Camera Problems and Working it in the Springtime

The camera is fine but I have to load a program [apparently] to allow me to get the pictures off the camera and into the computer.  This sucks!  The DVD reader thingey hasn't worked for a couple of years.  Sure, there have been a couple of times when we tried to get it going because we wanted something from a DVD but it just didn't seem like it was worth the time and the hassle to replace the DVD so we haven't gotten around to it.

The computer is probably five years old and I have been thinking about replacing it.  I am even considering an Apple computer.  I need to read up on this stuff.  We mostly use the computer for the internet, blogging and commenting, sharing photos.  I don't know what I will do about that.

In the meantime, I can't download my photos from my new camera because the DVD player isn't working and I need to put this program in from the disc that came with the camera.  Rats!!!

I got some good photos yesterday.  I got the roof struts on  the horse shed.  I put up the Simpson clips.  Then, I put on the two side rafters.  I screwed the front trim piece on [it's another 2x4].  Then I put up the other 2x4's for rafters by shoving them up against the front trim board.  Should come out pretty even that way.  We are ready to roof and put on the plywood siding.  There is also trim work to do.  I think I will worry about painting it in a few weeks.

The wind came up while I was working on the horse shed.  Chilly!!!  It didn't warm up much yesterday.  It snowed just enough to sting your face in the wind.  Fortunately, I fired up the wood stove so I could come in and warm up in between rounds of measuring and drilling and attaching.

I also got a couple of nice photos of the daffodils which are totally blooming in yellow drifts right now.  Spring is here although it was 28 degrees overnight last night.  I am hoping that the trees have been holding off leafing out/blooming and that it won't be a problem.  I'll find out when I walk around the yard later today.

I got 20 holes dug for the asparagus yesterday.  Then I got two wheel barrow loads of compost spread out into the 20 holes.  I'll probably put more compost into the holes as I plant the asparagus.  I got all the drip lines set up but three.  I'll do those today.  I have quite a few drippers [I like to call them bobblers] to pop on still.  I want to run the water today and plant the asparagus tomorrow or Wednesday.  If not then I have to wait until Saturday.  I think the plants are fine.  I put them in a bowl with damp coconut coir on the roots and put them in the fridge.

My artichokes are coming up so I need to work with them today.  The package said to soak them overnight in water.  Then, put them in a jar with peat moss [I used coconut coir] for two weeks.  It hasn't been two weeks but they are definitely sprouting.  I am going to do that right now since I don't want to go out until it warms up a bit.  The tubing is hard to work with when it is really cold.  The good news is there is no wind.

If I get lucky there will be little to no wind this afternoon when I go to see the little horse.  I'll have to take a few camera photos so I can get them on the blog.  Darn the camera problem:)  Wish me luck on the little horse.  I have been looking for quite some time.  I am not in a hurry but I would like to find the right horse at the right price so that I have the spring and summer to play with it.

The quail came through this morning while I was planting seeds.  I need to throw some chicken scratch out there for them.

Gardening Note:  Red Hot Pokers started today.

Burning Brush - Photo Opportunity!

You can see all the brush I have lined up in the driveway to burn.  I am burning dried grass, purple smoke bushes [I call them spindle plants]and lots of greasewood.  Within moments of starting the fire, woosh, the first pile goes up in super hot flames.  That's why it is called greasewood - because it burns like pouring grease on a fire.

The flames don't last long so I shoved the camera in my back pocket and started throwing on the rest of the brush one big armful at a time.

I have been using my new [used] gas powered hedge trimmer to cut back brush, lop off spindle plants and dried grass tops.  Sure is a time saver.  I have also used it to trim back the sand cherries and the silver buffalo berries to make sure the stay neat and tidy.

After I have been cutting for awhile, I then have to rake and/or carry the yard debris into a pile where it is safe to burn, get my shovel and rake at the ready for safety and light it up!  It has been so dry this winter that you have to be extra careful.  I sure wouldn't want to have to tell the neighbors I started the famous fire of 2012 in our neighborhood.

The Woodpile that Took Over the Hayshed

Left side

Right side

We got the idea that we needed a wood stove in October of 2011.  So, the hay shed/shade cover is now filled to the gills with wood.  You can see some straw in the center of the shed and there are a few bales of hay hiding underneath or in the back but ... the wood pile has taken over.

