Yardwork is NOT My Favorite Activity

I grew up a long long time ago.  My mom was pretty strict and had a few rules which we didn't break.  One was lying.  Lying wasn't acceptable.  She would say the punishment would be a lot less with the truth  than what it would be for finding out we were lying later.  Another thing was respecting others especially adults and the third was we could never use the word HATE.  She said we could dislike very very much, but never hate.

My mom has been gone for nine years so I feel free to tell the truth and say I HATE yard work.  I am not good at creating a beautiful yard.  I would not even want a manicured property.  I like it rustic, but right now it looks like a deserted landfill.  I had no choice but to begin what will be a very long process.  I am not a girly girl by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't like to sweat or get my hands and feet dirty.  I know it's a little too early, but we have been having some warmer weather and I have many days work ahead of me.  It isn't unheard of to have snowstorms in April, but I need to start.  If I get delayed by a snowstorm, so be it.  Another reason not to start too early is that many organisms and insects shelter in the dried grasses and foliage.  To make myself feel better about disturbing them, I hauled the raked up debris to the woods.  I promised my friend that I would never show my 73 year old feet on Facebook, so I won't here either, but you can imagine how much dirt seeped through this shoe. I really should get some proper footwear and gloves, it may make the job easier.

I started at one end of the house.  I raked leaves and debris, I pulled weeds and began trimming bushes.  So far I have hauled eight large wheelbarrow loads to the woods. 

 I may never finish, but it looks better than it did.  The grass is almost ready to mow for the first time this spring and a lot of the perennials are coming up.  Some of them like the bleeding heart plant and and hostas are coming up in areas I haven't cleaned up, so I am just leaving those areas.  I don't want to disturb them.  It's justification for being lazy.  Just being green makes everything look better.  

I am very glad I live in an area that can't be seen from the street and therefore don't feel the pressure of living in a neighborhood where everything has to look nice although I appreciate the effort made to make it that way.  So even though I HATE yard work, I love the flowers and trees that bloom and flourish in the spring in spite of my neglect. With rain, cold, and snow squalls sprinkled in the nice warm days, I have had several days off so I don't feel as sorry for myself as I would doing it day after day after day.   I'll keep plugging away and eventually our yard will look just fine.  I have had a lot of ticks so far and that is another reason I don't like working on the yard.  It won't be close to perfect, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

A Ride Through the White River Marsh

Even though the country is getting back to normal, we aren't quite ready.  My husband Mike and I have had both vaccines and feel comfortable seeing our family who were also vaccinated, but we are not ready to go shopping in stores or eating in restaurants.  I should say I'm more than ready, but we don't trust that a lot of other people are taking the virus as seriously as they should.  Today I just needed to get out of the house for a while.  We decided to take a ride.  We headed out of town toward the White River Marsh.  We had heard that a lot of logging had occurred and wanted to check it out.

The White River Wildlife area is a big 12,000 acre property in Green Lake and Marquette counties.  It consists of marsh land, meadows,  hardwood forests and habitat to a lot of birds and wildlife.  It is open to the public except for a small area which is sometimes home to whooping cranes.  There is a rustic dirt road that loops through the property.  We have traveled through there often.  This trip was not the same.  The area is being logged out.  It looks like a tornado hit the area and took out thousands of mature trees.  It is so sad looking. There are piles of cut logs stacked along the roadway and debris is everywhere.

It was later in the afternoon so we didn't think we would encounter any workers or trucks.  We were wrong.  About half way through we came across a big double trailer semi blocking the single lane road.  Fortunately there was a parking area nearby, so we pulled over and watched.  The worker we watched was very skilled.  He picked up a log or two and placed it carefully in position on the truck.

The piles of logs were all sorted.  Some were marked oak pulp, some said hickory and others with a variety of abbreviations or the names of lumber yards they were being shipped to.

