Archive for ‘October, 2008’

Early Winter Storm

Those pretty photos of snow on the mountains here in the Flathead Valley were only the “tip of the iceberg” for an early winter storm. Here, it has been sunny but very cold for this time of year – in the low 20’s last night, mid 40’s yesterday and until last night a cold wind from the south east.

But southwest Montana – a very different story…

Montana Department of Transportation has a great web site for travelers. (So do WY, CO and probably others…) A state highway map shows road conditions. In the summer, construction delays and circumstances are detailed. In winter, the above. I use this site and have used Wyoming and Colorado sites when I’ve travelled in my motorhome in winter, which I love to do! But I allow plenty of time so as to be able to sit out dangerous driving conditions. It is tools like these which help me make the decision to go or stay parked.

Monida Pass (above from the MT DOT web cams) is currently closed for blowing, drifting snow and icy conditions. Above shows why. Monida Pass is on I15 – the road south into Idaho and then Utah. It is a high, wide, open pass with a gradual ascent and descent versus a steep, winding through the mountains pass. It is prone to very high winds

Homestake Pass is on I90 heading east from my location. Going east it is a gradual ascent, but a steep, winding descent. It is beautiful, and good road, but can be treacherous. The summit rest and vehicle check area has an ominous sign about the number of truckers killed on the eastern descent and warns of checking equipment thoroughly and obeying all speed signs (25 mph for over 10,000 lbs) until the descent flattens out.

I am glad to not be near it in the motorhome today! And much as I love winter and snow, I also love fall and am not unhappy that this storm missed my area. November is plenty soon for snow on the ground. I will be happy to enjoy a couple more weeks of fall!

Saturday chores

Yesterday was a chore day… first up was dusting and cleaning floors. I don’t do these things on any kind of schedule…I dust when the sun shines at such an angle that it forces me to notice that I can write my name in the dust on shelves, etc. Although I vacuum the floor nearly daily, because it is wood, I am fairly sure that all I accomplish with the vacuum is blowing the dust, hair and dirt to the edges and under things where it forms gigantic dust bunnies. They hide until someone visits and then they skitter out to betray my “only when things get desperate” style of housekeeping.

I noticed that in the last several days the floor was feeling a bit gritty – that is my signal that it is time to get serious. In the living room, I picked up the pet bed and put it on the back of a chair while I worked in there.

“Where my bed goes, I goes”…

Next up on the chore list was firewood. I have about 1/3 of a cord of small larch pine that was cut to length for my stove 2 years ago. I had cut several small live trees that were in the way of the motorhome spot and they are now nice and dry – easy to split and ready for a nice crackly fire – the larch “spits excessively” – snap, crackle, pop in the stove.

My method of splitting I call aerobic splitting…

I like to set 3 or 4 logs in a semicircle and take a whack at them in succession. I use a splitting maul vs a hammer and wedge. Splitting wood is more about letting the tool and momentum do the work vs strength, but it does take some effort to swing the maul with accuracy and to coordinate motion so that body and maul weight is doing most of the work. I find that the rhythm of doing several at once works for me.

Karl supervises….from a distance.

They all split on first whack – but some I split again. I’m splitting these small larch fairly small to use as fire starter and small fire fuel. I have a stock of larger fir and pine for larger, longer stove use.

Wheelbarrow full from 7 smallish rounds.

Karl and I had taken a walk before the wood splitting commenced. The walk was partially my “warm up”. I hadn’t done any hand splitting for 2 years. The fall I moved into the house I bought 4 cords of wood and the handyman that worked for me at the time had a splitter which we used. And while feeding the splitter and then stacking is still work, it was much faster and easier. I have nearly 3 cords of dry wood leftover from the logging done in early 2007. I am doing a wonderful trade with my friends Kris and her husband, Hal. Some of my computer/photography expertise for Hal cutting the wood to length, as well as taking down several dying trees and downfall that can dry for next year. I will rent a splitter for that project, but until then I enjoy hand-splitting a bit now and then.

I split 14 rounds – 2 wheelbarrows full – 1/4 of the little 1/3 cord…enough for me for the day!

Karl thought it was enough also.

We played “Karl’s rules soccer-football”….

“You get it, Mom”

Done for the day.

Into the sunshine

Yesterday, I took the afternoon off. After a brief appointment in Whitefish I visited a dear friend whose home and company is “peace and serenity” – and fun and interesting – and with beautiful views of the mountains. Her house sits a half a mile off the main road down a country lane that has 3 or 4 houses in that first quarter mile – the last quarter mile winds around a lovely open meadow and then up a small hill to the house.

As I was leaving – turning onto the lane where the other houses sit… two rabbits sat munching on late dandelions and thistles in the grass near the road. They were a black rabbit and a cottontail. And they were sitting so close and so companionable when I first saw them that I immediately thought of a favorite childhood book: The Rabbits Wedding, written and illustrated by Garth Williams.

The sound of the jeep startled the cottontail and he moved into the pasture but the black rabbit, sat still and watched.

The Rabbits Wedding is a simple, sweet story with beautiful illustrations.

“Every morning they hopped out of bed and out into the early morning sunshine”.