Ice and wind = spring chores

Boondox · Feb 11, 2001

Crazy weather. In the 40s with 40mph winds yesterday. Minus 2 with 25mph winds today. The warm day melted away half our snow. The remaining two feet are nestled beneath a hard protective layer of ice. Driveway's slick as can be. The Honda Civic has some minor body damage from falling limbs. Got a huge balsam fir down in the meadow that'll need to be cut up and burned come spring. The septic system is disgusting. Got a cherry, a poplar, and a couple of maples down. The cherry fell over next to the cottage we rent out, and as luck would have it one sturdy branch poked a hole right thru the lid of that septic tank. What is it with containers of crap this year!!!

The bridge over my creek washed out. The drainage ditch alongside the road is silted up, and at least two of the pines in the windbreak near my woodshop are split and will have to come down. Oh, and the town snowplow took out the entire row of mailboxes. Gotta rebuild mine pretty soon!

Am I upset? No way! This coming week I'll be taking delivery of my L3010. The rest of the winter will give me plenty of FEL practice moving snow. And when spring arrives, well, let's just say I'm really looking forward to seeing what that beast can do!

Pete

Bird · Feb 11, 2001

Wow, you guys make me feel better about my little problems; make'em seem mighty small.

Bird

Thomas · Feb 11, 2001

Yikes...by the sounds of your adventures I hope a pleasant and peaceful evening for you and your wife Pete.

May tomorrow bring your new Kubota and a better week.

Not to put a damper on things,better check the weather station for mid week. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Have you heard from Derek?
I guess the poor guy catching up on his zzz's after all that plowing & sanding and wrecker calls.

Not much longer and it will be sugaring time and thats a true sign of spring...along w/ the frost heaves. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Rowski · Feb 11, 2001

Pete

I here you! Seems like last few years the thaws have become more agressive. I mean 45 dergrees with a strong southerly wind (which is what really melted most of the snow) 24 hrs later 5 below with 30 mph winds. I mean its just crazy! We got ice up the @ss, one drive way so steep with ice I had to coat it with an INCH of sand to get a fuel truck up! Hopefully the thought of the Bota (are NH guys allowed to call them that?) will keep your spirits a little higher. I always try to think that, it least it wasn't a hurricane, earth quake, forest fire. Hope that bridge isn't on the road out to town. I don't think mother nature is done quite yet.

I was trying to catch up reading on the forum. Hear you are going with Carver. I got a price from him on a Kubota. Just one e-mail, no phone talk, nothing. By the way he is the quickest business to respond to e-mails that I have seen. That price included delivered was basically 1k cheaper than the local Kubota dealer here. I didn't go with him because my NH was cheaper (NY dealer) and got some better financing. I was pretty disappointed in the Kubota dealers around here.

Derek

RobS · Feb 11, 2001

Pete, sounds like backhoe justification to me /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

No doubt that new tractor of yours is going to get a workout as soon as it's unloaded. Dont' forget to get a little sleep here and there after it arrives /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Boondox · Feb 11, 2001

Point taken, Bird, but it sure gives you an appreciation for the little things. I grew up in San Diego, and since the sky was pretty much always the same color (sort of a smoggy blue haze) I never bothered to look up. After we eloped, I moved back to Vermont with my bride. Took me about six months to notice the sky...and then it was like my world doubled in size in that instant! And on nights like this, with every shred of water vapor tied up in ice, I can see more stars than you can imagine!

I love the life I've found here. It's minus 8 degrees right now with our hill covered in ice-encrusted snow, and the Wife and I are pouring over seed and poultry catalogs. To sit here with all five dogs passed out in front of the woodstove, looking forward to this year's garden (and how to keep the chickens out of it!) even though we won't see the ground for another three months, gives my wife and I a gentle sort of joy that I can't describe.

Wouldn't trade my life for all the money in the world!

Pete

Bird · Feb 11, 2001

It does sound like a good life, Pete. I think I understand. And you say <font color=blue>pouring over seed and poultry catalogs</font color=blue>. I bought my seed last week with intentions of starting to plant yesterday, but then the light rain started and is in the forecast for 7 of the next 8 days./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif I put a new spark plug in the DR trimmer/mower, changed the air filter, etc. today. As soon as it gets dry enough, I've got to till and plant the garden and start mowing. And I'd like to have some chickens, but don't want to keep them cooped up, and otherwise they wouldn't last long here; either the coyotes or dogs would get them right away.

Bird

jimmoore · Feb 12, 2001

THOMAS, do you make your own "maple surple"?

jim

Thomas · Feb 12, 2001

jim,
Thats one farm chore I never did like for we used over a thousand buckets back than, /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif and I guess you know what kinda of work lays ahead each year.

Rather purchase the syrup at $30,oo a gallon.

Do you do any sugaring at all?

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Boondox · Feb 12, 2001

On the dogs getting the chickens...

Our hens have a fine, insulated coop with a view of the Worchester Range, but they are allowed to free range. Last year some idiot with a greyhound off leash ignored the livestock signs and her dog attacked the hens. Killed one right away, then went after the others. But our rooster, a big nasty Rhode Island Red, put himself between the dog and the flock. He actually attacked the dog and put several very large gashes in the animal before being pinned. Thought I'd lost that bird for sure, but then my five goldens heard the commotion and attacked the intruder. Very ugly, and the greyhound submitted right away so incurred no new injuries. But the damage done by that rooster was very impressive!

Coyotes seem to respect the sound of gunfire. Never shot one. Never had to. If I hear them in the distance I put one round in the berm of my pond and they all just slink away.

Pete