October 20th, 2015

Saturday morning we finally had our first hard frost.

And hard frost it was!  I let the indoor/outdoor cat out, and the dog, and then the indoor cat ran out too!  So I ran out after her barefoot and the doormat was frozen solid!  Ruby really likes to make a run for the woods, so it took a little while to catch her.  (funny cat is in the word catch)

The foliage was a full week later than usual.  I know this even though I am going senile, because color is usually at it's height for the FIrebird's birthday, and when he came down to visit four days later it wasn't close to color.

When the frost hit, the leaves that had changed dropped.  Walking down the driveway to the chicken coop (this time in boots) *swish, swish scrunch* ankle deep in beautiful reds and yellows and oranges of the delicate maples that are the first to go.

The sound brings back memories of trick or treating up and down the blocks in towns through the years as the kids were growing.  Inevitably, at least once per year, the leaves in the gutters would hide the curbs to the little faces glued on the next lamp post-and we would be scurrying around in the dark trying to find the loot that went flying in the stumble.

We had another hard frost Sunday morning.  It was so hard that the ice skim stayed on the tops of the rain barrels for the whole day, and I had to declare the automatic chicken water retired for the season.

I was splitting wood in the cold sunshine and the wind kicked up with a dark cloud-and then it was snowing!  Not the big fat flakes of the typical early squalls, but fine little balls that looked like someone had ripped open one of those bean bags chairs.

Yesterday it was drizzly and damp and dreary in the 40's.  The chill was still there this morning, and then the sun came out and we hit mid sixties.

The colors are still lovely despite the rain and wind.  But there's a melancholy feel to the air as the sun gets lower in the sky.  I looked up late afternoon at the tall elm, now almost bare, and keenly felt the loss of my friends the trees, heading off for their long winter sleep.

HB

Happy Pi Day

Finally, we have had a few days above freezing.  I rushed out last week and tapped the sugar maples, but they are not really running yet.  Not sure what is happening, if there is too much snowpack, or the temps need to get more above freezing.

I gave up trying to trap the mink and started trying to mink proof the coop.  We had about 6 feet of snow on the ground and zero deree temps, so that took awhile to get that project underway.

I had to disassemble the rabbit hutches I put in many years ago to get to the windows.  That was a very depressing job.

Finally today I enlisted the aid of the Firebird to help close up all the little places, and just getting some positive cooperative energy into the space helped a great deal.  After the negative energy of the slaughter and devastation and having to rebuild something I made years ago I needed some fresh energy.

One of the major things left is to dig out the winter's bedding, which was pretty frozen.  Part of the floor will need to be replaced, and I need to re hang and reframe the door and put up some more 1/2 mesh over a window and a chicken door.

Quite a bit of snow has melted.  So much that I barely made it up the drive in 4WD on Wednesday, because I had about 6inches of slush in the ruts.  Luckily that refroze so  I could get out the next morning, and I think it is still gradually melting since a bit more dirt is showing on one of the shoulders.

Of course we are under a winter storm watch tonight, lots of wet snow, hopefully 4-8 inches , which will still require clearing if we are to get out the drive next week.

Our dirt road is coming unglued in the usual places, and I am starting my annual rant about what the road commissioner does to earn nearly 100K a year.  Can't even put a load of crushed rock in the rutty places, and of course we are the last town to have posted our dirt road to heavy loads, a rite of spring in these parts.

My arm is gradually healing; every time I spend a little bit of time working around here I have a set back.  Looking for part time work, or something independent, with the usual no luck.

I could potentially go back eventually with the beekeeper, but my bud working with him down in Georgia got stung 100 times last week moving hives.  Doesn't sound like much fun.  I figure I had about 50 stings all told, but mistakes happen and once the bees find a way in your suit you can get in a pickle pretty fast.

Our snow here is settling-the tromped paths started to thaw, and that was pretty dangerous because all of a sudden a foot would break through up to over your knee...then it re froze and we have these foot sized pitfalls along the pathways.  If you fall when it is soft you find yourself over your shoulders trying to push yourself upright...

I should lay a bet now when all the snow will be gone off the lawn....May 30?

Happy spring!

Got snow?

yup all that and more moved by  myself and the saplings in the last ten days

Jupiter and the Snow Moon

Want snow?

Be careful what you wish for.

A week ago we had a blizzard that dumped about 2 feet.  The Firebird and I scooped the 300 + foot drive twice for that one.  We all had a snow day.  The state was under a state of emergency.

I got to work the next day and the snow drifts against the doors were 8 feet high. Yes the outdoor kitty gets to shovel.

We had four inches or so before the blizzard we had to clear last Sunday.

Then Friday we had snow.  That was about a foot.  Then we had snow yesterday and last night, another foot.

The weather forecasters are telling we will get 2-6 inches tomorrow night.  We all cringe when they point at an area and say, ..."and the jackpot," will be....

