February 16-22, 2020

Weather | 2/16, 23°, 43° | 2/17, 0.07" rain, 31°, 42° | 2/18, 25°, 39° | 2/19, 17°, 33° | 2/20, 10°, 27° | 2/21, 10°, 39° | 2/22, 27°, 52°

• Sunday, 2/16: Made a big waffle brunch. Mary still has a bad leg. She hot padded it a lot. Took tons of minerals and drank a ton of liquids. It was a little better at the end of the day. I did all chores, again. Checked my grapefruit wine. The specific gravity is 1.090, down ever so slightly from 1.093, but it's bubbling. I stirred it and tasted it...very strong grapefruit, bitter taste, plus quite sweet. I could hear the fizzing kick up by evening, so stirring helped. Churchill is doing better...eating healthy and able to walk outside. I put the RSS news feed app called Feedly on Mary's phone to replace the crappy Apple newsfeed that gives you breaking news like people upset because Jennifer Lopez wore nothing during the Superbowl halftime show...we don't give a rat's ass!!! Mary is happy that she can now select news she wants to see. Most of the snow melted today.


• Monday, 2/17: Mary still has knotted leg issues, but it felt better in the morning. By nightfall, she was tired and it was tightening more than ever. I did all chores, fixed meals, did dishes. We had chicken sandwiches as our main meal. Checked the wine...specific gravity at 1.080, so it's coming along. Churchill ate all meals and is doing better. Rain in the morning made everything mushy, even though it wasn't much, since nothing is seeping into the ground.


• Tuesday, 2/18: Mary is doing much better...not perfect...but she's doing stretching exercises and getting around more. She even fed pets (accept for Churchill) in the evening and helped with fixing meals. I cleaned resin off the chainsaw chain, walked down to south of the Bluegill Pond and just west of our lane and sawed up a dry dead mulberry tree that fell into the base of a big oak tree. It's super dry. I also fell a dead dry white oak and cut it up. Stacked all of the wood and I'll get it tomorrow when the ground is frozen. Saw the skull of a deer with a big rack on it in that bit of woods. It probably was shot nearby by our neighbor, Rich, and then went there to die. Rich isn't a good shot. I also saw a dead blue jay that I thought at first was a piece of blue plastic. While I was cutting up firewood, Mary fed chickens and found an opossum in the coop. She collected it up in a plastic garbage can and hauled it to beyond the swim and dove ponds, using the shovel as a cane. Checked the wine and specific gravity is at 1.068. It tastes like fancy soda pop...a little sweet with tingly effervescence. It's bubbling quite nicely, now. Mary drew up a shopping list. She texted Bill and he said he's arriving here on Thursday at 11 am...going back home Sunday.


• Wednesday, 2/19: Mary baked a cherry pie. I went shopping in Quincy for human and pet food. Mary's doing better, but with a lot of stiffness. Wine specific gravity is at 1.064 and fizzing well. Discovered a crack at the top of the hydrometer I've been using. Checked with a different hydrometer and it read 1.070. I'll use the cracked hydrometer, even though it's probably compromised.


• Thursday, 2/20: Mary is better today, moving around quite a bit. Bill arrived at 11 am. Mary fixed a turkey dinner that we ate mid-afternoon, celebrating my 63rd birthday. Mom called. She really enjoyed her recent visit to Arizona and Nevada. Katie called, but we didn't talk much because of poor telephone service. I racked my wine, since the specific gravity was at 1.040 in the morning and 1.034 in the evening. It was at 1.040 on the good hydrometer in the evening. You're supposed to transfer the wine to a second fermenting vessel (rack it) when the specific gravity is between 1.040 and 1.020. Bill helped. We filled a 1-gallon glass jug and had a third of a quart that I stored in the fridge to fill after future rackings. I had problems with the new solid rubber stopper, so I went with an old stopper that isn't solid. Mary, Bill & I drank what was left. Unique taste...tasted good...grapefruit taste, slight bitter with tannin taste, with the feel of champagne on the tongue, due to yeast fermentation. The yeast sludge gave me a stomach ache, but not so for Bill and Mary. See the fermentation in video below.

• Friday, 2/21: A low day for me, since I nursed a stomach ache from last night's wine tasting. Note to self...stay away from yeasty wine must...feed it to Mary, instead. Bill did a basket of his laundry. I asked him to include 5 pairs of my socks, since I was out. Mary made a pumpkin cake. We had another possum in the chicken coop. Mary and I put it in a plastic garbage can and took it to Wood Duck Pond. She's doing even better, today. We watched the movies Super 8 and Angels and Demons.


• Saturday, 2/22: Thousands of snow geese flew over us heading west today. I could even hear them going overhead at night. We discovered that the big freezer got turned off a couple days ago. Items in the baskets at the top were thawed, but meat in the bottom was frozen. The store-bought chicken breasts were in the baskets, so we added it to pork loins that we roasted outside on a fire in the afternoon. Bill shared some 5-year oak barrel aged dark beer that he got as a present from his friend, Mike. It was really delicious stuff. After chores, we watched the movies Shrek II & 2 episodes of the BBC Cadfael series.

