October 16, 2011



4 Wheel barrow loads when split



More Fall colors



 Friday was overcast and drizzly all morning.  We finally got outside about 12:30 when the rain stopped.  JB was able to cut and paint most of the fender parts for the trailer - out of wood.  I split all the wood I had cut, which turned out to be four wheel barrow loads.  I had several large chunks of solid pitch wood and finally learned how to slice it on the splitter into nice little sticks.  I am thinking that small bags of the pitch wood might sell at the Farmer's Market.  I sold my crafts at a Farmer's Market in Illinois and really enjoyed it.  Now that our major projects are done Up Here, I may want to sell my greeting cards along with the pitch wood next year.  Will have to see how many cards I can make over the winter and how willing  I really am to pack up my booth, tables, wares and displays at least once a week to make the long trek Down There.

Late afternoon, two neighbors from the next canyon over stopped in to visit.  They were out looking for deer on their land for hunting season on Saturday.  Both are avid hunters, but for the meat, not the thrill of the kill.  I like venison, but I don't think I would go hunting unless I really needed the food.  Even when you buy a license, there's no guarantee you'll end up shooting something, and the hunt itself is not appealing to me.  The last time JB went hunting was in 1977.  I know that hunting season keeps the herds down and the numbers healthy.  It's just not for me.

Saturday was a beautiful day but a slow start for us as I am fighting off a bug that I figure I picked up on Tuesday Down There.  Plus it was the 16th anniversary of my Mother's passing.  Can't believe she's been gone that long.  Some years it hits me harder than others, but  Mother's Day is always hard.  A little after noon we drove down to see RJ's outhouse and tower he had finished inside.   (See photo below.)  I am always amazed at how he can see his ideas in his head and then just pick up some logs or lumber and physically build them.  His birthday is the end of the month and he plans to bring up his son, Mike, on the evening of the 28th for the weekend. 

After returning to Rose Camp, we ate lunch and then headed down the driveway to pull up some more logs.  Didn't get quite as many a last time, but there is a good pile to keep me busy.  If it is nice again today, we'll pull up some more.  RJ is coming up for breakfast this morning and JB plans to make O'brien potatoes, maple sausage and eggs with his tomatoes and some red peppers.  Afterwards the guys plan to play a game or two of Magic cards.  I hope get out and start cutting wood. 

It is now obvious that we will not get two of our big projects done this year: painting the porch pillars (it's too cold now), and finishing the inside walls of the great room.  I still plan to clean the chimney and finish caulking outside, plus we have to put some rebar and cement in the cracks in the dirt around the solar panel pole.  As I mentioned the other day, a younger couple would certainly done everything we had planned, but I am learning to slow down and not push so hard.  I want to be around a long time to enjoy what we have built.

Thought for the day:  My idea of housework is to sweep the room at a glance.

RJ's outhouse 1/2 done -
floor is for future shower.