IT'S COLD

Another cold morning here in Bancroft, -33*C. For our snowbird friends enjoying the warm sunshine on a beach somewhere, don't rush home. 

With the bobcat stuck Paul has been looking after clearing our driveway.

Since I'm stuck sideways on a hill and I don't want to risk the bobcat rolling over I've decided to wait until the snow melts then use the truck to pull it out. By then I can see what the ground is like and know which way to pull it safely.

We are expecting another 10 cm of snow later today so hopefully Paul will drop by some time Saturday morning. It's great to have someone to clear the driveway and look after the place.

We have started thinking ..... Maple Syrup. This will be our first year making our own and right now we are gather supplies: bottles, jugs, line, wood. Our plan is to tap 15 - 20 trees and learn from that experience. If all goes well and we are happy with the results we will expand the production a little each year. 

Glad to hear Bob is back on the road.

Safe travels everyone and thanks for stopping by.

FIRE STARTERS

Too much happening to stay off the internet for a month.  First off my bobcat is stuck, I mean really stuck. Every time I try to wiggle it out it slides further down the hill so I think I'll just leave it until spring when I can just drive it out.

Today we are making fire-starters. This idea came from Jamie who makes much nicer more elaborate ones. Ours are basic, Bancroft bush construction.

First you need strips of cardboard. Since I just bought new Sorels and they are wonderful, keeping my feet toasty warm when we walk on the lake, I had lots of cardboard.

Next step was to melt old candles in a tin pot on the wood stove.

Dip the strips into the paraffin and let it dry. Fires starters. Just place on a crumpled bile of paper, stack in some some wood strips and light the fire-starter. You get a fire every time. 


Make sure you use a Bancroft match!

Safe travels everyone and thanks for stopping by.

HOLIDAY TIME

I think this is a good time to take a break from our daily blog post. There isn't much "new" happening on a daily bases and we need to focus on getting some indoor projects finished before the nice weather returns and we are back outside. 

Check back in March when we try making maple syrup for the first time. That should be worth a blog or two.

Until then safe travels everyone.

ICY

Yesterday was a truly miserable day weather wise; cloudy, rainy, sloppy, foggy. Not the best day to be outside. Even Nathan who loves the outdoors called to say it was just too unsafe to be cutting trees.

Our driveway became a pond with the incline a water slide. By lunch time I was ready to get out and head north to the market at Maynooth but Mary wasn't sure we would make it. She was almost right.

House January 12th

Our driveway and cottage road presented the most challenge, slippery and rutted. Going out I could feel the car wanting to go its own direction on the hills. Fortunately the new snow tires could get just enough grip to keep us out of the ditch. Getting back up the hill might prove impossible.

For those of you who have been here you may remember that we have a bake oven right at the top of our driveway. Getting to the top on ice means taking a run at it and hoping the car behaves. Closer to the top, more gas was need. The tires spun and we started to move sideways. Would it be the ditch or the bake oven? Fortunately our tires found some gravel, took hold and straightened out. Up over the top and now we could coast the rest of the way.

This morning the driveway is snow covered and soft. Maybe we can get enough traction to get out safely, maybe not. We will see.

If we end up in the ditch I wont tell.

Thanks for stopping by.

FOGGY

We are into a January thaw which is typical of our winters here. A week ago we were dealing with -30*C (-22*F) temperatures today we expect the temperature to climb to +5*C (41*F). That is a considerable temperature swing and brings with it some unique situations and concerns.

One condition we experience is fog. As the warm air from the south  rolls across the frozen ground the air begins to cloud up and reduce ones viewing distance. It's like a cloud descends on your town. You can watch it first appear on the hill tops then slowly move down the slope into the valley. The moisture content will determine  how restrictive the fog is to your view. When it's thick it's like walking inside a cloud and your view is extremely limited.

Another challenge with the mild temperatures is rain. Our roof already has 2-3 feet of heavy snow and ice on it. Add another 15-20mm of rain and it might be too much for some roofs up here. I saw a man shovelling his roof yesterday just like you shovel your sidewalk. Obviously he was concerned about the snow load too.

Nathan may come later this morning to cut trees, it will all depend on the weather. 

Right now it's just sloppy and slippery underfoot.

This is the best medicine for sloppy days. Fresh batches of chocolate chip cookies just out of the oven,

I'll post some pictures if Nathan shows up..

Safe travels everyone and thanks for stopping by.

FINCHES

A mild morning here, only down to -20*C when we got up. 

The sun is to appear later which will be good for our batteries as they are down to 71% this morning. A good sunny day and they will be back to 100% by 3 pm.

We haven't had the finches around this winter but on Tuesday 6 showed up and yesterday there must have been 30. Not sure what they do for winter or where they go but it's good to see them at the feeders again.

Mary is busy with her quilts. She came home from yesterday's meeting with new ideas and excitement about future possibilities. Hopefully this means she will find some exciting quilt shows in places like Calgary, or St. John's and I'll have an excuse to hook up the trailer and hit the road.

Off to the mill this morning to get wood for our windowsills. Always something to do on the place.

Safe travels friends and thanks for stopping by.

SURVIVAL

Even the birds are feeling the effects of this Arctic blast. When it is bitterly cold out we stay indoors, enjoy the fire and some good homemade cooking. The critters who live on the other side of the glass don't have that option. 

This guy looks to be doing OK, cold but OK. He's fluffed up his feathers and tucked in his claws in an attempt to keep everything warm. He eats copious amounts of the seeds we put out and conserves his energy by sitting for long periods of time.

If you've been feeding the birds don't stop now,  many depend on you for survival.

As for me, I'm glad to be inside by the wood stove enjoying Mary's homemade soup.

Stay warm and safe everyone ............. a warmer weekend is coming.