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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15542
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Posted: Tue Feb 27, 18 8:11 am Post subject: |
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Just for once we don't have mud;it has freeze dried. Very cold over the last couple of days, and set to stay that way for the rest of the week I think. We had several snow showers yesterday, and although I was working in the log store, it was blowing in. Being pretty well an easterly wind, and the log store being east-west with open ends, it seemed to come straight through. Husband and son have rigged up a tarp over part of the eastern facing end, and will pull it a bit higher before the end of the week when we are expecting heavier snow.
There was one primrose plant in flower up the track into the private bit of the woods. That area does get the sun well, but I think it is misguided, as no self respecting insect is going to be out in this weather to pollinate it. Sadly the snowdrops are going over now down the lane, but they have been really lovely.
Did another 30 log sacks yesterday with help from husband and son, and they will be going off tomorrow. Have to do another 30, and then just carry on, as no doubt with this weather they will be selling well. |
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Shan
Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Posts: 9075 Location: South Wales
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gregotyn
Joined: 24 Jun 2010 Posts: 2201 Location: Llanfyllin area
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Posted: Tue Feb 27, 18 4:24 pm Post subject: |
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I wish someone would give me an oak tree for any kind of use-planking up, would be good. It would fetch a lot of money over here if well 'seasoned'. Mind, I probably haven't got that sort of time left in life to lay timber down to season! It would have gone quickly, before you changed your mind, Jam Lady. Thank you all for your good wishes for my health. I am much better and got over the worst before I went to the do, and am now snivelless and no aches or pains
How exciting Cassandra to have a "nosey" dog, get training and then join the police for tracking duties and get well rewarded for the process and you get to wear a uniform! Or offer private services of hunting things for locals; a whole new and potentially lucrative business for you-walking the dog and getting paid for it! Anyway Poppet seems to be 'at home', and survive the others!
I am pleased you get free travel to the shops whilst you wait for the object of the trip to be attended to and return for the homeward journey. Do they tell you how long they expect to be? Or are you expected to be there the whole time-with a good book? It may be better to check the personality on the way there, if doing the plum dropping off. If you do it on the way there, then there is always the possibility of panic, "will the driver get me there in time I don't want to be late". On the way back then there is not call for panic as the object for your passenger has been executed and they are less likely to mention it to the car company.
I am much better, and had a good week end too, though a lot of money spent, well he is only 40 once and by the time the next significant one for either of us arrives, I probably won't be around, I have discovered that I can't be doing as much as I did, almost to the point that I may be starting afternoon naps, and take up full time wood chopping, my granddad chopped firewood till he was 80odd!and I had to stack it for him at age 22!
I have just looked out of the window and the snow has stopped-even after they sent the children home an hour early. It is now a beautiful afternoon though very white! I have to say the council are very good with keeping the roads open 24 hours a day in this weather, they are usually out in the mornings before me and have done the steeper of the hills around, and by the time I am on the road they are doing the flat bits. It is good overtime for the men who do it, and good for those who need to be out early.
Got to go I will be timed out! |
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15542
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 18 7:50 am Post subject: |
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I have been wearing my winter trousers the last few days Shan; Ram trousers. They are padded and have waterproof panels. I am also wearing a waterproof on top of my other jackets, and gloves when I can.
Gregotyn, that cold must have got you down. You are probably good for quite a while yet, even if going to work at 5am in the freezing cold is getting a bit much for you. All of us, even son, is finding working in this cold a bit tiring. All of us are aching, and everything takes just that bit longer, especially starting the tractors.
Managed to get a bit more birch cut yesterday. The people cutting in our coppice had a few trees down for me, so I took all the good stuff off 4 of them, and started on another while husband and son were out delivering log sacks. The bad news is that that outlet wants another 30, ideally before the end of the week, as well as the other 30 to another outlet to go today. I managed 6 of them with the wood I had, and split some more down yesterday afternoon of another load for log sacks. The processor does a good job, but several of the pieces are rather big, so need further splitting. All jobs kept me plenty warm enough anyway.
