Mud Season

   Apparently March=Mud in this neck of the woods. We can concur. The temps have risen quite nicely and unseasonal heavy rains (2 inches in a 24-hour period) melted layers of snow and ice which the still-frozen ground cannot handle as of yet. The result is rivers of water and debris flowing over top and under the ice eroding away sections of our driveway, not to mention other drives and roads in the area. Last year we saw the effects of heavy rainfall in the way of flooding, but heavy rain on frozen  ground is another matter altogether. It really does pay to see what effect the four seasons have on your property before building.

   “Mud Season” also means spring has arrived. I am only too happy to feel the warmth of a 53 degree day, like yesterday, and see the return of the glorious mountain bluebird, hopping robin, grey jay, and the song they bring with them to the forest! I also look forward to a bit more indoor space since the dogs will be able to spend more time outside (which they yearn for too), as well as the opportunity to comfortably spend more time out-of-doors ourselves. The walls of a travel trailer feel much more confining after winter!

   Spring also means baby animals… everywhere! Our ranch welcomed the year’s first American Milking Devon calf (a heifer) two weeks ago and a litter of English Shepherd puppies one week ago. Last Monday the chicks that will comprise our laying flock arrived.

   Then there is the building of our cabin. Such excitement! We’re gearing up!

Nifty Item!

  I thought I’d post occasionally about items that I find helpful in either an off-grid or small space setting. No, I don’t receive any monies for mentioning these products!

  Here is a really nifty set of three stack-able cooling racks. They are stainless steel, which I always prefer, quite stable while stacked 3-high and loaded with chocolate chip cookies, and the feet fold for small space storage in their box. The fact that they stack gives you 3 times the amount of cooling space in the same small footprint on the counter! In the photo you can see why space is such an issue for me right now. There you can see all but the stove of my entire kitchen. Itty bitty, eh! Not to mention not much storage space either. This cooling rack set suits us wonderfully!

Like No Other Spring

  The spring of 2012 promises to be one the likes of which we’ve never experienced. We have baby bunnies, chicks on the way, calves due (literally any day!), a soon-to-be milk cow, and a litter of puppies. We are over the moon with excitement! And then, as soon as the ground is workable we plot/plant the vegetable/herb garden, build a root cellar, and start construction on the cabin. There are those butterflies in my stomach again! Until then, we will be quite busy with baby animals.    ;)

Mild Weather

  

  The winter, and 2012, is officially upon us. In our area winter begins around the end of October with temperatures in the teens at night and the thirties during the day. Yet, it’s been surprisingly mild. It began like gangbusters the first part of November with 10 or so inches of snow in November and high temps in the mid 20’s. Then in December, and even this month already, we experienced a couple days in the 40’s (at night barely below freezing), which melted much of the snow, except of course the snow in the trees like where our trailer is parked. Even pouring rain and a couple nights we were too warm for sleeping comfortably! The freeze at night however turned the now slush into a sheet of ice, everywhere. Thankfully it then snowed enough to get traction with both boots and tires. So staying warm in a t.t. hasn’t been too difficult thus far.

  The straw bales help enormously! Even on the lowest morning of 5 degrees. Although that morning the water lines to the kitchen sink did freeze because they run right under the front door and we didn’t have a bale there. Tom remedied that immediately. And the valves to dump the tanks froze up so Tom wrapped them with heat tape. Problem solved. A 7-8 gallon tank of propane lasts about 1-1/2 weeks, that’s with all of our cooking, baking, and hot water usage. Not bad, eh. If need be we have a portable camp wood stove we could set up for cooking, etc. out of doors.

  We sure miss wood heat, though. That’s OK; it just keeps us looking forward to when we’re in our snug little cabin home relying on good ole Stanley for all such needs.    ;)    There sure has been some gorgeous hoarfrost, though (in the photo).

  The new pup, Liam, is doing wonderfully! He is going to be such a good dog. The cattle are well; the cat is good; our dog Greer is great. In short, we're all just fine! Hope you are, too!

   

Stage One

   The first stage of winterizing the travel trailer is completed, that of stacking straw bales around it for insulation. It took 70 bales! The difference it made immediately was amazing. We can already maintain a comfortable 67-69 degrees F with mostly the oil electric heater, only using the propane furnace when we need to kick it up if very cold outside, as in less than 25 degrees. 

   The next and final stage is building a room on the side of the trailer to house the wood stove and give us a bit more room. That will be especially nice during winter when we spend more time inside due to less sunlight and cold weather. It will make a much better area for wet dogs to dry off, contain wet boots and coats, as well. It’s getting pretty dicey dodging four pairs of boots, a water hose (to keep it from freezing outside), two dogs, a cat, and cold damp coats hanging from cupboard doors!

Four Days Later

   And four days later, one of the same views only with snow!

Pretty Fall Colors

  Here are a couple shots showing the beautiful golden tamarack trees on the mountainsides. It is simply gorgeous here in autumn!