August 30, 2011



Timber!



End result - more wood to split



Woke up to a refreshingly cool breeze yesterday morning, and it proved to be a cooler day by about 5 degrees. JB cut down two of the smallest trees in the grove, each of which had grown at a right angle about 15 feet up. I cut the branches and JB cut the trunks into 16" rounds. Before doing that, he cut two wheel barrow loads of large trunk wood for the splitter that I had put in my cutting area. We will probably move the three or so loads from the grove to the splitter on Wednesday. I was also able to get a full load of branch wood stacked in the wood shed. The day may have been cooler, but that didn't keep us from sweating up a storm. I had to shower last night so I could go Down There today without getting odd looks. Wow! Two showers in less than 7 days!


We still have not seen any monarch butterflies. I know this is the time they usually arrive, and there have been several articles in some of my magazines about them. I guess they must have taken a different route this year. The swallowtail butterflies are gone, but there is a very pretty white one with a little black design on the top of each wing. The hummingbirds have also left. Only the yellow jackets are enjoying the sugar water in the feeders. JB had to empty the two yellow jacket traps already as they had quickly filled up. He hung them back out, adding a third one.

When our house was being built, I was amazed at how sturdy it is compared to a stick house. And how less expensive it is to build. That idea seems to be catching on as last year someone mentioned that they had a friend who works in the building permit office and he had commented that there seemed to be a lot more permits being given out for pole buildings. And they aren't just barns. Our entire house, including labor, cisterns, well, solar power, etc, cost about $120,000 in 2008, even with the solar panels we purchased in 2010. Of course that does not include the land. But it does mean a home with no utility bills except for propane, and once we are able to buy a different inverter, the propane expense will be minimal. I realize our self-sufficiency isn't complete by any means, but what we have sure feels good.

Yesterday I made the curried egg salad recipe that is in the current issue of "Country Woman". I have always put sweet pickle relish in egg salad, but this was very good without it. And a great way to use a lot of our eggs.

I also spent some more time looking for more photographs yesterday. There must still be some in storage, so I will leave extra early this morning and go there first to look for them, while it is cool. I had hoped to get our storage unit all cleaned out this month, but that just isn't going to happen. We really have to get then done in September. September??!! OMG! It's already time for school to start! I'm sure I say that every year at the end of August. It's just that August ends earlier every year. . .

Two fairy doors in the grove.