Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening. It has been a cold, wet, rainy day. However, right now it is beautiful out and I am waiting to see what (if anything) we get for color in tonight’s sunset. The last two nights have been phenomenal. Time will tell. Here is two nights ago  

6/16

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday again. There have been a couple calm days but most days have been spent trying not to blow away. I feel sorry for the plants I transplanted, they hopefully do not get the life blown out of them. 

I’m having a hard time getting interested this year with the planter beds. I found another of my large metal containers being filled up with roots from the shrubs growing on the other side of the fence. I will need to remove all the soil and lay down filter fabric on the bottom and then fill it back it in again. The fun part of the project will be where to store the soil as the process happens. Then there is always the question,”do I really need the planter?” Much like when I drop something, I usually think about it for a bit to decide whether I really need the item bad enough and does it warrant bending over to pick it up. I’ll probably try to rehab and keep the planter, time will tell.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday. Weather today was a lot cooler than yesterday that was for sure. Yesterday I moved about a cord of firewood from my yard to the neighbors woodshed. It was wicked hot. Today I took about a cord of wood out of his wood shed and split it finer and started re-stacking it back into his wood shed. I’ll finish up tomorrow. Carol was happy, that meant that much time was not spent sewing.

As we move around the area spring is showing its bounty. The Canada Mayflower is starting to open. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening, in the studio. It is a tad too chilly for a fire. It’s a good evening to cuddle up under a few quilts. 

Today I spent some time and cut up more of a blowdown that blew a large oak tree into the Mud Pond. I got what I could last winter off the ice. With the water level low now I put my new waders on yesterday and removed a bunch more from the pond. Today I worked on the 12’ or so that was on the land. After managing to cut it up I had to split it once with a maul and splitting wedge so this old man could even lift it. It is all up by the shed and split and stacked. A nice little round wood pile, all hard wood. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Can you believe it? Another week has gone by. Boy it sure is colder now and here on the pond the wind blew straight at us all day, It was way too cold and windy to do any leaf removal. The load count is now at 25. I’m sure that will go up fast once the wind calms down a little. I would have needed to either tied a tether to the tractor or filled my boots with rocks so I did not blow away in order to work out there today. When I was bringing in the steak at supper I was afraid it was going to blow off the plate. Glad it didn’t, because it was good.

Here is my 3 second time lapse taken at 8:00 this evening. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

The wind finally calmed down, I suppose I could have a fire but I’ve been cold all day. The weather sure did change fast. I takes me a while to get accustomed to the cold and I ain’t there yet. I had almost as many clothes on as in late November as I relocated more of my woodpile and removed leaves and pine needles from the beach.

I do admit, the first thing I do this time of year when I get up I go to see how covered the beach and shore is with leaves. A couple days ago I awoke to this. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening by the fire. Pretty evening albeit a bit chilly. 

I suppose that is to be expected this time of year. That doesn’t mean I have to like it. The way the wind was blowing the other day I could have sworn that it was raining maple leaves. The pond was covered with them as well and you know where they were heading. The tractor bucket total for leaf removal this year so far, is only at two. I hauled a few wheelbarrows into the woods down here because I knew they contained only leaves and pine needles with very little sand.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening after a nice day. Quite breezy here on the pond. Carol had set some quilts and wall hangings etc. out on the chairs out front to air out. She is doing this as we begin to go through all the quilts etc. that were in “climate controlled” storage, Except as we mentioned before, it may not have gone below freezing but moisture levels were way too high. A nuisance but hopefully all the items can be salvaged without too much effort. You got it, time will tell.

Earlier this week as I was cleaning up around where the now gone motorcycle trailer used to be, I found this little guy. A spotted salamander. 

 

He was just there doing whatever it is the salamanders do. I covered it up with the same clump of pine needles and let it be. I checked the next day and Spotty had moved on.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening. Labor Day is this weekend if you can believe that. I am finding it difficult, I have no idea where this summer has gone. 

The two graduated seniors are ensconced in their respective dorm environments, Kailey at MECA in Portland and Parker at Bates in Lewiston.  Evan returns to his dorm at USM this weekend as well. New adventures for them all.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening. Not much happening here on the pond. Hot heavy daytime weather kept me in the studio most of the day. Having no interest in the water and with no projects that can’t wait until cooler temps, that seemed like a nice cool place to be. Carol has been under the weather this week so we both have been laying low. I’ve been bunking in the studio so hopefully we share less germs. The weather is supposed to get hotter over the weekend, I don’t believe there is any real rain in sight,. You got it time will tell.

The lily has finished it’s display for another season. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening, too windy for a fire. 

I have been wasting, I mean spending my time picking up sticks and burning them in the fire pit. I currently have four 55 gallon drums of them ready to burn. They burn quickly so I can’t see just leaving them on the ground in piles to rot for the next 10 to 20 years or more.

In chemistry class we learned the burning was called rapid oxidation. There is an endless supply of available clean up, but not as easily obtained after the leaves and bugs pop out. I like to play while the window is open, so to speak. When the window closes because the bugs get too bad or it gets too hot out, that is why there is air conditioning in the studio.

