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Entry Index – 2026
January 04, 2026: Cleaning Up After Christmas, Starting A New Year, Back To School Tomorrow.
January 11, 2026: Back At School For Colleen, A January Thaw, More Cleaning Around The House.
January 18, 2026: A Long Weekend, Winter Weather, Firewood, A Fire On The Hearth.
January 25, 2026: Another Long Weekend, Snow, Moving Firewood, Preparing For A Winter Storm.
March 08, 2026: Very Warm Temeratures, Car Troubles, A Day Off From School, Spring Is Coming
March 29, 2026: Roux Got Well, Temperatures Were Wild, Colleen Gets Ready For Spring Break.
April 05, 2026: A Trip To The Vet, Cleaning The Backyard, Lots Of Time In The Gardens.
April 12, 2026: Firewood For Winter, Dry Skies, Rising Temperatures.
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January 04, 2026: Cleaning Up After Christmas, Starting A New Year, Back To School Tomorrow.
The holidays have come and gone and here we are barreling headlong into 2026. After a warm run of mild weather for the week of Christmas, temperatures returned to seasonal to usher in the New Year around here. Our mornings started with the mercury below the freezing mark and typically got to around the 50-degree mark in the middle of the afternoon. Some days it did not make it that high, and some days it got closer to the 60-degree mark. We have not seen a lick of snow since early December. We barely saw any rain for that matter. We did get a few light showers last Sunday and yesterday morning though. This coming week will be dry again with rain not showing up in the forecast until next weekend, but then again that may change before we get there.
Last Sunday, Colleen and I were still recuperating from our Christmas festivities. Colleen had started taking down the Christmas decorations. Unfortunately, we could not find an adequate storage unit on Saturday to store the first batch of boxes and totes, so I ended up carrying them from the back of the Trail Blazer down to the cedar room in the basement. Colleen spent a good bit of the day consolidating smaller things into storable totes and putting some organization into the cedar room. I spent the day writing, listing baseball cards for sale online, and generally making myself available anytime Colleen needed a helping hand.
Monday was laundry day, and after Colleen walked Roux and had her second cup of coffee, she headed to the laundromat. Colleen came home with wet laundry like usual and another half dozen large totes from the Dollar Store. She had been wanting a sturdier set of shelves for the kitchen, so after she got home and got the laundry drying in the basement, we headed to Lowe’s. Fortunately, the shelves were easy to put together when we got home. I went for a walk while Colleen put everything back on her new shelves. The temperature started dropping in the middle of the afternoon and dropping quickly. By the time I headed out to the front porch after dinner to have my evening cigar, the mercury had fallen below the 40-degree mark.
On Tuesday, we stayed close to home. It was a gray day. I got the fire lit when I first got up in the morning. Colleen did not take Roux for a walk. After Colleen finished her coffee, she headed into the kitchen to make a pot of hamburger and cabbage soup. Between the fire in the fireplace and Colleen cooking, it did not take the house long to warm up. I took a short nap after lunch and went for a walk when I came back downstairs. Colleen made a good old fashioned Yankee pot roast for dinner. Apart from the usual evening chores, Colleen and I spent most of the evening relaxing and enjoying the warmth of our fireplace.
Colleen woke up with a bee in her bonnet on Wednesday and after her coffee and morning chores, she headed down to the basement and started reorganizing the cedar room. The pile of empty boxes she created dwarfed any pile of empty Amazon boxes we usually have. Everything in those boxes ended up in a tote bin. Since the boxes were destined for the recycling bin, I started moving them outside, breaking them down, and putting them in the recycling bin. The deer did niot seem to mind me being out there by the bin. It did not take me long to fill the bin. We still have a pile of boxes next to the bin and another pile on the back porch. The recycling bin will not get emptied until this coming Tuesday and then I will fill it up again. Even though Wednesday was New Year’s Eve, Colleen and I did not have any plans like usual. We went to bed early and started the New Year off with a good night’s sleep.
Thursday was New Year’s Day, but it was also market day, and the market was open. Colleen’s market list was short. We got everything we needed for a good bit under our budget. We did get a few extra things that were on sale including a second ham for half price. I am glad we have two freezers in the basement, because we have two turkeys and the ham we bought made for two hams in the freezer. After lunch, Colleen finished taking down and storing all the Christmas decorations in the family room. That left us with just the Christmas tree and the outdoor decorations to pack up and put away.
Rain was in the forecast for Saturday, and Colleen’s Christmas break was winding down, so Friday morning we headed outside to take down, pack up, and put away all the outdoor Christmas decorations. We finished that before lunch and decided to take down the Christmas tree after lunch. Matching ornaments on the tree to their correct boxes is always a challenge, but we finished in the middle of the afternoon and then unceremoniously dumped the Christmas tree over the front porch rail. I still have to drag it down to the fire pit.
Yesterday was a bleak and dreary day, and we kept a low fire burning all day long. We got some rain in the morning, just enough to get the roads wet. The skies stayed cloud-filled most of the day though. I managed to take a walk in the afternoon while Colleen was making a ham dinner. To go with the ham, Colleen boiled a purple cabbage, baked some potatoes, and roasted an acorn squash. Somewhere, along the way, Colleen lost track of a potholder she was using as a spacer on the lid of her boiling pot to keep the pot from boiling over. We had a good laugh for ourselves when we found the potholder in the water with the cabbage.
Everybody slept late this morning and there is plenty of sunshine on tap for the day. Unfortunately, today is Colleen’s last day of Christmas break. I already lit the day’s fire and now, I have my morning coffee in hand. I have my usual writing and tending to the fire on the day’s agenda. Colleen wants to make and freeze some ham pot pies. Hopefully, she can finish by mid-afternoon and relax for the rest of the day. The week in front of me promises to be busy. I need to get back into a daily routine of keeping things clean around the house while Colleen is at school. The holidays were very good and filled with memories for us. Still, we will keep taking everything one day at a time. At the end of each day, we will look around and smile thankfully for everything we have, because we know that all is right on the homestead.
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January 11, 2026: Back At School For Colleen, A January Thaw, More Cleaning Around The House.
We have a brilliant blue Sunday morning, and the thermometer needle is hovering around the 50-degree mark. It is a bit warmer for a mid-January morning, but a cold front with a gusty breeze is moving into the area, and the temperatures will be dropping all day long. Tomorrow morning when the sun starts coming up, the mercury will be below the freezing mark. I guess we had our January thaw last week, not that anything was frozen. The mercury got up past the 60- degree mark most days last week and past the 70-degree mark on a couple of days. We got a little rain on Friday night and into Saturday morning, but the worst of the storms stayed west and north of us. The warm temperatures made it unnecessary to light a fire for most of the week too.
Everything started settling back into a non-holiday routine last Sunday. Everyone slept late, I lit a fire to start my day, and Colleen did not take Roux for a morning walk. Colleen spent some time in the kitchen making ham pot pie from our leftover New Year’s ham. I did my usual Sunday writing and even got to take a walk in the afternoon. The evening was quiet and relaxing. After two weeks of Christmas break though, Colleen did have to get ready to head back into school on Monday morning. She was not looking forward to getting up and driving to school though.
Colleen headed into school at her usual time Monday morning. When I got out of bed, I put a fire in the fireplace because the mercury was below the freezing mark. Our girls started laying again, and there were two eggs waiting in the nesting boxes when I opened the hen coop for the day. I spent part of the morning getting caught up with my baseball cards and then it was time to start cleaning and vacuuming. I got the family room cleaned and everything was put back together. I swept and washed the kitchen floor too but decided the other rooms could wait for another day. In between everything, I kept the fire burning and brought the last of the firewood in our fourth winter-ready rack up to the back porch rack. Colleen was a little later than usual getting home from school, so I made sure our dinner was heating up in the oven when she finally rolled down the driveway.
Tuesday morning was foggy and cool enough to light a fire to start the day, but I let it burn out by noon. The day ended up warming up to over 70 degrees. I started the day by working with my baseball cards again. I had designs on cleaning the living room, but decided the leaves needed to be blown off the backyard instead. I spent the late morning and early afternoon with the leaf blower strapped to my back. I managed to get the daily housework done before Colleen got home, too. I took a quick nap after dinner and then took a walk while I still had some daylight left.
We certainly did not need a fire Wednesday morning, so I got to take Roux for a morning walk. There were two more eggs waiting when I opened up the hen coop too. The recycle bin got emptied on Tuesday, and we still had a couple of piles of boxes that needed to be thrown away. I took me a bit of doing, but I got rid of about half of the boxes, filling up the recycle bin half up in the process. I took care of the daily housework and routine afternoon chores while Colleen stopped at the laundromat on her way home from school. I even had dinner heated up and waiting when Colleen got home.
Thursday was market day, and it was a bright and sunny day, too. I managed to get to the market a bit earlier than usual. It was a good day for sales. I exceeded our budget, but I managed to bring our groceries in at just under $0.66 on the dollar. I took a short nap after I finished putting all the groceries away and cleaned the living room when I got up. I guess I was on a roll, because I got the daily housework done before Colleen got home. Colleen took care of the afternoon chores when she got home. The rest of our evening was quiet fortunately.
Friday morning was gray, but there were two more eggs in the nesting boxes when I opened up the hen coop. There was the threat of rain in the evening, and there was still a pile of boxes on the back deck. I spent the better part of the morning getting the boxes off the deck, broken down, and into the recycle bin. I filled the bin up, too. It was still before lunchtime when I finished, so I cleaned and vacuumed the dining room. That did not take as long as I thought, so I washed and waxed the wood floor in the entryway too. Colleen stopped at the vet’s office on the way home to get Roux’s medication. It took them longer than expected, so I took care of the afternoon chores of bringing the girls their treats and feeding Roux. When Colleen got home, all she needed to do was order our takeout pizza for dinner. We spent our evening after dinner relaxing.