February 9-15, 2020

Weather | 2/9, 0.14" rain, 29°, 38° | 2/10, 22°, 36° | 2/11, 27°, 39° | 2/12, 4" snow or 0.28" moisture, 27°, 32° | 2/13, -3°, 8° | 2/14, -9°, 15° | 2/15, 22°, 39° |

• Sunday, 2/9: I was a dark, rainy day. We went to Quincy, shopped, then took in a Quincy Symphony concert. Got some good deals at County Market. Picked up the power strip for the microwave at Home Depot and Mary found some Honey Rock melon seeds. We also shopped Aldi, Sam's Club, & Walmart. I returned the chainsaw sharpening wheel at Farm & Home, since it was the wrong size, and instead got a Stihl hand-sharpening kit. The concert was very good. Got home right when the sun was setting, did chores, and unloaded. Ate nachos and watched 2 episodes of the BBC version of Sherlock. Churchill had a urine accident onto his bed when we took him out for the last time. I had to clean him and my shirt sleeve up after I reached under him to help him stand. Mary cleaned his bed...the trials and tribulations of owning a geriatric dog.
• Monday, 2/10: The final blossom of my amaryllis is starting to open, today (see below). Mary did 2 loads of jeans. I installed a new power strip for the microwave. Then, I looked up chainsaw sharpening from Stihl, tossed an old chain due to wear on it, and put the latest chain I'm using in a container of gasoline, to help clean the resin off it. We watched 3 episodes of the BBC version os Sherlock.

• Tuesday, 2/11: Mary did 3 loads of laundry and dried most outside, with a few coming inside to finish drying. We saw thousands of snow geese flying east to west, at times filling the sky with Vs of geese. Mary cut up a pork loin that we bought on Sunday and fixed up fresh veggies, so they store longer. I made grapefruit wine out of 8 medium ruby red grapefruit (recipe calls for 6 large ones). Mary helped me on grating grapefruit rinds of 3 of them to get grapefruit zest. She also filleted white pith off the insides of grapefruit rinds. Recipe says not to use the pith, because it makes the wine bitter, but you are supposed to use the rind, plus the fruit. Recipe called for 1.75 pounds of sugar, but it took me about 3 pounds to get the specific gravity to the desired 1.095 reading. Bill called while I was in the middle of raising the specific gravity of my wine. He and Mary talked about finances, the bottling of his beer this upcoming weekend, ideas about pets, and the star called Betelgeuse. My amaryllis has a second shoot with flower buds starting to show.
• Wednesday, 2/12: When I took new morning water to the chickens, there was a female opossum in the NW corner, inside the coop, under the west roost. It must have been hiding behind the metal garbage can that we keep chicken food in last night when Mary put the chickens to bed. Mary put it in a plastic garbage can using a square shovel and we hauled it off to beyond Swim and Dove Ponds, and let it loose. With snow in the forecast, I left chickens inside, which helped to keep it from returning to inside the coop. Once done with morning chores, I put pectic enzyme into the grapefruit wine, an hour and a half late, but that's what happens when you have to go through the 'possum relocation program. We ate a late breakfast...waffles that I made, while the snow started falling. Mary baked 4 loaves of bread. She also figured 2019 weather stats. It was the wettest year, since keeping records in 2012...53.9" for the year. Our average is 30". 2019 was the 3rd coolest year since 2012. I finished reading Patrick O'Brian's 6th book, The Fortune of War. I sharpened 10 of Mary's knives on her uncle's 3-stone knife-sharpening gizmo that probably dates back to the 1940s and came out of the Lewistown Farmers Supply, a grocery store that he once owned and operated. It does an excellent job at sharpening knives, but takes time. Katie called. Her dog, DeSoto, has a broken upper canine tooth, so she's taking him into the vet. Classes are going good. She said it's easy when that's all you're concentrating on. Temps in Gulfport, MS, have been warm, in the 70s. Put yeast into my wine around 10:30 pm. The yeast starter liquid needs to be at 95° to 97° and on top of the wood stove was a perfect temperature for maintaining that warmth. There was about 4" of snow on the ground with the moon starting to appear through clouds when we walked the dogs for the last time.
• Thursday, 2/13: We awoke to subzero temps this morning. Mary vacuumed all of her cross stitched Christmas ornaments and got them all packed away, since they've been sitting in a box since the end of December. She also made another chocolate pie, which she says is her favorite. I secured a board to a 2x4 at the bottom of the east wall of the coop where chickens on the outside have pecked OSB enough to create a crack in the wall at the floor line. This board seals that crack. I also stuffed an old dog bed into the chicken entrance from the inside to seal up air infiltration. While working outside, I saw about 50 trumpeter swans fly just over the treetops from west to east. They have a very unique honking sound that is deeper than geese...like an ah-ooo-gah old Model T car horn. We looked at the grapefruit wine and saw that it's starting to bubble. Churchill didn't eat most of his food and didn't have the strength to get up from noon into the night. It looked like he would die by morning.
• Friday, 2/14: Really cold this morning, but I restarted the fire at 5:20 am, so not bad in the house. Mary woke with an extremely severe backache...so bad that she could barely walk. I messaged it for quite awhile. She spent the day on the living room couch with a heat pad. Churchill didn't go out in the morning, because he couldn't get up. Had to clean up some poop...was like mustard-colored baby shit. After doing all of the chores, making, and eating breakfast, I took Mocha to the vet in Hannibal to get her final rabies shot. She knew immediately what we were doing in trying to capture her to put her in a carrier and hid under an upstairs bed. Consequently, I was late at making the 1 pm vet appointment. She gained 1.25 pounds in 2 weeks. The vet's staff all wanted to pet her and were amazed at how fast Mocha is growing. They commented on how she's such a lovable cat. Talked to Dr. Carson, the vet, about Churchill. He said Churchill is of an age when most super-sized dogs pass away. Shopped for a couple items, plus chocolates for my Valentine, at Aldi in Hannibal. When I got back, Churchill pooped another mess, scooted forward, and drug his tail into mustard baby dung. I cleaned it up...what a smelly mess!!! We ate barbecued pork loin. Did evening chores. Watched the Sabrina movie. Checked the wine and it has better yeast bubbling than yesterday, which is starting to give the house a fruity, yeasty smell. Churchill ate well for his afternoon and evening meals, plus he successfully went outside and walked around. He's afraid of going up the stairs, so sometimes he just sits down on his rump, instead of walking up the stairs. I had to lift him and carry his royal ass up the stairs once today. He's too damn big for that nonsense. Mary went to sleep in a living room recliner, due to her back. A flower is opening on the 2nd amaryllis shoot.
• Saturday, 2/15: The lower back ache that Mary had turned into a knot in the upper front muscle of her left thigh, which is debilitating and makes her walk bent over and not very far. Online research said to take elevated amounts of calcium, magnesium, and potassium, so she did that. Advil and Tylenol don't touch the pain. I did all of the chores, since she is pretty much on the couch in the living room. We ate candied onions and eggs for our main meal. Churchill is doing better. Katie texted that she's attending an Alan Jackson concert in New Orleans with a friend. Bill is bottling a batch of beer at his friend's house. Looked up apple orchards nearby in MO, IL, and IA, since the apples at Edgewood Orchards in Quincy were extremely high last year. Found one in Canton, MO, but I don't know if they're still open. Found a popular orchard in Donnellson, Iowa, called Appleberry Orchard, which is 65 miles north of us. The Iowa State University Extension is having a hands-on fruit tree grafting workshop there on April 2, which I want to go to. A $35 fee includes grafting tools and 2 trees that you graft and take home to plant. The orchard offers a U-Pick ability. Sounds great.

