2022 Frozen Tundra Farm Report

[sKePTiKal]

I'm kinda weird. If all I had was duck & goose eggs, I'd eat them - but I actually prefer store bought chicken eggs. Hol uses 'em same way as other eggs for everything. They're slightly bigger so some adjustments in recipe are required.

[lighter]

Are you going to raise chickens?

[sKePTiKal]

We have 4 right now Lighter. 2 Roos... altho I've been hearing that one has a tentative date with the plucker. 

I might get chickens for us, in the future - but I'm still struggling with the commitment to livestock on a daily basis. B and I will talk about and decide. We need to talk about a lot of other things too as far as future. Right now we're just deciding things on the fly; winging it.

[Hopalong]

As the low-rent queen of animal impulses, I vote: hold off until certain and count the time-sink of every chore.

I barely swerved to avoid adopting a domestic rabbit this week. Made myself read up a lot on how many precautions I'd need to avoid chewed-through wires and more, and decided against it. With regretful realism.

hugs
Hops

[lighter]

Things can always change and morph into something else if you decide they aren't what you need them to be, Amber. 

Do you ever think about raising goats or rabbits (sorry, Hops)?

I think you'd be organized enough, along with your co workers, to keep rabbits. 

Lighter

[sKePTiKal]

Feed, vet, housing, bedding, and mucking out.... in addition to weeding, starting, pruning, maintaining & harvesting. You need a working vaca, Lighter? 

[Hopalong]

MORE snow coming here!
Haven't left the house in two weeks.

Not going nuts. Have food.
As long as internet stays on, I'm good.

But this is something.

Whoo. I think.
hugs
Hops

[lighter]

::covered in snow here too::..

The girls heard me shout NOOOOOOoooooo earlier and asked WHY I shouted.

I had to backtrack through the whole hour till I remembered looking out the window to the snow sticking and covering the ground.... THATs what made me yell NOOOOOOooooooo.

Lighter

[Hopalong]

Another big Noooo!
I don't mind snow but had a new surprise...main sewer line clogged and as my washing machine was draining there was a tsunami backflow -- the toilet overflowed and the bathtub filled. Damn. And GROSS.

Plumber's coming Monday but the estimate is a big hit. My wallet is Noooo!-ing too.

But that's what a 1955 house does now and then...surprises. Ugh. I can't clean the tub well because of my back so the bathroom doesn't smell nice and looks worse. Guess plumbers have seen everything. Sigh.

But on Tuesday the cleaner comes back, thank god, and I'm paying her double as I know missing times was hard when she couldn't get out. When I get back that afternoon it'll feel like a miracle. Eyes on the prize.

Hang in everybody, when winter's over the reward comes! SPRING will still spring regardless of our woes, and nature will still give us beauty at every turn.

hugs
Hops

[sKePTiKal]

Personally, I'm liking the snow. We only got a couple inches and with 4, soon to be 5, 4x4s here - and the equipment - getting around isn't a problem. I'd prefer NOT running out every couple days, but it hasn't worked that way lately. County won't even plow our road for this little. We had a carb-load dinner last night: meatloaf, stuffing & mashed taters/gravy. And I have an extensive library of movies to pick from - or we've been streaming some stuff too.

Helga is getting put back together in the studio garage, so I can't exactly set up to start seeds yet - giving me an excuse for why I'm not even thinking about it just yet.

Buck has one pre-surg appt on the 3rd; just normal protocol. And we're still waiting on them to find a surgeon and get that appt set up. Contractor didn't bring the shop doors this week - even tho Hol told him he could get his truck in. 
So, we're still kinda stuck in limbo about planning.

Kitties are planning a revolution this morning; I'd best go feed them before they break something.

[lighter]

Noooooo, Hops!  I'm mortified with you and a huge tree just shook the ground somewhere nearby in this wind!  I heard it go over.. 

Not happy with this at all

[lighter]

Turns the tree fell on the retired ER nurse's garage, sending a big branch through her living room ceiling.  She's fine, but her house is not.

Hops, how are you doing?  Is the sewer line cleared out yet?  When I lived North of here, the older sewer line in the house I rented was made of what looked like shingle matierial..... just a terrible choice.  The plumber used a high pressure water jet to blow out and clear the problem, but the pipe itself was deteriorting. 

Are you talking about the line from your house to the street as the "main" sewer line being clogged?

Lighter

[Hopalong]

Yikes! So glad the nurse neighbor wasn't hurt. So scary to hear that thundering crash. Trees came down through so many houses here in a derecho years back.

I'm assuming the main pipe is what the business owner I described it to on the phone was saying. He couldn't come himself as he's committed to large projects, but the first person he referred me to is able to come Monday. (I didn't want to pay emergency fees for weekend service since the sinks and toilet are functioning okay for now.)

Most of the plumbing lines in my house have been updated since the 50s, but there's one that does worry me. For some reason, updating didn't include a ginormous cast iron circular porthole-looking thing where the indoor lines exit to head to the street (water main, hookup to city sewer, etc). It was fine at purchase 9-10 years ago, but this freeze might've done it in. Then again, one of my guys told me at the time it could continue to function way longer that one might expect.

But I don't have to diagnose it. Just manage the cost.

hugs
Hops

[sKePTiKal]

Right after I bought this place - my first Feb. when it was this cold - my main septic line backed up. In the evening. My plumbers were here until 9 pm before they called in the "master waste line fixer". Around 11 pm, it was finally determined (via camera in the line) that I had a break that had frozen. Hence the backup. Had to have that section replaced and because code no longer allows that long a run of pipe - my guys added to clean outs to each shorter section of the run down hill to the septic tank.

The broken section? Someone had patched it with cardboard & duct tape. Made me wonder what other "abominations of common sense" would be discovered as I worked my way through updating all the systems. Gotta say - the furnace replacement is working extremely well compared to the old system. We still have a fire at night tho. Nothing is as comforting as radiant wood heat. I'm still collecting estimates for my roof replacement; waiting on cost of additional insulation and gutters at the moment. House is about 2000 sq ft but the roof has dormers and multiple angles/peaks on it. I should call him this week.

But it's tax season; and I have a lot of other "admin/mgmt" type stuff to do.... S's sister has died at 32; breast cancer... he went to see her a week ago; B is still trying to get a surgeon referral appt before he goes home next weekend... and Hol is bugging me about teaching her to read the business financial reports, without being patient enough to let me explain why something is/isn't important. It's winter; she's bored. But I think we got the greenhouse kit logistics worked out - I delegated that to her too and B helped work out a solution.

[lighter]

Cardboard and duct tape.

::nodding::.

I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time.

I'd be very concerned about other "repairs" made by the previous owner too.

Hops: The retired nurse was walking a dog about 20 feet from the tree when it went down.  She heard it crack and felt the wind hit her as it fell.  Scary and that was with another tree perhaps guiding it away from landing closer to her and the 5 lb dog.

The tree crew worked all morning with a wood chipper and crane....some nifty little tree moving mobile.... all the guys communicating like clockwork to efficiently and safely perform their jobs.  It was loud but fascinating to watch.

How's your plumbing problem going?

Lighter