Which is one of those things that is so unexpected, it takes a moment for my brain to clue in and say, “oh… there’s a person at the door.” :-D
Turns out, it was the guy delivering the straw bale we had ordered. He had to leave the tractor in the driveway, hop the locked gate, and come knocking.
There’s a reason I asked for a call first! :-D The guy delivering the bale was not the guy I bought it from, so he probably didn’t have my number. Not that he could have called us from his tractor, anyhow. ;-)
I was really happy to see him, that’s for sure! It’s been snowing off and on, and the temperatures are dropping, so I really wanted to get that septic tank covered!
This time, I asked him to drop it off in the old garden area. You can see that the bale has been sitting for a year! After unwrapping it, I started trying to pull the straw down near that dark area, and found it half frozen and very wet.
Which is great, because the wet straw that’s already starting to decompose went straight onto the garden area, and some of the compost, right away. I even found a worm in it. LOL
This is where our septic tank is. Our system is very different from what is usual; instead of a gravity based system, ours has a smaller tank and pumps. There are pipes leading from the basement to the left of the tank in this photo. The tank has two chambers. Everything goes into the first chamber, then when it fills with liquid, there is an overflow chamber. When that fills, the liquid is pumped to a field out by the barn. The pipe for the outflow runs under the old kitchen, which is behind the septic lid in the photo.
All of these pipes are buried deep and, theoretically, we could go without covering any of this at all, but it’s not something we want to take a chance with. An extreme winter could freeze the ground far enough that the pipes would freeze, and if that happened, it could get really nasty in our basement! It would also cost many thousands of dollars to get it fixed. So spending $25 on a bale and covering it is really cheap insurance! ;-)
Here is now it looks now! I added extra along the old kitchen foundation, just for a bit of extra insulation.
I’m leaving the tools with the bale for now, as we’ll be using it to insulate the old dog houses, probably in a couple of days.
While working on this, I had several very curious kitties checking things out. I expect the bale will also serve throughout the winter to keep little paws warm, and for burrowed nests, as well. :-) They were already quite keen on getting into it.
When I was done, I got a selfie with Susan.
She was not co-operative. LOL
Another thing off the list of things to get done before winter! :-)
It turned out to be a rather pleasant day today, if quite windy. I wanted to cover my late father’s old car while it was still nice out, though.
We’d found a huge old tarp in the barn that we used to cover the mulched area of the big garden for the summer. It was more than big enough to cover my dad’s car, so when we took it off the garden, we just set it aside in the yard until we could get that done. When the winds picked up and threatened to blow it away, I shoved it through the back door of the garage, which leads to where my mom’s car is parked.
It’s so big, it filled up the space! I ended up having to fight through it when I needed to get through to the doorway to where our van is parked. :-D
I had some daylight left, so I decided to see how far I could get on another thing on my to-do list before winter.
Some clean up of the pile of larger wood, by the fire pit.
We may not have been able to use the fire pit over the summer, due to fire bans and unsafe conditions, but we should be able to use it in the winter. :-)
Among the dead trees I cut down, leaving tall stumps until I can come back with a chain saw, there are three spruce stumps that form a triangle.
I decided to take advantage of that.
My reciprocating saw got quite a workout today! I was able to cut to fire pit size, and move the enter pile of larger wood, and even get some larger pieces in the “kindling” pile!
The disturbed area by the tree with the tire around its base is where the pile was.
The tall stumps worked well to keep the stacked wood in place. We can also use them when we put a tarp over the wood. We can even nail it in place, so the wind won’t blow it away.
Yeah, we plan to get cheap tarps. Actually, there is at least one I saw in the barn that we can dig out and see if it is still usable.
We got a slightly warmer day today – a whole 8C – that I took advantage of to work outside. I was able to rake up some grass clippings in front of the barn – the grass there gets so dense, it’s hard for the mower to handle, and if the clippings get left behind, I find they make it even harder – and add it to the old kitchen garden.
Since I was out there, anyhow, I decided to see if I could move the trailer frame into the barn for the winter.
How to get it there was the question.
The trailer is too wide to go through the side door of the barn, that accesses the old hay yard. To get to the back door, it needed to be pulled through the remains of an old corral.
There were only two possible places I could get it through, on the north side of the old corral.
You see that big, collapsed fence post in the picture on the left? I figured I could just move that aside, and I could roll it over the rails – including what appears to be metal balcony or stair rails (I am finding these absolutely everywhere!). When I tried to pick it up, however, everything started to lift with it. It’s all still attached to the post!
On the edge of the photo, you can see a fence post that is still standing. The photo on the right is the other side of the post.
There is a “floating” fence rail, and the ground is incredibly rutted. Plus, there are a bunch of big rocks.
Neither opening was very good, but the one closer to the barn was slightly better – if I could get around that big post.
Once I got through there, it would be smooth sailing. I had an open space on the opposite side of the old corral.
After that, it was just a matter of getting it into the barn.
For some strange reason, I forgot that there were double doors in the back of the barn. I don’t remember ever, in my entire life, seeing both sides open before.
The cats were very interested in me clearing space for the trailer, and making sure there was no glass or nails on the floor.
The next thing was, how to pull it. There is a security chain at the hitch end, but it is short. Since its got only 2 wheels, if I lifted the front too high, the back hit the ground. If I didn’t lift it that high, however, I found myself hunched over, and at risk of injuring my back.
Into the barn I went and looked around. I found a couple of lengths of chain, one of which had a hook on it.
It was perfect!
The trailer also just made it through the space, with a bit of shifting around.
That tire by the fence post that’s still standing is actually in a deep rut.
It was awkward, but it worked!
The cats really like this thing.
