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| Building our new pantry under the stairs |
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| Cutting fire wood |
Then: The Rest of September 2010
The weather has been wet on and off all month, but no downpours just sprinkles and showers, then blue sky. It is definitely Fall. And Jesse definitely still has an odor about him. We have had a fire in the stove most mornings and evenings to ward off the chill. I think the heat brings out his lovely scent even more.
On the 16th, JB started a large jar of sauerkraut. Elsie is making some also, but neither one of them has done it before so they are comparing notes. On the 18th, JB canned 5 pints of garlic dill pickles. He really enjoys making them and this isn't his first time.
We are going to put shelves under the stairs and the landing for our pantry. It gets too warm in the loft to store food for any length of time, so we will keep that for non-food items and drinks. We are also going to enclose the space under the stairs with the same tongue-in-groove pine with which we have done the walls. So we measured for everything and put in an order with the lumber store.
By the 20th we had cut and stacked two and one half 20'X6' rows of fire wood at the back of the house. Now we will start stacking it on the porch. On the 21st we all went Down There and took a trailer load of garbage to the transfer station. We shopped for groceries and looked at snow blowers. I think I mentioned before that we really need a larger, more powerful one that is self-propelled. We found one at Lowe's and JB drove down the next day to buy it. I love those checks that the credit cards send to us to use for 0% for 8 to 10 months.
We have been cutting down some large stumps and standing-dead trees for fire wood and to "clean up" the 5-10 acres around the house. Each year we move further out in cutting branches and pulling out downed trees. It is looking really nice, almost park-like.
On the 25th we installed the shelves under the stairs and landing, then started enclosing the space. The next day we installed the pine wall at the top of the stairs. Our inside cabin is really coming together and now I have so much more room to hang pictures and other decorative items. Did I mention how much I enjoy nesting?!
By the end of the month we had the porch halfway stacked with fire wood and we had several bags of pine needles stored for starting fires in our wood stove. I had hung paintings, photos and other items on the new walls. Now we were working on our list of winter supplies. The nights are cold, but not yet freezing, and the days are pleasantly cool. The underbrush has begun to flatten out and many of the bushes have lost their leaves, but there is still a lot of color left. It has been a good transition from Summer to Fall.
Now: August 2, 2011
Sunday was delicious day of rest. We had our favorite breakfast of German pancakes. We had our coffee on the porch. Read books. Napped. The dogs and I went on a short hike. We drove the rest of the lumber for RJ down to his place, unloading the trailer was our only little bit of work. And we ended the day with a movie.
Yesterday we were up early and left at 8:00 to cut the grass in the middle of the road and trim the bushes. We do this annual job during the week before our Annual Rose Camp BBQ and Potluck which is next Sunday. It is two miles down to the main canyon road and this year it took us 3-1/2 hours. I drive JB's Jeep and the trailer down the road a ways while JB mows the center which takes at least two swipes. I walk back up and trim the bushes and branches that are crowding into the road. When we are done with that stretch, I move the Jeep and trailer further up the road and so on, and so on. We end up walking at least 4-5 miles, and of course the dogs probably walk twice that. Once we arrive at the main road, we put the mower on the trailer and drive it back. Needless to say, we were all hot and tired by the time we arrived home. After lunch, we all napped.
On Sunday I peeked inside the bird house to see if anything was going on and a wren was peeking back at me! Yesterday we saw them flying back and forth with food, so there may be babies again. It is just that this pair is so much quieter than the first pair, it is sometimes hard to tell if they are still there.
Today I am going Down There to buy groceries for our BBQ on Sunday, check the mail, and run some errands. It's Tuesday, so you know what that means. The porch poles may not get painted until next week. JB has to mow the paths and around the house before the weekend, and we want to get the shop a little more organized inside. We also have to get the window installed.
Just when I think the roses are all gone, I will see a bush set back from the road in full bloom. There are also three or four large bushes along our road that are still blooming. More asters and fire weed blossoms are opening each day. And the paintbrush and yarrow continue to add their colors to the forest carpet. Mother Nature is such a terrific gardener!
