Monday, December 3, 2012

Getting a Jump on Spring

That's what it has pretty much come down to at this point. After cutting another full load of wood yesterday I finally decided to just stack it in reserve and empty the truck for other endeavors. Initially my Winter plans were to use the trailer for junk removal and the truck itself for wood cutting and any standing dead wood I cut will just be fed into the stove from the truck bed. By the end of each week I of course would have some large logs that need splitting to unload but by and large it would save on some labor and also keep weight in the truck in case of snow.

Of course reality is somewhat different. While the occasional warm day in the middle of Winter around here is not unheard of, I remember one New Years eve a few years back running around in shorts and t-shirt all day and most of the night, a stretch of more than a week is pretty rare at the least. Being Summer-like warm and bone dry is a condition I never remember having in December before but it opens up some possibilities.

For one the ground is perfect for tilling and other conditioning work. For another I can get the truck down to the loafing shed in the pasture and there is some wonderfully decayed manure in there that previously I normally couldn't get to easily. Since I am putting off the rest of the junk clearing until colder weather creeps back over I also am planning some wood chip runs this week. All of which I need an empty truck for so my non-stacking plans have been dashed this week.

Other bad side effects of this heat wave? For one the working girls are bored and robbing each other. It wouldn't surprise me to lose another hive if this keeps up. I noticed Jamestown, my largest and oldest colony, raiding my new nuc yesterday. I put the robber screen up but not sure if I caught the attack in time or not. The other downside is that the weeds and grass keeps growing. If things don't cool off soon I maybe out mowing in December. Something else I have never had to do before.

The forecast is predicting slightly cooler temps the rest of this week. Highs only in the mere 60's and lows in the 40's so still too warm for brush busting or 30 year old storage junk removal but I hope to have all the raised beds in and a new layer of wood chips completed by Friday.

Come April I will be glad for this little jump start that's for sure.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!



7 comments:

  1. In North Carolina its not that unusual to have to mow in December. A lot depends on what type of grass you have.

    Mostly this time of year I mow to get the leaves up. Dead leaves are one of my main composte sources.

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    1. Russ - While it is not uncommon to see a little bit of grass growth during Winter here we usually have a cold snap low enough to kill it back at least once a month. So far we haven't had one that cold to kill off the hardier weeds and grasses. So other than some over grown cutting I have never had to even consider mowing the regular lawn.

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  2. I am working on augering holes and putting in additional fencing this winter. The work never ends.

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    Replies
    1. Jane - No it never ends. I am no where near looking at the fences yet. I think that is coming maybe this next year.

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  3. it is 70 degrees and raining with thunder here in northeast mississippi...not good...it is supposed to be at least in the 40's and 50's as highs during the day. not worth it to clean up the garden until we start seeing some more cold weather coming.

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  4. The warm doesn't bother me but the dry sure does. Would love some days of rain. Grass seed is just lying there begging for a drench or two. Last week was fire warning time.

    My Zone 7 flora isn't liking our weather. Need lots more semi-arid stuff.

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  5. Sorry for the late reply on this but I didn't know how else to get this to you. I thought you might find this interesting since you keep bees...
    http://www.lighthousesurvival.com/Library-Beekeeping_ep_112-1.html
    Lighthouse has compiled an AMAZING, and free (with no gimmicks) prepper library. This url is for beekeeping but they bhave many topics.

    ReplyDelete

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