Winter Warmth

The weather had been so mild I had hoped we could make it until November 1st before we began heating the house. We made it until October 26th. Not bad. There is something so satisfying about having that huge stack of firewood just outside the door. Now if I could split those few ash and locust rounds that are refusing to separate.

Trials, Tribulations and Manna

The crush of the last few weeks is ebbing, tho not over. I actually have a few moments to sit and catch up on what's going on around here (if I can remember it all!). Mostly I have been getting ready for the big fiber show. Many trips from bunnies to spinning wheel to dye pot and back again. If I do say so myself I came up with some gorgeous yarn (and the obligatory ugly ones). However, like all things artistic there are bad years and good years. This was a bad one. Not many buyers for yarn this year. At least (unfortunately) it seemed to be a universal problem around the show, not just my little corner. After all the craziness before hand it was pretty discouraging at the show tho now I am home it is on to other things. Maybe next year will be a yarn year - after all I have baskets full now.

We finally have the water system put back together and thats a plus.

Some of my other little jobs came up in the middle of all this so a little extra income coming in. My most challenging role as of yet in the SP program was a battered wife. I went in with trepidation as I had nothing to draw from tho I was quite pleased that I pulled it off. The nursing student that was interviewing me had tears in her eyes! I also gave a yoga demo for the homeschool group.

This weekend has to be the weekend to get the boat out of the water. We would wait until it turned cold. Our friend who was fixing the brakes on the trailer discovered the brakes are completely shot so we will be pulling the boat sans brakes. He assures me it will be fine (it is his truck pulling it afterall).

Thru all of this the boys have been great. Working away at their projects and entertaining themselves a great deal. We also had a little snow yesterday. Not that I am really ready for winter tho it was a nice, wintery sort of day and it was somewhat exciting to look out and see frozen stuff blowing around. We also received a surprise Boomerang in the mail. For those of you who haven't discovered this great kids audio magazine it is a compilation of biographies, history, good stories, weird items and funny things kids say. The boys have really enjoyed this in years past tho its a little out of price range right now. So where this copy came from I have no idea but thanks to David anyway!

Well, that is it in a nutshell. I am sure I have forgotten things. Maybe now we can get back to a semi-regular life.

Happy Dance!

We have water! There is still a leak somewhere but at least we can bathe again!

False Faces

The boys have been into native Americans these days. Their latest is making Iroquios masks. The Iroquios would wear the masks to scare away the evil spirits.

Gray Days

I love gray days especially in the fall. There is a crispness to the air with a underlying layer of moistness here in the mountains. We don't get alot of fog because of where the farm sits in the hollow tho I can see it hanging around down the way. I think of driving up on the Blue Ridge Parkway on days like today. I love just getting out and walking around the farm and the neighborhood. It is a great time to take pics as the mass amounts of weeds are dying down tho there are still tons of colors. I find myself out wandering around with the camera shooting things I would never shoot with a film camera. Why? I have no idea tho I do like seeing pics on blogs. Yesterday I went looking for the sang found in the spring. No luck tho I did find the golden seal. I am sure the sang is still there it is just so elusive. I did manage a nice pic of the boys' garden. It started out with a nice combo of annuals tho as you can see the nasturtiums have taken over. We purposefully didn't plant any this year as last year they were the ONLY plant in the bed. They have won out once again!

In every bucket of muck...

I believe in knowing your environment. That's not to say I don't love surprises and this farm continually does that. I now can say I have seen the inside of a burial vault, that is to say our cistern. Great place to live if you are a salamander or a crawdaddy. Some crustaceans can change their color. Never knew that about these little fellows but he was very blue/green when I took him out of the cistern. Already he is loosing the brightness tho I think the difference still shows. After cleaning the muck out of the bottom we ought to be good for a few more years. That mountain silt just seeps in no matter what you do. So now we just sit back and wait. The cistern ought to be full by tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed that there aren't any leaks!

Time Capsule

Here we are one week later and still no water. Everyday takes us one step closer, one more trip to town for yet the another fitting. Hopefully we will have water by tomorrow. The boys decided to make a time capsule to bury next to the little house where the new pipes are. They hand copied a Yu-gi-oh card, wrote their favorite things, what they wanted to be when they grew up, date and added some little plastic odds-and-ends. All encapsulated in a 2 liter drink bottle. I'd like to be around when it was opened. On the other hand, guess that would mean we had to fix the water and I think once is enough for me, thank you.

Red Spotted Newt

This time of year is a great time to learn the flora and fauna around the farm. One of our plentiful favorites is the red spotted newt. I like it because it is so versatile. It starts out its life near the water and then wanders for a year or two as the red eft. Those little orange creatures with red spots down its back. Then as it completely matures it turns back into the red spotted newt, a green newt with same red spots, returns to the water, lays its eggs and the cycle starts all over. I feel somewhat like the newt by loving the mountains and the ocean equally. We have also been searching for fall flowers tho most are spent. You can still glimpse a late blooming iron weed or fleabane.

Thankful

It has been a challenging week here on the farm. We have this list of things that need doing before winter sets in. I have been splitting wood like crazy. Hopefully those high heating bills won't affect us. We filled the propane tank before prices skyrocketed and we have at least a cord of wood. (If anyone hears of an oak tree in want of a good home....) And just when you think the list is filled out unexpected things throw themselves onto it. M's truck breaks down, and of course the easy, do-it-yourself fix turns into a bear. So we have a truck in several pieces in the garage. My work as an standardized patient is going well. This week is a challenging role as I am a battered wife, eye-shadow bruise and all. Today I find out the woman that runs the program, and who is EXCELLENT at the job, has been replaced. We emotional actors need our support systems! And replacing that water line turns into a few days with no water. However,and here's where the thankful part comes in, we have no lack of water in the system its just getting it to the house that isn't working right now. So many of our neighbors are hauling water because it has been so dry. I just checked in on a good friend's blog and they are rationing water as well. Thankfully, our system has always been full. We had to drain the entire cistern last night and by this morning the water is pouring out the overflow once again. Now if we could just get the water to the shower....