The shed is fifteen feet wide and 8 feet sloping to 6 feet in the back.  One row of wood on the right side and two rows of wood on the left side.  We probably have 4 cords of wood in there, or pretty close to it.

Cutting wood honestly wasn't a bad job to have last fall and early winter.  The weather was lovely and we were in the golden hills.  However, the road up to the tree cutting area is so rocky.  You just have to creep along and bump and bump for most of the trip.

I relied on Hubby to cut down the trees.  He then cut them to length [about 18 or 20 inches].  I stacked a lot of it in the trailer but Hubby helped me out on that part of the job as well.  The whole thing took quite a bit of time as we had to drive 40 minutes to get on the dirt road and then an hour up the dirt road to where the wood was.

Once we had some practice, it only took about 3 hours to cut and load our 3/4 of a cord into the trailer.  It then took us an hour and a half to get back down that rocky, bumpy dirt road and another 40 minutes to get home.  Hubby then starts to unload the wood while I make sure the animals and ourselves get some food.

Hubby unloads and splits logs for several days.  We have designed the back area so that he can back the truck and trailer in and unload right where we are splitting and storing the wood.

We didn't know how much wood we would need so we decided on two cords but then we said we better have 4 cords just in case we needed more.  After all, burning wood is supposed to save us $800-900 in propane so that means we will be paying for the stove within three or four years.  If we run out of wood, we aren't making our money back on this deal.

We have had a very mild winter.  The lows are sometimes 10 degrees but usually not as cold as that and the highs have been forties and fifties.  So, we haven't even used a cord of wood so far this year.

Bottom line:  We have a huge amount of the wood pile left for next year.  Of course, it is only February and we thought that it will be nice to heat the house in the spring by firing up the stove for a bit in the mornings.  In the spring, if it is going to be sunny, we often just skip heating the house and hope the sun will heat us up by late afternoon.  It is a bit chilly and I hate taking a shower in the morning when it is cold in the house.  With the woodstove firing up in the morning for an hour or so,  we will start out warmer and the sun will give us a nicely heated house by evening.

One minor drawback to having a woodstove:  The homeowner's insurance went up by $80 per year.  Yep, it eats into the profits a bit but we are still ahead.


One of the reasons to have a woodstove and not a pellet stove is:  We have had a couple of power outages. Once  we were without electricity for three days.  Without the woodstove we are at the mercy of the weather. The pellet stove needs a battery back up to keep working during a power outage.  Another reason to have a woodstove instead of a pellet stove is that we can cut wood ourselves and don't have to buy bags of pellets.  Definitely a money saver.  One more reason to have a woodstove vs. a pellet stove is the cost.  A good woodstove that is EPA rated at 80% efficiency is less costly to buy initially than a pellet stove.

The house has been heating up to such a high temperature with the woodstove that we are often opening a window in the living room and the office to let a bit of the heat out.  Honestly, this is the warmest I have ever been in the winter and it is wonderful.  We think that even if we have a  pogo nip winter [grey, no sun for days or even weeks, freezing cold with frozen fog]  like we have for  two bad winters, that woodstove will keep us toasty and warm.  Best investment we ever made.

Photos and Goats

Spot and Taffy

Obi

I am trying to put photos on my blog.  This is a whole new deal for me so we shall see how it turns out.  These are my adorable goats having dinner after a snow storm a few weeks ago.  As you can see, they are the cutest goats in the whole world.

They have individual personalities.  Obi is really quite large and is very sweet.  He is a Boer/Nubian cross.

Spot and Taffy are Nigerian dwarfs.  Spot doesn't like to be touched although he is coming around a little.  Taffy is a butterball, definitely so cute I could write a children's book using him as a character and is okay with being petted.

I have had them for three or four years.

Goat pen with goat shed and goat toy

They live in this pen with a goat shed filled with straw this time of year and a goat toy that has a ramp, old mobile home stairs and a large platform.  They run over and leap on it whenever there is the least bit of "danger" like someone walking on the road or one of the dogs barking.

On the right side of the pen is the area I am clearing for a 30' x 40' [possibly a bit smaller once I get the shed built and fence out the mulberry tree] miniature horse paddock.  That way the little horse will have goat friends to talk to and I will be able to see the little horse from my dining room table.  I like to keep an eye on my critters.