Unless I can find a market for some of the fire wood I have I don’t know how many more places I can find to make my round wood stacks. I’m eyeballing some at the neighbors that could be cut/split and stacked and left right there for them. The fun part done, let them burn it. It seems like it ought to work. You may remember my current pile from last fall. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday, where does the time go?

I decided that it was time for my second dose of the shingles vaccine. I am not a lover of needles and shots. So I put it off about as long as I could. I still need the flu and the Covid shots, they’ll have to wait a little. The first dose of the shingles gave me a reaction beyond a very sore arm. It was the second day after receiving the shot and I was still feeling lousy when I finally realized that the shot was what caused it. Well today as the nice young lady was about to plunge in the goody juice I was telling her this. Of course she says “oh with most people if you have a reaction to dose #1 you will have a worse one to dose #2.” I hear this as the goody juice burns into my arm. Now several hours and much exercise splitting wood later, my arm is sore. But then again so is my shoulders and back and both arms and my hands. I don’t think much really has anything to do with the shot, other than the sore arm injection site. Had the shingles, I would rather have vinyl siding, less maintenance.

Yesterday I went over to the neighbors and retrieved the last four or so tractor loads of big wood. Today while I was resting after getting my shot, I proceeded to get it all split and scabbed onto the main wood pile. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday. I think today will pass as a rainy day. I was going to Rangeley for the soccer game but it was cancelled because of the rain. 

I am writing this in the AM as I have finally managed to make an appointment to change the battery on my ever expanding laptop. Everything still works fine but the battery is out gassing causing the case to swell. The Man is going to swap out the battery and test to be sure it is charging correctly. I don’t know if I will get back today or not. Hence, I’m writing this now. 

After a few trips to The Man I now have my laptop back with a new battery. Amazing, not as hot and seems to work much better.

Yesterday and the day before I worked on getting the tree out of the water that fell in during one of last years storms. 

 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~ 

I had a beautiful Thursday evening by the fire. The pond was flat as a mirror and unlike in the spring, it was quiet except for my audiobook. I am inside now as I write this, then I begin to sew until I quit for bed. Here are two pictures of a couple of my little friends as they look out over the pond and the sunset this evening. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

In the studio. 

The weather has changed it’s mind a great many times in the last few days. First we had the real hot weather last week then wind and rain knocked off most of the rest of the brown pine needles off the pine trees. Now sitting and looking out along the pond the big pines look a lot greener. They still look like real old pines, but at least a little greener. 

Of course after the pine needles fell off they landed in the pond and on the driveway. Those that landed in the pond ended up on the beach. 

With some help that was visiting our neighbors, we managed to get the majority of them cleaned up. Those that landed on the driveway were blown off again.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

From the studio. Too windy for a fire, that seems to be the pattern. This time of the evening is windy. Oh well, I’ll ramble here a few minutes then go to work. I shouldn’t be too long, it seems that each day is much like the last. I did go grocery shopping today, not much exciting going on there either.

I fixed a neighbor’s water pump last week, now he wants his toilet replaced. I also told him I’d cut some more of his dead trees. Hopefully I didn’t open a can of worms. That is one commodity we are in no short supply of around here and that is dead trees and dying ones. I helped our next door neighbor cut a maple tree down and clean up the mess. When I split it for him, I saw that the middle third of the tree was rotten. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

In the studio. I could have been by the fire, I was last night, tonight was warm enough but it had been raining off and on so I opted to stay inside and continue working on #12 for 2024.

Much of my time has still been spent cleaning up this past winter’s mess. There is still a great deal more available if I am so inclined. I was reminded last night how fast I can burn the wood on a nice calm evening. 

I was on the way back, headed home with a load of wood I had gathered off the side of Old County Road, and noticed a neighbor out by the road trying to shovel back the gravel that the snow plow guy had pushed up against his stone wall. I told him let me take the truck home and I’ll bring the tractor back and pull much of it back for you. 

I think it’s always a good idea to help out the neighbors when you can.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

In the studio, it was too windy out… now it is just too cold. 

I sure hope it warms up before too long or at least is calm during the day so I can get back to burning up the mess everywhere. I keep cleaning it up, no end in sight. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Up in the studio. Not much new happening around here. One day is nice the next is cold and windy. At least the ice is completely gone now. I think I will hold off on going swimming though. 

The sunsets are getting pretty again with the reflections. This was from last night.

There is no beach in front of the house, water right up to the retaining wall.  Don’t have to worry too much about raking the beach yet. I do put the waders on from time to time to pull branches etc. out of the pond. I haven’t seen the float part again that Carol mentioned last time. I’m sure it’s out there somewhere. I did pull a 25’ or so tree out of the pond, it had hung up on the other end of the beach. It’s up by the splitter now waiting to be added to the wood pile. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~ 

Christmas evening, and what a week it has been. Violent winds and torrential rain overpowered us last week. We had a little over 3” of ice in the pond last Sunday. After the storm the ice was gone and there were branches and trees down all over the area. The pond rose about 10’ up the beach and the storm runoff is still pouring in. 

We were out of power from Monday morning until Friday morning. A rather large tree blew over across the driveway and onto the power lines after the drainage ditch saturated the soil.