Winter Storm

Yesterday's storm for us wasn't as bad as it was in other places. We got about 4 or 5 inches of snow with a layer of sleet to top it off.

The birds were very active at the feeders despite getting pelleted by snow and sleet.

We had Gold Finches, Juncos, Sparrows, and Downy Woodpeckers visit.

Charlie and I took two walks to go out and explore the storm. In late afternoon, the township plow came through and cleared the road. Even though the winds were howling from the north, we were able to walk along the forest edge and stay protected.

I didn't envy the plow driver. Our township has over 70 miles of gravel roads to plow and care for. I can't imagine how difficult that job is. It was pretty funny as Charlie sat in the field and watched the truck do our dead end road.

Charlie, the Road Commissioner!

IF you are really bored during a snowstorm, you can look up your state's 511 site and click on cameras to watch traffic or snow plows. 

Oh that is where my package is! Delayed! 

I spoke with Olive yesterday evening. She said going to collect eggs at her place on the ridge was like an Artic Expedition with the fierce winds and blowing snow.

Down here we stayed pretty cozy but could hear the winds howling on the ridge above us. 

By late afternoon the freezing rain was getting with the program and I decided to get out one of my deer skulls and begin prepping it for a paint project. Seems that I am always getting assistance from some of my Little People friends.

By morning I was pleased to see my hired 'crew' working.

The heater saga continues and we've gone 4 days with two Space Heaters keeping us warm. 608 Dan did give us a call to let us know he ordered the blower motor for the fan. He sent us an quote for the Mini Splits also.

Rich was still a bit on the fence regarding that so Olive and Nathan asked if we'd come up for supper one evening and they could show Rich how a Mini Split works and what they think about it in their home.

This is turning out to be a rather expensive February for us, however that is the way things go.

At least we never lost power and we still have a warm house. 

Well now

Let's talk about the weather! It is in all the news.

Wild Wicked Winter Weather.

What a perfect time to be without a heater! 

We saw Dan from a company called 608 Plumbing [&heating]. He said he could get a motor to fix the intake fan and inspected the heater. He says it is in excellent shape and it is too bad we got a bum fan motor. 

He presented us with another idea. I'd never heard of a Mini Split before. I knew about Heat Pumps from years ago when my mom and dad built their retirement home and had one purchased for their house. At that time I think it was brand new technology. They had a heat pump and a furnace for those very frigid winters. 

A Mini Split would probably save us gobs of Money over using our old window air conditioner that only fits upstairs in a room we don't use. We use fans on the stairs to blow cool air down on hot days. It has worked for years for us, but I've never felt it was very efficient.

However, the Mini Split would cool down the house where we actually live! And until it gets extremely cold, it would heat us too for far less than what we are paying for now.

A huge draw back is the price. However, I'm looking at rebates, efficiency, and tax credits [I am aware of the limitations on all of these--but hey, it is a selling point]. Plus this company will maintain the system. 

608 Dan looked the house over and then made said this:

"Here is what I want to do for you Rich, I want to make you comfortable in the winter AND the summer and save you money in the long run. How's that sound?"

I laughed and replied, "That is a pretty good sales pitch. Make the man of the house comfy and worry free!"

So what about the weather? It is happening all right.

A good day to make soup and cut up my fruit for snacking.

Yum! Fresh fruit on a gloomy wintery day. Turkey soup with dried wild mushrooms along with dehydrated veggies and carrots.

The space heater is actually keeping the house nice and warm.

The snow this morning was ferocious. The winds on the ridge were wicked and several times we had some blowing snow down in our hollow. Charlie and I went to get the mail. He loves snowstorms! 
As long as the snow isn't too deep for him to bound out of.

This afternoon, it has alternated between snow, sleet, and rain.

The mules have been alternating between eating at the feeders ...

and standing way down in the woods with their mule butts to the winds....

The birds have been busy at the feeders and have been taking turns sitting in the pine tree or the hickory tree.

On the ridge, it looks like this.

Our dead end road:

I'm hoping the ice/sleet/rain that is falling doesn't cause us to lose power. 

Weather, Birds, and the Bionic Eyes

 

The big storm is hitting our area. We are experiencing a slew of rain and sleet mixed in together. The winds on the ridge according to my neighbor sounds like heavy machinery sitting outside their house.

Yesterday we had a regular feeding Frenzy at the bird feeders. It was nuts!
I made a short 20 second video with a program called ClipChamp, but since I am not experienced at these things, it isn't very great. I also hate that Windows Movie Maker is no longer free and requires a subscription.

However, you can see the birds as they came and basically chased each other around.

