The truck is fixed. It has a new battery and works great again. Can't be without a vehicle.
Paul was so sweet to get the battery and put it in for me. He's such a great help.
I went to the acreage and let the cats out of the cabin. Then I got wood ready. I sawed some small logs from one of the dead trees and made also a whole bunch of kindling. I lit the wood stove and let the cabin warm up to a nice 12 C. Then I let it die off. Paul came over and he adjusted the battery of the truck because while driving on the grid road some lights came on. Now it is tightened and works great again. He came with me to the well. The horses needed fresh water again. After we filled up the bowl, Paul went home and I went for another trip to the well. It's nice to have water in storage and when the weather is so nice, it's also nice to drive to the well. I have to get more bottles though. It will save me a drive.
It was such a beautiful day today. The horses were hanging around the water bowl and I let them in the arena to graze. They loved that! I did some chores and then went back to the horses to brush them. Freya started to touch the cones that were in the arena and Flicka was side passing for me. They definitely were in the mood to do some training.
I took a large bell and every time it made sound and the horses stood calm, I would click and treat them for not spooking. After five minutes of this game I asked them to lower their head and clicked and treated them when they did. I was training them both at the same time and they behaved really nice together. Calm and relaxed and very engaged in the games.
When the treats were gone I left them grazing and cleaned up in the yard a bit before I let them back in the pasture again. I had put some hay out to nibble on for them and Freya really loves it. Flicka stayed close to me until I left.
I cut up some cheese and poured myself a glass of wine. I was just heading out to sit on the deck, when a truck approached. It was the RM man and my neighbor. They came to cut up the large dead trees. YAY! I offered them some pieces of cheese and then they went to work. Within 20 minutes my neighbor had them all cut up with the gas powered chainsaw in ten to twelve inch logs. It still needs time to dry. Inside it's still very green. I will store it and in a couple of months they should be good to burn.
After a nice chat they left and I made my supper ready. I had home made chicken soup with bread and it tasted wonderful. After I ate it was time to lit the stove. The sun was setting and I didn't wanted the cabin to cool off too much. I did the dishes and started the generator to charge my phone and meantime watched the rest of the movie I started the last time.
Then the yard lit up from another beautiful full moon in a clear sky filled with stars.
The dog was in and Taz was in, but Dizzy was no where to find. I kept calling her but it took a few hours before she finally ran up the deck to come in. She was very happy and playful and hungry. LOL
I played some guitar, had a hot chocolate and then listened to the radio for a bit. I did not do any building in the cabin today. With the chores of cutting wood and hauling water, I thought it was enough work for the day. Time to enjoy the weather, the horses and just relax. Tomorrow I am going to build a place to stack the logs and finish the last wall of the bathroom. I also need to make some shelves so I can put stuff up. My bedroom is quiet full with plastic bags and boxes on the ground. Rather messy. But a couple of shelves will make a huge difference. I have lots of wood leftover so that is one of the ( very many LOL) things on the top of my list.
I went to bed around midnight. My bedroom was lit up by the full moon. Cool!
I slept until 5.30 am. Dizzy woke me up, wanted to cuddle up with me. I know why. It was chilly in the cabin. I fell asleep again for an hour and then got up to lit the stove. I made a good fire and a good cup of coffee. Outside it was minus 3 C and inside it was 9 C. \it wouldn't take long to get it nice and cozy again.
It's a job of its own to take care of the wood stove. It's not just a matter of light up some kindling and put some bigger pieces on once the fire is going well. I need to keep an eye on the fire that it won't die off, which can happen very easily. Once it is going good, I have to keep adding wood to keep the temperature in the cabin going up and keep it around the 20 C.
I don't mind it but people who are thinking of heating with just a wood stove should think about this. Once the fire goes out, the temperature in a cabin will drop fast.
I'm not even sure if I am able to do this during the harsh winters here. I hope the cabin will hold all the heat longer once everything is done and beneath the floor is insulated. It should help somewhat. Of course better wood will help too. Now I just use smaller pieces and little logs. I figured out that a bigger piece will burn for an hour. The hot coals will keep the stove warm for three hours or so. Maybe four. This is with very light frost like today. Not sure how it will be with minus 40 C with a well insulated cabin.