February 2-8, 2020

Weather | 2/2, 35°, 55° | 2/3, 30°, 56° | 1/4, 29°, 33° | 2/5, 1" snow or 0.12" moisture, 24°, 27° | 2/6, 20°, 33° | 2/7, 17°, 31° | 2/8, 0.01" moisture from a skiff of snow, 21°, 35° |

• Sunday, 2/2: I got Mary's electronic signature corrected on the tax forms and Illinois accepted our IL tax form. Churchill is having trouble staying standing when he gets up to go outside. We think his heart is getting weaker. It was super warm, today. The washing machine quit while full of water prior to getting into the spin cycle. Fortunately, Mary already did the sheets and was washing the furniture covers. She took them out to drip dry on the line and bailed out the water from the washing machine. I looked up diagnosing the problem and will have to get into that. We cut firewood in the timber SW of the house...3 dead white oaks and a few branches and a small cherry tree. The chainsaw, with its new parts, chain, and bar, worked extremely well. Most snow is gone, but it's mushy everywhere. Listened to the Super Bowl. When the Kansas City Chiefs were down 21-10 in the 4th quarter, they scored 21 unanswered points to win 31-20. Haven't paid attention the the Chiefs, except for 2 playoff games and this game, and they're amazing at coming from behind and winning. Now Missouri has the Stanley Cup and the Super Bowl. Like Bill said, "I guess the Royals or the Cards just need to do something this year." Bill texted that it was transfer day for his current batch of beer (see below).

Before racking Bill's latest brew.

