September 20, 2017 Brrrrr!

Chipmunk enjoying a rose hip on
the porch wood.

Monday 9/18. I split the rest of the quartered rounds, then we moved that and the stack from yesterday to the shed where I stacked it all.  Then we rolled three huge rounds to the splitter.  We worked together wrestling them into the splitter and cutting them into smaller pieces.  These larger rounds, the bottom of the tree, are dry for about six to eight inches in, but are still moist in the middle.  So, when splitting the smaller pieces, I made two piles.  Dry for the wood shed.  Wet for the porch.

We took a break to go down and work some more on Miss Kitty.  We were able to get all but one part off for which we need a special tool.  Turns out Larry has that tool, so we will borrow it.

Back up at home, I finished splitting the wood.  JB moved one load to the shed and two loads to the porch.  After feeding the dogs, I stacked it all.

While eating dinner we saw a chipmunk sitting on top of the porch wood eating a rose hip he had picked from the bush next to the house.  So cute!

An icy wind blew all day and our high was 58.  Definitely an ibuprofen night.

Tuesday 9/19. It was 39 and mostly cloudy this morning.  The girls got oatmeal for breakfast for the first time this season.  I cook it for them when the temperature gets below 40.

I hung out the wash and we cleared up the porch, which included finally putting the propane stove away that we had used for the Chili feed.  Brought out the small ash and pine needle cans for the porch.

Using the chain saw, JB was able to cut the largest round almost in half before the chain went completely dull.  We wrestled that and another round to the splitter and got them into smaller pieces.  Then we were both ready for a break.

After a rest and a snack, I split most of the smaller pieces and, again, put them into two piles.  JB took one load to the shed, one load to the porch and kept one load of too-long pieces in the bucket where he could cover them with the tarp he puts on the tractor for the night.  It always seems like that last row of wood in the shed takes forever to complete.  We only need another ten to fifteen pieces now.

The wind had blown all day and I could smell rain on its breath as I stacked the wood.  We scurried before its threat, but it never arrived, as often happens here.  Through breaks in the clouds, we could see a dusting of snow on the mountains, and there was definitely some on Mission Ridge.  Our high for the day was again 58.

Wednesday 9/20. It is 36 and overcast this morning, with even more snow on the mountains.  More normal temps are forecast for next week.  Fall officially arrives tomorrow, but it always seems like the seasons' weather arrives way before the date on the calendar.

Thought for the day: Lord, give me coffee to change the things I can and wine to accept the things I can't.