Thirty Bags of Concrete

Today was supposed to be the last sunny day until the weekend -- so we hooked up Big Tex and fetched concrete for the paddock fence posts. Two bags per post, 80 lbs per bag. I had to pace myself, but got it all unloaded. Five bags at a time into the tractor bucket, and then to the empty stall.

Whew! I'll need more than fish tonight!

Sourdough

T made some sourdough starter & I looked up a bunch of sourdough recipes. Found one for sourdough cornbread, which I will try this weekend.

If it tastes great I'll report victory; if not I won't mention it again. I don't want to wallow in failure.

Orphan Cats

T said I should mention some of the cats that visit the barn even though they don't "belong" to us.

Ok, there's a black and white one, mostly black, that always shows up around feed time looking for a handout. I chase it with the Rhino whenever I get a chance. To give it some exercise.

Then there's a gray tiger that supposedly hangs out in the loft. I've never seen it.

These cats are pretty useless, especially since we'll probably have to catch them at some point and get them fixed.

Milo & Purzee (RIP) were much more useful since they helped with the horses and didn't reproduce. Purzee was afraid of mice, though.


==>SC

Equinox

Fired up the stove last night -- it was OK for a while, then the heat got to me. Barring a cold snap, that was the season's last fire. In the WR, anyway. I'll move my pyromania outdoors now.

T ordered the lumber & hardware for the porch, so I'll have a new mega-chore in a week or so. I'll post pictures so future generations can share the experience.

Top Soil & Horse Manure

Ten tons of top soil delivered today, dumped in front. So I'll add spreading top soil to my chore list. Traded two small jobs for one big one.

The most interesting discussion today centered around horse (and donkey) manure. How long should it age before spreading? What to mix it with, if anything. And the best device for spreading it.

If I get it all figured out we'll have green grass this summer & tall clover in the pastures.

Wish me luck.

Oh, it was fish night again tonight. Boy am I hungry!

Spring? Nah, too cold.

Caught up on most things. I'm heading to the mid west in April, St. Louis & Chicago. I'll spend a weekend in Springfield, IL.

T is off to Altoona & I am in charge for the whole day. In exchange for a day of freedom I promised to cook dinner on the grill and finalize the materials list for the porch floor on the stable.

Too cold for spring -- 24 degrees this morning. I'll probably have another WR fire or two before warm weather.

Chore Week

Lots of chores to get done by the weekend:

1) Calculate Porch Materials
2) Finish cedar display shelves
3) Little Hat racks
4) Research plane tickets
5) Proof of student enrollment

Lotsa fun!

==>SC

Something's Fishy

I cooked blackened Talapia tonight. It was good; T said too much spice. Well, I like fish spicy since it covers the taste of the fish. But I'll tone it down next time.

I will try to eat fish at least once a week. Even more, I will try to limit myself to no more than two steak dinners per month.

That way I can keep this blog going until 2050.

Firewood Rotation

Glued up some cedar planks in the morning. Tomorrow I'll rip to width and begin assembly.

Chores: Burned leaves, split wood, began stacking a new section in the wood shed.

Still cold, so I fired up the WR stove in the evening. T went to Doylestown in the evening so I'm in the Briar Patch for 2 days!

Burning Season

Another fire in the WR tonight. Is it the last of the season?

I cut a straight edge on the cedar boards. Ready for the next step: Edging & glue up.

On the road tomorrow - to Pitt & back.

Good Night And Good Luck

Another day in the office, lots of conference calls.

We watched the Edward R. Murrow movie in the evening. Lindsay is a journalism major and recommended it.

It was trash day so I hurried to throw out all my back issues of The Daily Worker. Can't be too careful.

Blog Day

In the office most of the day. Experimenting with online business expense management: shoeboxed.com & expensd.com. I'll probably use one of them.

Big Tex went to Camp Hill to pick up fence material for T's paddocks.

Nice family dinner w/T & Lindsay. I revealed my blogging intentions. T not interested; Lindsay possibly.

Lindsay is headed back to Pitt on Friday.

Lindsay's Home!

Church & Pizza.

Made jambalaya in the afternoon.

Lindsay's home from Pitt -- picked her up at the bus station. We watched American Graffiti in the Wilderness Room.

No fire, too warm.

Woodworking & Barbeque

Planed a bunch of cedar boards. Making a display for T's Equestrian Journey booth.

Got the outdoor grill out for the first time in 2009.

Cooked Ranch Chicken for T.

63 degrees today! Ready for kayaking!