It rained yesterday morning. Colleen did not take Roux for a walk. Colleen and I headed out about midmorning to run our errands, a trip to TSC and Walmart. I was disappointed that neither store had their garden supplies on their shelves yet. Colleen and I treated ourselves to Hardee’s for lunch before we came home though. The rain had stopped by midmorning, and we were both surprised to see the forsythia starting to bloom when we got home. I took a short nap when we got home and then went for a short walk after I got up. Neither Colleen nor I were hungry when dinner time rolled around. We ended up snacking on whatever we could forage from the refrigerator over the course of the evening.
It was warm this morning, so Colleen took Roux for a walk. The temperature had started dropping by the time Colleen and Roux got home, and I found my way to the front porch. The temperature is going to drop all day long. The wind is supposed to really kick up today too. Colleen wants to spend some time in the kitchen today. I will take a walk, do my usual writing, and do what I can once I finish. The house should stay warm enough today without a fire, but I will definitely need to light one tomorrow morning. It looks like we are headed back down to winter temperatures in the upcoming week. Fortunately, there is no real precipitation in the forecast. Colleen and I will keep taking everything one day at a time though. At the end of each day, we will look around and smile, because we know that all is right on the homestead.
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January 18, 2026: A Long Weekend, Winter Weather, Firewood, A Fire On The Hearth.
It is an extremely damp and dreary day today. The slow steady rain that is falling is cold and biting. The temperature is dropping to boot, and we may get snow this afternoon. Mother Nature was fickle again last week. The mercury got up to the 60-degree mark at the beginning of the week and ended up falling below the 20-degree mark later in the week. We had gray skies and a little bit of rain on some days, and brilliant sunshine and blue skies on other days. We will be lucky if the thermometer needle reaches the 50-degree mark for the upcoming week. I must say though, it has been an easy winter so far. The next six weeks are always the roughest part of winter for us though. I, however, do have my fingers crossed so that I will be able to get into the gardens by late February.
Last Sunday was cool, and windy. The temperature was seasonable, but the wind chill had a bite. Colleen was up early and took Roux for a walk though. I took a walk after I finished my coffee. Surprisingly, the house held Saturday’s heat well, so we only needed a low fire. Colleen spent part of her day in the kitchen making mostly snacks for the week. I got my writing done in the middle of the afternoon and got to spend some time with my baseball cards. Colleen and I spent the evening relaxing, and in general, everything was falling back into our usual routine after our remarkably busy holiday season.
Monday morning saw Colleen head into school at her regular time. I stayed in bed good while after she left. Even with a late start to the day, I managed to get a good bit of work done. After I lit the day’s fire and finished my coffee, I opened the hen coop for the day and got into cleaning mode. I washed the kitchen floor and then cleaned the downstairs bathroom and washed its floor. While everything was drying, I moved some firewood up to the back porch rack. Of course, I kept the fire stoked and kept the hearth rack filled in between everything too. Colleen got home at her regular time, and our evening was routine, thankfully.
On Tuesday, the temperature started to warm up. I was up early and got to enjoy a colorful sunrise. Even though I lit a fire after Colleen left for school, I let it burn out by noon. After I opened the hen coop and collected the day’s eggs, I moved some more firewood up to the back porch. By midmorning, the day was warming up nicely, so I pulled the leaf blower out of the basement and blew the front yard clean. Colleen got tied up at school and was late getting home. When she got home, I had already brought the girls their afternoon treats, fed Roux, and had heated up dinner. Once Colleen got settled in the house, we had dinner. I did get to go for a walk after dinner and got home just before sunset.
Wednesday was our warmest day of the week. I wanted to sleep late, but Roux woke me up and needed to go outside. Our morning sky was incredibly colorful again, but that soon disappeared and clouds turned everything bleak and gray. The forecast said we had some rain heading our way so after I opened the hen coop for the day, I brought some more firewood up to the back porch. I did not move as much as I wanted to move because with a cold front moving into the area, my back started protesting loudly. I spent most of the rest of my day in front of the fireplace working with and listing baseball cards for sale online. The big event of the day was Alex getting the keys to his new apartment. His plan was to get all his belongings moved to the new place on Saturday.
The skies were brilliant blue again on Thursday, but it was cold. It was also market day. I got the morning chores done early, got to the market early, and got home early. Colleen’s market list was short, and I brought everything we needed and wanted in for well under our weekly budget. I had all the groceries put away by 9:30. After the groceries were put away, I lit the day’s fire and then headed outside to move more firewood up to the porch rack. Colleen was a bit late getting out of school again, so I took care of the girls, collected the day’s eggs, and started heating up dinner so it would be ready when Colleen got home.
I got up Friday morning right after Colleen left for school. It was a chilly morning. Roux finally came downstairs after the sun had started coming up, and I let her go outside. After wandering around in the backyard, she decided to sit down by the pool with the sun on her face looking down into the ravine behind the house. I could not see anything, so I do not know what had her attention. Friday was an easy day for me though. I cleaned and vacuumed the living room, kept the fire burning all day, and worked with my baseball cards. Colleen and I got takeout subs for dinner. After dinner, everything was quiet and uneventful.
Yesterday was cold again. The mercury barely got over the 40-degree mark. Colleen took Roux for a predawn walk. Unfortunately, once Colleen got home, she could not get warm. I kept the fire burning hard all day. Colleen spent some time in her workroom and eventually took a nap. While she was napping, I brought the girls their afternoon treats and collected the day’s eggs. I brought some wood up to the back porch and then covered the winter-ready racks with a tarp again so the wood would stay dry when the rain started last night. We just heated up some leftovers for dinner. It was a quiet evening in front of the fireplace after that.
Colleen did not take Roux for a walk this morning because of the weather. I started the fire when I came downstairs. Colleen is feeling much better this morning. Fortunately, tomorrow is a holiday, so she does not have to go to school. I do not think we will be doing much today though. This rain is forecast to turn to snow around lunchtime. If it does, I may go for a walk in the snow. Rain or snow, the roads will be a mess tomorrow morning after everything freezes tonight. Colleen and I will keep taking everything one day at a time though. At the end of each day, we will pause to look around and smile, because we know that all is right on the homestead.
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January 25, 2026: Another Long Weekend, Snow, Moving Firewood, Preparing For A Winter Storm.
For the second weekend in a row, we were hit by a winter storm. Last Sunday was not bad and any snow that stuck to the ground was gone on Monday. This weekend, on the other hand, is a mess. We got a little bit of snow last night, followed by enough sleet to cover the ground, but that all turned into freezing rain, and now, we have a sheet of ice covering everything. The freezing rain will be here all day today too. The temperatures were cold enough last week that I needed to burn a fire every day except Thursday. The week after in front of us, however, will be brutally cold. The mercury will only climb just above the freezing mark one or two of the days next week. Our fireplace will keep warm us over the next seven or eight days though.
The lousy weather started last Saturday, and it lasted well into Sunday. Colleen did not take Roux for a walk in the morning. Monday was a holiday, so Colleen was not going to go to school, and she finally got to spend the day relaxing. Both of us spent most of the day in the living room in front of the fire. Colleen spent a little time in the kitchen, though. She made some baked apple-cinnamon oatmeal. It is a treat she really enjoys. When the snow finally started falling in the afternoon, I went for a walk. Walking during a snowstorm is one of my favorite times to go walking. Apart from the usual daily chores, that was all Colleen and I did for the day.
Monday morning the tree branches were covered with a thin coat of ice and the roads had black ice all over them. I was glad Colleen had the day off from school and did not have to drive anywhere. Roux woke me up at 5 o’clock in the morning though so I could let her go outside. I figured I should just stay up at that point and proceed in getting the day’s fire burning. I spent most of my day working with my baseball cards, and Colleen spent her day writing recipes and organizing her cookbooks. I was surprised to see a good many shiitake mushrooms in our mushroom garden, and I ended up harvesting a couple of pounds of fresh mushrooms after lunch. The rest of our day was quiet.
Colleen headed back into school Tuesday morning. After I got up, got a fire burning, and finished my coffee, I headed outside to start refilling the porch firewood rack. The long-range weather forecast said there was a winter storm headed out way that could drop as much as 20 inches of snow on us. I was excited! I did package up some baseball cards for the day’s mail, and I listed a few more cards for sale too. Since it was final exam week at Colleen’s school, she got home a little earlier than usual. Still, I had the daily chores done before she got home.
Wednesday morning Colleen headed off to school like usual. The day started like most and with the first light of day, Roux and I were down back opening up the hen coop. Actually, Roux just laid down in the leaves and watched the deer move along the wood line while I took care of the girls. The rest of my day until Colleen got home was spent getting ready for the weekend winter storm. I waited for my walk until Colleen got home from school. I never wander too far from the house while there is a fire burning in the fireplace. Colleen and I put our heads together after dinner to come up with a market list for our weekly supplies and a few things we would need to hunker down for the impending winter storm.
I got up shortly after Colleen left for school on Thursday. I wanted to get to the market early because people go crazy around here whenever the words snow or ice are in the forecast. I’m glad I did go early too because some of the shelves were almost bare. In the case of bottled water, there was not a drop to be had. When I got home, I ordered a Brita water filter. Our tap water is extremely hard and just does not taste right. Right around lunch time, I helped a neighbor split some firewood so they could burn it in their fireplace should we lose power with the impending storm. Colleen had plans to stop at the laundromat on her way home, so after I finished the daily chores, I brought the girls their afternoon treats, collected the day’s eggs, and started heating our dinner.
By Friday, the winter storm forecast had changed significantly. There was no longer any snow. The precipitation would be sleet to start and then primarily freezing rain. I spent the day shuttling firewood up to the back porch rack and making various other preparations for the storm. A lot of freezing rain around here means loss of electricity, and the whole area becomes paralyzed until the ice melts. The forecast was predicting more than a half inch of ice. I finished filling the back porch firewood rack. The Brita water filter got delivered in the morning, so I spent a good part of the afternoon filling gallon water jugs. Colleen and I got pizza for dinner. After dinner, we started figuring out what we still had to do to get ready for the storm. Fortunately, we realized there wasn’t much left to do. By the end of the day, we had ten gallons of filtered water in jugs too.
