I've got multiple blog post drafts going, each one of them an exciting tale of naval service back in the day when ships were steel and the sailors were firetrucking neutronium, baby!
I'm making progress, but real world life type events keep happening, making me too busy to sit around and blog serious stuff.
I'll keep banging away as writing opportunities pop briefly into and out of existence.
Today it's digging out. There are places out at the farm where Mom has to go, and part of the job is keeping her pathways as safe and non-slip/fall as humanly possible. So a good bit of ice chopping and scooping. Which is actually fantastic because it provides a brilliant and tough total-body physical workout.
Sometimes people wonder why I started working out at my advanced age and this real-life physical toil is a big part of the answer. I was slipping in strength and endurance. I'm not 30 anymore, but because I've taken and made the effort I am more than fit enough to do chores, and even more than fit enough to walk out from a stuck vehicle through several miles of deep snow. The walking through deep snow is a bonus, because it's hard work and hard work is good for the soul, the mind, the ticker, and the entire body in general. So embracing the suck of winter is a good thing in many, many ways.
At a slight tangent, I do a lot of falling down when I'm working around and upon wintry ice. I could whine and bitch, but in truth the falls are a blessing as they keep me familiar with gravity, the stop at the bottom, and the way that practiced PLF's make the stop far less sudden and far less damaging. It's a good thing. My younger siblings have recently been whining about how cautious they've become regarding falls, as if that's a reasonable approach. Far better to be practiced in successful falling rather than avoid the training and find yourself crippled when the inevitable fall happens. Of course that's just crazy advice because it runs counter to what the tee-vee and the interwebz sez. Free country.
My work on ice and snow today is made a zillion times easier because ol' Sol is doing the bulk of the work. It's bright and sunny and warm out there today! Presently at noon it's 41 degrees and calm (the high touched 45 briefly). The sun is fairly pounding down, making it much too warm to wear a jacket or sweatshirt while working. The sun softens the snow and loosens the ice's grip, making my job little more strenuous than sweeping up. Okay, a lot more strenuous than that. What it is though, is that the sun makes possible a job that would be bordering on the impossible. And all for free!
The sun and repeat traffic are making getting around easier today than it was yesterday. It's still a trudge to do things in the snow, but that makes doing them in a snow-free environment seem decadent and luxurious.
Cows are fine and enjoying the weather even more than I.
Not a lot of things prettier than sunshine on the melting snow.
The drive from the edge of town to the ranch was brilliant.
The chickens are fine and cautiously optimistic about possibly venturing back outside someday. Maybe even today! Some of them.
Howard made it to a nice intermediate duck shelter where he'll stay for a couple of days before being placed in a welcoming duck flock. Sorry about the video quality. It looks better on a phone/
I finally located a generator battery. Did I mention I was looking for one and they're hard to source? Possibly not. The generator is a 13(11)kw gas powered unit. It's for emergency power outages out at the Ranch. It's really not up to the challenge of running both the well and minimal load in the house, so we're looking to upgrade. Best looking deal so far is a 22kw lp/propane unit with automatic on and automatic switching. About $10k installed, but I think a good investment for the what ifs. In the meantime our backup is down because some dumbshit left the switch on which sulfurized and roont the battery, which is one of those slimline 12v 18 AH AGM SLA deely-woppers (all those capital letters mean stuff) and hard to source locally. The good news is I just bought one online. The better news is I have to go to Cheyenne to pick it up. If Mom wants to ride along that means more adventures in big sity dining!
Yeah, it's always something. But always something always comes with a silver lining, and that's a fact. All part of the big adventure.
So all in all a beautiful day.
Be well and enjoy the blessings of liberty.
I had to go back and check the temperature showing on your truck's dashboard. Then I realized that it was showing inside temp not outside. Your outdoor temp ( 45 degrees ) was about the same as ours today. I suspect that your night time temps were rather lower than ours, though. Thanks for the videos and still.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post.
Paul L. Quandt
Late autumn weather is quite interesting. Around these parts a few degrees can be the difference between an inch of rain and a foot of snow. At least it's not boring!
DeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting Paul!
There's something special in how the air feels after a big storm and it's warmed up a bit.
ReplyDeleteFeels good to be alive doesn't it?
Howard looks well!
Yes there is, and there's no way to understand the special feel without going through the special-miserable feel of the howling storm. The tiny bit I've read about the Asian philosophy of yin-yang makes a lot of sense to me regarding weather and climate and much else. There's a balance of forces there which we can't begin to comprehend yet nevertheless demonstrate complimentary opposition. Being allowed to experience this on a daily basis keeps me centered.
DeleteGood to be alive! And Howard will now have a good duck life. Balance.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting Sarge!
I am good at falling, after many years in Wisconsin winters! Always roll!
ReplyDeleteThe sky's gonna be fulla stars, with the storm having cleaned the rust from the air.
It's a skill every human should have.
DeleteThat's a very poetic way of putting after storm effect on the air. I'm gonna steal it.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting Scott!
It's not boring if you live in it.
ReplyDeleteWe hit 57* today, and things are going to be warm all week.
Should melt the packed down snow and ice on the sidewalks disappear.
Anything but boring! Being "trapped" inside during the storm always makes me a little bit stir-crazy. I always have an urge to get out and about.
DeleteForecast is for warmth up here too, they keep revising the predictions upward every few hours. Only got down to 34 overnight so the melt kept right on going. Some great big puddles forming, especially in town where the storm drains are still choked with ice. Normal late-autumn conditions.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting drjim!
It's been wet here since the beginning of last week.
ReplyDeleteWind has abated, thank goodness.
The mountains have seen lots of snow ...finally.
Usually when it rains here you're gonna see some precipitation right afterward, but not always.
Temps have been nothing to complain about.
Enjoy dining in Cheyenne.
Climate and weather variability is endlessly fascinating. I feel bad for the people who allow themselves to be brainwashed by media spin. Never understood how people (men!) could be so willing to believe the stuff flowing out of the short skirts. Pleasant to experience, I agree, but c'mon. So much more satisfying to chase down rigorously derived info and compare predictions with experience. Whoops, sorry about the rant.
DeleteLooking forward to a good and fun meal in Cheyenne!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!