Friday, 12/26/14

Clouds returned.  Overcast all day.  Increasingly damp as the day progressed.  Periods of light mist off and on during the afternoon.  Light drizzle during the evening.  Gusty south wind most of the day, but it backed off to moderate during the evening.

South wind is producing higher temperatures as well as increased moisture.  Temperature steadily increased all day, including during the evening.  High for the day was 51°F/10°C at midnight.

Cut, loaded, brought home, unloaded and stacked a small load of firewood.

I often harvest firewood from fallen trees, but I do not think there is any usable firewood in this tree.  I'll leave it for the bugs and fungi.

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Friday, 12/26/14

Christmas Day 2014

Today was the first day we've enjoyed significant sunshine in about a week.  Clear in the early AM, but clouds slowly moved back in as the day progressed.

Jo washed a load of clothes and was able to get them dried out on the clothesline in the sunshine.  Underwear you can hang on racks around the wood stove.  Sheets and towels are not so easily dried indoors.

Pines along our road out.

I think this cloud formation is called a mackerel or buttermilk sky, but I'm not certain.

Down near the house, a seep runs across the road, causing that section to stay wet and muddy all winter.

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Christmas Day 2014

Saturday, 12/13/14

After several days of typical winter gloom, overcast and fog, we enjoyed a few hours of mostly clear sky this afternoon -- a most pleasant surprise not in our forecast.




Unfortunately, the blue sky did not stick around for long.  By the time Jo and I took our afternoon walk at four o'clock, overcast and fog had returned.

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Saturday, 12/13/14

Water Lines and Fence Post Augers Don't Mix

On Tuesday our neighbor decided to start fencing the land he cleared last fall, including a small section of woods beyond the clearing.  He and a couple of hired helpers were setting the pairs of large black locust corner and gate posts.  Although he knows our water line runs right along the road, he didn't bother to call the water district and have them mark the exact location of the line.  When drilling the hole for the companion of the post shown above, he put his fence post auger through our water line.


Being out of water for a few hours while the line was repaired was no big deal.  As a matter of fact, neither Jo nor I even realized we had no water until the water district employee who repaired the line came down to our place to flush it out.  The muddy mess made of our road out is more troublesome.  The depression to the left of the fence post shown above is where the repairman used a backhoe to dig a large hole so he could access the damaged line.  The hole extended about a quarter of the way across our road.  Because we've received a lot of rain recently, the ground is saturated.  The hole was back filled with mud.  Until it dries in a month or so, the back fill is about as firm as quicksand.  Jello would do a better job of supporting a vehicle.

The last thing this section of saturated red clay needed was a lot of traffic which included heavy equipment. 

The water in the road has nothing to do with the water line break.  It is runoff from the hill above the road. 


Jo and I need to leave for an art fair on Friday.  I hope we can make it out.

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Water Lines and Fence Post Augers Don't Mix