The sunrise was beautiful to watch, and the moon in the west made it awesome. Everything was frosty again. When I got some wood from the deck, I was amazed by the stillness and peace that surrounded me. Then Scruffy needed to do her guarding round. LOL Bark bark bark. Hahaha! Taz wanted to go out for a bit but soon changed her mind and choose for more time in a warm cabin. I heard a flock of geese in the distance. I bet they can't wait to head south to enjoy the warm weather there. LOL
I saw Flicka in the pasture, walking to the water bowl and hay. I didn't see Freya. She was probably grazing at a sunny spot in the big pasture.
I heard some shots in the distance. Hunters were up early too.
After my coffee I organized myself. What to do today? First I wanted to give the horses some carrot pieces and see how their water bowl was. I expected the water to be frozen at the top. But when I gave them their carrots, I noticed they already pushed the ice open themselves. It’s not that thick yet. Freya and Flicka loved their treats and we hang out for a bit together. It always feels so nice to just be around my horses.
I walked back, doing more thinking.
I needed something to dry all that green wood. It’s simple to put a tarp on the top to keep it dry, but it’s not handy when it’s stormy weather and I have to go after the tarp all the time. I needed something permanent. Thinking about what materials I had around, I decided to build a little wood shed. It was the perfect day for it. No wind, sunshine all day through, and it got around 12 C. Beautiful day to spend outside. I think it will stay really nice for another week so great to do some outdoor work. A change from dusty indoor work. LOL
Well, the process of how I build the wood shed is to see on the slide show below. It is not perfect, in fact it looks rather messy. But I’m proud of it because it will do its work. It will keep the wood dry and it only took me a morning to build it. I used 4 garden ties and left over wood pieces that was laying around. Plus a tarp, staples, and screws.
I build it on a spot where it is most protected from the wind and facing south.
The dog and cats kept me company while I was building the wood shed and moving all the logs with the wheel barrel once it was finished.
The yard looks much nicer with the tree logs gone.
I was tired but very happy with the result of a days of hard work.
Nothing beats a day of work outside in the sunshine!
Paul was so sweet to get the battery and put it in for me. He's such a great help.
I went to the acreage and let the cats out of the cabin. Then I got wood ready. I sawed some small logs from one of the dead trees and made also a whole bunch of kindling. I lit the wood stove and let the cabin warm up to a nice 12 C. Then I let it die off. Paul came over and he adjusted the battery of the truck because while driving on the grid road some lights came on. Now it is tightened and works great again. He came with me to the well. The horses needed fresh water again. After we filled up the bowl, Paul went home and I went for another trip to the well. It's nice to have water in storage and when the weather is so nice, it's also nice to drive to the well. I have to get more bottles though. It will save me a drive.
It was such a beautiful day today. The horses were hanging around the water bowl and I let them in the arena to graze. They loved that! I did some chores and then went back to the horses to brush them. Freya started to touch the cones that were in the arena and Flicka was side passing for me. They definitely were in the mood to do some training.
I took a large bell and every time it made sound and the horses stood calm, I would click and treat them for not spooking. After five minutes of this game I asked them to lower their head and clicked and treated them when they did. I was training them both at the same time and they behaved really nice together. Calm and relaxed and very engaged in the games.
When the treats were gone I left them grazing and cleaned up in the yard a bit before I let them back in the pasture again. I had put some hay out to nibble on for them and Freya really loves it. Flicka stayed close to me until I left.
I cut up some cheese and poured myself a glass of wine. I was just heading out to sit on the deck, when a truck approached. It was the RM man and my neighbor. They came to cut up the large dead trees. YAY! I offered them some pieces of cheese and then they went to work. Within 20 minutes my neighbor had them all cut up with the gas powered chainsaw in ten to twelve inch logs. It still needs time to dry. Inside it's still very green. I will store it and in a couple of months they should be good to burn.
After a nice chat they left and I made my supper ready. I had home made chicken soup with bread and it tasted wonderful. After I ate it was time to lit the stove. The sun was setting and I didn't wanted the cabin to cool off too much. I did the dishes and started the generator to charge my phone and meantime watched the rest of the movie I started the last time.