Now the question is why this is being done.  I am not sure.  I found this on the Wisconsin DNR website. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/ The information isn't very clear or well written but it appears it is just a decision made to manage the area.  "White River Sedge Meadow features the largest southern sedge meadow in Wisconsin, and contains a full variety of environmental gradients due to the extensive size of the natural area. The wetland complex contains a deep marsh with cat-tails and tussock sedge and contains a good variety of emergent aquatic species to the south. Scattered shrub-carr islands are also present. Because of its size, White River Sedge Meadow has been identified as the best opportunity within Wisconsin to manage wet meadow birds, including many that are rare or uncommon. Thousands of sandhill cranes stage here every fall before their migration south. Scattered along the White River are patches of floodplain forest, which harbor rare birds. Other breeding birds include veery, prothonotary warbler, American redstart, and northern oriole. White River Sedge Meadow is owned by the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 2002.  Current management programs include wetland restoration and water level manipulation in the impoundments, upland dry prairie restoration to promote Karner blue butterflies and other grassland related wildlife, oak savannah restoration. Mourning dove habitat manipulation for banding and hunting opportunities on sunflower and other crop fields."  

They probably have a method to this madness and after a few years of recovery, we may understand.  Right now it just looks like a big mess.  No wonder we are seeing wildlife that we have not seen before like bobcat and bear.  There are also a lot more owls.  Maybe they are being forced elsewhere.  This may not be the reason but if this is being done here, it's probably being done around the state.  

It was a nice couple hours out of the house and gave us a lot to think about.

Ewan's Making Maple Syrup

Anyone who has driven around the countryside in central Wisconsin has seen more and more maple trees being tapped.  Sometimes it is a huge operation with tubing attached to the trees which is constantly collecting sap and transporting it to a large evaporation unit.  I have written about making maple syrup before.    http://www.thecabincountess.com/2015/03/making-maple-syrup-old-fashioned-way.html  I don't know if this increased activity is something to do during the pandemic or because the supplies are readily available, but many people are trying it.  I have seen news stories where school classes are doing it as a safe outdoor activity to teach students.  I saw a house in our town with one big tree in their front yard tapped.  Sometimes people collect the sap in plastic bags and sometimes they just hang a bucket.  The bucket method was what was used by our grandson Ewan.  Of course, it is another Old Time Skill he wanted to try.  Six years ago when he was a little tyke, we took a tour that he remembers.  http://www.thecabincountess.com/2015/03/a-maple-syrup-tour.html

My daughter and son in law have huge maple trees in their yard.  I am sure they would break some sort of size record and have probably been there for many many years.  It was a perfect chance to try collecting sap.  When the days become warmer and the nights remain cool is when the the sap starts running.

They bought some special tapping spouts and hung some buckets.  It doesn't hurt the tree.  Almost immediately the sap started to drip into the bucket. 

It was amazing how fast the sap accumulated in the buckets.  He had to empty the sap a couple times a day or on some days more often.

The sap is almost clear and tastes slightly sweet.  Sometimes you see squirrels licking trees.  They are tasting the sap that is oozing out in the springtime.  It doesn't have to be a maple tree.  Syrup can be made from other trees such as hickory.  The taste is different but the process is the same.

In less than a week, they collected twenty gallons of sap.  Since the ratio of sap to syrup is 40 to 1, you need a lot of sap.  Twenty gallons would make a half gallon of maple syrup.

After gathering the sap, the cooking process begins.  They began the process outside on a wood stove. Slowly the sap is heated to evaporate the water content and it leaves behind the sweet amber syrup.  It is a long process.  When it started to turn a light brown, they brought it into the house to finish the process.  Of course, Ewan had to taste it to make sure it was just right.

Another great educational activity Ewan and his dad could participate in together.  He has had more experiences in his ten short years than I have had in more than seventy years.

Drum roll please!   Here is the final product.  It looks delicious, and better yet it was basically free.  I hope I will be able to taste it some day.  

Good Help Is Hard To Find

The saying good help is hard to find is an under statement.  We will be able to stay in our home for a long time if only we can find a dependable, tidy, and competent handyman (or a handy woman).  Our family would help out if we would ask, but we don't want to be constantly relying on them.  Certain home owning tasks are not as easy as they once were.  We have been looking for someone to clear our overgrown hill which goes from our deck to the water line.  This is my son in law and grandson trying to get through the overgrowth to get the canoe in the water. 