• Monday, 2/3: Started sunny and turned cloudy. We watched thousands of snow geese fly east to west over our property in the morning sunlight. We cut more firewood from the SW woods...this time 2 dead red oak trees. We had so many chunks out of the first tree that we left a good part of the second tree. The saw cuts so well that just after a little bit of running it, we have what we need. You don't know how dull your chains are until you get a new set in the chainsaw. I also sawed up a piece of elm that fell down under the cedar trees between the machine shed and the chicken coop. Then, we sorted the wood according to moisture levels and put it in appropriate spots...most is needing splitting. After chores, we ate omelets and read into the evening.
• Tuesday, 2/4: Since I saw online that my package of wine brewing stuff was on a UPS truck to be delivered and because it was snowing, I paid close attention to the UPS tracking and when I saw it was delivered, yet we didn't have anyone show up at the house, I knew it was at the end of the lane. It was 28 pounds, so I drove the car down. The package was left unprotected (usually they put boxes in a plastic bag), plopped down in wet grass, with heavy wet snow coming down. Plus, one side had wet mud on it. Drove it home and immediately sent a message to UPS. They sent a message back, telling me someone from the Palmyra MO UPS office will be in touch with me. A woman called. She was appalled at what I told her, said an alternative driver delivered my package, but that was no excuse, and that he will be talked to when he gets in. Fortunately, all items were in good shape. After I get a few things, like sugar and white grape concentrate, I'll make my next batch of wine...this time, grapefruit wine. Did a bunch of online research for washing machine repair. Gained access to the timer and figuring out its electrical continuity proved to be difficult. All research indicated that the switch is often misdiagnosed, when a simpler solution is the case. Mary was in favor of getting a new machine, since this one was purchased in 2002, so I looked up prices at Lowe's in Quincy...$400 to stupid was the range. After thinking about it all day, I tore into the machine after dinner. I could get water to fill the tub, but nothing else turned on. Checked for a drain restriction and after gobs of water emptied out on the floor once I removed hoses off the pump, decided that wasn't an issue. Then I checked for continuity of the lid switch and it was nonexistent. Manually pushed the switch and it fell apart...BINGO! Removed it and temporarily put the washer back together. Since it was late, I didn't order...will have to order that switch tomorrow. Mary made tortellini soup and chocolate pie...both were extra yummy, along with acorn squash. Katie texted that she got 100% on her accounting test. She was on her way to a Barnes & Noble book club meeting. It snowed just a little and melted immediately. Churchill had a tough day, but we got through it. 
• Wednesday, 2/5: Churchill is doing better today. My amaryllis has one flower fully open and it's a beauty (see photo below). The other 3 buds will soon open, too. This is a Royal Dutch Red Pearl Amaryllis out of John Scheepers. I ordered the washing machine part for $11.60, including shipping, from Repair Parts, Inc., out of Ohio. If this fixes the problem, it's a lot cheaper than a new $500 washer. I ordered a new power strip for the microwave that withstands higher electrical wattage amounts from Home Depot, which will be delivered to the Quincy store. Mary figured monthly monies. Three Patrick O'Brian novels that I ordered from Thrifty Books came in the mail. It snowed most of the day, but didn't amount to much...about a 1/4 inch through the day and maybe 1/2 inch overnight. I kept the chickens inside. I saw an owl buzz by the south side of the house and dip its wings to enter the west woods. We listened to the start of an audio book, George, Nicholas, and Wilhelm, about the cousins who were kings of England, Russia, and Germany.

The first Red Pearl Amaryllis flower.

• Thursday, 2/6: We got a skiff of snow. Mary and I split wood from 2 different firewood collections that was stacked in the machine shed. It took a long time, because there were several big logs. Mary made chimichangas.
• Friday, 2/7: In the hour just after sunrise, I saw 2 coyotes trot across our yard and behind the machine shed. They were about the size of a German Shepherd. They were more gray, than brown and both had a thick fur coat. Got another small bit of snow. We stacked wood from yesterday's firewood splitting. The newly split red oak is nice and dry, whereas the white oak is wet and needs drying. My washing machine lid switch came in today's mail. Tore the washer apart, cleaned up the insides, replaced the lid switch, put it together and ran it on the delicate cycle. It works like a charm. It feels nice to fix something with just a $7 part. The 2nd flower opened on the amaryllis, with the remaining 2 soon to open (see below). Mary noticed that the garlic plants are coming up, due to warm weather we've had earlier in the winter. She's not happy. It means frosted tips of garlic plants. While walking Churchill near the machine shed at night, 2 barred owls were talking up a storm in the trees just to the north of us.

• Saturday, 2/8: I gave Mary a haircut. She was due to get a haircut in December, but Christmas got in the way. I figured out a grapefruit wine recipe from a combination of recipes that I've collected. Mary worked on a cross stitch piece and listened to 3-cousins who were kings audio book. She drew up a shopping list.

January 26-February 1, 2020

Weather | 1/26, 14°, 29° | 1/27, 25°, 33° | 1/28, 25°, 31° | 1/29, 19°, 29° | 1/30, 24°, 38° | 1/31, 0.04" rain, 25°, 39° | 2/1, 30°, 39° |