Colleen and I got up yesterday morning with just a few things to do before the start of the storm last night. We made sure the hen coop was secure and not drafty. Chickens can handle cold weather as long as they are not in a draft. Colleen spent the better part of the day in the kitchen. She made some gumbo, gumbo cookies, shrimp and salmon pasta, and some Greek stuffed peppers. She wanted to make sure we had plenty of food we could just warm up if we lost power. I kept the fire burning and foraged around the basement for a few things that would be useful if we lost power. I pulled out extra sleeping bags, a propane camp stove, 1-pound bottles of propane for the stove, and a composting toilet. By the time Colleen and I closed up shop last night, the precipitation had not started falling.
This morning Colleen and I woke up to everything covered with a thin layer of sleet and we still had electricity. It looks like the freezing rain will come in two waves today. The first wave will be from 9 this morning until noon. The second wave will be from 5 until 8 this evening. Our objective for today is to keep the house warm. That will probably be our objective for the rest of the week if the current forecast holds. Colleen does not have school tomorrow. I suspect she may get a couple more days off after that too. Colleen and I keep taking everything one day at a time though. When the sun starts going down, we will look around and smile, because we know that all is right on the homestead.
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February 01, 2026: Colleen Gets A Week Off From School, A Real Snow Storm, Temperatures Stay Mostly Below Freezing.
For the second weekend in a row, Mother Nature hammered us with a winter storm. Last weekend, freezing rain and ice covered everything. This weekend, it snowed. We only got 3 inches, but some places got nearly a foot of the white stuff. We had plenty of sunshine between the two storms, but it was cold all week. A good bit of the ice from last weekend’s storm still had not melted as of yesterday. We may see the mercury get above the freezing mark tomorrow or Tuesday, but we are still a good 10 degrees below our usual seasonal temperatures for the end of January. I am hoping that dang Pennsylvania gopher does not see his shadow tomorrow.
Colleen and I woke up to a cold and icy Sunday morning. Everything was covered with a good half inch or more of ice, and the second round of freezing rain showed up in the late afternoon. Fortunately, we did not lose power. Once the freezing rain stopped, the cold Arctic air started to roll in on us and push the mercury even further down into the thermometer. I got the fire going as soon as I came downstairs in the morning. I kept piling the wood on the fire all day long too. I do not remember how many trips I made to the wood pile, but I definitely put a dent in the pile.
The thermometer started Monday morning with its needle right on the freezing mark. Unfortunately, that was the high temperature for the day. The sun was out for most of the day, but the wind was gusty, driving the wind chill well below freezing. Colleen had a teacher’s workday, so she did not go into school. She figured baking would help put some heat into the house, so she made a marbled pound cake. I tended to the fire all day long except when I took a walk. The roads were a mess, and nothing was going up or down our hill. By mid-afternoon, Colleen’s school district designated Tuesday as a remote learning day, so Colleen would get to stay home again.
The temperature was well below freezing, and the roads were not any better Tuesday morning. We had sunshine again all day, and the ice on the roads started to melt some. It was still slick going though, and a FedEx truck spun out and ended up blocking the road about halfway down the hill. They had to get a tow truck to straighten it. FedEx never made up the hill. Colleen started to feel a bit under the weather, so she relaxed as best as she could all day. I did manage to take a walk, but I spent most of my day tending to the fire. It was late Tuesday afternoon when Colleen’s school district made Wednesday a remote day too.
Wednesday started out cold again, but we managed to see the mercury climb over the freezing mark. I lit the fire as soon as I came downstairs in the morning. The roads were still a mess, and a couple of cars got sideways on the hill. Our hill is one of the very last roads the DOT cleans when there is bad weather, so a group of our neighbors got on the hill and shoveled as much ice off the road as they could. Between their efforts and the sunshine, the hill was marginally passable by mid-afternoon. I kept the fire going all day and when I could, moved firewood from our winter-ready racks to the back porch. At that point in the week, the weather forecast started warning us about an impending winter storm for the weekend in front of us. Colleen’s head cold was not improving, so she put in for a sick day on Thursday after her district announced a two-hour delay to the start of school.
Thursday was market day. Before I ever thought about heading to the market, I checked the condition of our hill. It was passable, and I felt I could get down and back up the hill safely. Colleen was still battling her head cold, so she stayed home, tending to the fire while I went to the market. Just like the week before, a forecasted snowstorm prompted people to empty the bottled water aisle. The egg cooler was empty, too. Fortunately, neither item was on Colleen’s market list. I did our usual weekly shopping and came straight home. I got up our hill without an issue. After lunch, I went back to moving firewood up to the back porch. By late afternoon, Colleen’s school district had made the call for another two-hour delayed start on Friday. Colleen’s head cold had not improved, so she put in for a sick day on Friday too.
I got up at my regular time on Friday getting the day’s fire lit and taking care of Roux. Colleen slept very late and did not come downstairs until mid-morning. Once she was up and moving around, I headed outside to move the last of our split firewood to the back porch. I am afraid I will have to split some more firewood to get us through February. Colleen made some hermit bars while I was outside. We will snack on the hermit bars during the week. That evening, we treated ourselves to Chinese takeout for dinner. The forecast called for the snow to start in the middle of the night with predicted accumulations of three to six inches. We had no plans on going out Friday evening, so Colleen paid the end of the month’s bills after dinner. We went to bed Saturday night not knowing what to expect from the winter storm though.
Yesterday morning, Colleen and I woke up to sporadic flurries and that was it. It was cold though. I got the fire lit as soon as I came downstairs. I went for a walk a bit later in the morning. By noon the snow started falling. It seems we were in a pocket of dry air between the two low pressure systems bringing us the snow, which is why the snow held off so long. The two systems did eventually come together, and it snowed all afternoon and into the last night. Colleen was feeling well enough to do some cooking for the week in front of us. She boiled a head of cabbage, fried some pierogis, made a meatloaf, and a batch of mashed potatoes. I made sure the fire was burning hard all day.
Colleen and I woke up this morning to sunshine and about three inches of snow. The temperature is not supposed to get above freezing for a day or two. I suspect the snow will stick around. With bitter cold temperatures tomorrow morning, I think Colleen will be staying home. Maybe she will head back to school on Tuesday. I will keep the fire burning again today, and I might get outside to clean the snow off the porch stairs, front and back. Up until the middle of January, this winter had been mild. I guess Mother Nature saved everything to throw at us over the last couple of weeks. Colleen and I will keep taking everything one day at a time though. Snow or no snow, in the evenings, we will look around and smile, because we know that all is right on the homestead.
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February 08, 2026: Back To School For Colleen, Frigid Arctic Temperatures, Running Low On Firewood.
It is another frigid Sunday up here on the hill. The mercury is well below freezing, but then it has lived there most of the last week. We got our snow last weekend, finally. We might have gotten 3 inches or so. We got a steady stream of Arctic cold air to go with it. It is a week later, and while the roads are clear now, there are still patches of snow on the ground. This coming week, the warmer temperatures should take care of that though. The temperature is forecast to warm up with the thermometer needle probably reaching the 60-degree mark. I certainly hope it stays warm, because I am aiming to get into our gardens by the end of the month.
Colleen and I woke up to a white winter wonderland last Sunday, but it was bitter cold. The first thing I did was put a fire in the fireplace, and I kept it burning hard all day long. The snow, fortunately, was light and fluffy because of the cold temperatures. This is not usually the case when we get snow around here. I had no trouble cleaning off the porch stairs with a broom or pushing the snow out of the way to make a path to the Trailblazer and the mailbox. If it had been our typical wet, heavy snow, I would not even have tried moving it. The snow was so light, in fact, several neighbors cleared it off the main road on our hill. Our hill is always one of the last roads the DOT cleans after a snowstorm. We usually have to wait for it to melt.
Monday turned out to be another snow day for Colleen, so she got to stay home for the 10th day in a row. Colleen, who was just getting over a head cold, took advantage of the situation and slept considerably later than usual. Colleen decided it was a good day for some homemade soup and made a pot of her spicy chicken soup after she finished her morning coffee. I spent most of my day tending to the fire and shuttling wood from the back porch to the hearth rack. I did get to take a walk in the middle of the afternoon though. Right after dinner, we found out that Colleen’s school district made Tuesday a remote learning day, so Colleen would get to stay home again.
Colleen slept late again Tuesday morning. I had the fire burning and most of the morning chores done before Colleen ever came downstairs. We had a little bit of a warmup in the temperatures for the day. The thermometer needle got over the freezing mark. Anticipating Colleen would be heading to school on Wednesday morning, I walked all the way down our hill right to the main road. Apart from a few icy spots here and there, the hill was easily passable. I spent most of my day keeping the fire burning while Colleen went about getting ready to head back to school on Wednesday.
Colleen headed into school at her usual time on Wednesday morning even though her school was on a 2-hour delayed start schedule. Colleen is technically an hourly employee, and she did not want to have to make up her hours later in the week. Fortunately, she had no trouble getting to school. The house was not as cold as I had expected it to be in the morning, so I did not light a fire until lunchtime. As cold as the temperatures had been, we were running low in split firewood anyway. I spent the better part of my day cleaning up around the house. The family room got a good vacuuming, the entryway got swept, and I even repaired an antique rocking chair in the family room.
