Boot Jack

Apparently this is meant to be a long-horn steer; I thought it might be a goat. Anyway, Joanne got it at an antique shop and it works very well.

It is now a permanent feature of our hallstand.

Winter Work

Excavation and concrete work is becoming a year round activity! The forward footing is about 22" square and 10" deep; behind it is a 4' continuation of the main 16" footing. About 4' to go and it will traverse the cellar from end to end!

There used to be a stout wooden pillar at about the point where the mixer stands. It was sitting on a rock surrounded by a thin layer of concrete. I removed that, and cut away part of the slab supporting the furnace with the jackhammer.

The small square section will support a post that will ultimately carry the beam holding up the second story bathroom. Currently, the far end rests on . . . nothing! They fooled us again--we were expecting an L-bracket screwed to a 3/4" board, as they did on the other end, but they simply stopped just short of the wall.

I used 12 new 25 kg bags of concrete mix, two old 25 kg bags, and two new 30 kg bags. The total pour is about 7 cubic feet, probably a bit under. 

November Is the Cruelest Month

Just two weeks ago the old van died--a faithful hauler with lots of gumption. The new one is slightly better, though almost indistinguishable apart from colour, which is fine with me. Winter has advanced relentlessly since Hallowe'en. It warmed enough to melt much of the snow in the city, but the countryside to the north is still in the full grip of Ullr (Norse god of snow--had to look that up!).

First Snow

The first snowfall has ended, and this is what it looks like. It snowed from about noon on Friday until the wee hours today. The sky has assumed that familiar deep blue hue; it's winter. Note: On 9 Nov. we put away the deck furniture for the winter.

Snow Time Like Now

Here is an all  too familiar scene (straight out the front door--my favorite shot!), enlivened by a substantial accumulation of snow. The white stuff was already piling up as I drove home yesterday, so that means 7 Nov. is the date for first snowfall this year. 

Several trees were heavily burdened along the English Settlement Road, and one had fallen into the North-bound lane. Ready or not, winter is here. 

Piercings

When the big Tamarack at the foot of the driveway came down, a branch punched right through the lid of the garbage bin, which is made of one-inch cedar boards. I was expecting the box to be flattened--this was not quite what I imagined.

Windstorm

While I shall always remember this day as the one on which the restoration of power after an outage caused a pet cat  to fly into a frenzy and tear my aunt's eyelid, we had some trouble as well: we returned home to find the tree I had asked NB Power to remove had snapped about 12 feet from the base! Fortunately, it fell away from the wire and across the driveway, blocking it completely. No matter. About 45 minutes later, the tree was a small pile of slash and a heap of firewood.
This summer, Jo noticed that the upper portion--most of the tree, in fact--had failed to produce foliage. There were some needles on the lower branches (visible, in their ruddy autumn tones to the left), but the top was dead. I used the online form to suggest that NB Power cut it down before it fouled the lines to the right (leading to the workshop) or across the street (a primary line). We emailed back and forth, but we returned home on Friday to find the tree down. It broke across the garbage bin and felled the driveway marker. Interestingly, we never did lose power, and the Grateful Dead--the old spruce along the back line of the property--came through unscathed.
UPDATE: NB Power declined to remove the tree, stating that it did not fall within their maintenance standards!