The Downy or Hairy Woodpecker was NOT fazed by the intimidating female blackbird that swooped in and landed on the feeder!

The Titmouse flew in and ran off the Nuthatch...

While I was waiting for my 4th eye appointment this year...due to changes in vision, I took a lot of shots out the window. I use the ProCapture mode which cycles photos in the memory but won't save them until you press the button down. Then it takes up to 10 shots pre push and up to 10 shots when you push the shutter.

That is how I got these action shots. I am not quick enough otherwise to get them.

The Eye Appointment.

The tech tested my vision. She asked me: What brings you in today?
My answer in a bullet list form:
Cannot see anything in the distance beyond 10 feet unless it is blurry.
Up close is okay.
Light causes me to squint.
Halos around lights.
Headaches from eyestrain.
No Medication List.
No Change in Health.
Need sunglasses on dark days to dim the snow.

She did the vision test and kept asking...1 or 2? 3 or 4? 

I said none of the above.
She finished her exam and set me in a little waiting room.

Pretty soon the young and handsome Dr. Williamson came to get me [Yeah, he is young, handsome, and married. Gosh, give an old lady a break, right?]

Damn! He asked how my KVR Trail Challenge went! How could he recall that? We did some small talk about photography and after about 10 minutes we got down to it. [Guys! I must live in a very doctor friendly area. The doctors here actually take an interest in YOU!]

My vision has deteriorated in my right eye a lot [I had Strabismus surgery in 1961 -- that surgery will cause cataracts to develop more rapidly. And that eye always sucked anyway]. Doc said he couldn't fix it with a new prescription.

He also said he could only improve it slightly in the left eye...so... it was time to consider the next step.

Surgery. Cataract Surgery. It is a rather Routine Surgery, however with any surgery, things can go sideways.

He explained in detail how they do the surgery. Replacing the cloudy lens -- much like a cloudy lens on an old headlight. He said I should see colors much better.

Then he talked about new technology. Did you know that there is an option for an intra ocular lens replacement that can 'fix' astigmatism? 

I could be a candidate for a Multifocal/Extended Depth of Focus Lens placement in each eye.

Could be.
That means for a pretty hefty price, I could essentially toss my glasses for most of the rest of my life.

It would be like them surgically putting my glasses as replacement to the clouded cataract lenses.

Yeah. I asked him for bionic eyes and he laughed. "We are not quite there yet!"

I talked this over with Rich regarding the expense. Rich and I checked our finances and if I qualify, I am going for the lenses.

I am the CareGiver and the driver and the everything doer here on the farm. 

Basically I want to see, I am a very visual person as you may have guessed.

Here is another surprise. I will see the surgeon in 4 weeks and they  can do the procedure in our little town at the local hospital.

Just wicked weather

Wednesday was neat we had a snowstorm of sorts and I spent the day just cleaning the house and rearranging things. I don't have a big house so it didn't take all day.
Charlie and I took a small walk around the pastures early and to the creek just to look around. I am always amazed by how green it is in the creek bottom.

Note that Charlie is wearing his 'beeper' collar. He is an avid rabbit hunter

and a demon on squirrels and deer tracks. Well,

he thinks he is. He does still once in a while

catch a luscious scent and take off on the

run.

However one beep distracts him and he races back to 

me.

Thursday was quiet also.

I prepped the lasagna and then started thinking about redecorating for Christmas. I gathered my sticks together and did some experiments with glue and Epsom salts.

Epsom salt and glue on 

a grape vine twist.

Dried Espom salt on a branch.

The real deal. Ice on branches in the woods!

It was messy, but it kept me occupied.

Yesterday morning after chores I decided to take Charlie up the road for a walk and to gather the mail. I dressed in orange and that awful safety green/yellow vest I have. I was staying on the road and I didn't expect the city boy hunters to be out as early as I was.

Charlie on rabbit track. 

He is zoned in.

My neighbor's field corn.

It has not been a good year for 

farmers.

The weather has been relentless. I had to move Little Richard from his pen to a stall inside as there was not a dry spot in his paddock to be had. He was standing with two hooves crowded into a large feed pan when I went to get him.

Make no doubt about it. He is loving the accommodations.

The photo above is the view from the porch. Rain/snow/sleet/freezing rain, and then rinse and repeat. The mules have done well as they have places that are in the woods out of the wind and where the ground is solid.

I have been taking their hay to the round bale feeders to keep them from stomping it into the ground.

Normally I would be out in this weather, but I've seen a few hunters across the way and have heard shooting even in this crap weather. 

I decided to spend the rest of the day deciding how to decorate.