Thursday came with another 2-hour delayed start for Colleen’s school. She headed in at her usual time though to get her hours. I did not light a fire because Thursday was market day. Colleen’s list was short, but the shelves at the market were thin. The weather had kept the trucks from making their usual deliveries. I had no trouble getting everything on Colleen’s list though. I even came in on budget and only spent $0.70 on the dollar for what I bought. After I got home and had everything put away, I took a break on the back porch in the sun and watched the deer grazing in the backyard. I worked with my baseball cards after lunch and made sure the fire had chased the day’s chill out of the house before Colleen got home.
Colleen headed into school at her regular time on Friday, and it was her school’s first full day of classes in two weeks. I did not light a fire in the morning because I knew I would be working outside until at least noon. I let the day warm up some before I headed out to the log splitter. I spent most of my morning filling up two wheelbarrows with freshly split firewood. Fortunately, we still have quite a bit of unsplit seasoned oak on the ground. After lunch, I got all the wood I split up to the back porch and into the rack. Colleen got home at her regular time. Unfortunately, when I started the Trailblazer up to get our Friday takeout dinner, the check engine light came on. Colleen drove the Trailblazer to the shop, and I followed her in the Honda. We got our dinner after we left the Trailblazer at the shop. The shop will not be able to work in the Trailblazer until Monday, so Colleen will be stuck driving the Honda to school.
Yesterday morning was too cold for Colleen to take Roux for a walk. I got up and put a fire in the fireplace. Colleen finished her morning coffee and headed into the kitchen. Before long, she had a big pot of ham and pea soup simmering on the stove. We had that for lunch. In the afternoon Colleen baked a cinnamon apple cake on which we can snack in the upcoming week. By the evening, Colleen was feeling achy, and she figured it was the start of a minor kidney infection which she is prone to getting.
Colleen woke up this morning not feeling any better and decided she had better stick to water and cranberry juice instead of her usual coffee. Colleen will be in the kitchen today for a bit. I will do my usual writing and go for a walk after lunch, most likely. Of course, we will have a fire burning in the fireplace all day today, and it looks like we will have plenty of sunshine today as well. Luckily, it looks like things will start warming up on Tuesday. Colleen and I will keep taking everything one day at a time though. At the end of each day, we’ll pause to look around and smile knowing that all is right on the homestead.
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February 15, 2026: Warmer Temperatures, Vehicle Troubles, James Moves Back Into The House, Colleen Visits The Doctor.
The Arctic cold is finally done, and we are headed into spring about a month away. It is not supposed to be very warm today, and we are expecting rain, but 45 degrees is a far cry better than 25 degrees. Last Sunday, the thermometer needle never got above the 35-degree mark. As the week moved forward, the days started warming up, which was nice. We had lots of sunshine, too. By Thursday, the mercury had no trouble finding its way above the 60-degree mark. We even had a couple of days where we did not need to burn a fire and got to open the doors and windows in the afternoons. I am hoping the trend of warming temperatures continues, so I can get into the gardens by the end of the month.
The first thing I did last Sunday after coming downstairs was to light the day’s fire. Roux did not seem to mind just laying in the sun though. Colleen came downstairs feeling like she had the start of a kidney infection. That really was not great considering she had just gotten over a head cold the week before last. Still, Colleen was feeling well enough to spend some time in the kitchen and make beef tips in a wine sauce. I did my usual writing and took a walk in the afternoon. James showed up after dinner. Life has thrown James a few curve balls of late, and he needs a place to regroup. All I can say about that is that there is no place like home.
On Monday, Colleen headed to school driving the Honda, because the Trailblazer was in the shop. I knew it was Monday as soon as I saw the chicken pen when I went down back to open the hen coop for the day. The frame and the netting on the back side of the pen needed to be repaired. That took me a while, and I just could not feel my hands and fingers when I was finished. I had asked the shop to look at the way the front tires on the Trailblazer were wearing. Fortunately, they caught a problem with the suspension before the suspension failed. Unfortunately, it was an expensive repair, but the repairs were done by the end of the day, and we had the Trailblazer back home by dinner time.
Tuesday morning started like most weekdays. Colleen headed into school, then I let Roux go outside, and I lit the day’s fire. I took Roux to the vet midmorning to have some blood drawn. James showed up in a borrowed car before noon because his truck died shortly after he stopped by the house on Sunday evening. James brought the last of his things into the house. He got a phone call around noon, so I cleaned the kitchen floor and washed the day’s dishes. After lunch, he brought the car back. I followed him to give him a ride home. We made it home just 10 minutes before Colleen. Colleen did not have time to empty and clean the guest room, so James slept on the sofa in the family room Tuesday night. It was an all-around crazy day, but the crocuses by the side of the end of the driveway had started to bloom.
Colleen headed to school at her usual time Wednesday morning. James was already up and drinking coffee when I came downstairs. James and I headed to the front porch and talked a good bit as a few light rain showers passed through the area. When the sun came out, we moved to the back deck. After a quick lunch, James headed into the backyard and started splitting the cut rounds of oak in the middle of the backyard. He moved the quartered pieces up to the log splitter too. I cleaned the living room which needed cleaning desperately after the steady hard burning in the fireplace for the previous two weeks. After Colleen got home, James and I went for a walk before dinner. After dinner, Colleen started cleaning out the guest room so James could at least sleep in a bed on Wednesday night.
Thursday was market day. Colleen went to school. After I opened the hen coop for the day, James and I headed to the market. My slow, systematic approach to shopping got James as antsy as a long tail cat at a rocking chair convention. He will learn and get better though. After we got home and put the groceries away, I fired up the hydraulic log splitter and split the big pieces James had brought up the hill on Wednesday. James stacked the wood on the back porch as fast as I could split it. Colleen and James finished cleaning out the guest room and James started getting settled in the guest room.
Colleen stayed home from school on Friday so she could go see the doctor. Her kidney infection just was not getting any better. When Colleen got home, she was carrying a prescription for her kidney infection. Colleen took it easy for the rest of the day. James set himself up on the back deck to carve and whittle wood and watch the deer. I dug up an old set of carving tools and sharpening stones. James went to town with that. I got to take a good three-mile walk in the afternoon. We had homemade tempura shrimp street tacos for dinner instead of takeout. Colleen figured takeout would not be good for her kidneys. Fortunately, we had a quiet evening.
Yesterday was a bit chaotic. Colleen was up early so she could take Roux for a walk. After some coffee, James and I headed out to meet up with Alex so we could get Alex’s car towed up to the shop. I will not know until Monday if the car is worth repairing. Alex has decided it was time to buy a new vehicle. We will do that this coming Wednesday. Alex emptied all of his belongings from the car and piled them up in the back of the Trailblazer. After lunch, Colleen and I went and got some tote bins into which we could put everything. It looks like I will have to do that today in the rain. Nobody did much of anything for the rest of the day. Colleen made burgers for dinner though which were quite good.
This morning is dreary. Colleen took Roux for a short walk this morning. They came home when it started to sprinkle on them. I started a fire already to help dry out the air in the house. The steady rain is not supposed to start until noon, so if I want to take a walk, I will need to do it in a little while. James will be heading out to go to breakfast with Donna a little later too. Colleen wants to spend some time in the kitchen today. James will crave wood later. I will do my usual writing and hopefully work on my baseball cards along with tending to the fire all day. Things will settle down around here before long, I am sure. Colleen and I will keep taking everything one day at a time. James will learn to do that, too. In the evenings, we will pause, look around, and smile, because we know that all is right on the homestead.
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February 22, 2026: Headed For One Last Blast Of Cold Air, A Dead Car, Alex Gets A New Car, A Rainy Weekend.
It is chilly, wet, and in general, just dreary this morning. In fact, this morning is the first morning that I had to light a fire since last Sunday. For the most part, Mother Nature was well behaved all week. We had plenty of sunshine and even a couple of days where the mercury climbed to the 70-degree mark or above. We got some rain yesterday morning, but we did see a little bit of the sun during the afternoon. Colleen and I woke up to rain this morning. The rain should be gone by this evening. Unfortunately, the thermometer needle is starting to fall, and the mercury will be below freezing for the first few days of the coming week.
There was a bite in the air last Sunday morning, so I lit a fire. It did not take the fire long to chase the morning chill from the house. Colleen spent part of the morning in the kitchen making mini blueberry pies and mini rhubarb pies. James went to breakfast with Donna. I tended to the fire and did my usual Sunday writing. In the afternoon, Colleen made a Country Fried Steak dinner with all the fixings. James, finally, had settled into staying here and found some time to relax by playing video games. I spent my afternoon trying to relax. Since Colleen had to go to school on Monday, we called it an early evening. James stayed up for a while after Colleen and I headed upstairs.
Colleen headed to school at her usual time Monday morning, but it proved to be a crazy day, because the teacher with whom she works was out sick. James got up late, so I had a very quiet morning, and we had plenty of sunshine. James wanted to do his laundry, and I offered to run him down to the laundromat. He ended up getting ahold of a friend and going over there to do his laundry and hang out. He left before lunch and did not get home until after dark. Colleen got home at her usual time. After dinner, Alex and I made plans for me to take him vehicle shopping on Wednesday. This was going to be a big deal for Alex, because it would be the first time he had to go through the process of getting a car loan.
After Colleen left for school on Tuesday, James and I had our morning coffee, and I took James to an early morning appointment he had. I dropped him off and then headed to Lowe’s. I got a few things for the gardens including seed potatoes, a blue hosta crown, and replacement parts for the guts of the downstairs toilet. I got James after he finished, around 11 o’clock. After we had a quick lunch, I took a nap. I got up in time to get the daily housework done before Colleen got home though. Colleen stopped at the laundromat on her way home which gave me a bit more time. After dinner, I filled three tote bins with all of Alex’s things we had taken out of the Caliber and had been sitting in the back of the Trailblazer. Right before dinner, the shop called to let us know the Caliber would need a new engine.