• Sunday, 1/26: Started with fog outside. Was a gray day, so we stayed inside. Using this blog, I updated my handwritten wine making journal. When I bottled the pear wine, it was 2.5 months old. Mom texted that she visited Boulder City, Lake Meade and Hoover Dam today while visiting with Pam. We watched 2 movies, Bridget Jones Baby, and Notting Hill.
• Monday, 1/27: Mary figured our February meal menu and worked up a shopping list for tomorrow. She also bagged up donations that we'll drop off at the Salvation Army in Quincy. I took the chainsaw apart. Found pieces of the sprocket inside that area. Dismantled parts and worked up a list of chainsaw parts that I want to buy. We plugged in the old landline phone and after an hour of charging, I removed saved phone numbers from it, then packaged it up for donation. Packed up 7 more computer cords to drop off for reycling at Staples, tomorrow. Mom flew into Billings today.
• Tuesday, 1/28: Had a little bit of fog overnight and into the morning. We shopped in Quincy. Didn't get some items that were on my chainsaw list, due to high prices vs. the parts' existing quality. For instance, an air filter costs $45, whereas the guy said I can wash it with Dawn and water forever...good idea...I'll just wash it. A brake drum assembly was $28, plus $12 shipping, and the present one is good enough. Oil filter was good, too. Did get a new grinding wheel for the chainsaw sharpener. Farm & Home had 10% off chains and bars, which I got. All of the chainsaw parts equaled $189. But, this will last 2-3 years and, with the addition of gas, oil, and our own time, it's our heating cost. Got home after dark, did chores, unloaded, made up nachos and watched The Kid Who Would be King movie. Mom made it home to Circle MT during the late afternoon.
• Wednesday, 1/29: Again, fog overnight, which put white frost on all of the tree branches. Snow started falling around 11 am. It ended around 3 pm. I bought a big bag of pink Texas grapefruit yesterday that I plan to make into wine. Investigated grapefruit wine recipes online and corresponding yeast varieties, then ordered yeast, a pound each of acid blend, yeast nutrient, and wine tannin, 4 one-gallon glass jugs, a 1.4-gallon wide-mouth carboy (the jugs and carboy for making small 1-gallon wine batches), 4 stoppers, and another nylon straining bag from Midwest Supplies, in the Twin Cities. These are early birthday gifts for me, along with 3 Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin novels ordered from Thrift Books. Mary washed towels and dried them over the woodstove, and swept. We had an immature red-tailed hawk sitting in trees around the house at midday. Chickens were inside, so no problem with the hawk. The garbage truck came after a 2-week absence...took 2 trips with the plastic toboggan to move the garbage cans from the end of the lane, back to the machine shed. A lone coyote was howling to the east at dusk, less than yesterday, when a pack howled just down the hill from the house. They're really noisy canines! 
• Thursday, 1/30: Another gray day...we've had several in a row. The last time we saw the sun was on the 16th, a partly cloudy day. Mary washed some clothes that dried inside and did some cross-stitching. Saw another red-tailed hawk surveying our yard this morning. We had super omelets for our main meal...with gobs of veggies in them. I overhauled the chainsaw. Tore it apart as far as I dared go. Cleaned a lot of oil and fine sawdust. Spark plug gap on old plug was quite large. Dawn and hot water cleans air filter very well. Comparing old to new sprocket, the old one was extremely worn. The same with the teeth between new and old chains. Had a substantial amount of oil coming out from inside oiling mechanism. I'm hoping it's just due to using lighter viscosity "below freezing" chain oil recently and not because I have a leak inside the saw. It took several hours to clean, sometimes resorting to Q-tips. Katie said she got a 100% on a calculus test. She said her professor makes the material easy to learn.
• Friday, 1/31: Mary worked on about a third of a mound of branches in the machine shed and made them into kindling. It was another gray day, but this time with rain when Mary was doing kindling. I worked on the taxes and e-filed them. Our refund is more than we expected, which is nice. All were accepted except for the Illinois state tax. They're such bastards about things, but this is the last time I have to worry about it, since I'm now not working in Quincy, IL. I have to get back in and redo the electronic signature for Mary on the Illinois tax form. Updated checkbook. Researched purchasing a new power strip for the microwave and on pole barn buildings. John Hendrix left a voice mail and Dave Parmeter (both former Homer Alaska High classmates) left a Facebook message asking about this summer's reunion. Seems like everyone is ape about the reunion but me.
• Saturday, 2/1: A lot of snow melting today to where most of the ground is starting to be bare. We saw sun for the first time in many days in the afternoon. Mary did a load of laundry, made 38 flour tortillas, and made taco salad for our main meal. I assessed vitamins and minerals that I take vs. what I need. Mom said she got a humidifier for her place, since it's so dry in her house. She's ordering garden seeds. There's no snow on the ground and in the 50s in Circle, MT. One of the amaryllis plants that I got for Christmas is starting to show color in it's tallest bud (see below). That bulb has 2 more buds and the other bulb is showing 2 buds. It's going to get colorful in the sunroom, soon. We watched 3 episodes of Neal deGrasse Tyson's Cosmos. When we walked the dogs, we saw a rainbow, or more like a moon dog, next to the moon.

The first amaryllis bud.

January 19-25, 2020

Weather | 1/19, -1°, 13° | 1/20, 7°, 17° | 1/21, 6°, 30° | 1/22, 1" snow, 0.14" moisture, 23°, 35° | 1/23, 3" snow or 0.44" moisture, 29°, 36° | 1/24, 29°, 33° | 1/25, 27°, 35° |

• Sunday, 1/19: Mary baked 4 loaves of bread. She also figured out what we wanted to plant and then the seeds we need for our gardens. She made a turkey pot pie for our main meal. I researched how to do grafting, budding, and cuttings on trees, especially apple trees. My main source is a book Mary bought 10 years ago called Plant Propagation, a British book. It's excellent. I then picked rootstock, from Fedco in Maine, where I can get 10 semi-dwarf apple rootstocks for $30. I can take one of those and grow more rootstock. This one can be used for grafting on both apple and crabapple trees. We have an old McIntosh apple tree, with a hollow trunk, that I want to graft buds or scions onto new rootstocks and create several new trees, so we can remove the old tree. It will take a few years. Mom said they visited Flagstaff, AZ, where they saw an ancient crater and a petrified forest (see photos below). Overnighted in Holbrook and drove back home to Buckeye, today. She said Sedona was a tourist trap, where they didn't stop. Bill texted that he was making another batch of beer and bought a bucket to start making wine, sometime. We listened to the AFC and NFC championship football games...Chiefs 35, Titans 24; and 49ers 37, Packers 20. Turned off the radio at the start of the 4th quarter of the 49ers/Packers game, because we were sick and tired of the 3-4 ads that they aired over and over. Thought it was pretty funny when they announced the Pepto Bismol "Most Upsetting Play of the Game.”