My goats won't even come out of their goat complex.  I kept chucking massive amounts of hay in there and shoveling off the roofs. The Willow and I managed to get them out tonight for their grain.

They are just saying on the news that we have had about four feet of  snow in a week.

I spoke with the Boss today and he is heading back from Georgia in a few days.

I told him he will pass half the state of Maine heading south on his way north.  Even old timers have had enough.

BTW Jupiter is the planet of expansion, and I am not sure I like seeing it sit right next to the "Snow Moon"

Blizzard, Winter storm watch, active weather pattern

Welcome to the end of January in Maine.  I used to want to see snow falling on Christmas morning when I awoke, and have resigned myself to the fact snow will probably be falling on my birthday-or it

 will be 20 below zero.I

I have pledged that once before my years come to pass I will spend my birthday someplace warm and sunny, and one has to be careful what they wish for, because that may mean spending a birthday in Georgia moving 100 pound hives onto a truck bound for the California almond pollination.

This week we had an official blizzard on Tuesday, we think we got around 2 feet.  The Firebird and I spent three hours midday in the teeth of the snow moving the snow out of our 300 + foot driveway.  The wind was howling and like idiots we were revelling in it.

Wednesday night we had to move the last 6 inches of it to make way for today-our area to have "the jackpot" of 12-18 inches.

I crawled up to work today while the saplings slept in-their third snow day of the week.  I made it to the shop on Wednesday to be greeted with eight foot high drifts in front of the doors which needed to be cleared-after our drive, and then work, and then our drive again my legs were pretty sore yesterday.

I have to take comfort in the fact that I must be pretty ripped for my age-once I get out of these sixteen layers of clothes sometime around April I will be able to tell...

January 6 ,2012

Hallowe'en has been moved to wintertime

We are forecast to have snow tonight and tomorrow, with thunder. Heavy wet snow. over a foot of snow. I am not ready!

Trick or treat?

Yay Saturday

Happy April!

Mother Nature had such an Aprils Fool's joke in store for us that we didn't pull any tricks this year. No one I knew did, and that is the first year ever.

We had a blizzard. At least a foot of wet snow in six hours. Last Friday I was in a t-shirt. This Friday I took a ride to the bucks with a co-worker since he had a truck with four wheel-ed drive.The roads were scary. White Out conditions. I wished I hadn't made it to work, because now I had to get home.

The kids were sending reports via cell phone:

"A big tree fell and almost hit the house"

When you're my age you don't get too worked up about almos;, there's a lot of almost in your life...

Then, "The power went out."

Yes, the power was out 24 hours, and when I called the power company an hour later, and they started with Augusta (the state capital) and finished with Yarmouth (a southern town) and listed every town-but mine-alphabetically in between, I knew we would be out three days. So a nice surprise to be 26 hours.

However, when I tried to pull out the end of the driveway in the morning, the car kept spinning sideways, the big ditch and culvert inching closer. The snow was so wet and saturated the car just wanted to slide sideways.

Finally my prayers were answered, as a 4WD came down the road and I walked around pathetically clutching the snow shovel.

A neighbor I didn't know, he hooked on with a chain and yanked me out, and yes, the rear end did jump the ditch and clipped the mailbox-in-a-bucket-full-of-rocks (because this time last year someone broke my post, lol) but that was an easy -just tip the bucket back up, although mail didn't come today, lol.

***.Lots of baby goats at the farm, Lori delivered yesterday and went into labor in collar and chain in a blizzard. I kicked Lillemore out of her pen and set Lori up with the best leafy second cut hay in the loft and she _yumm-yumm-yummed mouthfuls of hay in between contractions, stretched out on her side and straining with no visible result.

All of us, except Boss, kept checking her, and her mother, Lois, tried to climb over the bars of the pen to get closer to little Lori during her labor. That was really impressive to see.

I was worried about complications the way she was straining,and being her first kidding, but we moved off to the Hill with Boss's encouragement not to stand over her (although I think Lori liked me and her Mom being there for her, lol) and when we came off the Hill, there was beautiful white Lori spattered with birth gore ,(chewing a mouthful of hay) and the biggest single grey buckling I have ever seen. He's as big as the two week old single doelings. He's a monster and he's beautiful and clever and of course he will be a great Champion! :)

The kids and I rented the Grown ups, I would talk about goats all night otherwise. I will have to get some pix up soon.

Snowed in Again

The last storm moved off and we had another storm move in yesterday. I thought they used to call this one an Albert Clipper, but they were saying something about a Norland Trough so who knows, really? Instead of coming up the coast from the gulf of Mexico, the system swooped down from North of the Great Lakes, set itself up in the Gulf of Maine, and dumped on us.

