Feb. 23-March 1, 2026

Weather | 2/23, sunny, 4°, 31° | 2/24, cloudy, 17°, 53° | 2/25, p. cloudy, 30°, 53° | 2/26, sunny, 30°, 58° | 2/27, sunny, 34°, 71° | 2/28, p. cloudy, 28°, xx° | 3/1, xx°, xx° |

• Monday, 2/23: A Day About Cooper
  • When I walked Cooper for his first outing this morning, I saw a coyote in the south field. It was rooting around in the tamped down grass for a rodent. When it noticed us, the coyote quickly ran away to the west woods. Cooper didn't see it, but smelled the coyote on our way back home.
  • We received a dozen lacrosse balls that I ordered which will be used as balls for Cooper to fetch. So far, the first ball is holding up nicely to his teeth, so we think they will last a long time.
  • Mary and I spent time reviewing the house plan, deciding on window placement, among other ideas.
  • We asked Bill how is first day of work in his new job went and he said the previous guy employed in his job was unorganized, requiring a great deal of clean up. "There is so much I can do to help them," he said.
  • There is a daily routine we have with Cooper that he enjoys. He goes out first thing every morning. As Mary fixes our breakfast, he sits nearby and gets the apple core, minus seeds, and one frozen blackberry. At noon and around 5 p.m. he gets a long walk. After the second long walk we play fetch until he's worn out. Every evening before I brush my teeth, I brush his teeth. If I forget, he reminds me that it's tooth brushing time for him. Brushing his teeth means I mainly brush his tongue. He loves the taste of the peanut butter flavored doggy toothpaste and bites the big doggy toothbrush as often as possible. Included in the kit that came with the toothpaste and toothbrush was a rubber scrubber you put on your forefinger to clean dog teeth. If I used that silly thing, I'd be minus a finger trying to clean the teeth of that shark!

• Tuesday, 2/24: Labeling Wine
  • We had a strong wind blowing from south to west for most of the day. It was calm by night.
  • I wrote on wine labels and applied them to the apple and jalapeño wine bottles that Bill and I corked a few days ago. It takes quite some time, because each bottle must be wiped down with a damp rag and dried prior to applying a label. The Star San sanitizer I use turns cloudy when mixed with our water and puts a slight haze on the outside of all bottles, which is removed with the damp rag. I moved some wine bottles around and found space for these two wine varieties in the coolers.
  • Mary and I discussed house plans in the evening.

• Wednesday, 2/25: Firewood & Pruning
  • I split the bigger pieces of the second mulberry tree that I cut up on March 9th and stacked two wheelbarrow loads of firewood in the woodshed.
  • I used all my chainsaws and cut up a cherry tree that dropped across Bobcat Trail last year, two red oak trees, and several oak and hickory branches that dropped onto the north woods forest floor. I used the Stihl grooming saw that has just a six-inch bar and cut down an oak with a five-inch diameter and sawed it up with that battery-operated saw. It's very impressive. Most of the firewood went into the woodshed, while bigger pieces were stacked next to the woodsplitter.
  • Mary pruned bushes and trees for the first time this year. She did all of the blueberries, the small Bartlett tree, the Porter's Perfection apple tree, the Liberty apple tree, and one small cherry tree.
  • Several flocks of snow geese went overhead throughout the day. We also saw a few trumpeter swans.
  • I heard the first American woodcock this evening.
  • I didn't clean chainsaws until late at night, when I detected a gas leak from the big chainsaw's gas cap. I scrubbed the cement floor in the entry room, took the chainsaw to the machine shed and emptied all of the gasoline out of it, then cleaned it outside. Cleaning chainsaws inside is not a good idea. One disadvantage of the Stihl MS 361 saw is a gas cap that wears out in a short time.

• Thursday, 2/26: Shopping & Fly Hook Webex
  • I went shopping in Quincy, mainly because a prescription I approved last week needs to be picked up no later than today from the Sam's Club pharmacy. 
  • I went to Birkey's Farm Store, another Stihl dealer in Quincy, and ordered an additional chain for the GTA 40 pruning chainsaw, an O-ring for the gas cap of the big chainsaw, and several sharpening items for the two small chainsaws. All items should be into that store in about one week. I liked the professionalism of this parts guy, compared to the young kids lacking knowledge that are always behind the parts counter at Farm & Home.
  • I got a better collar for Cooper that snaps on or off. The collar that came with him could only be removed by sliding it over his head. We wanted an easier removal. The new collar is expensive at $20, but it's a very well made Carhartt product.
  • Mary's plastic laundry basket collapsed, so she texted me, and I took a trip into Menards and got two new baskets. Their parking lot was empty.
  • Aldi was crammed full of old folks. It was as if they let out all of the senior citizen homes. Of course at 69, I'm not old. At least I don't doddle around staring at food shelves as if I don't know why I'm in the store!  
  • Mary vacuumed bugs all day.
  • She reported that lots of snow geese flew overhead throughout the day.
  • I took in a Missouri Department of Conservation Webex on the importance of correct fly hooks. T.J. tied various flies on different hooks and dropped them into a tank that had a constant flow to imitate a trout stream. A hook with an eye turned up the same direction as the barb needs to be tied upside down, or what is supposed to be towards the surface of the water will be underneath as the fly swims through the water.
  • I heard coyotes singing to the north after it was dark outside.

• Friday, 2/27: Bugs & Splitting Firewood
  • I scouted for firewood with a dog walk down and up the south field and into the edge of the woods. There are a lot of downed trees in that stretch of the timber. Cooper and I spooked up a flock of Bob White quail along the way.
  • I vacuumed bugs for a couple hours. There must be millions of Asian lady bugs in the walls of this house. Mary vacuumed in the afternoon. The shop vac needs a break after we suck bugs for several hours.
  • We experienced southwest to west winds with gusts to 35 mph, before it died back in the evening. My plans to cut more firewood were delayed. A recent area fire started with the spark from a chainsaw. We are supremely dry. Extreme caution is a wise idea right now.
  • I split the firewood that was next to the woodsplitter and stacked five wheelbarrow loads into the woodshed.
  • After sunset, I washed all of the waterers with Cooper loose and next to me. He sat patiently and watched rabbits chasing each other around the yard. We're finding that he's very good at staying next to you while he's off the leash, plus he comes instantly with a quick whistle. He keenly watched all of the bunnies, yet stayed right next to me.