April 8, 2016 Work, Work, Work

Some of the trees and branches
we brought up from the west slope.

Dinga enjoying the last of the
snow in the yard.

Yellow bells & Alpine Spring
Beauties carpeting the ground.

Wednesday 4/6. After breakfast I walked down to Miss Kitty to see if I could "fix" her, but to no avail.  The dogs came with me and it was a nice hike.

Then JB drove the tractor up to the south ridge with the tools we needed to take down more of the barbed wire fence.  We took down and wound up two strands of wire that were strung on seven posts.  After lunch we took down the other two strands and pulled out the posts.  Loaded it all on the tractor and JB drove it down to where the rest of the posts and wire are than we have removed.  We let our neighbor put the fence across our ridge about thirty years ago when we first bought the property.  Since we moved Up Here, we have asked him repeatedly to take it down.  He hasn't, so we are.

After that workout we just sat on the porch and enjoyed the incredibly beautiful day.  Watched the fat robins and other birds enjoying the day also.  Our high was 63 with a breeze.

The ground is so dry in places that I was able to collect some dry pine needles for fire starter.  We are down to just one bag right now.

Our Grandson is studying WWII in school now, so he is going to take my Dad's aviator sunglasses and my Mother's Marine Corps bible to school to show.  Our son also has some manuals of my Dad's and JB's Dad's that he will take.  We are going to send him an email detailing just what his Great-Grandfathers and Great-Grandmother did in the war.

This was the first evening that we did not need a fire in the wood stove.  And it is only April!

Thursday 4/7. It was 44 and clear this morning.  I finally sat on the porch with my coffee after feeding the dogs and girls.  How lovely!  There are still two small patches of snow in the front yard that Dinga is enjoying.  Pretty sure they won't be there in another few days.  My eyes are still not used to all the brilliant spring green of the new grasses, as opposed to the white of the snow and no brown time in between the two.  I am amazed at the lack of mud, or perhaps my memory has exaggerated the reality of past mud seasons.

What is so very nice about such early spring weather is the lack of bugs.  We can sit on the porch, Jesse can lay on the ground, and none of us are bothered by buzzers and crawlers.  But, like the snow, I doubt that will last much longer either.

Jesse is making up for being so house-bound for four months.  He spends most of his day out and about.  Occasionally we will hear him barking from afar, then soon he will stroll past the house on his way to somewhere else.  Or he will just lay in the sun.  Dinga is also outside most of the time, but she stays close to home.

While I was doing laundry and dishes, JB drove the tractor up to the south ridge to pull out some of the scrub brush up there.  He soon decided it was a two-person job, and was back to help dry the dishes.  And with the news that the balsam root is starting to bloom.

When the inside chores were done and the laundry hung outside, I went down the west ridge to check out the dead and downed trees we wanted to pull up.  I brought up several armloads of small fir branches, then JB brought his Jeep over.  I secured the top of one large, dead tree that had broken off during the winter and he pulled it up.  The we did the same with a small dead tree.  There was another dead tree a bit further down the slope that was leaning way over.  I thought we might be able to pull it out, but upon checking closer I realized it would have to be cut.  It was only about ten inches in diameter, so I cut it with the hand saw.  I secured it and JB pulled it out with the Jeep, along with the top of another tree that had broken off.  It felt so good to be doing this kind of work again.

While I was gathering the branches, I heard a very loud whooshing sound and thought I would look up to see my impending doom in the form of giant eagle!  But it was only two trickster ravens, "laughing" as they flew away.

JB cleaned out the back of his Jeep, which usually becomes a tool bin over the winter, as we are going to drive it down to Larry and Elsie's tomorrow and then go to town in my Jeep.  I have a long list of groceries and supplies, and just don't want to put it off any longer.  JB is coming too, as I am not sure I could get the Jeep all the way down our road.  It is still pretty sloppy.

I love these days when we can get so much done outside.  I enjoy the work and  the rests on the porch.  Our high for the day was 60 on the porch, but I am quite sure it was close to 70 in the sun.

JB is reading Lights Out by Ted Koppel which is about how a cyber attack against the U.S. power grid could completely disable and destroy our country.  He chooses such different types of books than I do to read. . .

The girls gave us two eggs again today.  They love all the greens that we are able to pick for them during the day.  Not quite as much as they would get free-ranging, but still quite a lot.

Friday 4/8. It is 50 with clear skies this morning, our warmest morning by far.  It is supposed to be in the low 80's Down There today!

Thought for the day: We should view our government the way we should a friendly, cuddly lion.  Just because he is friendly and cuddly shouldn't blind us to the fact that he's still got teeth and claws.  Walter E. Williams