Winter Walk About

I started the day off with a list of things I wanted to get done. First on that list was cutting a tailgate type board for my little utility trailer. I wanted a board that would protect the tail lights as I pull it through light brush and that would keep the wood I cut from rolling out the back.

This was the only thing on my list I got done today and I didn't even really finish that because I need to get some u-bolts to attach it. While I was cutting the board it started snowing.

We only got about an inch to an inch and a half of the stuff but it was coming down hard enough for most of the morning and I didn't feel much like working in it. Not even the chickens wanted to go out in the stuff and they were a bit miffed I left the main barn door half opened too.

At one point a couple of them did brave the light snow cover after it had stopped only to get buzzed by an A-10 Thunderbolt II as it came in across the plain in a mock strafing run on the barn.

This happens about twice a year around here. There were actually two of them but one was sailing high above as the other made a run at the barn. I think the few brave hens thought they were being attacked by a super hawk or something because they fell all over themselves running and flapping back towards the barn in complete terror. I thought I had read that they had taken the old A-10's out of service but I guess not. Them birds got to be old as they were dated when I was in the army and that was over 25 years ago now.

I suspected one of the hens was laying up in the loft so I tried to sneak up there and catch her. She was finished and long gone by the time I got there but I did find her egg.

It was barely warm so she had been gone a few minutes anyway. I saw one fly up there so I suspected she was looking for a new spot. I will have to check up there more regularly now.

I headed down the field passed the equipment shed and looked in on the implements waiting for warmer weather do come out and get put to work once again. I got a pile waiting on the manure spreader but I am not in a big hurry.

We used to have two giant oaks on the place. Both had been here as long as anyone could remember and each were about as big around at the trunk as a small car is wide. We still have one standing.

This one still appears to be healthy but there is a crack in the base of the trunk and a hollow spot large enough I can almost squeeze into it.I have harvested about two pickup loads of firewood off this old girl from just dead branches she has dropped but eventually a high wind is going to take her over.

That's what happened to her sister a couple years ago and I been letting her lay and cure. She should be at about the perfect dryness now to start cutting her up before she starts to rot. Cutting up some of the dead trees in my woodlot was actually the second thing on my list for today but I didn't get to it. The plan is to start cutting tomorrow now after I run into town and buy some u-bolts. The ground should stay nice and frozen most of the day so I can get in and out with out too much fuss.

I then took a little side trip over to the pasture hives to make sure they at least were still there. The next nice warm day we get will be time to add some dry sugar to the tops once again as we are approaching the worst month for bee survival. March. If you can get the hives through March it's a pretty sure bet they will survive until next Winter.

These hives have a nice natural West wind break with all those Cedars and they are kinda down in a hole so they miss most of the winds out of the North as well. Only down side is they miss alot of Winter sun because of it but I bet they like it in the Summer too.

So today's post took 10 hours to update. Not sure what's going on but I am betting it has something to do with a corrupted database somewhere. Perhaps they will get it straightened out at some point maybe before I get so frustrated I just quit. Maybe. As I said I have lost alot of traffic over this little glitch. It wouldn't bother me so much if when it finally did update it showed the new post as new but no when it updates it shows it as the original time stamp so even when it updates it is an older post.

Friggin blogger.

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