I headed out to get Alex not long after daylight. Alex lives about an hour south of us now. Alex had done his homework though and after I picked him up and we got to CarMax, he knew exactly what he wanted. He took a test drive and then the paperwork started. Alex navigated everything exceptionally well, and by 1 o’clock, Alex was headed home in a 2021 Ford Ranger XLT. I headed home too feeling just as proud as I could be of my youngest son. I only got home about 10 minutes before Colleen, so I did not get a chance to do the daily housework.
Thursday was market day like always. James and I headed to the market midmorning. James and I brought the market run in on budget, but it was a lousy day for sales. After lunch, James headed out back to bust up the bigger oak rounds, so he could move the pieces up by the log splitter. I went to the bank to get some paperwork notarized. We opted not to repair the Caliber and just donate it to charity. I did have time to take care of the daily housework when I got home. The rest of the day was uneventful, and James and I even took a walk after dinner.
Friday morning turned out to be a little crazy. James and I headed down to the shop to finish getting all of Alex’s belongings out of the Caliber and to get the license plate. After that we headed home and waited for the towing company to call me. I needed to be there when they got the Caliber to give them the title and the key. The tow truck showed up at the shop at 11 o’clock, and James and I were home by 11:30. Donna picked James up in the middle of the afternoon. Donna’s mother had an old car that James could use. They were going to head to Donna’s mother’s house on Saturday. I watched the first baseball game of spring training in the afternoon. Colleen and I got some fried fish for dinner.
Yesterday, I spent the day doing as little as possible, and that is not something I do often. Colleen took Roux for a walk and got caught in a sprinkle of rain coming back up the hill. She baked a rhubarb coffee cake later in the morning and then made a couple of quesadilla pies to feed us during the week. I watched another spring training baseball game after lunch. Colleen made Cuban sandwiches for dinner. After dinner, she made some rhubarb pie filling. I enjoyed a cigar on the front porch. James was able to get Donna’s mother’s old care running, but I do not know when he will be headed back this way. Colleen and I called it an early night last night to get some extra rest.
Colleen and I woke up to gray skies and rain this morning. Colleen did not take Roux for a walk. I lit the day’s fire when I got downstairs. The fire has just about chased the chill from the first floor. Colleen will be in the kitchen again today. She wants to make some mini rhubarb pies. She wants to make a Yankee pot roast for our Sunday meal too. I will tend to the fire and keep the hearth rack filled. Hopefully, I can watch another baseball game this afternoon. We are not sure if James will be back home today, so we will play that by ear. The week in front of us will be starting off cold, but it looks like the back half of the week will warm up enough for me to get into the gardens for the first time this year. Colleen and I will keep taking everything one day at a time. When the sun starts to set, we will look around and smile, because we know that all is right on the homestead.
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March 01, 2026: Lots of Rain, Some Warmer Temperatures, James Got A Car, Time To Get Into The Gardens
It finally feels like spring is on its way. The last half of January and the first half of February were tough around here. Last week was wet, but the temperatures started creeping up. Last Sunday, between the rain and the clouds, the mercury never got over the 45-degree mark. When the rain moved out, the wind kicked up, and the wind chill was down in the 20s. The mercury never got above the 45-degree mark on Monday or Tuesday either. By Wednesday, we were looking at the thermometer needle playing with the 60-degree mark albeit with cloudy skies. The rain was back on Thursday, having started in the wee hours of the morning. Friday was cloudy so not much dried out. Yesterday started off gray, but we had plenty of sunshine after lunch, and the mercury was back over the 60-degree mark. We expect lots of sunshine today and will likely see the thermometer needle slide past the 70-degree mark. For the week in front of us, Monday and Tuesday will be chilly, but the back half of the week will warm up nicely.
Last Sunday was a pretty typical weekend around here. It was cool enough that I lit a fire to start our day. The rain kept us inside though. Colleen spent a good bit of her day in the kitchen making mini rhubarb pies, a rhubarb coffee cake, and a Yankee pot roast for our Sunday meal. I did my usual Sunday writing, listed baseball cards for sale online, and watched some spring training baseball on my computer. It was the first weekend of the preseason. James spent the weekend visiting friends and spent the night at their place.
Colleen headed into school at her usual time on Monday. Roux wanted to get up and go outside so I did not get to sleep late. Roux likes to go out and just lay down in the leaves for some reason. I did put a fire in the fireplace when we came downstairs though. I spent the morning doing housework. I swept and washed the kitchen floor and swept the entryway. I got the baseball cards that needed to go into the day’s mail packaged up too. In the afternoon, I listened to the baseball game and got the routine housework done between innings of the game. James got home right after dinner. He found himself a car to use too. We made plans to bring the car to the shop on Tuesday morning so they could check it out.
After Colleen left for school Tuesday, James and I waited until the shop was open so we could drop his car off. When we got home, I lit a fire to chase the chill out of the house. James headed outside to split more of the large rounds and get the pieces up to the log splitter. He cleaned up the yard a bit, too. I listed more baseball cards for sale, watched the ballgame in the afternoon, and did the housework between innings and before Colleen got home from school. Right around dinner time, the shop called to let James know his car was ready, so we went and got it. Unfortunately, Roux slammed her hip into a tree while chasing a squirrel when Colleen closed up the hen coop. That evening she needed lots of help moving around.
Wednesday morning James had some errands he wanted to run and left not long after he got up. I helped Roux get down into the yard, but she was still hobbling. She is a fighter though and the only other time I had to help her was when she wanted to get up in her loveseat. The rest of the day was uneventful. I watched a ballgame and did my daily housework. James and I went for a walk after dinner. I guess James was tired though, because he headed upstairs and fell asleep shortly after we got home. The evening passed quietly for Colleen and me.
It was raining Thursday morning, but I still headed down the road for our weekly market run. There were a good many sales at the market and I did not bring in the market run anywhere near our budget. I, however, only spent $0.72 on the dollar. I was home and had everything put away in plenty of time to watch the afternoon’s ballgame and do the daily housework. James spent the afternoon carving wood. Colleen was having a rough week at school, so we had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for dinner. I guess the weather had taken a toll on everyone Thursday because James, Colleen, and I all called it an early evening.
It was still raining on Friday morning and we had some fog to start the day. When we got a break in the rain, I opened the hen coop and coaxed Roux out into the yard. Roux was still hobbling around, but she stayed outside and wandered around for about 30 minutes. I spent the morning cleaning and vacuuming the family room. After lunch, I watched another ballgame and took care of the daily housework. Colleen ordered pizza for our Friday night’s takeout dinner. We had to upsize our usual order with James being here. Now, we get an extra-large pizza instead of just a large pizza. As it turned out, that was the perfect size to feed the three of us.
Yesterday started out gray. James headed out to get a haircut and do laundry. Colleen and I left shortly after that to run our errands. We needed to get chicken feed, chicken scratch, and pine shavings for the hen coop. We stopped at Walmart too. Colleen got a bunch of flower crowns, bulbs, and seeds for her gardens. We restocked Roux’s snack bar too. Dog treats are not cheap these days either. We treated ourselves to lunch at Hardee’s before we came home. The sun came out in the afternoon, so I got one raised bed garden prepped and ready for planting while I was listening to the ballgame. James spent the day and evening at a friend’s house. I took a short walk after dinner, but both Colleen and I called it an early night though.
Colleen and I were greeted with lovely sunshine this morning. Roux is still hobbling, so Colleen did not take her for a walk. Colleen will spend a good part of the day in the kitchen getting meals ready for the upcoming week. I want to plant our potatoes today, do my usual Sunday writing, and hopefully catch this afternoon’s ballgame. We expect James to be home for dinner. The weather promises to be beautiful and warm enough for us to open the house today. Tomorrow and Tuesday, we will get another blast of Arctic air. Colleen and I will keep taking everything one day at a time. In the evenings, we will pause to look around and smile, because we know that all is right on the homestead.
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March 08, 2026: Very Warm Temeratures, Car Troubles, A Day Off From School, Spring Is Coming
We are one week closer to spring, but Mother Nature already seems to have turned up the thermostat. Monday was gray and cool, but everything started warming up on Tuesday. The mercury was flirting with the 80-degree mark by the end of the week. We got some fog on yesterday morning, but there was no rain. There is rain in today’s forecast though. The week in front of us will be warm again, but I suspect Mother Nature has one more cold snap in her apron pocket. With the warming temperatures in front of us, I am looking forward to the opportunity of getting my hands dirty in our raised bed gardens.
Last Sunday was a beautiful 75-degree day. Roux was still hobbling around, so Colleen did not take Roux for a morning walk. I planted Red Norland potatoes in one of our raised bed gardens. Colleen spent the morning baking and then put together a smoked turkey dinner with all the fixings. I did my usual Sunday writing, watched a baseball game in the afternoon, and went for a walk after we ate our dinner. The evening was quiet. Colleen got ready for school on Monday, and I enjoyed a cigar on the front porch and enjoyed a wonderful view of the very bright, full moon.
Monday was cool and gray. Colleen headed to school at her usual time, James had some errands to run in the morning, and I lit a fire. I took care of the morning chores before I headed outside and got a second raised bed garden ready for spring planting. James hauled some firewood up the hill when he got home, but he started not feeling well after lunch and headed upstairs to lay down for a while. After dinner, Colleen relaxed in front of the day’s fire, and I went for a short walk. Tuesday was a workday for Colleen, so she did not have to get ready for school.
Everyone slept a little later on Tuesday morning. After we had our morning coffee, Colleen headed down to the laundromat. When Colleen got home, and the laundry was drying in the basement, Colleen sat in front of her computer and got access to the state’s online retirement site, finally. She will retire on July 1st. James had to run some errands in the afternoon. He did not get home until after dinner when I was heading out for a walk, so he walked with me. We finally saw some sun after dinner, too. I spent the evening with my cigar and checked in on the day’s baseball games.
