . .

The Barn Layout

Our barn is split into 6 major sections:

1. Lower-level of main barn with 4 stalls
2. The lower-level entrance / tool shed
3. Milk shed lower-level
4. Gym (used to be a shed for tractors)
5. Upper-level of main barn (aka hay mow)
6. Milk shed upper-level

I started to list all the things I've had to do so far by section:

1 - Main barn lower-level

• Repaired / replaced all windows
• Built staircase to upper-level
• Patched concrete floor
• Stained siding

2 - Tool shed

• Repaired / replaced all windows
• Fixed rotted post
• Replaced loose post
• Framed and built new entry door
• Stained siding
• Installed metal roof

3 - Milk shed lower-level

• Stained siding

4 - Gym

• Stained siding
• Added gutters

5 - Main barn upper-level

• Clean, clean, clean
• Replaced windows
• Replaced missing floorboards
• Repair siding
• Replaced missing battens
• Covered knotholes in barn boards
• Stained siding
• Built work bench

6 - Milk Shed upper-level

• Clean, clean, clean
• Fixed broken windows
• Installed support post
• Covered flooring with plywood sheathing
• Painted flooring
• Stained siding
• Added gutters

So whats left this year?

1. Get Gym and Main Barn reroofed
2. Open the doorway / staircase from the lower-level to the upper-level of the milk shed
3. Install / improve wiring in barn

Wish me luck!

Mulch Musings (aka the Compost Chronicles)

There are four things I don't do enough -

Drink plenty of water

Take my vitamins

Stretch before and after I exercise

and finally

Turn over my compost.

I have three compost / mulch bins I picked up at Agway. They are made of wire and come in 3 ft x 3 ft sections. They fit together into neat little boxes. I fill them every year with yard waste - hoping to have that wonderful, dark compost gardeners prize.

I am not one of those active composters. I don't save every cucumber peeling, torn lettuce leaf, apple core, or dirty onion skin. I collect up as many leaves I can fit into the mulch bins. As I weed some of the garden beds during the year, the unfortunate, undesireable plants find their way in the bins with last fall's leaves. Once in a while a wilted vegetable or sickly house plant comes to visit the mulch bin, never to leave.

I know I should turn the bins over every few weeks, but I am lucky if I do it every 2 months. They need to get turned so that the plant matter decomposes, making it the nice, dark garden food it aspires to be. It is the plant form of resurrection.

I did turn the compost piles over last weekend. I had three full bins earlier in the year, and now I have 1 1/2 bins. I had just one bin's worth last year. I suppose I'll get down to 1 bin by late October (I better - I need to put the leaves somewhere!).

As I was looking at the mulch, I was pondering what I did with last years mulch? I did not work it into the garden beds. I used a little to fill in an area where I had dug in the yard. Where did the rest of the mulch go? Maybe someone is sneaking into my yard to steal my mulch.

I will have to pay more attention next year to see where my mulch goes.

Balance

I had to go on a business trip to Massachusetts. As I drove thru the Catskills and Berkshires I admired the scenery as the colors were on the cusp of changing. It always amazed me that some small, unassuming branch would be the first to change. It seemed to me that these branches were on smaller, weaker trees. I found it comforting that nature would favor the weaker trees by letting them grab the glory of changing color first.

But why is this a comforting thought?

Nature is not fair. Nor does it have favorites. Nor is it predictable.

Why would the changing color give me comfort?

People look for fairness. We impose rules to make sure that things are predictable. How many times do you get mad when someone else got a bigger piece of cake than you did, or that the guy in front of you did not get the speeding ticket, or that the person in the cubicle next to you gets the same pay even though they don’t work as hard or well as you? We make rules to make the world fair – yet nature is not fair.

Nature does not make rules. There is no arbitration in nature. Maple trees don’t get to petition some higher court if they can’t get as much water as a willow. There is no recourse for sea turtle if their eggs are disturbed. No committee determines which of the weakest gazelle should become the food for the wolf pack.

As I drove along pondering this issue, I did not at first understand why the changing colors made me feel good. Nature is not fair. Yet, we strive for fairness, but it is an unachievable goal. No matter how many rules we make, there is always something about the world that the rules don’t fit. Maybe your child could read and write their name at 3 years, could time their shoes and tell time at 4, and knew how to add all the numbers up to 20. Yet if your little boy or girl was born 1 month to late, they have to wait 1 more year before they could start school. That doesn’t see fair. The rules are too crisp, too rigid.

We think about the laws of nature. Survival of the fittest. Only the biggest, the strongest, the fastest will survive. Yet nature is unpredictable. Sometimes a smaller buck gets his chance at the does when the bigger bucks are locking horns. Sometime the smallest seed can find its way into a crack in the sidewalk and sprout. Maybe the weaker tree prepares for winter by putting on its falls colors early. In doing so, it improves its chance of survival. There is balance. No matter what the rules are, there is a chance that the unexpected will get through. It is not in the rules that the chances lay, but in the variation.

This is where the hope is.

This is where I take comfort.

This is what I see in the first colors of fall.

Thoughtful Places

"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone."

— Blaise Pascal

When our daughter was little she used to sit quietly in the backyard on a rock in the corner of the yard. Like Winnie-the-Pooh, it was her thoughtful place, a place where she could collect her thoughts, organize her dreams, and create her wishes. I have always liked quiet places – mountain tops, sedate gardens, the banks of rivers.

When we moved to the house, there was an old bench and an arbor on the property. Both were in need of repair. I tackled the arbor first. A lot of the wood was rotted. I brought it into the barn, pulled it apart in three sections, and replaced all the old wooden slats. A coat of paint, and it was good as new. I set it up near a concrete pad on the property that used to be the walkway to a trailer. We have silver lace growing on it now, and it is a pretty place to sit. I took a short walk outside last night and found myself sitting there. My wife stopped to sit there today after she took a walk. I am glad to see it get used.

The bench was a simpler fix. I got some 1 x 4s and ripped them down to ~ 3 inches wide. After reassembling the seat with new carriage bolts, it was just like new. It now sits by the creek. I love sitting there at nite and listening to the water babble by.

Varmints, Squatters, and Interlopers

When I am home, I like to open the barn to let it air out. Today, I had opened the barn, and then went back to get a rake and wheelbarrow to do some yard work. Too my surprise, a small rabbit was in the barn. It saw me and scurried out the under door on the north end. This reminds me that I have to put some chicken wire on the bottom of the door to keep the critters out.

We have had our share of varmint issues. The rabbits took to eating our peonies, silver lace, and garden herbs. To adapt, we grew herbs in pots on our deck this year. I resorted to putting wire cages around the peonies and silver lace (which worked great). Before I closed in the barn and repaired the siding and replaced missing battens, we had grey squirrels getting in. We even had a family of red squirrels in our basement last winter (I am sorry to say that I was able to get rid of them – but have-a-heart traps sometimes are not so humane…). I am always on the lookout for starlings, which nest in the most amazing places. We have a robin that makes a nest in one of our holly bushes every year. We actually look forward to her visits and seeing the new babies. We even get a robin to nest on a second-story windowsill on the milk shed. I knock the nest down every fall, and they rebuild it every spring.