Thursday, April 11, 2019

Wood Work and . . . S-n-o-w

No new post in a week since there hasn't been anything of real interest to report.

Our wood cutting for the month of April is going slow.  Many days of rain, not hard but often simply a misting, have made it unsafe to be on the wood pile with chainsaw and slippery boots.

Days when we feel we can, we've been hitting it though.  Papa Pea cuts and I pick up the pieces and haul them over to the splitting piles.  Lots of muscle power used by both of us.  I continually marvel that although my husband is a long tall guy, he isn't bothered by back trouble doing the work as are many others with his body type.

We did cut yesterday, but boy howdy, was it wet underfoot.  Unfortunately, the only place we have for the delivering logger to unload the 8' long logs is at the bottom of our land that slopes at a good angle downhill . . . or uphill, I suppose, from us standing in the wood working area. 

With all the melting snow combined with the rain, there's currently a little stream running right through where we work.  Slip-slosh, squish-squash . . . plus some mud but the wood chips created by the cutting help with that.  Not the worst situation, but the cut pieces of wood often roll right into the inches-deep water, and I'm constantly slopping through it back and forth picking up the wood to carry to the piles.  My boots keep out the water but my pants inevitably end up wet up about six inches from the splashing.

This is hard work for both of us, but good at the same time as it keeps our muscles strong and in good working order.  I have a strong back and legs  but find I feel the repetitive heavy lifting in my forearms.  You'd think the muscles there would be good and strong just from doing every day things, wouldn't you?

We're now forecast to have a late winter snowstorm with high winds beginning this afternoon/evening and going through the night.  Eight to 12" but we'll believe it when we see it.  I may take a picture of our bare ground today before any snow starts for comparison to what we actually get.

I think I'll run into town first thing this morning.  Papa Pea has a book in at the library, I have mail to take to the P.O., I'll be good and take a load to the Recycling Center and then make a stop at the Co-op.  (Organic ice cream is on sale!)

Then when (and if) the snow starts, I'll sit and do handwork while enjoying it.  Can't do anything about it if Mother Nature chooses to send a late, big bunch of the white stuff down upon us, so I'll just enjoy watching the beauty of it.  Then hope for warmish weather to make it all go away!

14 comments:

Michelle said...

Sounds like a good plan, and a good life up there in the north woods!

Goatldi said...

Good work and good rest. What flavor of ice cream did you bring home?

wisps of words said...

Wanted to ask you how you are!!!! With this "Cyclone Bomb" of a storm!!!! Certainly hope it does not make troubles, where you live.

Thank you for posting this A.M. We know you were fine, when you posted, and even going out.

But~~~ Please post again, when you get home!!!!! So we won;t worry.

Please.......

Gentle hugs...

wisps of words said...

I never fail to marvel, at all the physical labor, you two do, at your age. That's the "kicker"! You are not "youngin's". You certainly are amazing.

And you must do this labor, in the correct way. Or else, your bodies would have rebelled. There is a right way, to do everything, and you must know it and use it.

Good for you!

Mama Pea said...

Michelle - My only problem with the "good life" this time of year is remaining calm and sensible as to what we can actually get accomplished on any outside projects during our short, relatively benign spring/summer/fall season. Still having a few building projects and repairs (always) to do, it makes it hard to have a balanced life during this time. But we're tryin' to do so. Can't do the all work and no play and survive for long! ;o}

Goatldi - Good ol' VANILLA! You can do so much with it. Put on top of apple pie, mix it up with Creme de Menthe and Creme de Cacao for a soothing, wee bit of an alcoholic dessert! Yum.

wisps of words - Home from errands and a bit of wood work has been done already. Very high winds and errant snowflakes flying through the air, but no accumulation yet. Methinks this storm just may go south of us as so many storms seem to do. That would be fine (especially this time of year -- it's spring, for Pete's sake!) as our plow truck is at our mechanic's getting a couple of little repairs.

We've always done hard physical labor during our marriage and figure if we do remain sensible about it, we should be able to continue to do so. We've seen so many people reach a certain age when they say they are "old" and shouldn't be doing physical work anymore. If you don't use your muscles, it's a certainty they won't remain strong. Luckily, we have never had any physical limitations (mental, maybe!) that have kept us from keeping going as we do.