Then the yard lit up from another beautiful full moon in a clear sky filled with stars.
The dog was in and Taz was in, but Dizzy was no where to find. I kept calling her but it took a few hours before she finally ran up the deck to come in. She was very happy and playful and hungry. LOL
I played some guitar, had a hot chocolate and then listened to the radio for a bit. I did not do any building in the cabin today. With the chores of cutting wood and hauling water, I thought it was enough work for the day. Time to enjoy the weather, the horses and just relax. Tomorrow I am going to build a place to stack the logs and finish the last wall of the bathroom. I also need to make some shelves so I can put stuff up. My bedroom is quiet full with plastic bags and boxes on the ground. Rather messy. But a couple of shelves will make a huge difference. I have lots of wood leftover so that is one of the ( very many LOL) things on the top of my list.
I went to bed around midnight. My bedroom was lit up by the full moon. Cool!
I slept until 5.30 am. Dizzy woke me up, wanted to cuddle up with me. I know why. It was chilly in the cabin. I fell asleep again for an hour and then got up to lit the stove. I made a good fire and a good cup of coffee. Outside it was minus 3 C and inside it was 9 C. \it wouldn't take long to get it nice and cozy again.
It's a job of its own to take care of the wood stove. It's not just a matter of light up some kindling and put some bigger pieces on once the fire is going well. I need to keep an eye on the fire that it won't die off, which can happen very easily. Once it is going good, I have to keep adding wood to keep the temperature in the cabin going up and keep it around the 20 C.
I don't mind it but people who are thinking of heating with just a wood stove should think about this. Once the fire goes out, the temperature in a cabin will drop fast.
I'm not even sure if I am able to do this during the harsh winters here. I hope the cabin will hold all the heat longer once everything is done and beneath the floor is insulated. It should help somewhat. Of course better wood will help too. Now I just use smaller pieces and little logs. I figured out that a bigger piece will burn for an hour. The hot coals will keep the stove warm for three hours or so. Maybe four. This is with very light frost like today. Not sure how it will be with minus 40 C with a well insulated cabin.
The sunrise was beautiful to watch, and the moon in the west made it awesome. Everything was frosty again. When I got some wood from the deck, I was amazed by the stillness and peace that surrounded me. Then Scruffy needed to do her guarding round. LOL Bark bark bark. Hahaha! Taz wanted to go out for a bit but soon changed her mind and choose for more time in a warm cabin. I heard a flock of geese in the distance. I bet they can't wait to head south to enjoy the warm weather there. LOL
I saw Flicka in the pasture, walking to the water bowl and hay. I didn't see Freya. She was probably grazing at a sunny spot in the big pasture.
I heard some shots in the distance. Hunters were up early too.
After my coffee I organized myself. What to do today? First I wanted to give the horses some carrot pieces and see how their water bowl was. I expected the water to be frozen at the top. But when I gave them their carrots, I noticed they already pushed the ice open themselves. It’s not that thick yet. Freya and Flicka loved their treats and we hang out for a bit together. It always feels so nice to just be around my horses.
I walked back, doing more thinking.
I needed something to dry all that green wood. It’s simple to put a tarp on the top to keep it dry, but it’s not handy when it’s stormy weather and I have to go after the tarp all the time. I needed something permanent. Thinking about what materials I had around, I decided to build a little wood shed. It was the perfect day for it. No wind, sunshine all day through, and it got around 12 C. Beautiful day to spend outside. I think it will stay really nice for another week so great to do some outdoor work. A change from dusty indoor work. LOL
Well, the process of how I build the wood shed is to see on the slide show below. It is not perfect, in fact it looks rather messy. But I’m proud of it because it will do its work. It will keep the wood dry and it only took me a morning to build it. I used 4 garden ties and left over wood pieces that was laying around. Plus a tarp, staples, and screws.
I build it on a spot where it is most protected from the wind and facing south.
The dog and cats kept me company while I was building the wood shed and moving all the logs with the wheel barrel once it was finished.
The yard looks much nicer with the tree logs gone.
I was tired but very happy with the result of a days of hard work.
Nothing beats a day of work outside in the sunshine!