It’s in!
It can now safely stay here, out of the elements, until we are in a position to put some plywood on it as a base.
Who knows. We might even *gasp* put some walls on it, too! :-D
Another thing off the to-do list for before winter!
Oh, and while I was clearing the space it would go in, I found something for the “strange things we find” list.
I’d found a couple at the start, and by the time I dragged the trailer in, I disturbed things enough that 3 more were uncovered.
Yeah. Those are .22 shell casings.
No, we don’t have a .22 My dad’s guns are among the things that went away when the place was empty, though I’m 99.9% sure I know who has them.
My guess is, someone was shooting through the open top of the split door, then just didn’t pick up after themselves. What they would be shooting at from here with just a .22, I have no idea.
Well, now that we’re here to take care of the place, we don’t have to worry about anyone doing stuff like that anymore.
We take advantage of the shelter over this window as a place to put the outside cat food containers, out of the rain. It isn’t much shelter, but it at least keeps their food mostly dry.
One of my plans for this summer was to dig up the dirt under the overhang and line it with bricks.
I noticed, however, there was thick plastic at the window, so I took advantage of having a daughter to hold the “roof” up and dug out the dirt to see just how far the plastic extended.
We were able to use all the chimney inserts that were piled behind the house, and even the last chimney block, while winterizing around the house. That meant I could finally clean up that area once and for all!
Today, things warmed up and got rather pleasant out there, so I took advantage of it to do the annual winterization around the house.
The situation was quite different, last year!
I was amused to look back at old posts and find we put the insulation around the house exactly a year ago today!
Just in time for the weather to turn. Raining ice pellets? I’d forgotten about that!
By the end of the day, we had tree damage and the power had gone out, and I was going around knocking ice off what I could reach, to prevent more damage.
What a gorgeous day we had today! We actually hit 19C!
I don’t expect we’ll hit above 10C again, for the rest of the year. It’d be nice, but I’m not going to count on it!
Which meant a final run around the yard. I took out the string of lights that wasn’t working, then hauled away a few more loads of pruned and cleaned up branches from the spruce grove; what hasn’t been cleaned up are in piles that can stay the winter. Mostly, I wanted access to the larger, less noisy, wheelbarrow! The straw around the old dog house I prepped for the cats to use over the winter had settled, so I added three more wheelbarrows of straw around the outside. I also finally cleaned up the platform for the clothes line. Some of what was on there went to the junk pile – we won’t be able to get that hauled away this year, unfortunately. There was a plastic bin under the bench seat on the platform that had some plant pots in it, sitting in half frozen rain water. The pots went into the shelf we’ve left by the sun room – that thing has been too handy to haul away. The bin itself was put back under the bench, but on its side, so it won’t collect water. Bricks that had been lying around went inside it, to ensure it doesn’t get blown away. One more little shelter from the weather for the cats, though they also go under the platform itself.
The tools and equipment have been put way, but into the sun room, not the garden shed. That shed will need to be hauled away with the junk, after we clear it out of whatever is not broken in there. I’ve put the garden hoses in there, but I hope to replace those next summer.
It looks like getting the trees done will have to wait until the spring, after all. The pump for our well has been making some strange noises when it first turns on, but I’ve never been able to get to it to record it, before the noise stops. We’ve been listening for it, as it doesn’t happen every time the pump turns on, and it seems to make the noise only after the pump has not had to turn on for several hours. So, mostly, when the first shower of the day is started. Before contacting the plumber I emailed my older brother about it. From the description, he says it sounds like the foot valve is letting water slowly leak down. If it has long enough time to leak, when it turns on again, it will make the grumbling noises we’ve been hearing, as it tries to prime itself.
If that’s what it is, it’s a job for the plumber, because fixing it would require taking the pipe out of the manhole outside.
I’ve asked the girls to let me know before the first one of them showers tomorrow morning, so I can go downstairs and start recording when the water is started, and hopefully catch the pump making the noise when it turns on. Then I can call the plumber, play it for him, and it will give him an idea of what it is.
This is one of those things we can’t take a chance on. If the pump goes, we have no water. Better to have it fixed now, before winter gets here! I’m just hoping we can pay for that, and still be able to get me to a dentist. :-(
Renting a wood chipper this fall is also out the window.
*sigh*
Once it was dark enough, I went out to check the lights again. One string shorter, but all are working!
I’m really happy with how the whole fence line is looking. After I took the broken string of lights down, I took the time to cut away the small underbrush I’d left behind, since I was focusing on getting the fence itself clear of the big stuff. There was enough of it to be in the way while walking back and forth, with the lights.
That done, I spent some time walking around, just enjoying the warm and peaceful night in the yard. Gosh, it is so nice! I really missed this, when living in the city. You can actually see the stars, and it’s so quiet. Even when being chased down and having my calves tackled by a Doom Guy. :-D
I played around with the “pro” settings on my phone to try and get some photos. Here’s one of them.
You can actually see a star next to that moon! I’ve resized the image, and some of the detail is lost. The lights on the bottom right are the solar lights I’ve got on each side of the vehicle gate into the yard, and you can see the moon reflecting on the metal roof of the garage.
Anyhow. As for as outside the house goes, we’re ready for winter.
Well, today was another day of plans changing, or getting switched around.
A trip into town for a medical appointment this morning has been rescheduled. I will still need to go into town this afternoon to pick up some prescription refills – and antihistamines! My husband woke up with half his face all swollen, and we don’t know why. It started with a slight irritation by his eye, so we’re thinking he might have touched something, then rubbed his eye, and reacted. But what? We only know of two allergies he’s got, and there’s no way it’s either of them.
The Re-Farmer 