Mom at the crater formed 50,000 years ago that is 1 mile wide and 700 feet deep.

Petrified forest in Arizona.

• Monday, 1/20: Snow was falling when we woke, so we called the vet and told them we'd try to make it in on Friday (things might be thawed by then). Freshly fallen snow on ice makes it really slippery outside. Mary created a 2020 garden calendar to keep track of monthly garden chores. I ordered seeds, apple tree rootstocks, and 50 strawberry plants. I also ordered tea from Stash Tea. Looked at vitamins, but didn't order anything. Looked for pickups online. Several schools closed in the area. Don't even see the neighbor's 4x4 pickups moving. You'd need chains on all 4 tires to travel on this stuff. It's nice and warm in the living room, where the woodstove heat exists (see below).

Mocha on Mary, taken 1/21/20.

• Tuesday, 1/21: I read and took notes in a book entitled Prescription Alternatives. Mom texted that she visited with Pete Robison, her cousin that she hasn't seen for 63 years, when he was 19 years old (see below). She said Pete reminded her of her father, Jack Robison. They had a good visit. Bill said his newest beer brewing is coming right along (see below). We had a little bit of thawing outside, but there's still a lot of slippery ice. Saw an immature bald eagle at noon and Vs of geese flying about.

Cousins Pete Robison and Ruth Melvin.

Bill's latest batch of beer.

• Wednesday, 1/22: Mary made blackberry crunch for a dessert. She made barbecued pork loin, corn on the cob, and sweet potatoes for our main meal. She also worked on cross-stitch and a puzzle Katie gave her for Christmas. I researched different vitamins and minerals online and ordered some from Swanson Vitamins in Fargo, ND. A bit of mist, followed by sticky wet snow, that was coming down at about 30°, makes traction much easier outside.
• Thursday, 1/23: Mary made 32 flour tortillas, and then chimichangas for our main meal. I tore into the ground floor west room closet, where I have empty wine bottle stored. Discovered dead, dried up baby mice on the floor in there...knew I needed to get that cleaned up. Removed items, cleaning as they came out. Didn't finish the job. Bill called. He has a camshaft position sensor warning on his car. Since he has a warranty, he's thinking that should cover this issue. We watched the 2017 movie, Wonder, starring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson. It's exceptionally good. Saw a bobcat track in the snow. Mom flew to Las Vegas and will spend a few days with Pam, her niece.
• Friday, 1/24: Woke with about 3" of freshly fallen snow on the ground. Saw tracks where a coyote checked out rabbit trails north of the Machine Shed, then went off into the west field. I cleaned snow off the Cadillac, started it, and drove to the pavement and back, just to see if I could make it...everything was fine on State Highway J, even though MODOT (Missouri Department of Transportation) showed covered roads. We took Mocha to the vet...got her stitches removed and she got another dewormer dose, plus a first batch of shots. She weighed 3.38 pounds, up from 1.8 pounds the last visit. Drs. Carson and Briscoe were happy with her progress. Stopped at Aldi in Hannibal and bought a handful of items. 
• Saturday, 1/25: We saw a Cooper's Hawk flying near the chicken coop in the morning hours. Chickens were inside the coop, so no harm there. Mary cleaned up books on the living room shelves. She also pulled 81 books out of our book collection to be donated. I finished cleaning the west room closet. I have 91 750-ml sized empty wine bottles. I have 48 four-inch square plastic containers with big lids on them that formerly held Sam's Club corn starch or baking powder that I'll use to store bolts, nuts, nails, and various hardware. I packaged them up into large plastic garbage bags and draped plastic bags over the wine bottles. Used a plastic tote to store all of my other wine making stuff. Added my 2 glass 6-gallon and 5-gallon carboys and the 6.5-gallon brew bucket to the closet. Now I have some order to my wine making material and it's in one location. Mom texted about her visit with Pam in Las Vegas.

January 12-18, 2020

Weather | 1/12, 20°, 27° | 1/13, 27°, 35° | 1/14, 37°, 49° | 1/15, 39°, 42° | 1/16, 6°, 27° | 1/17, skiff of snow, 1/4" ice, or 0.80" moisture, 15°, 31° | 1/18, 9°, 31° |

