Oct 5, 2012 Cold Autumn Days



Plume of smoke by Mission Ridge





Ready to go!


















Got a late start Wednesday morning.  Had a hard time getting out of a snuggly, warm bed on a cold Autumn morning.  36 outside.  It was after 9:00 a.m. when I was done blogging, and then, of course, there two newspapers still to read from my trip Down There on Tuesday.  I built a small fire in the wood stove to take the chill out, as I have done each morning since.  Finally we got going for what we thought was the first of the last two loads of Seattle wood.  However since there are mainly very large rounds left, we could only get six of them on the trailer instead of ten.  By the time we got home with them it was after noon and we still had dishes to do and the splitter to fix.

And we did get the splitter fixed - Woo Hoo! - but it was too late to split anything as we still had to clear out the splitting area and move it back in, and it was even too late for that.

I feel like I lost the whole month of September with the fire.  Now I really have to get busy making birthday and Christmas presents, which is what I did Wednesday night.  I had started Nene's birthday gift before the fire and it was one of the items I stuffed in my computer go-bag.

We began Thursday by cleaning out the splitting area.  Four years worth and six inches deep of small wood and bark chips.  It almost filled our small trailer, so we drove it down our road and filled in pot holes.  When we returned home, I got a call advising that the propane truck was on its way up, so no trip to get Seattle wood.  Don't want to meet that truck on the road with neither of us being able to back up or turn around.

After our tank was filled and the truck left, we put the splitter in place and leveled it.  Still had time to split two wheel barrow loads of wood, and it seems to be very dry, thank goodness.  One year drying in Seattle doesn't necessarily mean dry enough to burn.  So, two more productive days.  Two more ibuprofen nights.

There was a big plume of smoke yesterday just this side of the south end of Mission Ridge, and, of course, I have already forgotten the name of it that Elsie told me last night.  She called to chat and ask if I wanted some organic hog-back fat for lard (don't know the specific term for it).  She is going to increase her order that she will pick up at the Farmer's Market on Saturday, so I decided to get two pounds.  There is a great article on lard in this month's issue of Capper's magazine giving the various ways of rendering and preserving it.  She will cook and strain it, then I will go down and help her can it.

We put another, and probably more accurate, thermometer outside about a month ago.  It's one my Dad had and gives the high and low temperatures.  It is 34 this morning with no wind and no smoke to the west and north, just some low, light haze.  Will have to walk up to the south ridge to see how those fires are doing.

Thought for the day:  Flashlight: A container for dead batteries.