When trying to contact workers,  people don't call back or they don't show up.  Last August, I finally got someone to come out and give us an estimate.  He was very animated and convincing about his qualifications and neatness.  He failed to mention that he likes to give estimates but is full of excuses when he doesn't show up.  The estimate was written the end of August, and it was not very detailed.  Verbally he mentioned what it included.  This should have been a red flag, but he said he would come around October 1 so I overlooked it.  I waited until the middle of October to call.  He said he was busy.  He said it was windy.  He said taking a big tree down wasn't included in the bid etc. etc.  Two more months passed and he still hadn't shown up or contacted us.  Just before Christmas I called and told him to forget it.  I don't think he ever intended to do the job.  He was all talk.  I realized it was a hard job, but he should have just said no if he didn't want to do it.

Then around the beginning of January 2021 a flyer came in the mail advertising a local company which we had never heard of.  The card said they would do land clearing, brush removal and tree removal.  It was just what we needed.  I called them and they came and gave us an estimate.  No pressure, just an estimate which was much less than the first guy.  I called him back in a couple days and told him to put us on his schedule.  He said he could do it between the middle of February and beginning of March.  Lo and behold, he actually came.  He timed it when there wasn't too much snow left but before it thawed and got muddy.  This young man worked really hard all by himself.  My daughter teased me and asked what I consider a young man.  She was right.  Even 50 years old would be a young person, but this kid was 20 something.  He worked for 4 hours straight without taking a rest break.

It is hard to see how overgrown this area is, and it doesn't look as bad in the winter with all the leaves and grasses dead.  Looking out the window, it was very hard to see the water.

 As he cut and trimmed, he piled the brush on edge of the ice.  

He asked if we minded if he burned the brush.  It would save a lot of hauling and burning couldn't be done any other time of year.  

When all the brush and small trees were cut, he cut down a very tall oak tree.  It fell right between a couple other trees we wanted to save.  It's amazing how they can direct how trees fall by how they make the cuts.

When the tree was down, he cut it in sections.  He then brought his skid loader to haul the logs up the hill.  We are saving the logs to cut up for firewood.  

 

 

 

Now our work begins but if it takes all summer to cut up these logs it is fine.  There is also some burnable material left at the bottom of the hill that we might try to retrieve.  We have a pretty large supply of firewood already and with a little luck, we are finished burning for this winter.  It never hurts to plan ahead.

 Our view looks so different  The before and after view.

Having the Right Tools

For some reason at this stage in my life Sunday's are long days for me.  Those who still work don't want Sunday to end because it means Monday morning is close at hand.  There is no mail to fetch and no talk shows to watch.  The weather isn't warm enough to sit outside so therefore, I decided to write another blog to pass the time.  Yay, right?  Don't get excited because it won't be much, but I mentioned I would write about my favorite things every once in a while.  I have several.  When I started writing this blog on December 12, 2012, I reported almost daily what was going on in my life.  I still report the most mundane things, but not as often.  I mentioned very early that I would write about my favorite small appliances and gadgets.  I have done that many times, but I still have a few in mind.  My first review in 2012 was very brief.  It was about the Vidalia Chop Wizard (http://www.thecabincountess.com/2012/12/a-day-of-recovery.html) and I still love that gadget.  The one I'm writing about today is similar but I use it for different things.  The Vidalia cuts vegetables for certain recipes.  The small squares are suitable for making soup or larger squares for stews.

My idea to write about this gadget began with a Facebook post as many of them do.  It showed how to use an old knuckle buster for decoration.  I really don't know the real name for this.  We always called it a knuckle buster because you had to be super careful using it or you would bust up your knuckles.  It is a cheese shredder, cabbage shredder or potato slicer.  For those who don't know what I am talking about, here is the tool.

