Good Morning!!!! 61F @ 8:15AM. Sunny. High 82F. Winds light and variable.
The wind advisory ended at 8PM yesterday, but nobody told the wind that. It started howling just after midnight, and the crashing and banging that ensued woke me up and kept me up for several hours. Seems to have calmed down now, a good thing, I need to get a burn pile going and feed it most of the day as I limb and buck the wood that's down.
Bill, that's some great looking wood you have on the ground there. Looks like a lot of work, too, and I can see how you'd be a little sore after a work out in that size wood gym!
Glad you're getting some nice weather, Eric. Time for some more little lamb pics? No buttercups where I grew up, but I think we played the same game with dandelions. Some wildflowers are starting to pop up here, but it's a thin crop due to the lack of rain.
Here they've started giving CV19 jabs to anyone over 16, so the vaccine supply must finally be catching up with demand. They've also graduated the county to orange status, so restaurants can use 50% of their inside seats, and some restrictions are lifted from sporting events. Bars, breweries, and wineries can reopen, too. But no end in sight for masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing.
Just over a week since my Moderna shot, and reaction free since day four. I didn't see any difference between it and a regular flu shot; just some pain at the injection site.
Started off yesterday putting a new cartridge in the grease gun, then using the better part of it on the FEL and grapple. Took the tractor and the electric chainsaw, along with about 75' of log chain, up to the mailbox and went after the dead oak that's been hanging over the front gate. Put the chain on it about head high, tensioned the other end with the tractor, then weakened it with the chainsaw. Stopped cutting at the first "crack!", gave it one pull with the tractor, and down it came. Still got a glancing blow on the cables to the king post, so had to redo the tension in those to get the gate latch working again, but no other damage. The day before's practice paid off! Used the chains to haul a fairly large oak up from down grade by the driveway, then came back and used the chain and chainsaw on another one right next to it. It fell with the crown on the side in the direction I needed to move it, so I just kept pulling and the trunk pivoted up hill to the point it was almost to the driveway. Re-rigged it, removing two of the chains, and got it up to the driveway, at which point I could rig it again so that the box blade could keep the trunk from digging in while I skidded it down to the wood pile. Found a couple others and by the time they were moved I was out of room for more. Started using the grapple on a bunch of dead manzanita, and finally figured out how best to get a full bite. Also got a better feel for how the tractor handled on the side hill, and at 15° it still felt really stable. The rear wheel spacers seem to be working! Started another pile with the manzanita that I'll feed gradually to the fire so I can keep the flames down. Big fires are impressive, but I've gotten so I don't care so much for the excitement anymore. Finished up the day sifting through all the scraps that have accumulated under the splitter, saving the small bits for kindling, and dumping the rest in the burn pile.
Hope everyone enjoys their Hump Day!!!