The flush in the chemical toilet up in the woods had frozen up, so had to have the heater on it for a while to thaw it out. |
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Jam Lady
Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 2501 Location: New Jersey, USA
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15542
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gregotyn
Joined: 24 Jun 2010 Posts: 2201 Location: Llanfyllin area
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 18 3:21 pm Post subject: |
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The Library was closed yesterday as I went past, and the schools were going home early, so not open in the afternoon, and only open now because the lady on duty lives in the town. Schools shut today as well. I didn't go to work this morning as the weather was bad, and at least a foot of snow in front of me. I am glad in some ways as I have been able to catch up on wood cutting and and been able to shop in the village which is at the bottom of a long steep hill, delivering a load of kindling nets at the same time. The shop was not out but down to one so needed the delivery. It is cold outside but not too bad, I don't think, 'I can't go out in this weather', I suppose that is why I did the sticks. I'm hoping to get another lot cut when I get home as it is light till 6pm, so I plan to get a couple of hours cutting. Ready for tomorrow as the library is closed the girl i/c today tells me.
The down side of not going to work is that the chap on today is on his own. The other chap in charge when this man is off is having some holiday, because today's man is away for 4 weeks lambing. The other chap will have it all to do alone.
I won't be on much longer it is snowing again! As I came down this afternoon there was a snow plough trying to force a way through at the top of my road along what we call 'top road' to 2 other villages, and the main road across the Berwyn Mountains. That will be impassable for a day or so I expect.
I have just looked out of the window at the snow and there was a female Blackbird on the library window box, obviously well fed, but pecking away at something.
I will be back in on Tuesday. In the mean time those of us in the Northern hemisphere keep warm. I hope all going well for you down under Cassandra and your storm Jam Lady, doesn't prove to be as much as 'they' say. |
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15542
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 18 8:21 am Post subject: |
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Watch out for yourself in the snow Gregotyn, and hope yours isn't too bad Jam Lady.
Although we have a lot less snow here, schools are shut, and there have been some major roads blocked. Seems one across the New Forest had a major incident and the army has been called out to help on some roads. We are fortunate that our road is a bus route, so one of the second to get sorted. It wasn't so deep or cold that gritting didn't keep it reasonably clear, but still think we had 2-3 inches, a lot for us. Seems to have warmed up now, and we now have fog.
We gave up in the woods yesterday as we had been cold and snowed on too much, so husband came to food bank with me. He helped sort the donations while I helped with the clients. We still had most get in, in spite of the weather. We had to pack up early though as it started to snow again, and we all had to get to various odd places to go home. |
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cassandra
Joined: 27 Mar 2013 Posts: 1733 Location: Tasmania Australia
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 18 5:41 am Post subject: |
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From what I see of the present weather over your way you should all be staying at home, keeping warm and making sure you have a well-stocked pantry. I would certainly be declaring it a snow week if I were there.
I have been dying of the lurgy which struck suddenly and without any warning apart from feeling a bit tired at the end of Monday. But since Monday had included a very long trip to Hobart, meeting the wood man with a load of wood once I got home, then having unloaded that lot, walked the dog etc I had the dog to walk so feeling weary did not sound any particular alarm, till I woke the next morning with a cough that was pretending to be asthma, sore throat, clogged sinuses and goodness knows what. I took myself of to the doctor but apparently it is 'something that is going around' so I have been dosing up on cough mixture, sinus tabs etc and was feeling reasonably well till this morning when it returned. But that may just be a general feeling of desolation after our election results.
We have a blackout on media reportage and comments during election day here (odd, I realise), and just before it settled in, it became apparent that one of the conservative politicians had entered into a deal with certain gun owners to relax our gun laws! And the negotiations had been carried out in secret, not negotiated with the very police departments said politician was in charge of, and were potentially very alarming indeed. So I set to work trying to distribute it widely only to find my battery was flat on the phone, the laptop mouse was not functional (and the external mouse was not responding) and the new laptop wanted me to load 12 months of updates before it would let me play (more of that later). So in all it has been a fairly torrid few days.
And the party in question was re-elected to my complete horror. Their campaign was fully funded by the poker machine industry which resulted in them being able to saturate all media (and every roadside) with their presence, splash out highly expensive and unaffordable promises and basically buy their seats. And Tasmanian voters, not noted for their awareness of matters political apart from election times, fell for it hook line and sinker. The Left is all sitting in stunned horror and the concession speeches of both the Labor party and the Greens were both full of commitments for more transparent donations policies, real-time reporting of donations (we will have evidence of what is blindingly obvious in 19 months time), and capping election expenditure. Hopefully at least it will shake Labor up enough for them to do what they have resisted so far in relation to the above.
