Hill Top adventures
- Thread starter Shorty
- Start date
Headed back to the old barn again today. 20° is going to be cold in the open barn. Not sure what the agenda holds for the day. But it is sure to include moving shoring. Heard that the floor beams that need to be replaced, there are standing oak trees waiting to be cut and sized for replacements. Sounds like heavy work sliding them into place.
Winter time sounds like time for interior work!
I hate working outside in the winter. I needed to drop truck assemblies in rail cars yesterday. Decided to wait till the shop floor was clear and do it inside today.
I hate working outside in the winter. I needed to drop truck assemblies in rail cars yesterday. Decided to wait till the shop floor was clear and do it inside today.
I hear ya, it is nice inside.
Friday's work included closing off a window opening in an old brick warehouse. Tobacco storage for a cigar factory, probably built late 1800's The brick came from a wall that we tore out last summer. So the brick I used are period correct. Not the nicest brickwork I have done, the old brick can be tough to reuse and they really vary in size. But the owner came through several times while I was doing it and she totally loved it.
Today was a wood splitting day. Got a nice heavy duty splitter from a church friend. Heavy enough to push the Gravely around on the frozen slope of the yard. JR had a friend to help also. It was high time to get some split again. We were getting low, one more cold snap would have used it up. Had a few sizable pieces, the boys counted 58 stove pieces from one block. We did almost 2 cord before we ran out of time. It gave 2 yard cart loads of bark trash which got hauled back to the fence row to rot down. Boys had so much fun, they wanted to do it again next Sat, but that day is already filled with a Christmas banquet. 
Last time I split wood it was for a neighbor who had a massive tree cut down by the power company. I would up picking up the sections with Gertie and easing them onto the splitter than were so big.
Definitely easier than heaving them around by hand. This splitter had a lift cradle that the boys used.
Spent the day doing replacement windows. Dormer windows that no longer sealed. Something about grandkids being too rough. Close to home and finished early to start the holiday. JR just texted me asking if we have room for calves..... He got the chance to ride with a neighbor hauling hogs today. Makes me wonder if he slipped a couple calves along that he is asking.
Little brother thought they were scary until he saw big brother feeding them. Now its just really cool. Just got back from picking up JR at the farm. Hogs are loaded and on the road. 11 pm is pushing it fairly hard for a Mon night. I was already in bed when he called for a ride home.
It was a short night after getting JR home and doing chores before I left for a day of construction and JR left for school. It means we need to be in the barn by 5:45. Figured it would be a sleepy day at school for him. This is what he sent me to show how he felt.
He figured out that he can pm me from school here on TF. Now I get updates on how his day is going.
He figured out that he can pm me from school here on TF. Now I get updates on how his day is going.
A nice brisk morning today felt like a nice day to work up some more firewood. I had found a dead cherry that looked good to cut up. Of course it had to get hung up in the next two trees. Kind of a widow maker situation, so JR brought a rope and the Gravely down to me. "You just had to pick the hardest one to cut", easy to hear how high his confidence level of my tree cutting abilities is. Like, one in two million falls like planned...... He was able to pull it out to where it dropped down enough to safely cut. The next trees were leaning hard and easy to drop.
That's me just about every night!
Me too. Wife can't figure out how a person can be sound asleep a minute after hitting the pillow.
This week JR drug a flu bug home from somewhere. He was out of school most of the week. Of course he shared it with the family, it hit me yesterday hard. Thankfully I only had a part day at work finishing our scope of work at a nightmare job. Til this afternoon I was feeling really house bound but too weak n washed out to do anything. So I went out to the shed and tinkered with the chainsaw. I think the bar and chain are well on the way to replacement. But of course since I monkeyed with the adjustments I should give it a try. By the time I had half a tank of gas used, I could barely hold the saw, totally worn out. Time for an afternoon coffee.