M - U - D

The Spring Thaw has gifted us with a deeply rutted, slippery road.  Our Suburban is able to handle it if in 4-wheel-drive, but we always forewarn the children to "Hang on!"

Our cell phone service is spotty today for some odd reason.  Dad tried to reach all three of our cell phones, and some of them more than once, but we never heard them ring.  In somewhat of a panic he attempted to drive his Durango back here to check on us.

Despite having 4-wheel-drive, he couldn't make it.  His truck is too light and he went right off into the ditch.

He called Kenny to bring the Suburban to pull him out.  When that failed, they called me.  I was in the Durango, hooked hitch-to-hitch to the Suburban, which Kenny was driving.  Dad hooked his tractor to the front of the Surburban and we choo-choo-trained our way out of the mess.  Yay!

I'm sorry that I have no pictures of the Durango in all it's muddy glory, but Dad power washed it before I thought to take any.  Our Suburban is perpetually muddy as it's absolutely useless to wash it until the road dries out.

Since the power washer was already in use, I took the time to clear Dad and Mom's 2-car concrete parking pad of the winter's dirt and debris.  Forty-five minutes and one aching back later, it looked pretty good.

I also power washed Dad's muck boots and then mine.  I exclaimed "Look!  They're PINK!"  I havne't seen much of the color over the last few weeks of trekking between our two homes.

Of course, the walk home undid the job for me.

 

This is my first time participating in the Homestead Revival Barn Hop.  Welcome, new readers!

Finally ... real snow!

I have lived in Wisconsin for 28 years.  Many people automatically assume we have frigid temperatures and deep blankets of snow every winter.

Not so!  In fact, I can only recall one memorable winter since moving here in 1982.  I don't remember just which year it was, but I do remember that the streets of our small town were mere tunnels with snow well above the roofs of our cars.  I remember that the boys at one house on Church Street had taken to skiing off their roof into the drifts.  I imagine now that their mother couldn't have appreciated their bravery very much.  At the time, I thought it sounded like an adventuresome thing to do.

We have just experienced our first blizzard in years.  We already had 4 inches of snow on the ground and another 16 inches have joined it, with more in the forecast for tomorrow.  The high winds that came at the end of the snow made for white-out conditions.  It's all been followed by temperatures dipping as low as -29 degrees.  We are so thankful that our pipes have not frozen!

Our road out to Dad and Mom's house was well drifted in.  We have been partially plowed out now, so we can get out in case of an emergency.  After the next storm passes, we'll get it properly cleared.

With no ability to work outside other than to split wood, our thoughts are turning to plans for our little homestead.

We've been looking at heirloom seeds for our garden beds.  We also need to seriously consider which breeds of chickens we want, how many and from which place we should order them.

Dairy goats, too, are on our minds.  A friend in Texas may have some available to us, but the drive will make the purchase financially difficult.

What plans are you making as winter has set in?

An interesting blog post ...

Earlier this evening, I came upon a blog called The Contrary Farmer.   I read and enjoyed the three most recent posts.

From the post entitled "Abandoned":  "In case I sound overly-romantic or sentimental, what I remember best about our farmstead was that even when my mother was heavy with child and carrying a heavy bucket of water from the windmill pump to the chicken coop, she was singing. I see Dad hurry to her and, scolding gently, take the bucket from her. She had a hard life in some ways, so, I ask, why was she always singing?"

His statement on finances was equally interesting to me.  "The only way to starve out such a self-sufficient homestead was by way of paper money and usury which in one guise or another is often what happened."

I plan to do more reading there.  I might also look up his book called "Small-Scale Grain Raising".