Well, it has actually been two weeks but who is counting? And what a difference two weeks made, it went from sunny and 60 to snow and lows in the single digits.
This picture was taken about a week ago showing a beautiful sunrise in the hills. A week later the landscape is covered in snow.
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| 12 deer, 6 turkeys and a Junco |
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| 24 turkeys! |
With the snow cover the local wildlife showed up in droves to take advantage of the alfalfa and seed we had put out for them. Thankfully TBO did not show up to taunt me. Although I still have my archery tag, I put everything away for the season. Not too far away just in case he does show up!
When the weather has been nice, we have been working outside, when it is cold, we work inside. The outside work consisted of getting a scratch coat on the north and west sides of the house. We are going to put stone on the lower part of the house, so I needed to put a scratch coat on to give the stone something to adhere to. It is not just as easy as putting it up though. First I needed to put up some J trim then, a moisture barrier....
Putting up J Trim Moisture Barrier
Next comes the lath that the scratch coat adheres to and then FINALLY the scratch coat! The weather has to be at least in the 40's for 24 hours so I took advantage of what might be my last opportunity for the year.
Lathe Scratch Coat!
The upside is that I have 20 or so feet done, the downside is that I have over 100' left!
Next up was some wood splitting. It is inevitable, winter is coming so I need to get some wood in that storage area. Earlier this fall when we were in Michigan Kevin called me and the call went something like this.... Kevin: "We got a log splitter!" Me: ""We" as in you and Cheryl, or "we" as in you and me?" Kevin: "You and me!" Me: "How much to I owe you?" And that is how I became part owner in a new log splitter!
I got one wagon load in there and have about 5-6 loads left before it gets full.
I did get over to Kevin's to help him roof a hay shed/animal shelter he is building. He was shingling and I was hauling packs and handing him shingles.
His friend Earl was there too and we looked up one time and saw 4 extra horses in the driveway... on the wrong side of the fence! So we wrangled them up and walked them 1 1/2 miles down the road to the owners. But when we got there their horses were already in the pasture. Well, whose horses were these? Ends up they belonged to a neighbor a mile in the other direction from Kevin's so we walked the 1 1/2 miles back to Kevins, then another mile to where the horses belonged!
Barb for her part has been busy in the house as well. She painted the bathroom. I was in there a good 30 seconds before I even noticed! She has also been rather crafty when she used the feathers off of a couple of pheasants I shot earlier in the year to decorate some bulbs for the tree!
I promised a couple pictures of the dogs in this post as the last two did not have any. But they were not too active as poor Zoey is on bed rest. She got spayed this past week and has not been quite herself. The first couple of days after surgery she just kind of moped around and rested. Dakota was very curious when she returned from the vet and paid special attention to her....
But after a couple of days, she was back to her normal self and running through the snow!
With less than 2 weeks until Christmas, I need to get busy and get buying gifts for Barb! Any ideas? I have no clue what to buy the woman who has everything she could ever want sitting right next to her on the couch!
When you get the BIG ONE in sights, hand the bow to her and say, "It's all your honey..."
ReplyDeleteWhat?!?! Now you are just talking crazy!
DeleteDoes Barb need spotting scope?
ReplyDeleteHB
See, those are the kind of ideas I need! She has a pretty good spotting scope, but I like the way you think!
DeleteI’m pretty sure that Barb needs a new Class C motorhome.
ReplyDeleteAnd here I thought you were my friend. We agreed on a spending limit this year for Christmas. Perhaps I could get her a little Matchbox Class C!
DeleteA log-splitter, woo-hoo. Barb did a beautiful job with the feather ornaments - they look fantastic! The pups look so sweet together. Your efforts with all your house projects are really paying off.
ReplyDeleteThe ornaments were a little more tedious and time consuming than she first thought but I think they are worth the effort!
DeleteHow fun to see the snow, the house, and the babies...Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you and Red as well! Maybe if you are lucky, you guys will see some snow somewhere down there this year as well!
DeleteI'm with Dave ... best present you could come up with. TBO. Nice turkeys too. You live in paradise!!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, what is in the water down there?!?!
DeleteThat’s quite the game farm you guys got going there! Barb has so many talents. Log splitters are awesome. I chopped by hand for 12 years before finally renting one and getting a winters worth chopped in a day. Merry Christmas and all the best in 2022!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was working, I used to chop by hand as a stress reliever after a hard day. Now that I am not working, I am getting fat and lazy and doing it with a machine!
DeleteLove the Christmas ball with the feathers. Beautiful job, Barb!! You have quite the wildlife zoo going on there in SD. How sweet of Dakota to let Zoey snuggling while she was under the weather. Cute photos. Good luck finding Barb something YOU want for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteZoey was doing well but then she overdid it yesterday and was not feeling well the rest of the day. The vet said she should take it easy for 10 days or so but apparently, she did not listen.
DeleteJust when I think you are near the end of working on your house, you add new stuff to get done. Everything is looking great. I did not know Barb was so handy.
ReplyDeleteThat she is! We are slowly checking things off our list, and it is getting shorter and shorter!
DeleteThe thing I have found out about log splitters is that they are just as much work as splitting by hand, but you get much more done. Love the wildlife pictures.
ReplyDeleteSplit another wagon load today, it about an hour, would have taken me all day by hand! Minus the wear and tear on my joints of course...
DeleteBeautiful job on the Christmas ornaments, Barb! Don't think it is much fun working outside now putting that scratch coat on, but working on the log splitter should be a satisfying thing to do, or at least seeing the finished pile. As always, how can the photos of Zoey and Dakota not be cute cuddled together. You got quite the menagerie outside your door, nice to watch!
ReplyDeleteThe last two days were in the mid 40's, not too bad for mid-December! I will take that anytime...
DeleteLove the photos of the puppies snuggling! A log splitter kind of sounds like a necessity up there, given how much you'll use across the winter. Love the feather ornament. So pretty!
ReplyDeleteThe pups are inseparable. Well, at least Zoey from Dakota. Dakota will move from bed to bed trying to get away from Zoey but Zoey just follows her around until Dakota just gives up.
DeletePoor Zoey, not a fun few days. Lucky she had a big sister to lean on for support. Barb is being very creative, those ornaments would make great xmas gifts.
ReplyDeleteContessa. I hope that my comments are coming through.
Zoey is feeling much better although she has been extra clingy the past couple of days. Looks like you finally have some good internet as I got multiple comments from you today. Good to hear from you!
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