Meanwhile, as someone whose neighbours virtually all own guns and use them regularly, I am nervous, haha. But there were quite a few shooters also getting vocal in their opposition to the need for change, and some of them have private messaged information to me that was useful in my own engagement on the subject. I hasten to add that as someone who has served in the Army Reserve, gone spotlighting and been to Ag College I am fairly aware of the beneficial side of gun ownership, and quite enjoy a bit of hunting (though that has not been an option since gun control since I don't have a licence and no-one with a licence can lend me a gun for such purposes) so willing to listen if there are problems, but some of the proposed changes are poorly conceived responses to the perceived problems and have the potential to create real problems - American-style, in the State which initiated our gun control approach in Australia.
So, now I am wondering (in a fevered and generally 'what do I do' way, whether I should stand for the Legislative Council elections in May (our upper house that can shut down or modify proposed legislative change). Of course I have also to consider whether to tender for some work that is right up my ally too, so I will talk to a few people before I decide. |
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15542
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15542
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cassandra
Joined: 27 Mar 2013 Posts: 1733 Location: Tasmania Australia
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Posted: Tue Mar 06, 18 6:38 am Post subject: |
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So I have decided and yes I will be running. I have been talking to the Clerk of the House about terms and conditions, and trying to speak to the Electoral Commission (which I suspect is still a little busy counting votes) and recruited a campaign manager (who will basically just be helping me stay on track in terms of critical timeframes and editing any publications I come up with) and worked out how to cover such a huge area on a teeny budget on a tight timeframe. I also have had an offer for help from a Facebook friend who has similar political leanings to mine. I will be standing as an independent as the upper house is not party-driven, but rather relies on debate and reflection and has only 15 members who all apparently get along together quite well.
The Clerk was most welcoming and friendly also - answering most of my questions before I had to ask them, and has given me the phone number of the current representative. This is a one-off situation where her district has been split in two, creating two new seats, rather than one. So she is till responsible for us, but will not be running in this part of the world. I am hoping she will have contact lists she can provide - at least for media and local organisations.
And I will be shutting down my current FB page MR - there will be an announcement to that effect shortly - as you will be aware some of my political commentary has been rather pungent and would not necessarily reflect well if a competitor got their hands on it. I will create a new profile with a false name from which I can continue to follow debate and which will also provide a platform to launch my 'public figure' page for the purpose of the election.
So - big decision!
Lovely sunny day, and yesterday I picked up a down jacket second hand so it is presently dripping in the shed and will hopefully be dry in time for winter. I needed a warm, shower-proof jacket that was not too bulky and which is relatively smart, and that is what this is. It's a nice bright red - of the yellow range, rather than the blue range - very nice indeed. |
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15542
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Posted: Tue Mar 06, 18 8:28 am Post subject: |
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Good luck to you Cassandra. You will have to remember to be diplomatic in your political life.
The down jacket sounds good. I managed to get a nice warm fleece for the winter in red, but mine is the blue side of red, but still quite bright. As I have a funeral to go to, I am wondering if it is a bit too bright, and that perhaps a thinner dark blue one might be more appropriate.
Went up to the uphill and windward side of the woods yesterday to see what the snow was like. It was an object lesson in hedges. Although we had about 3" of snow, it was quite powdery, so drifted badly. Where we had a layed hedge is dropped within a few feet of the leeward side of the hedge, as the hedge broke up the force of the wind. Further down the path there are some gaps in the hedge, which is a series of hazel coppice stools, and there the snow had drifted for some yards until stopped by the vegetation on the other side of the path. There is a gap where people walk through, and at that point there was still a drift 2-3 feet high right across the path, and that was after 2 days thaw, some rain, and people walking over it. Just for a change we are back to mild and wet for the foreseeable future. Hoping it dries up a bit as we have log loads, and no doubt log sacks to do. Think I have all the birch I will get for this year, so hope it is enough. |
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Shan
Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Posts: 9075 Location: South Wales
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gz
Joined: 23 Jan 2009 Posts: 8579 Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
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