Sunday, January 26, 2014

A Very Full Day





Had to hit the ground running hard this morning so no Sunday Reading post just a quick update. This was the Sunset I got to view on the way home this evening. The picture doesn't do it a bit of justice either. It was just spectacular. Usually one has to go further North into the really open agricultural area of Missouri to see this much sky unless you happen to live on a plateau area and even then it's almost impossible to see it without those damned electric wires ruining the view. This Sunset was so colorful you almost don't even notice the wires or unsightly poles.

As soon as it warmed up enough this morning I was out feeding bees. So far all remaining 10 hives are alive and only about half of them appeared to have been using the sugar I placed inside for them. Another month and a half to maybe two months of nail biting at most and the final verdict will be in for them. If we are lucky we will get a week or more of False Spring in February, which has been quite common lately, and if so then it's a good bet the remaining hives will make it.

After feeding the girls I loaded up the log splitter and headed for the woods. I also promptly forgot the camera as usual which is too bad because there were some pictures around the area I was working in today I wanted to take. As it turns out I split a full load and still have at least another 3/4's or so of a load left there although I am thinking the last five or so chunks are going to wait until next year to get split.

By the time I got down to the last few chunks I was noticing a lot of water being squeezed out when I was splitting them. Even though that tree has been standing dead for a few years I am guessing the bottom part of the trunk is just too wet to burn properly yet. It also was almost impossible to split. The outter section was breaking away from the heartwood with the log splitter and when I tried busting it in half by hand the last few chunks simply laughed at the wedge almost like a chunk of concrete would.

Finally I just lined em up and left the last few sections out to dry a bit more. I may go try them again later this season but I may also leave it so I have a nice load of Oak to split for next year.




By the time I got home with a full truckload of split stuff it was almost too dark to take a picture. You can see that beautiful sunset reflecting off the back window in the this picture.

My burn racks are about 3/4's full and I have an over flowing truck load of Oak ready to burn. Right now the temp outside is reading 53 degrees well after the sun has went down and they are saying to expect it to be down to 5 degrees by 7AM.

It's hard to believe after a day this nice but the Small-Hold is ready although getting a bed of coals going in the wood furnace has pushed the inside temp up to about 80.

Looks like it is going to be another few days of 2 hour sleep shifts.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!


19 comments:

  1. That's one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing that one.

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    1. RP - No prob. We get a lot of nice sunsets here it seems.

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  2. That is a nice photo, I see nice sunrises but haven't seen a really good sunset in a while. It sure was nice to get a warm day, I finally got the ice busted out of the water troughs. I will be glad to see January over with.

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    1. Sf - We do not get pretty sunrises at all. I think it is because most of the time the cesspool known as St.Louis or it's close suburbs is actually between us and the sunrise. It is about 120 miles away but I think the air pollution in that direction makes a difference. Now the sunsets why the nearest city in that direction I bet is either Witchita or Oklahoma city maybe. It would lie between KC and Joplin on the Mo Western border.

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  3. Great photo, Buckle up its going to be a wild ride. Just like riding the Mountains at Disney (Space, Big Thunder, Splash,and Everest. Plus Rocking Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror too.)

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    1. Rob - About 8PM this evening the first wind hit us and it was strong. I am betting at least 50 mph and the temp dropped like a rock. It was still 53 degrees then and now two hours later it is 23 degrees.

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  4. Kinda wish we were neighbors...I'd like spending a day out with you. I even have a log splitter too. 'Course, its electric.

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    1. Stephen - I have almost bought one of those electric splitters a couple of times. I think they say 6 ton on them but that would be enough for alot of the stuff I split. My dad shakes his head everytime he sees me about to jump.

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  5. Thanks for the update and the picture. Glad the girls seem to be doing well. We'll pray for you.

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  6. I had to wait a few minutes for the pictures to load (grandchildren used almost all my bandwidth) Both are awesome but I like the reflection in the trucks back window the best. Glad the girls are well. I'm afraid for mine...not use to all this cold!

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    1. MB - Oh I bet they are fine. They know what to do and I am sure that even with the few cold days there is still stuff for them to forage on down there. The real fear is them starving and I doubt you would have that problem.

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  7. Unlike you, I did nothing constructive today. I went to the lake and walked. One decent day and then this same dreadful weather moving in for at least three days. By my calculations I have spent $300 on propane in the last 14 days. I usually get by the whole winter and have a good surplus left over through the summer on less than I have already used. But I know this, after gimping around all day here like a cripple because I spent exactly one hour yesterday in the cold on my hands and knees working on those pipes, I couldn't do what you did today. Not by myself, anyway.

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    1. Harry the second day of the water test I think I used half a tube of muscle rub and quite few doses of aspirin.

      If you haven't put the muscle rub on your list. I would add it. It helps a lot with those aches and pains.

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    2. I would bet I have spent maybe 200 bucks on gas for all the loads I have done. Not a drop on propane this year but maybe another 12 bucks in diesel for the really cold times when I run that emergency heater int he basement for a few minutes. Of course I have the time now so it pays for itself if I was working it would be a different story.

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  8. Great picture.

    I will never understand why you don't have 10 cords under cover and on standby at all times.

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    1. Anon - Well I usually start Fall with 4 cords ready to burn. That will typically get me by until the end of January. After that I prefer to rely on standing dead trees instead of split, cut and stacked stuff for a couple of reasons.

      1. Have you ever attempted to cut wood in Missouri woods anytime between April and October? NOT FUN. It actually requires about three times the amount of work per log I estimate. I do cut some year round but most of the heavy stuff is done after deer season each Winter up until the first of April.

      2. About all my neighbors burn wood. I can go find prolly 50 stockpiles of wood within a 5 mile radius right now and I have never seen any human with 10 cords stockpiled around here. I have seen some places further North with a lot of fir and pine stacked about that much but never 10 cords of Missouri hardwood.

      Loading, cutting, splitting, hauling, etc I would estimate it would take well over 400 hours around here to stock pile 10 cords of wood. That would be above and beyond the time to keep up in Winter or double that if you tried it in Summer.

      The only way that would be possible would be to not plant or grow the bees for a year.

      In my opinion anyway.

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  9. awesome sunset pic, and nice haul of wood. Thinking of log splitters, I saw an epsiode of "hillbilly blood" on destanation channel, that they took an old tire rim, made a screw type splitter, and mounted it to the tire rim, then put it on the back wheel of a truck, thus making a redneck tire splitter... There are actually a couple of you tube videos out there about it.

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  10. PP,

    Yes, we are in for sleepless nights again. Brrr.......the cold is blowing in. It sure looks like you're prepared with all the wood. I'm so happy to hear 10 of your hives are doing well.
    Great picture of the sunset!! I know being in person watching that sunset was just amazing.

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