• Sunday, 1/12: Mocha is playing like a real kitten should...first time, ever. She's eating with gusto. We've turned the corner to recovery. Listened to a wild NFL Kansas City/Houston game where it was 24-0, Texans, and then the Chiefs scored 41 unanswered points. Final score, 51-31, Chiefs...a lot of defense! Then, listened to the Packers beat the Seahawks 28-23...boo, hiss...wanted Seattle to win. Guess we'll root for Chiefs, since they are in the State of Missouri. I looked to the online site where I got my W-2 forms the past 2 years and found the 2019 W-2 form for me from Petco. Now, I just need to find the form for Mid-Rivers' Pension, and I'm ready to do taxes. I did more online research on pole buildings. Mary rolled the rest of her yarn and read. Kind of a duddy Sunday as far as activity.
• Monday, 1/13: I removed two 10-year old fire alarms, plus their brackets, and installed 2 new ones. Also, assessed other old alarms and batteries for the old alarms. We need to buy 3 more to replace existing 10-year old fire alarms. Mary made laundry soap from Fels Naptha bars. She also made 40 tortillas in 1 hour...a new record. Katie started college classes in Gulfport.
• Tuesday, 1/14: Found what I thought was a good pickup for sale online near Ewing (only a few miles away). What was listed as in very good condition was a junker...tailgate held on with a rachet strap, a broken rear shock absorber hanging down, completely bald tires, a grinding sound when driven, air gushing through the heater core, a low coolant light on in the dashboard, a crack from top to bottom in the windshield, rusted body...we respectively told the woman that we wouldn't buy it. At least we didn't have to drive far to witness what she lied about online. I burned trash in the afternoon, which took 2.5 hours...a lot of boxes, Christmas wrapping, and old oily rags. The last time we burned was in April, so it was quite a stack of stuff. After sunset, several flocks of snow geese flew east to west. They are way early...usually we see them in February/March. Mom flew to Phoenix to visit friends. In the evening, I looked online and in books for various types of wine to make. Some that I'm considering include grapefruit, watermelon, parsnip, pumpkin, blackberry, elderberry, cherry, autumn olive, white clover, strawberry, dandelion, garlic, rhubarb, apple, apricot, and snow pea pod wine.
• Wednesday, 1/15: Mary did laundry, swept, and dusted. A cloudy day meant most of the drying took place inside, over the wood stove. Clothes drying lasted until midnight. Emailed Lisa at Mid-Rivers to find out that I'll be getting a 1099 tax form related to my pension, which will be mailed the last week in January. I removed packing tape that blew loose covering the NE chicken coop window and re-applied it, this time using a heat gun to make the stickum work better...worked like a charm. Did the same trick on the other north and 2 south windows...3 more windows to do. Looked up soils info through USDA's online soils maps and downloaded a pdf file of a soils map of our property. We have 4 basic soils, all heavily laden in clay...no surprise there. What is surprising is a bulk of our soil is classified as a silt loam, especially where the land is covered with timber. Where our Bartlett Pear tree is located is in this soil, which explains why it does so well. All of our soil is highly acidic, which we know, because wood ash, which is basic, helps the garden thrive. With this info, I have a better understanding of soil types and characteristics for building.
• Thursday, 1/16: I sharpened 1 of my chainsaw chains and we cut down 2 dead cherry trees in the SW woods, sawed them up, split them and stacked them in the woodshed. Discovered a healthy piece missing out of the sprocket of my chainsaw. My chain was super dull, even after sharpening it. Took an entire tank of gas to cut 2 trees that were 5" at their bases, which is pathetic, even though these 2 trees were thoroughly cured and very hard. It's time for some parts refurbishing on the chainsaw. Had cod & sweet potatoes.
• Friday, 1/17: About 8 am, it started snowing. Then, it started raining at 24° and rained very hard, while freezing. All tree branches became waving castanets in the wind. By the dog's nighttime walk, the lawn was covered with sheer ice...even grass blades sticking up through the ice were covered with ice. Churchill, who is petrified of walking on ice, wouldn't walk up the steps into the house. It took 2 of us to get him up the steps and because he walks so stiff-legged on ice, he fell at the top, but we got him back on his feet, immediately. We watched The Heat movie and 2 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Mom sent a photo of herself next to a Joshua Tree in Arizona (see below).

Mom with a Joshua Tree.

• Saturday, 1/18: The temperature today, started roughly at freezing, so we took shovels to the ice on the porch and removed it. We're all walking gingerly on the ice outside. Temperatures are dropping as the day progresses, while a strong wind shatters ice out of all tree branches. I'm so, so glad I don't have to drive to work! Mom and her friends went on a trip to Sedona, AZ. She texted another cactus photo, this time with her in front of a Saguaro Cactus (see below). I looked for pickups online throughout the day. Mary started crocheting her afghan. By nighttime, ice on the ground was thoroughly frozen and when you step on it, cracks echo off to the left and right. We walk on eggs outside, because it's so slippery. Had the 2nd half of the world's best apple pie that Mary made yesterday, along with tea, while watching 3 episodes of Cosmos, by Neil deGrasse Tyson, a DVD set that Bill gave to Mary at Christmas. It was made in 2014 and it's very good. When we went to bed after midnight, the NW wind was howling, and the temperature was 9°.

Mom with a Saguaro Cactus.

January 5-11, 2020

Weather | 1/5, 29°, 52° | 1/6, 20°, 40° | 1/7, 26°, 42° | 1/8, 17°, 36° | 1/9, 45°, 59° | 1/10, 1.02" rain, 27°, 43° | 1/11, 1/2" snow or 0.16" moisture, 20°, 23° |

• Sunday, 1/5: Katie texted several times prior, during, and after the Vikings/Saints Wildcard NFL playoff game in New Orleans, where she was one of several military people to hold a big flag during pregame ceremonies (see photo below). She watched the game in nosebleed seats with other Vikings fans. We listened to the game on the radio. Vikings won 26-20 in overtime. Also, listened to part of the Seattle Seahawks 17-9 win over the Eagles. All the right teams won. Mary did money wrangling to pay bills and figure 2020 savings funds. Since funds looked solid, I paid our credit card bill to-date. Went to bed earlier than we have in eons, since we want to be to the vet with Mocha when they open at 8 am.