The weather has been wet on and off all month, but no downpours just sprinkles and showers, then blue sky. It is definitely Fall. And Jesse definitely still has an odor about him. We have had a fire in the stove most mornings and evenings to ward off the chill. I think the heat brings out his lovely scent even more.
On the 16th, JB started a large jar of sauerkraut. Elsie is making some also, but neither one of them has done it before so they are comparing notes. On the 18th, JB canned 5 pints of garlic dill pickles. He really enjoys making them and this isn't his first time.
We are going to put shelves under the stairs and the landing for our pantry. It gets too warm in the loft to store food for any length of time, so we will keep that for non-food items and drinks. We are also going to enclose the space under the stairs with the same tongue-in-groove pine with which we have done the walls. So we measured for everything and put in an order with the lumber store.
By the 20th we had cut and stacked two and one half 20'X6' rows of fire wood at the back of the house. Now we will start stacking it on the porch. On the 21st we all went Down There and took a trailer load of garbage to the transfer station. We shopped for groceries and looked at snow blowers. I think I mentioned before that we really need a larger, more powerful one that is self-propelled. We found one at Lowe's and JB drove down the next day to buy it. I love those checks that the credit cards send to us to use for 0% for 8 to 10 months.
We have been cutting down some large stumps and standing-dead trees for fire wood and to "clean up" the 5-10 acres around the house. Each year we move further out in cutting branches and pulling out downed trees. It is looking really nice, almost park-like.
On the 25th we installed the shelves under the stairs and landing, then started enclosing the space. The next day we installed the pine wall at the top of the stairs. Our inside cabin is really coming together and now I have so much more room to hang pictures and other decorative items. Did I mention how much I enjoy nesting?!
By the end of the month we had the porch halfway stacked with fire wood and we had several bags of pine needles stored for starting fires in our wood stove. I had hung paintings, photos and other items on the new walls. Now we were working on our list of winter supplies. The nights are cold, but not yet freezing, and the days are pleasantly cool. The underbrush has begun to flatten out and many of the bushes have lost their leaves, but there is still a lot of color left. It has been a good transition from Summer to Fall.
Now: August 2, 2011
Sunday was delicious day of rest. We had our favorite breakfast of German pancakes. We had our coffee on the porch. Read books. Napped. The dogs and I went on a short hike. We drove the rest of the lumber for RJ down to his place, unloading the trailer was our only little bit of work. And we ended the day with a movie.
Yesterday we were up early and left at 8:00 to cut the grass in the middle of the road and trim the bushes. We do this annual job during the week before our Annual Rose Camp BBQ and Potluck which is next Sunday. It is two miles down to the main canyon road and this year it took us 3-1/2 hours. I drive JB's Jeep and the trailer down the road a ways while JB mows the center which takes at least two swipes. I walk back up and trim the bushes and branches that are crowding into the road. When we are done with that stretch, I move the Jeep and trailer further up the road and so on, and so on. We end up walking at least 4-5 miles, and of course the dogs probably walk twice that. Once we arrive at the main road, we put the mower on the trailer and drive it back. Needless to say, we were all hot and tired by the time we arrived home. After lunch, we all napped.
On Sunday I peeked inside the bird house to see if anything was going on and a wren was peeking back at me! Yesterday we saw them flying back and forth with food, so there may be babies again. It is just that this pair is so much quieter than the first pair, it is sometimes hard to tell if they are still there.
Today I am going Down There to buy groceries for our BBQ on Sunday, check the mail, and run some errands. It's Tuesday, so you know what that means. The porch poles may not get painted until next week. JB has to mow the paths and around the house before the weekend, and we want to get the shop a little more organized inside. We also have to get the window installed.
Just when I think the roses are all gone, I will see a bush set back from the road in full bloom. There are also three or four large bushes along our road that are still blooming. More asters and fire weed blossoms are opening each day. And the paintbrush and yarrow continue to add their colors to the forest carpet. Mother Nature is such a terrific gardener!
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