This year there is no tree. This year there is no Christmas Chair. I've decided to see what I can come up with that is not the same as what has been done before.

Out came the old wood boxes, the little nesting box, toys...stuffed toys, beads, fairy lights...and ribbons. 

I needed to occupy myself on such a dreary ugly day. Charlie supervised when he wasn't napping.

Stay tuned for my crazy new ideas for decorating. As always, it is a constant work in progress.

Wicked Wicked Weather

And it is not letting up!

The winds are howling and roaring above the house in the trees making hollow resounding noises above me. I can see a birch tree across the way in the meadow swaying hard. I imagine if the trees had been full of leaves many of them would be losing branches.

Yesterday it started with thunderstorms, lightening, and 3 rounds of hail.

The mules headed for the woods after the hail started...

Before 10 am yesterday, about 2 inches of hard rain fell. There was too much lightening to walk down to the creek and watch the water rage down the bottoms.

I could see the water rushing down the side of the driveway.

It let up in the middle of the day. There was enough time to get Charlie out for a quick walk in the sodden grass before the winds and more thunderstorms came marching across the land.

All night the winds howled and rain/sleet sliced sideways in the east winds.

I woke up periodically to listen to the roaring noises above us and wondered what it would be like to listen to it on the ridges. Or for that matter, to be in it on the ridges.
Wind gusts are being recorded at 37 to 51 mph. Sustained winds at 22.

It wasn't quite so bad when I did chores this morning. No one looked cold, all the animals had plenty of hay to eat and could get out of the worst of the weather. Some of the Dexter cattle were laying in the fodder bale pile chewing their cud as if they didn't have a worry in the world.

I decided to do some Still Life photography. The light coming in through the south windows was very subdued yet it would work if I used a white sheet to shoot against.

Our photography group is working on Lines and Shadows this week. I stood a vase of 'sea glass' that I'd collected with my Kenosha Gang folks on an old night stand. I tossed an old white sheet on it and used a chair to hold up the fabric behind the vase.

Of course that wasn't the only shot. If I set up for one shot, I generally do more.

Paint time:

I dug out the brushes two days ago with the intent of painting an old small vanity that we took out during remodeling two years ago. I desperately needed a piece of open backed furniture to put the WiFi and phone hook ups in. I took the old vanity and cleaned it up. 

When the weather breaks I will paint it and add something inside it for storage, but for now the ugly electronics are no longer sitting on the floor.

It is a bit tacky looking. But it will work for now until I can what I want for that corner to keep everything organized. I would paint it now, but Charlie is a bit too willing to help on these projects.

So until I can do it outside, I guess it will be in the corner hiding all those luscious looking cords from Charlie's teeth.

It actually helps organize a few things for right now until I get the trim on the wood in the eating area. It holds the phone, the calendar...and ... 

well here it is...

What I have in mind though is another thing entirely!

Something like ... this....

So I got out my old cracked cup and saucer and messed around some with the sea glass.

I took a few shots and tried a few things.

Oh ... How did this happen? Somehow I never feel like I've done justice to Still Life unless I put something odd into the photo.

Star Wars Figurine/Sugar/Coffee Cup/Spoon

Soldiers and Ponies

Okay, they really don't go together at all! But over the years, I've accumulated some odd things from the children I know.

Creepy Baby and Friends

I think I'm going to grab a few more things from my 'toy' basket and see what I can do to brighten this wicked dreary day.

And let the wicked weather do as it wishes outside.

Snow!

Our first snow storm this year was a doozy.

First we had a nice dose of sleet and freezing rain along with winds.

Then came the snow/sleet.  At times it was blowing sideways.

It made the trees creak and moan.  It made me a bit nervous.
I helped hubby get the rest of the ice piks on his skid steer tracks and clean off some of the frozen mud.

The first order of business was to make sure everyone had lots of access to hay and heated water.  Mustang Sally and Crickett chose to stand and watch me unwrap a large round bale.
They could have gotten out of the winds but thought I was more interesting.

Then, after all animals were checked and tended too, my super Hero Hubby started to plow.

I walked up to the top of the ridge to get the mail and check on road conditions....

Not very great and the visibility was awful.  I'm glad I had my snow goggles on.

And then came the super hero with the skid steer!

I cannot say how grateful I am to have such a wonderful guy in my life!  Well, okay I am grateful to have a husband who loves to plow the driveway.  He even does it in the worst of weather.

Which it was at the time.  After we finished with chores and had BBQ for supper we sat quietly together in the living room and listened to the winds howl above us on the ridge.  The snow came down and the sleet pounded the house.

But we were content and tired.

And that was our first real snow of the season.