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| Cottonwood Butte from the pond |
If you read here often, you may recall that when we closed and winterized the farmhouse, there was so much snow that we had to park the pick-up at the neighbor’s driveway. Mike then walked in and came back for me on the 4-wheeler. We had to leave a lot of stuff behind, including our packing crates. We were unable to enjoy a farm Christmas due to continued snow and cold temps.
Anyway,
fast forward to spring, and we were anxious to check things out at the farm. We
wanted to go two weeks ago, but a neighbor discouraged it, saying that the
roads were soft.
“If
we don’t go to the farm on Tuesday,” Mike said thoughtfully as he studied his
weather app, “then we might not be able to go for weeks. It’s raining as far
out as I can see.” I’m skeptical that it will ever rain again, but we have to give
some heed to the weather forecast. To ascertain whether or not conditions at
Gilbert were favorable – or at least not unfavorable – we called Neighbor Pete
Monday afternoon. He wasn’t home just then, but he said he would “go back there”
as soon as he could and let us know.
At 6:20 a.m. Tuesday morning, Mike’s phone rang. “I’m sitting in your yard, Mike,” Pete said. And he said that we would be able to make it into the farmyard with no problems. The last thing we want is to be stuck.
So, we loaded up the old pick-up with stuff for the farm, the largest of which was the 4-wheeler blade. It was late morning before we could get away because Mike and Bess had a care visit at a nursing facility. We found the lane just as Pete had said – washed at the bottom by running water but passable and otherwise okay. It was overcast and 45 degrees.
After unloading and a quick lunch, we set to work. I went upstairs to locate a few sewing items while Mike set to work in the yard. We found three mice in traps and the yard is riddled with rodent holes, though not mounds. We discussed enlarging the vegetable garden – a rather daunting task, but we’ll see what we can do.
The wind had blown more limbs out of the maple tree, and Mike cut the larger ones into firewood which we stacked at the woodshed. I picked up pine cones in the grove to use as fire starters in the town woodstove.
The
pond is not overflowing its banks, and it was easy to hop over the spillway.
Maybe April will bring more water. We can hope.
A
large limb broke in a pine tree at the pond. It isn’t high, so Mike will be
able to saw it off and pull it to the burn pile. We’ll probably add some of it
to our lifetime supply of firewood in the barn.
The
daffodils are up a good six inches or so, and I was delighted to see the
rhubarb poking through.
At 2:30 we packed up and headed back to town.
Our
plan to begin a spring clean-up of our town yard today was cancelled by rain. Yippee! I have other things I want to do. KW
2 comments:
This is a great story. I'm glad your visit to the farm was successful. When was the wind storm that brought the limbs down? I'm glad you weren't there when it happened. It seems like spring is just around the corner.
Hi Chuck!
We felt the time spent at the farm was productive.
I would guess there have been several windstorms over the course of the winter, and I can't say when they happened. We left my new outdoor rocking chair on the front porch, and it blew off beside the steps. I don't think it was damaged but I'll have to clean the seat cushion.
This is the third time the maple tree has dropped limbs into the yard. It probably needs a good pruning. I think it's showing it's age, and Mike planted another maple a couple of years ago, knowing that this one won't last forever.
Yes, spring is around the corner, but the photos show that the world still looks drab. We need those daffodils to bloom.
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