Last Lash of Winter?

The sky to the north looked grim, and sure enough it started snowing at about 8:00am as we set off for work. Our spring cleanup continued this weekend. I had the chainsaw out again, and I cleared a tangle of blowdown and a large co-dominant stem that had cracked off a multi-stemmed maple in the Grove and bridged the North Drain. Perversely, as I sectioned it up, almost every log fell straight into the drain. The lawn tractor battery seems to have died, but we used the quad to haul away all the piles of debris Jo had raked up. I dragged 7 pails of gravel from the cellar as well; I used it to build up the near bank on the North Drain. Inside, the two new balusters are installed and painted; It's not the end of repairs to Ollie damage, but it's a start. Now I just have to prepare the Ashy barriers around the back stair and fit the gate. Baby-proofing a 19th century farmhouse is no joke!

Crick

 The Crick is flowing--very pretty, but the only green is provided by the moss on the rocks! I did a great deal of digging on the north tributary. At least two "temporary" bridges made of pallets had collapsed, damning the flow, and the culvert was largely plugged with leaves and branches. 

Eclipse

 It was genuinely eerie. Unfortunately, I didn't break out the Canon, so I had to content myself with a few rather grainy snaps.

The stars came out. It grew dark and cold. When the sun returned, it remained chilly for about an hour.

Winter Once More

 It's hard to believe I was driving about on grass just a couple of weeks ago. All the snow had gone, all of it! And now it's deeper than it has been all winter. It is a little discouraging. However, I can still work indoors...or underground.

Johnny Underground

 

At the end of the March break, and again today, I poured more of the west footing. It was good to see the undermined base of the wall getting filled in; it was looking rather unstable. I am getting better at arranging the metal, but I rushed the end piece so the line strays from the wall a bit. 

Faint Gleams

There are some encouraging glimmers of brighter days to come amidst the disappointing piles of snow. Big projects are waiting for better weather: finishing the new garden shed for one, and demolishing the old one for another!

Dreadful Drizzle

 A dreary March day: cold, with pelting rain. Too much snow still for proper outdoor work, so I tidied the workshop and improved the storage in the woodshed.

The boot tray under the saw collects the oil that very slowly seeps from the chain. There are hooks for my helmet and chaps. Thanks to the shed project, I have a much higher quality scrap lumber than usual...

Cellar: Before and After

 Starting to extend the east footing. Heavily undermined! 

False Spring

Warmth, gentle rain...and almost no snow now at the end of February. It won't last: March is a treacherous month! Still, this encouraged me to start digging in the cellar. The winter concrete pour WILL happen!

Crane

 Finally, one with a remote control. It is designed to fit on a boom, like the scaffold attachment one I have, and it should make everything a bit easier.

Moderate Winter

 We are well into the winter, and while it is hardly a green season, it is moderate. We have had a number of snow storms, some heavy, and the plow has worked well (except when I tried to draw snow back from the garage doors--it came off!). After a few days of cold, we have a warmer spell and we get a chance to chip the ice off the deck. The worst so far has been -21C: a chilly night but an isolated one.

Wild Turkey

 A rafter of feral turkeys seems to have staked a claim to our yard. We sometimes surprise them as we come up the drive or step out of the door. It is clear that in our absence they explore every path we have cleared--their tracks are everywhere, even up on the deck of the workshop!

(If they are wild creatures, the collective noun is "flock," but farmyard ones cluster in "gaggles" or "rafters." Ours former farmyard turkeys turned out into the wild....)

Local Warming

 

I was pleasantly surprised to find a very modest oil bill hanging from the door, as I recalled the days when we dreaded trying to pay off massive sums for heating. Of course, since that time we have

• gutted the house to insert R-22 fiberglass and vapor barrier,
• replaced all doors and windows,
• rebuilt all the rear foundation and part of the front,
• installed high efficiency wood and pellet stoves,
• rebuilt the north wall from sill to attic.

It took some time to climb this hill...

End of Season

 That's the end of the building season, I suppose. Oh well...at least the roof's on.