This is the decoration I made.  I just turned it upside down and hung it on the wall.  I couldn't find a decent towel to hang, but I will.

It's cute enough.  I probably won't leave it up for too long.  I had just done this, and I saw another post about shredding cheese in one of these and how you should turn it on its side to catch the shreds.  I saw several comments and was amazed that people still use them.  Mine has been in my box of antiques for years.  I suppose it's very portable but I remember them being a bear to clean.

What I use doesn't have a name either.  I should say I don't know the name because everything has a name.  I had a version of this fifty years ago, but only upgraded when QVC presented this several years ago.

It is just a series of disks for slicing and shredding.  It's basically the same concept as the old fashioned utensil with no risk of cutting yourself and it requires almost no effort.  It is so easy, I always shred my own cheese.  Manufacturers put potato starch or cornstarch on pre-shredded cheese along with a product to keep mold from forming.  Some manufacturers even put cellulose on the cheese.  It keeps it from clumping in the package, but I really don't want anything like that added to my cheese.  

First determine what you want to do.  If you want to make scalloped potatoes, attach the slicing blade.  Put the potato in the hopper and shut it.  Then just turn the crank.  You can slice carrots the same way or make hash browns with the shredding disk..

The process is so simple.  It takes all the work out of making these kind of meals. I was watching a presentation by a friend recently.  She said when she compliments her husband on doing a woodworking task he says it's all about having the right tools.  My husband says the same thing.  It's all about having the right tools for the job.  The same is true with cooking and life in general.  Life's coping tools are just as important as kitchen tools or woodworking tools and today mine was staying in my pj's, watching Anne of Green Gables for the umpteenth time and writing another blog. 

Robot Vacuums Are Awesome

I decided to be more selective as to what I write about.  Looking back at my books, I wrote about plenty of silly things just so I could write.  I wrote about some things that I thought were so great that ended up being not so great.  I made a decision not to write about this next topic.  I thought it would seem a topic of little interest, frivolous and extravagant, but then I reconsidered.  How comical will it be thirty years from now to see what I considered frivolous in 2021.  Even today I imagine some people are shaking their heads thinking since when is a vacuum cleaner frivolous.  After all it isn't a fur coat or a fancy car.

It all started after Christmas of 2020.  My good friend Connie mentioned that she received her all time favorite Christmas gift from her daughter.  It was a robot vacuum cleaner.  She explained how much she loved it and even named it Robbie.  I asked a few questions about it including the brand.  At that point I had no intention of getting one.  I thought the price would be out of range.  I had seen demos on QVC and just didn't believe it was something I would need or want.

I have to preface this with the fact I love to buy vacuum cleaners.  My daughter loves shoes, my mother had a big collection of coffee pots,  my husband buys tools and I like crafting supplies.  Ha, ha I bet you thought I was going to say vacuum cleaners, but I have always liked to find the easiest most efficient way to clean my house.  I remember back in the 1970's when I purchased a Sears canister vacuum cleaner with a super long retractable cord and an upright powerhead that plugged into the canister unit.  I thought it was the best thing ever, and it was for its time.  I did sit through demonstrations by the Rainbow company and a Kirby vacuum cleaner salesperson.  It was tempting but the salespeople were so high pressure, I would get very annoyed with them.  No matter the quality of the machine, I just couldn't buy from them even though they were just trying to make a living.  I went through several Hoovers, Eurekas,  etc. but they never lasted more than a couple years.  You do get what you pay for in vacuum cleaners.  Fast forward to ten or twelve years ago.  I had heard nothing but praise for Dyson products.  I decided to go for it.  I had a big Kohl's coupon plus the machine I wanted was on sale.  I bought it, and it really is the best.  I still have it and have never had a minutes trouble.  Then my daughter purchased a Dyson cordless cleaner which has a battery.  You keep it plugged into the wall and grab it for quick jobs like the kitchen floor or by the front door.  I bought my own when they were closing out the V7 model.  I loved it and started to use it all the time.  I rarely took out my "big Dyson".  

