Nice Sunday

Sunday was another mild day to work outside, while colder than yesterday it was still enjoyable.  On day like this I spend too much time in the woods enjoying the environment.  Today saw a pair of barred owls together in a tree.  When I went to take a picture one flew off and other stayed for a few monuments and then left.  Nice to see the pair, as we hear them but have not seen this season.

I spent some time in late afternoon at the river and this is a picture looking east about hour before sunset from the rive bank in our back yard.

Had to put away water hoses as it is going to get below freezing tonight and place a salt block in pasture.  While I was placing the salt block I snapped this picture of the field in late afternoon sun.

Why spend money buying your cat a bed, when a box lid works just fine.  Crackers sleeps in this lid every day, but only on this table.  When we moved it he would have nothing to do with it.

Looking forward to next week as forecast is for mild weather and can work getting the garden ready to plant.

Outdoor work day

Two days in the 60’s, high today was 68 and was already 57 this morning while we were having our coffee.  

While taking down a section of fence I am replacing, noticed the flowers in the grass where I was working, sign of a mild January.

Even the wood beetles were out in the pile of wood I was cutting to put under cover.  This was the last of the wood that Toby and Reeder gathered from the Hurricane damage in Richmond last summer.

After I broke the spading fork working a garden bed, Edna and I walked down to the river with the dogs and did they get muddy in the stream on our property.  River was very high and parts of the trail have not dried out from all our rain this week.

Edna has been working in the yard all day; you would think it is spring!  On an indoor day you my want to check this blog our. Graffiti Richmond.  Is it graffiti or street art?  Maybe your opinion is based on whether it is on your property.

This is the second day of cold drizzle and cloud cover.  Does not make you want to go outside.  An enjoyable night at the CHSA banquet, and the younger members enjoyed the DJ and dancing.

Elizabeth won numerous awards including 2 division champion and several 3rd and one 4th place in other divisions.   

Will enjoyed the night dancing and taking pictures with his sister’s camera.  Jill’s riders also won awards and recognition.



Wintery Weather

30 this morning and even the birdfeeder had icicles from the roof.   

It is a gray, rainy day and not a day to be outside if you can avoid.  Finished barn chores and it will be an inside day for me, except for the CHSA banquet this evening.  

Cold Cloudy Friday

32 this morning and only reached 43 high, with clouds all day.  A few barn chores and cut more wood and placed under cover for next week.  I had a walk in the woods and found a skeleton of a deer (actually Baxter found) and it was probably shot during hunting season and not found by the hunter.

Will arrived this afternoon on his dirt bike.  Yesterday he though Papa should check his gas as he was sure he was about out.  He was right, I fill his tank and on his way he went.  Today he arrived and said he sure could use something to eat, as he was hungry and grandma gave him a bag of chips.  Independence is having a dirt bike!

I made a fast errand to town for some batteries for my flash for pictures tomorrow night CHSA banquet, and called Sandy for a brief chat while driving to town. 

Ice forecasted for tomorrow morning, sure glad I do not have to drive anywhere in the AM.   I need to work on a picture calendar that is overdue and Edna has reminded be several times.

Cold start to the day

19 degrees this morning and have had a fire going all day.  Tomorrow is going to be in the low 60’s and I should get some fire wood cut and stacked.

Will now’s rides his dirt bike to visit us.  He rode down today and made cookies and played Yahtzee.

Edna and Will playing Yahtzee 

Edna and I walked the trail on the southern edge of our property; the trail was in decedent condition, considering we have not maintained it is several years.   Found a large tree (80+ feet) down which will make excellent fire wood.  The base is too large for me to cut with my small chain saw, however can cut about 70 feet of the tree.

Edna and Baxter by river

Finished my engraving for CHSA awards, not only have to place on the awards.   Plan to set by the fire after dinner and read a book with the cat on my lap.

Saturday was not a real productive day

After a late nap, I stayed up till 3AM reading books on the I Pad if front of the fire, and when I finally went to bed it was 27 degrees outside.  Saturday will also be a cold day, butTuesday we start a small warn up.

In the morning after running a few errands, helped Reeder load the remains of our shed tin roof in the truck to take to the transfer station.  After unloading our trash, I ask the attendant where we should unload the tin roof and he pointer to an area with other metal.  The elderly gentleman in the truck said, If you want you can just load into my truck, as I collect scrap metal to take to the “yard” to sell, with that we loaded into his truck, which was much easier and we were happy and so was he.

I then spent the afternoon looking at seed catalogs and ordering the catalogs that seem interesting with heirloom seeds, starting to think about spring and planting the garden.  Chickens have been laying lots eggs even with the short days and cold weather; we will have lots of chicken fertilizer for the garden in the spring. I need to start working on the beds in the next few weeks.

  

      

Strong winds Thursday night

Friday we picked the last of the garden before the cold arrived.  We harvested lettuce, broccoli and two radishes.  When Edna brought them in, I though they were beets we had missed.  They were two radishes we had missed that I had planted in the fall.  We will slice then for salads and see if the are any good.

The high winds tore the roof off the outside wash stall and carried it 40 feet from the stall.   Removed it in one piece and snapped the 4 x 4’s off that held it. 



A walk in the woods

The frogs were out in the sun by our fish ponds, never remember frogs out in January.

We went for a walk down to the river and then up an old horse trail around our property line.  It has been over a year when we last walked the trail and it was littered with down trees and branches, if we want to ever use again, it will need lots of work.   The moss on the trail was still very green and you would never guess it is January, however cold weather is forecasted for the next week, bad news frogs.  

Moss on the river trail



Winter weather is coming

47 this AM with forecast high to be mid 60’s, however winter cold is on the way for all of next week.  Speaker last night at CCR was the Director of the VMFA, his subject was history of photography and the CCR contribution of 1930-1940 photographs to the VMFA collection. 

I plan to finish CHSA grooming boxes today and work on field fence for Dance to use February.  May video Cash for Jill this afternoon.

Cold and Raining

35 degrees this morning and rain started about 10AM and forecasted rain all day.  We have started walking to the mail box (1.2 miles) to get in shape for our New River Birding and Nature Festival we plan to attend in early May.    

We just learned our telephone line that our fax is on is not working, but at least I have internet connection.

Mushrooms on the log seat in our front yard are white in the winter, wonder if they are dead or just dormant?

Weather is up and down

We have gone from a high of 65 to a low of 17 and now going back to mid 60’s tomorrow.  I like 60's better.  During the cold days the deer were in the side yard all day.

I have now tried my new pocket camera’s movie mode.  Just a try and I could at least make it work.  Next to see if I can post to the blog.  We sold the Suzuki, it was only on creigs list for 6 hours, and we now have an I Pod 2, a new toy for us to play with.  Sure fell in love with the Apple computer and its systems.  We played with it while at the Apple store.  Our new goal a new Apple computer.