Boys and the Toys

I know I’m way behind on blogging… just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. Hopefully I can slowly get caught up so be patient with me. This activity took place the first weekend in April.

It’s becoming painfully clear to us that we are outgrowing our yard. Mark rented this tractor for the weekend so he and Greg could get some things done. We’ve decided to expand the driveway because at some point probably everyone will be home with vehicles. They also wanted to take up the stumps from our recent tree removal. Unfortunately the stumps proved to be too much for this tractor so we’ll probably have to get a stump grinder in. Mark did that for the area he parks his truck in.

We had a load of fill delivered and between the three of us moved the little stone border that was around the flower bed, moved the gazebo and plantings. A new garden is in progress and will make for another update.

 

Sad to say the above was the before. It will be nice to have the extra space.

This is the end product that will either be paved or covered with crushed stone like the area Mark’s truck is parked on. We wanted to get some quotes before we make up our minds.

The Annual Burn

March 11th was our or should I say Mark’s annual burn. We had an exceptionally large pile this year because of the recent tree removal. I guess it’s a guy thing but Mark really seems to enjoy this. 

Of course every job needs to have a foramen. I think we’re both enjoying the fact that Mark does pretty much all of the major yard work. Last week when it was so mild I got a lot of beds cleaned out, which was incredible to have that much work done so early.

Too bad we don’t have a fireplace.

Yard work is always more fun when the toys get involved.

As a side note, yes I did.

I stood in line 1.5 hours at a mall in New Hampshire (no sales tax) and got the latest ipad via Christmas and birthday money I have been saving. Yes the display is unbelievable and I am enjoying it.

Enjoying the Day.

Last week Emily and Derek had spring break. We took Emily back to school yesterday. The weather was incredible. It hit the high 70’s. After we dropped her off we stopped along the way and took some photos. The sky was such a beautiful blue. Above is a panoramic shot taken from the hairpin turn.

 

We’ve driven by this monument many times and finally stopped. It’s the George W. Emerson Memorial Walk and a tribute to the Indian. Greg is looking at a fountain with tribe names and info around it.

This is the view as we looked up to the Indian who was honoring the sunrise.

This area of the drive was hit hard by the storm at the end of August. Parts of the road were washed out and banks slid into the stream as seen by the above erosion. The road didn’t open until the end of December. It’s such a pretty stretch of the Mohawk Trail it helps to make a long trip a little more fun.

This area had tubing woven from tree to tree collecting sap for maple syrup.

Our last stop was at the Gould’s Sugar House. On the way to Em’s school the stack on the back of the building was pushing out huge volumes of steam. On our way home it was off. There was a little gift shop so we bought a few things. The woman running it said they just finished the last boil of the season. They have a small restaurant that is open in September, October, March and April. We couldn’t help but take the below photos for Gary and Paula. As a point of interest they charge $50 for a gallon and $28 for a half gallon of maple syrup.

Now there’s a boiler.

In Like a Lion

This is where we were a week ago. It was my birthday and March blasted in with our only snow storm except for Halloween. I prefer at this point in my life to count backwards for my birthdays. I just wanted to share with you the beautiful cake that Greg got for me.

All said and done we got around 4-6 inches of heavy, wet snow. It was a two day event and made the weather announcers go spastic, it has been a slow season for them. I had to work that day so it took a little longer to get in.

The picture above was from this storm and the one below was from last winter. What a difference a year makes. It’s like we didn’t even have winter this year. I think we had less than 10 inches for the whole season. I keep wanting to put away the shovels but am afraid to jinx everything.

One of the interesting things after a fresh snow are all the animal tracks in the yard. The above photo looks as if an entire herd came through.

I always enjoy watching the birds. This was from last week. Last evening while we were watching TV we heard a crash, there was a big raccoon on the deck. He had knocked the feeder down. I can’t ever remember them coming out of hibernation this early. Today we got into the high 60’s. I was able to open the windows and enjoy an outdoor bike ride.

Making Space for the New Barn

Above is the before picture and below is after. Last Sunday one of Mark’s friends and a buddy that work for a tree company came over to take down three trees. Our usual tree guy has been busy so Mark got a hold of these guys. Because Mark and Greg have become Harbor Freight junkies they have outgrown the existing barns. In fairness the barn in this picture is the original and over 25 years old now.

It always amazes me when we have trees removed that once they’re gone I hardly notice the difference because our property is so heavily wooded. They did open the skyline up a little and we’ll appreciate less leaves to rake in the fall.

It really is amazing how fearless these guys were. It was quite windy and they didn’t seem to mind. As you know every job needs a foreman and Mark excels in that position. He is also available as the ground gopher.

Greg’s 4 wheeler really helped with the cleanup. Mark’s buddy enjoyed riding around on it too.

Head’s Up! The trees shook the house when they fell. Everyone manned the Stihls for the cutting.

We’re going to have a heck of a burn pile this year. Most of it is behind the pine so you can’t see how high it it. This morning when I looked out our window there were three deer nibbling on the buds from the downed branches. There are two in the above photo. See if you can find them.

Too bad we don’t have a fireplace. This is stage one of the barn project. To be continued…