Athanasia said...

We started snowing here last night and we are probably sharing the same snowstorm. According to our weather report we could have snow through Sunday. We will see what we will see. We also have freezing rain mixed in.

We also get firewood out of our woods, but we have a woodsplitter to use. It's a trailer; its moves from relative to relative as needed.

Nancy In Boise said...

Bummer, too much rain here, and some flooding, stay warm!

Lynne said...

Using Wood for heat is darn hard work. That's all we had when I was growing up. My Dad would go out in the woods and cut the trees down and physically drag the trees back to his truck. He would start in August, sometimes earlier. He'd do the wood till just before Thanksgiving. It got a little easier when my brothers got older, so they could help him. You and Papa Pea be extra careful, especially in wet horrible weather! That ice cream sounds so good. Hope you don't get to much snow. We're having wet and cold. Certainly not spring time. Take care!

tpals said...

The storm started yesterday here; still going strong. Not a lot of snow for us but, oh, the ice! A mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet, hail, thunder, lightning, snow and lots of wind. You can imagine the power outages. Hooray for the wood stove.

Lisa said...

Such strange weather all 'round!!! But I like the way you think..... enjoy the beauty of the snow while doing a little handwork. Hard to think of snow here as we are having above average temps for our area. Bad part of that is that's it's triggered pollen and some of our pollen counts are overly high for this time of year.

Nancy In Boise said...

Watching the weather this morning with to feed & More of snow in Minnesota! Hope you guys are doing okay

Susan said...

I hope you were/are far enough north to miss the worst of it. Bomb Cyclone? We used to call it bad weather. Guess that doesn't bump up ratings. I always marvel at what a good team you two are. Keeping physically active will add years to your life. It also doesn't hurt to have a physically active, smart and funny daughter nearby. xo

Sam I Am...... said...

Yes, the mud season but now it will be covered with snow and then melt later and create more mud but then you will have a beautiful Spring and Summer! I bought some lentils and plan on making your lentil burgers this next week sometime...I can't wait to try them. I hope you enjoy your storm and your handwork with no loss of power.
I'm like you two...blessed with a strong back and strong legs and arms. I'm sure it stems from lifting and hauling all my life which is good for when you get old. Most people that have back problems it is because they let their back muscles get weak and that is what supports your spine. I'm not a doctor but I play one on t.v. I was lifting yesterday and and although I struggled it was good hard work and good for this old lady! LOL! My arm muscles are still strong. I don't have a lot of strength in my hands and the fingers sometimes lock up on me. I'm also heavier than I ever was before but I'll take it. I'm still in better shape than many I know who are my age or even younger. You go girl too! We are blessed!

Mama Pea said...

Athanasia - Oh, that freezing rain mixed in with the snow is the worst. I'm writing this Friday afternoon and we're still having on and off big flakes of snow coming down. Aren't wood splitters wonderful? Ours is mounted on two good sized tires so we could pull it down the road, but just use that feature to move it around our yard.

Nancy - Good grief, your area is having flooding, too? I think I'd rather shovel snow than have to deal with flooding. :o(

Lynne - We got a couple hours of wood working in yesterday before the snow began, but now we'll miss probably three days at lest because of the heavy, very wet snow.

tpals - The conditions you're having make it nearly impossible to not have power outages and treacherous conditions. Be so, so careful!

Lisa - It is a winter wonderland out there today because the snow is so wet and heavy and is still coming down intermittently. We don't have much of a pollen problem up here, but oh gosh, it must be miserable by you for those affected. How can you avoid it except to stay inside all the time?

Susan - You're such a good cheerleader for us. Now send muscle relaxant ointment quick. Just kidding. I feel more pooped today from being on my feet in the kitchen all day than when working outside. Taking advantage of not being able to wood work and making yogurt, double batch of Potato Soup, two different kinds of cookies for the freezer, etc.

Sam I Am - You know I admire the way you've organized and live your life. Your contentment and happiness flies right off the screen in your posts!