So how could I possibly need another vacuum?  Obviously I didn't need it, but I thought I would research it a little just to see.  The demos fascinated me, and the cost was affordable.  I opted for a basic model which wasn't compatible with Alexa.  That wasn't a problem because most people and things don't get along with Alexa.  Although her and I are good friends.  She reads to me, plays the music I like and spells words.  Buying the robot vacuum was the best decision.  I just love it.  We named her Hazel after the 1960's sitcom character.  Unless you're my age, that name will mean nothing but in the TV show she was a live-in maid.  

Hazel is awesome.  It comes with a remote control and a docking station.  I put the docking station in my bedroom out of the way, but she can always find her way back.  

My first use for her was in my bedroom.  I picked up anything off the floor that I thought she may get tangled in and set her to clean.  She went under the bed and under the dressers.  I am embarrassed to say, those are spaces that very rarely get cleaned, and I won't be sharing the picture of the dust bin.  Thankfully each cleaning since has produced a lot less dust and dirt.  Hazel is a better worker than me.   I learned quickly the places where she could get hung up and now block them off.  She almost always backs up and changes her route on her own.  When she does get herself in a situation, she just beeps until I check on her.  She can go to the edge of steps and won't topple over, but just turns herself around.  I like that she can go from carpet to hardwood floors and back without any problem.  

It can be set to go in circles for spot cleaning, do the edge of the room or randomly work it's way around to all the surfaces.  You can even buy a water tank and cleaning mop cloth that is sold separately to mop your floor.  I haven't looked into that yet.  Amazingly it hits all the spots if you just let her do her thing.  Although when I first got Hazel, she decided to start cleaning one night at midnight.  Luckily I had just settled into bed, so I grabbed the remote, pressed home and told her to go back to bed.  Come to find out, she was in automatic mode and the time was set for midnight.  She was just following instructions.  Although I would never leave her alone to clean, I did learn quickly about that feature.

I used to just sit and watch amazed, but now I do other things while she works.  Talk about multi tasking.  Almost everyday, I set Hazel to vacuum a different room.  

I should be set for vacuum cleaners for a very long time.  Connie got us hooked on Alexa and now Hazel, so who knows what she will find in the future that we can't live without.  I have a lot of favorite things that I may have to write about just so my grandchildren can have a good laugh many years from now.

Education Doesn't Always Come From School

Yes, I know I have five amazing grandchildren.  They are all individuals in their own right, and I love each of them.  It appears that I write most of my grandchild blogs these days about ten year old Ewan.  I have written about the others over the years, but now they are older and because of the quarantine,  I just don't have access to all the wonderful things they do.  Ewan is the youngest, and it won't be long before he will reach the older group so I have to write about him for as long as I can although I have a feeling he will always be trying new things.

Last week he had a four day weekend.  On Monday, he decided he wanted to sew.  Since we haven't seen them for quite a while, I want to thank our daughter Heather for sending us pictures and keeping us up to date.  Ewan's dad sews a lot of functional items like bags, tarps and workshop aprons so he's a good teacher.  Ewan wanted to make an apron.  His dad had made an apron when he was in middle school and still had the pattern.  Ewan practiced for a while with the sewing machine.  He sewed through paper without thread just to get the feel of the machine.  Then he found some material he liked and started sewing for real.

He stuck with it and soon he had accomplished his first big sewing project.  He has made small little items with a needle and thread, but I think this was his first with the sewing machine.  It isn't a treadle sewing machine that he would use for his old time skills, but knowing him that will come at some point.  He now has a great looking apron complete with pockets. 

Since he was dressed for it, he decided to do some baking.  He has mastered making cookies, Nana's special dumplings and attempted bread a week ago.  On this day, he decided on a new bread recipe. Since a picture or in this case five pictures are worth a thousand words, here they are.

It looks good.  He modified his recipe a bit.  He substituted almond milk for dairy milk because he wanted his mom to be able to eat it.  Notice the kitchen, it's all cleaned up.  He even cleaned up his baking mess.  Ewan may not have had school this day, but he learned a lot of valuable skills.