James had to run some errands again Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, he realized his car was leaking oil and ended up calling me from the garage. I picked James up from the garage, and then we went fishing. It was a great day on the river, too. I caught three nice catfish. James and I got home in the early afternoon, and I put six nice catfish fillets into the freezer. I cleaned the kitchen and got the daily chores done before Colleen got home from school, too. The rest of our day and evening turned out to be routine.
Thursday was market day. After James and I finished our coffee, we headed down the road to the market. Colleen’s market list was short, and I brought the groceries in well under budget and for only $0.72 cents on the dollar. After lunch, James sat down to carve some wood. I listed baseball cards for sale online. Colleen came home excited because she turned in all of her retirement paperwork. The shop called James about his car right after dinner. The repairs were more expensive than James was expecting, so he was quiet all evening. The cost was not outrageous, just not what he was expecting.
James was still quiet Friday morning. It was a slow morning fortunately. I took care of the morning chores and decided to water the gardens. The diverter on the spigot that lets me direct between two different hoses developed a leak. I figured I would just take off the spigot. That did not happen. The diverter froze on the spigot. If I tried to force the diverter off the spigot, I could have snapped the copper water line. It looks like I will have to call a plumber. James got his car back late Friday afternoon. He drove it to the gas station, and there was something terribly wrong, so he called the shop. The shop owner had the car towed back to the shop and sent someone to give James a ride home. At least, the forsythia are starting to bloom making each day look more and more like spring.
Yesterday was another beautiful day. James really was bummed out about his car though. He and I went to Lowe’s first thing in the morning. I got some lettuce and strawberry plants for our gardens, some gardening soil, some cement blocks to repair our decaying terraces, and some potted flowers for Colleen. Luckily, a friend of James picked him up so James could spend time away from the house. I spent the afternoon rebuilding a section of the terracing. A neighbor up the road, was having a couple of trees taken down and let us have the wood from the trees. I only took the top part of the trees because of all the trouble I had moving the main trunk pieces of the white oak in our backyard. After dinner, Colleen and I were worn out and called it an early day.
With the time change last night, this morning seems a bit out of sync. Colleen and I will get going eventually though. Colleen will spend a good bit of her day in the kitchen preparing meals for the upcoming week. I will go for a walk later, watch a baseball game, and do my usual writing. We are not expecting James to be home until sunset. There is rain in the forecast for later today, too. I hope it is enough rain to water the gardens. Colleen and I will keep taking everything one day at a time. When each day comes to an end, we will look around and smile, because we know that all is right on the homestead.
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March 15, 2026: Record High Temeratures, Another Arctic Blast Incoming, More Firewood Waiting For Spring
It is technically still winter, but what a week of mostly wonderful weather we had. We got a little bit of rain last Sunday night. It was enough rain to water the gardens. From Monday through Wednesday the days kept getting warmer. On Tuesday, the mercury got by the 80-degree mark, and on Wednesday, it eclipsed the 85-degree mark. Thursday was a different story. The morning started with the thermometer needle sitting on the 70-degree mark, and the temperature just kept going down all day long. We got a couple hours of rain on Thursday too. We woke up on Friday morning with mercury at the freezing mark, and it never reached the 60-degree mark. Yesterday, it warmed up again, and it was a pleasant day. This morning is nice enough too, but there is a cold front heading our way tonight and tomorrow, pushing a line of severe storms ahead of it. Colleen is hoping they cancel school tomorrow.
We woke up to the Daylight Savings time change last Sunday. It was not bad, but it seemed like we were running late on everything. By the time Colleen and I finished our morning coffee and got to move around, it was already midmorning. Colleen headed into the kitchen, and I headed out for a walk. I spent the better part of my time writing or watching a ballgame when I got back home. Colleen thawed out some ham, and we had a lovely ham dinner for our Sunday meal. Other than that, the day got away from us, and before we knew it was time to go to bed. It was not a bad day, just a little off schedule.
Colleen headed off to school at her usual time on Monday morning. I slept late. When I finally got out of bed, I hit the ground running. After a morning cup of coffee and a quick breakfast, I swept and washed the kitchen floor. While the kitchen floor was drying, I cleaned the entryway floor. James came home from his weekend adventure in the middle of the morning and headed down to the fire pit to carve wood. Colleen got home at her regular time. After dinner, I went for a nice walk thanks to Daylight Savings Time. With the sun setting an hour later, I do not have to worry about getting home by sunset. For what it is worth, Colleen hates Daylight Savings Time because she has to wait an hour longer to close the chicken coop.
James and I were up shortly after Colleen left for school and a bit before sunrise on Tuesday. After our morning coffee, we both got busy. I cleaned and vacuumed the living room. I filled up half the vacuum cleaner canister in the process. James did some carpentry work on the back deck using scrap wood I had lying around. James did a great job of adding toe rails and rail support to the back deck. Colleen made some pan-fried flounder for dinner. I went for a walk after dinner while Colleen looked for her paperwork so she could access the Social Security website to move forward with her plans for a July 1st retirement.
I had a busy day on Wednesday. After all the morning chores around the house, I headed down to Costco to get a few things. Costco does not open until 10 AM, so it was a late morning run that did not get me back home until just before noon. My buddy and his wife had their first child last Friday, and I wanted to run by their place after lunch to drop off a few things and a chicken pot pie I got at Costco so they would not have to worry about dinner. I got back home just before Colleen left school to come home, which gave me enough time to take care of the afternoon chores. It was still warm Wednesday evening, but the wind really picked up. The stout wind was a harbinger of what was heading our way on Thursday.
Thursday morning was warm. Having taken care of the morning chores, James and I headed to the market. It was an awesome market run, because I only spent $0.60 on the dollar for everything in the cart and came in close to budget. Unfortunately, by the time James and I got out of the market, the temperature needle had dropped 20 degrees. The skies started spitting rain on us as we brought the groceries into the house. We were not inside long before the rain started falling in earnest. Roux had to go outside, but did not like the rain. I cleaned and vacuumed the family and dining rooms after lunch. The rain pretty much had stopped by the time Colleen got home, and we even saw a little sunshine after dinner. I had been worried about getting all my steps in for the day, but I was able to go for a walk after dinner to resolve that issue.
Friday did not warm up much, but the house held its heat well. I did not need to start a fire. Anticipating a very cold couple of days in the upcoming week, James and I spent the morning and into the early afternoon splitting and stacking firewood on the back porch wood rack. We just about filled the rack too. Colleen stopped at the laundromat on her way home and got home later than usual. We got a takeout pizza for dinner mostly because it was quick and easy. After dinner I went for a walk, and James’s friend came and got him for another weekend’s adventure. Colleen and I were both worn out from the week and ended up making an early evening of it.
Colleen was up early yesterday morning and took Roux for a short walk. It was Roux’s first walk since she hurt herself chasing a squirrel. After Colleen finished her walk and morning coffee, she headed into the kitchen to bake a Revolutionary Era cake and some other things for the week ahead of us. After I finished my coffee, I headed out to the gardens to get another raised bed ready for planting. I was very excited not only to see the Egyptian Walking Onions I planted last year had over wintered well, but they had spread out from my original planting. I did not work on the strawberry or herb gardens, so they still had ground cover with the cold snap heading our way. I took a lovely midafternoon walk, enjoying the sight of all the flowers and trees that had started blooming. Colleen and I indulged ourselves with homemade tempura shrimp street tacos for dinner. After dinner, we enjoyed a quiet evening.
Colleen was up early again today but did not take Roux for a walk. I will go for a morning walk after I finish my coffee. Most of today should be very nice and spring like outside. We are not sure if James will be home later today or tomorrow morning. I will do my usual Sunday writing and hopefully, list some baseball cards for sale online. With the threat of severe weather and high winds tomorrow, Colleen will keep her eye on the news for a possible cancellation of school. Today should be breezy all day, but it does not look like storm clouds will move into the area until sunset or there abouts. Colleen and I will keep taking everything one day at a time though. At the end of each day, we will look around and smile, because we know that all is right on the homestead.
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March 22, 2026:
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March 29, 2026: Roux Got Well, Temperatures Were Wild, Colleen Gets Ready For Spring Break.
Spring is finally here! Of course, that makes no never mind, because Mother Nature has had the mercury bouncing up and down in the thermometer. The temperatures have swung between a low of 32 degrees to a high of near 90 degrees over the course of the last week. The only rain we got came in the overnight hours on Friday, and the clouds were gone by yesterday morning. A cold front pushed the storms through the area, and yesterday morning and this morning the thermometer needle started the day just above the freezing mark. The mercury never got out of the 50s yesterday, but it should end up between the 65-degree and 70-degree marks later today. The upcoming week will continue to warm up for us, and there is no rain in the immediate forecast.
Last Sunday was rough. Roux got sick last Saturday, and she was not looking good at all. Colleen spent Saturday night on the family room sofa to be near Roux in case Roux needed help. When I got up and came downstairs, I chased Colleen upstairs to bed to get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep while I watched Roux. Roux decided she wanted to hobble out to the front porch to lay down, so I took advantage of her being outside to pull out the carpet cleaner and clean the carpet where Roux had had a few accidents. In the afternoon, I coaxed Roux into going out into the yard to lay in the sunshine. Colleen made an early dinner when she woke up. Since Colleen had to go to school in the morning, I spent Sunday night on the family room sofa to stay close to Roux. Colleen spent the night in bed.
Colleen left for school at her usual time on Monday. I grabbed a cup of coffee and headed out to the front porch while Roux was still sleeping on her bed by the sofa. Roux did not have an appetite when she got up, actually, her appetite was nonexistent for most of the weekend. I managed to get her to go outside and lay in the sunshine though. I got her back into the house in the early afternoon, because it was getting too hot. I spent my day doing little things around the house. Roux started looking like she was feeling better in the afternoon and ate a full meal at dinner time. We did not get Roux to try going upstairs, and I spent Monday night on the sofa again.