It was forecast to be flurries yesterday morning and then picking up in intensity through the afternoon and evening. Despite the holiday weekend, the kids had school yesterday and they were no sooner on the bus in the morning that the snow started. I ran off on errands and the snow kept falling and falling- and then school was dismissed early. I was sort of aggravated that they had school at all! To take them and to keep them there until the roads got dangerous...But at least it didn't count as a snow day to make up in June!

Then at 5:30 am this morning the phone rang with the alert cancellation for today. The snow plow went up shortly after that, so all the roads are plowed and sanded and it is barely snowing, but they called a snow day today. Well, the kids are happy to have a day off anyhow, but still I have to wonder who makes the call on the road conditions....?

We do have quite a bit of snow out there. All the trees are covered with white frosting. When I walked down the drive to shovel out the mailbox yesterday, I amused myself by trying to catch snowflakes on my tongue, and went crosseyed picking out individual flakes falling while I was walking with my head back. I caught quite few, and had a few just shoot straight down the back of my throat and my eyelashes were coated rather thoroughly by the time I made it to the mailbox.

****

Of course like everyone else I have been watching the crisis in Haiti and have been trying to keep myself from criticizing what is going on down there. The most positive thing I can say about it is that I hope the UN learns some things from this tragedy that helps them deal with future disasters. I just don't understand; if people are hurt and dying of thirst and hunger, why is the priority is getting troops in to make sure everyone will form an orderly line for an emergency biscuit and a quart of water? If food, water and bedding were airdropped enmasse immediately FIRST there would not be the rioting conditions of desperation. Yes, there might have been some racketeering involved in folks hording what they could get, but when the troops finally could get in that would be the time for law and order. I just don't see taking all that time to move troops in and supplies to feed and shelter those troops when people are in such a situation. Help FIRST and then law and order. Air drop the damn supplies already!!! Just my two cents.

another Monday

Another week already!

We have decided to keep Badgers name Badger. We tossed around a few ideas and then I remembered a character called Badger from a children's book Wind in the Willows, so I thought that was appropriate. Then when I was looking it up I found out that Wales is going to kill a bunch of Badgers in the theory that it will reduce the incidence of Bovine TB. There was an article on it the UK Guardian online, and almost all the comments were anti Badger killing and of course I agree with them.

Back to the new goats;the other we have named Piper which is related to the book as well-Pan the Piper, but I didn't want to call him Pan. Pan is of course half man and half goat.

They were banded Thursday and we will bring them home soon.

Now there are 18 bucklings are on the Hill. Five went to slaughter and nine arrived from another farm. I met some of them today-well all of them, but didn't linger too long with them. One of the new grey ones tried to follow us back down the hill and started bawling....maaaa, maaa, ma-aaaaaaa!

Boss heard him all the way to the house and said," was that the little grey one?"

and I said, "yes."

She said, "he was babied at his last home, his name is "guapo" "

and P looked perplexed and I laughed and said that is "handsome" in Spanish, LOL.

The weather was warmer over the weekend-it was supposed to be teens yesterday and yet it broke freezing again. The weatherman is really not doing very well with his predictions. Friday they said we were going to miss a storm Sunday night and would get a dusting. We are now under a winter weather advisory and have about six inches of snow out there. I worked the farm this am and the roads were pretty crummy going and coming.

We are supposed to see the sun again on Thursday. :(

Big snow=fun

We played in the snow some yesterday afternoon and had about 8 inches or so since Friday. Then last night we got clobbered and had another 14 Inches. We had so much snow I gave the kids permission to try the ridge in front of the house. There are lots of stumps and rocks under that snow...Then I told them they had to quit until we were plowed out in case I had to take a trip to the emergency room. I couldn't get out the drive with nearly two feet deep of snow between my car and the road. Our drive is about 250 feet long or so so no hand digging that!

A lot of times with a major storm forecast I will park down by the road so I can hand dig the snowbank to get out in an emergency. It makes a pain for the snow plow guy to wait for me to move my car out of the way, though...

Well, he arrived a bit after noon and we are all plowed out and the car is cleaned off so we are ready for work and school in the morning! (Boo-hoo)

Sunday snow

From torrential rain to 6 inches of snow-welcome December! I imagine this snow will be with us until May now...

Still waiting on the computer part-it has been delayed twice now and is due by the 10th. I had to call and reconfirm the order and I was like<"yes I want it and I want it NOW!" LOL.

Worked the farm yesterday with R. We corralled some chickens someone dumped at the red cottage next door. They are really pretty four hens that look like Rhode Islands and a big red rooster with a double (rose?) comb. Last weekend someone dumped a mother cat and three starving kittens there-P took them in and was taking them to the shelter yesterday. Boss decided to take in the birds. Mr. Boss wasn't sure how he felt about a crowing rooster! LOL.

Was going to cut brush for wreaths and garland today but now everything is under 6 inches of snow! So probably some overdue housework and sledding and snowman making this afternoon.

I might try and get some pics up. I miss my own computer and I don't know how to resize on this one so they take a year and a day to upload!

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!