Roux was doing a bit better Tuesday morning, and she ate some breakfast. She was still hobbling around but moving better. I took care of the usual morning chores, got Roux to go outside again, and then I planted beets in peat pots. Planting beets in peat pots flies in the face of normal convention, but my uncle had told me he had great success, so I had to give it a try. James spent a good part of the day splitting large oak rounds into moveable pieces and then getting the pieces up by the log splitter. James cleaned up a good bit of the backyard, too. Roux’s appetite was improving, and she wolfed down her dinner. Colleen and I were still concerned she might be sick, so I spent another night on the sofa keeping Roux company.
Roux kept improving and ate a good breakfast Wednesday morning. She was still gimpy but managed to get outside to enjoy the sunshine. I took care of the morning chores and then set my computer up on the front porch to work with my baseball cards. Roux even started wandering around the yard a bit more during the day. James spent his day cleaning up the wooded area of our backyard. He made quite the dent in the mess that had not been touched in a couple of years. I got the afternoon housework done before Colleen got home. Roux ate her usual dinner. I took a walk after dinner. It still did not look like Roux was ready to climb up the stairs to the bedroom, so I spent Wednesday night on the sofa again.
Thursday was market day. James stayed behind last week to keep an eye on Roux while I ran to the market. It was not a bad market run. I overshot our budget but only spent $0.72 on the dollar because of the sales. James helped carry the groceries into the house when I got home. After lunch, I went out into the gardens, weeded some, and planted snap peas and radishes. My potato plants, that took a beating from the sub-freezing temperatures a week ago, were all re-sprouted, and they looked great. When Colleen got home, she realized her lilac bush was in bloom. She was excited because she had been babying that bush for ten years or so. We let Roux stay downstairs one more night, and I slept on the sofa again.
Colleen was excited when she left for school on Friday morning. It would be her last day of school before her spring break. Roux’s regular appetite had returned, and she was moving around better. I spent the morning getting caught up on packaging and shipping baseball cards. James headed outside to keep working in the backyard. After lunch, we lost electricity for a while. It was back on by the time Colleen got home from school. James headed out for the weekend shortly before Colleen got home, too. When Colleen got home, we headed down to the shop to drop the Honda off for its annual inspection and routine maintenance. We picked up Firehouse subs for dinner on the way home, because the place was close to the shop. Roux was moving well enough in the evening to go upstairs to the bedroom. I finally slept in bed again.
Yesterday, it started out to be chilly, but there was plenty of sunshine and blue skies. Colleen made turnovers for breakfast after which I headed outside to finish cleaning up around the winter-ready firewood rack. The work did not take me long. Now, we are set to start splitting and stacking wood for next winter. Colleen came outside and spent most of her morning working in her flower gardens. She ended up planting a number of flowers, too. I started to build a new raised bed garden frame when I was done around the firewood racks. Roux stayed outside with us until the early afternoon. It was so nice yesterday, that I fired up the grill and grilled lamb chops and lobster tails for Saturday dinner. After dinner, I went for a short walk too.
Today is supposed to be warmer than yesterday despite the mercury sitting below the 35-degree mark to start the day. Colleen wants to get outside in the yard to do some clean up. I will do my usual writing, take a walk later, and maybe do some more work on the raised bed garden frame. If this garden frame works well, I will start rebuilding the other raised bed garden frames that are starting to deteriorate with age. I had hoped Alex would swing by the house today, but I found out he had a head cold, so he will be staying home. Colleen and I will keep taking everything one day at a time. In the evenings, we will pause to look around and smile, because we know that all is right on the homestead.
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April 05, 2026: A Trip To The Vet, Cleaning The Backyard, Lots Of Time In The Gardens.
Colleen’s spring break from school is wrapping up, and it was an incredibly perfect week, weather wise. The mercury stayed between the 55-degree and 85-degree marks all week long. We did not see a drop of rain, and the only clouds we had were big, white, and fluffy that floated overhead in the beautiful Carolina blue sky. We expect to see some rain this afternoon though. Between the warm temperatures and today’s rain, the treetop canopy may very well be lush and green by next weekend. There will be a front pushing today’s line of storms through the area too. After the front passes us, the temperatures will cool off. Everything will start to warm up again during the back half of the upcoming week though.
Being on spring break meant Colleen did not have to do any cooking or meal prep for the week last Sunday. She got to spend a good part of her day outside. She put a few new plants in the ground in her various flower gardens, then she went into clean up mode. She raked up the side yard, cleaned the pool patio, and most everything around the pool. I did my usual Sunday writing and went for a walk. Colleen and I had a mid-afternoon lunch of the second half of our Friday evening takeout subs, so we were not especially hungry at dinner time and did not eat. James found his way home later in the afternoon. Everyone spent their evening relaxing.
Monday morning rolled around, the sun came up, and Colleen did not have to get up to her alarm clock. Everyone enjoyed a leisurely start to the day with some coffee and a fresh turnover for breakfast. James headed down into the wooded quadrant of the backyard to continue his clean up the leaves, tree limbs, and general debris that had accumulated over the past couple of years. Colleen and I headed out to the log splitter to start splitting and stacking firewood for next winter. Colleen and I worked all morning and finished in the early afternoon. We split and stacked all the wood James had brought up by the splitter over the last week. Unfortunately, we did not completely fill one of our racks, but we still have spring and summer in front of us.
Tuesday morning was busy up here on the hill. James had some errands to run. Colleen and I took Roux to the vet for a checkup. Fortunately, Roux had been getting better and better by the day after the scare she gave us last week. The vet gave Roux a very thorough checkup. We still are not sure what caused Roux to get so sick, but she did tear the ACL in both her hind legs at her age operating to repair them is not a viable option. Her liver enzymes started to get out of whack again so she is back on her liver meds, and the vet changed her pain med from daily pills to a monthly shot. It was later than Colleen and I anticipated when we left the vet, so we went to Hardee’s for lunch. On our way home, we stopped at the shop to pick up the Honda. When James came home, he made real progress in the back quadrant and now, there are piles of limbs and branches that will eventually be headed to our fire pit. The rest of our day and evening were uneventful.
Wednesday was a laundry day. Colleen headed to the laundromat first thing in the morning. I got outside and finished putting together our new raised bed garden frame. The new frame is PVC piping, and I wrapped the sides in plastic wrap. The new frame is incredibly light and easy to handle. Unfortunately, I did not have enough garden soil to fill the bed. Colleen spent a good part of her day drying laundry. James finished up in the back quadrant and decided it was time for him to head back to his home turf. He packed his things into his car and then headed on his way in the late afternoon.
Thursday was market day like always. Colleen and I stopped and got a few more bags of garden soil before we hit the market. We missed our budget at the market, but still only paid $0.75 on the dollar for everything in our cart. After Colleen and I got the groceries into the house, I finished filling our raised bed garden with soil and then planted eight asparagus crowns. I planted two different types of asparagus, Martha Washington and Jersey Giant. I am not sure if one will do better than the other, but we shall see. Colleen spent the afternoon in her workroom trying to sew up that last of her state retirement and Social Security paperwork. When she finally came downstairs right before dinner, her hands were held high and she was doing a happy dance because she finished everything she needed to do up to this point. After dinner, our day finally became quiet and routine.
On Friday morning, Colleen and I were outside in our gardens again. Colleen cleaned out her lily garden and planted several more bulbs. She is not sure if they will bloom this year, but next year there should be an explosion of colors. I planted marigold and cosmos seeds over the top of the asparagus with the hope the flowers would deter pests. I also aerated Colleen’s wildflower garden and added more wildflower seeds to the garden. After lunch, I pulled the leaf blower out of the basement, I blew another one of Colleen’s gardens clean, and then I blew the leaf line James had left a little further into the woods. Colleen and I treated ourselves to our favorite Mexican takeout for our Friday evening dinner.
Yesterday morning was an adventure for Colleen and me. We went to Lowe’s garden center. I was looking for a few plants to add to our raised beds. I ended up getting some basil and six different types of peppers. After I had the basil and the peppers in the cart, we started going through the flowers. My plants filled the seat of our shopping cart. By the time we had looked at all the flowers, our cart was full, and we had to get a second cart for the bags of extra garden soil. It was almost lunch time when we checked out of Lowe’s, so on the spur of the moment, we decided a lunch at Hardee’s was in order. With rain in the forecast for today, Colleen and I planted everything we got at Lowe’s when we got home. By the end of the afternoon, we were tired. Still, I managed to go for an early evening walk though. Right before sunset, Colleen headed down back to close up the hen coop, and Roux went with her. That was the first time Roux had been down to the hen coop since she hurt herself.
The rain should start falling around noon today. How much rain we get or do not get is anyone’s guess. Colleen has already opened and cleaned the hen coop this morning. I will go for an early morning walk so I can beat the rain. Colleen has a little bit of cooking she wants to do today for the upcoming week. I will grill some salmon for our Sunday dinner. The treetops are starting to fill out, and Colleen’s azalea bushes have blossomed nicely this morning and her flowering Solomon Seal garden had an unexpected visitor. Hopefully, it will be a quiet Easter Sunday today. The week in front of us looks to be very nice again, albeit cooler than last week. Colleen and I will keep taking everything one day at a time. In the evenings, we will pause to look around and smile, because we know that all is right on the homestead.
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April 12, 2026: Firewood For Winter, Dry Skies, Rising Temperatures.
Spring definitely has settled into our area. Strangely enough though, we have not had much in the way of April showers. The only rain we saw all week was last Sunday. It really was not much at that, but it watered our gardens and got everything wet. The first part of the week started off cool. The high temperatures only got into the 60s. Our little hill started warming up on Thursday, and by the weekend, the mercury was getting solidly past the 80-degree mark in the afternoons. It looks like the warmup will continue through at least the middle of the upcoming week with forecast high temperatures of 90 degrees or better.
Last Sunday, the day started out to be sunny. I took advantage of the nice morning and went for a walk. Colleen spent her morning in the kitchen making quiches to feed us during the week. The first light rain shower showed up around noon. We got a break a little while later, so I got the grill fired up and grilled some salmon fillets for our Sunday dinner. The rain did eventually start falling again and this time, it lasted until sunset. We did get another break in the rain right after sunset, so Roux got to go outside without rain falling on her. Roux is not a fan of raindrops.
Monday was a teacher’s workday, and Colleen had to go to school even though the kids did not have to be there. I was up shortly after Colleen left for school. I took care of the routine morning chores and come midmorning; I ran a box full of books over to a former student of mine. The kid is a voracious reader. I spent the afternoon buried in baseball cards until Colleen got home. I went for a walk after dinner, too. Colleen got ready for school on Tuesday. We both managed to find some time to relax, and that was as exciting as our evening got.
Colleen left for school at her usual time. I slept late. After I opened the hen coop for the day and fed Roux, I sat down in front of my computer and did our taxes. That took me all morning. Surprisingly, we fared much better this year compared to previous years. Colleen had a dental appointment after school, so I brought the girls their afternoon treats and fed Roux. When Colleen got out of the dentist’s office, the check engine light came on in the Trailblazer. Colleen drove the Trailblazer to the shop, and I picked her up to come home. After we ate dinner, I went for a walk. Another neighbor, down the hill a bit, had a tree fall on their house. The Honda is not reliable for long distance drives, so she called into the school to take Wednesday off.
It was still cool Wednesday morning, but warmer temperatures were coming. After a quick breakfast, I got my chainsaw and headed out into the backyard to get the last of the oak tree cut up and then moved up to the log splitter. Colleen moved all her potted plants from the second-floor porch down to the back porch, their summer home. By the time dinner rolled around, Colleen and I were both a bit tired, so we decided to get a takeout pizza for dinner. The shop could not get to the Trailblazer during the day, so Colleen called into school to take Thursday off as well. After dinner, I went for a walk. Colleen put together our market list for Thursday.
Everybody slept late Thursday morning, although Colleen was up before me. While I was having my coffee on the front porch, the shop called me. The Trailblazer was ready to go. The problem was quickly and easily resolved, and the fix was inexpensive. After breakfast, Colleen and I headed down to the shop to retrieve the Trailblazer and then headed to the market. We got home around noon, got the groceries into the house, put them away, and then had lunch. Last week, we bought too much milk, and it had just reached its expiration date. It was not bad yet, but we were not going to be able to drink it all, so Colleen made ricotta cheese with it. I headed out into the yard to move what firewood up from the piles James left to the log splitter. That took us right up to dinner time, after which we both just relaxed for the rest of the evening.
Colleen headed back into school Friday morning. Roux decided to come downstairs and hang out by the pool while I was having my morning coffee. I took advantage of Roux being outside and cleaned and thoroughly vacuumed the living room. After lunch, I made sure the gardens got watered and listed baseball cards for sale online. Colleen got home at her usual time, and Roux decided to come back into the house about 15 minutes before Colleen pulled into the driveway. We did not get takeout Friday evening, opting instead for chili-cheese dogs and chili-cheese fries. Friday evening was quiet and uneventful, thankfully.
Colleen and I were up and out at the log splitter right after breakfast yesterday morning. We spent most of the morning splitting and stacking the wood I had brought up to the splitter during the week. We managed to finish filling one winter-ready rack and about one-third of the second rack. I promised I would grill our meal yesterday, so shortly after noon, I fired up the charcoal. Our meal was a shared rib steak, baked potato, oven roasted Brussel sprouts, and sautéed mushrooms and onions. Sadly, Colleen found one of our chickens had died when she brought the afternoon treats down to the girls. We both had to sit down and relax after having eaten so much though. I ended up going upstairs for a nap and Colleen nodded off in her living room chair. I went for a walk after my nap and when I got back, I found Colleen had nodded off again.
Today should go as most of our Sundays do. Colleen will be in the kitchen making meals for next week. I will go for a walk in a little while, water the gardens when I get back, and do my usual Sunday writing after that. Alex is supposed to come by the house later today to take down a dying tree, so it will not fall on the house. Colleen and I will keep taking everything one day at a time though. Colleen only has eight weeks and a couple of days until the end of school when she can retire. When the sun starts to set each day, we will look around and smile thankfully, because we know that all is right on the homestead.
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April 19, 2026: Roux Crossed The Rainbow Bridge, Record Setting Heat, A Hard Week Up Here On The Hil
Mother Nature seems really confused lately. Last week it appears, we skipped over spring and moved straight into summer. Most days, we saw the mercury column climb over the 85-degree mark. It got up to the 90-degree mark a couple of days, too. The local airport registered a new record high temperature one day. This morning, the thermometer needle is struggling to stay above the 60-degree mark, and we have winds gusting up to 20 mph right now with a 50-50 chance of showers later this morning. As for the rest of last week, it was bone dry with our gardens needing to be watered. We will have a few cool days to start the upcoming week, but by mid-week, the mercury will be over the 80-degree mark again. If we are lucky, we might see some rain next weekend.
Our week started out with a routine note last Sunday. Colleen and Roux were up early. Colleen headed straight into the kitchen to make her marble pound cake. After I had my coffee, I headed out for a long walk. By the time I got home, Colleen’s pound cake was out of the oven, and she was working on making eggplant lasagna, and a lot of it. I did my usual Sunday writing when I got back home. Roux spent the day wandering around the house and yard as it suited her. Since lasagna is best if it sits overnight before eating it, we had hotdogs and beans for dinner. After dinner, Colleen cleaned up the kitchen and then got ready for school on Monday morning. The evening was peaceful.
Monday morning started like most weekday mornings. Colleen left for school while Roux and I stayed in bed for a while. After I finished my morning coffee, I headed out to our raised bed gardens and spent most of my morning out there. Colleen got home from school at her usual time, brought the girls their afternoon treats, and then made Rachel sandwiches for dinner. After dinner, I cleared the kitchen table and headed out for a walk. When I got home, Colleen and Roux were out on the pool patio. Roux did not look quite right, so we helped her get into the house. Sadly, shortly after Roux got into the house, she had a seizure and crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We were devastated. I headed out with a pickax and a shovel to dig a grave. Steven showed up and finished digging the grave. Then, we put Roux to rest. I do not remember much else from the rest of the evening except for sitting on the front porch with a cigar, a glass of scotch, and red eyes.
Tuesday morning was difficult. Colleen headed into school at her usual time. I wandered around the house, lost. I did go outside later in the morning to make sure Roux had a proper grave site next to Daisy’s and Buttercup’s graves. After lunch, I filed our taxes for last year. Fortunately, they all went through without an issue. Colleen and I finally ate some of her eggplant lasagna for dinner. After dinner I went for a walk, although I really did not feel like it, but I needed to keep up my daily cardio. Colleen and I tried to relax and catch our breath for the rest of the evening. We both headed upstairs to bed shortly after the evening’s dusk got swallowed by darkness.
Colleen left the house for school at her usual time Wednesday morning. I struggled to get out of bed again. After having my morning coffee, I spent the rest of the morning buried in my baseball cards. I had no motivation. In the afternoon, I walked up the road to a neighbor’s house to give them Roux’s soft dog food and soft treats for their older dogs. Colleen stopped at the laundromat on her way home, so I took care of the girls in the afternoon. After dinner, I went for a walk. The bright spot of the day was seeing the flowers in Colleen’s garden. Still, the house just did not feel right without Roux.
Thursday morning was market day. Fortunately, Colleen’s list was short. I managed to get in and out of the market quickly. I stopped at the vets on the way home to drop off an unopened box of Roux’s liver pills and thank the staff for all they had done to help Roux. That was difficult, and I nearly lost my composure. I spent my afternoon with my baseball cards. After dinner, I brought the rest of Roux’s treats to another neighbor that has two younger dogs, then I went for my walk. Colleen finished drying the laundry during the evening. We both headed upstairs to bed not long after sunset.
Colleen headed to school like usual on Friday morning. I forced myself out of bed and got my coffee. I spent the morning cutting grass and weed eating where the lawnmower could not reach. After lunch, I spent my time with my baseball cards again. The week had been tough on us, and Colleen looked worn out when she got home from school. Having brought her school things inside, Colleen brought the girls their afternoon treats, collected the day’s eggs, and ordered our takeout pizza for dinner. A meal of pizza and beer for dinner was just what the doctor ordered. I went for a walk after dinner. When I got back home, I had my evening cigar and checked in on the day’s baseball games. We will miss Roux for a good while still, but at least, Colleen and I were getting back into our daily routine.
Yesterday it started out warm and got hotter as the day progressed. Colleen and I headed outside after our morning coffee. Colleen cleaned up the pool patio and around the pool. I built another PVC raised bed frame for the area by back porch stairs. Alex showed up around 10:30 to drop the tree that needed to come down. When I saw the base of the tree on the ground, I was glad that he cut it down, because it looked like it would not have been standing much longer. Alex sharpened my chainsaw while he was here, too. Alex left before lunch. After lunch, I cut up about half of the pile of logs in the front yard. I will have to get the wood I cut up to the splitter this coming week. Fortunately, our evening was quiet and uneventful.
I am not sure what today will bring our way other than a surprise visitor in the rose bushes. We most likely will not see any sunshine, but it remains to be seen if we get any rain. Either way, I will not be working in the yards. Colleen plans to spend a good bit of the day in the kitchen. I am looking forward to a nice homey meatloaf dinner today. I will go for a walk later this afternoon when the threat of rain has passed. I will be busy out in the yard during the week though. Colleen is counting down the days until she retires. Not surprisingly, getting up every morning to go to school is getting harder and harder for her. Colleen and I will keep taking everything one day at a time. At the end of each day, no matter what the world throws at us, we will look around and smile, because we know that all is right on the homestead.