• Monday, 1/6: Drove to Hannibal and to the vet by opening time. Dr. Jill Briscoe, the first vet we saw with Mocha at the General Veterinary Clinic, thinks Mocha might have an enlarged kidney, a congenital condition. That's different from what Dr. Robert Carson, the other vet who saw Mocha, said the last time we were there. A serious kidney issue might mean we have to put her asleep. They're going to do blood work and kidney problems would show up with that. We'll see what develops. Left Mocha in Hannibal, got gas at Fastlane in Taylor, MO, and went home. Mary and I went for a walk to Wood Duck Pond and up the creek bed that drains into the pond. Lots of deer and huge raccoon tracks. On the way back, we walked down the trail I cut prior to deer hunting season into Rose Butt Field. Katie called when we returned to the house. She's tired with a bit of congestion. Part of volunteering to hold the flag involved putting white towels on every seat in the stadium in New Orleans the day prior. Her legs are sore from marching up and down the stadium. She enjoyed herself at the game and said it was a good one to be her first NFL live experience. She was surprised at how average-sized a lot of the good Vikings players were. The Vikings equipment guy she borrowed the helmet from and who took her photo, was surprised at how many Vikings fans there were amongst the military folks. The guy holding the flag next to her was from the Twin Cities. She said, "We were nerding out, together," about Vikings players. They were on the same side as the Vikings sideline. We didn't receive a call from the vet today, but they said they might have to give Mocha an IV and build her fluids up prior to taking a blood sample. That will take time. Saw a bald eagle while doing chores. Listened to several chapters of the audio book, Educated, by Tara Westhover, a spellbinding book about breaking away from a survivalist family in Idaho. 
• Tuesday, 1/7: Our vet called around 9 am. The blood work on Mocha showed that kidneys were operating fine and white blood count was normal. We gave Dr. Phil Briscoe (husband of Jill who saw us yesterday) the go-ahead to do exploratory surgery on Mocha. He did and called at 1:30 pm. He found a large bone in Mocha's small intestine, removed it, sewed her back up, and she was starting to lift her head at that moment. "I don't know what critter she was trying to eat," he said, "but it was definitely bigger than her." He wants to wait 24 hours and see her get an appetite. He said he'd call us in the morning. I moved all of the wood that has been drying in the machine shed to the woodshed. Then, I split the most recently cut red oak logs and stacked most of them in the machine shed to dry. Built an outside fire and had a "meatie" roast...slabs of pork tenderloin stabbed with metal weiner-roasting sticks and cooked on an open fire. Was delicious. Mary made a shopping list for tomorrow. She swept and dusted, and opened up the north bedroom that was housing Mocha's food, water, and litter box. 
• Wednesday, 1/8: At 8:46 am we got a message from our vet that Mocha was alert, doing well, and would be ready for us to pick her up after 2 pm. We were going to go shopping in Quincy, but decided to postpone that. Drove to Hannibal and got Mocha. She's much more alert and eating like gangbusters...4 meals between 3:45 and bedtime. We watched 3 episodes of Ken Burns' Civil War to finish it. Set up a bed on the floor in our bedroom for the kitten. Mocha said the hell with that and slept between our pillows.

Mocha Bean is home!

• Thursday, 1/9: I shopped in Quincy while Mary stayed home with pets and Mocha. Dropped off more electronic stuff (mostly old computer cords) at Staples. Got 2 new smoke alarms at Home Depot. Shopped Sam's Club, Walmart, County Market, and Aldi for food and Farm & Home for pet food. At 1 point, I texted Mary, asking how Mocha was and she sent the photo below. Mocha ate 6 times. Mary added hay to the chicken coop in prep for bad weather. Goldie, our newest Buff Orpington hen, is laying small eggs. Mary waxed the human door, so we can get in. Prediction is for 0.1 to 0.3 inch of ice and 30 mph winds over the weekend. Can you say the potential for no electricity? Glad we heat with a wood stove.

"Looks okay to me."

• Friday, 1/10: Started day with Mocha refusing to eat. Gave her laxative, twice, and she slept all day. She perked up around 9 pm, was in the kitchen while Mary was making a ham sandwich, ate a bit of ham and meowed for more. I fed her bits of mine, then made a ham/water slurry in a bowl, which she drank and ate, then snarfed regular cat food. She obviously needed a day of rest. With a potentially bad ice storm coming, Mary made a big pot of vegetable soup and biscuits, and raked leaves, which she put on the compost. I removed a rain gutter that was over the north AC, so it wouldn't clog with ice and break off, pumped up the driver's side front tire on the Buick that had gone flat, and split the remaining big logs and stacked them in the Machine Shed. It started pouring rain while I was stacking firewood (after sundown) and rained all evening. We even had a bit of thunder. When we walked the dogs after midnight, the lawn and our lane was awash in water. It was starting to freeze at that moment, with mist coming down...glad I don't have to drive anywhere.
• Saturday, 1/11: After a pile of rain overnight, it was snowing by morning. Kept chickens inside and we stayed inside, too. Mocha is eating healthy. Did the ham/water slurry twice to make sure she consumed water. She's pooping, too. We're probably the only kitten owners who cheer when our little cat takes a shit. Mary made a pear cake, heavily laced with brandy. Vikings lost to 49ers in playoffs. Titans beat Ravens...don't care. Watched 2 movies...Hot Fuzz and I.Q. Had tea and cake with the movies. Storm is over for us and we didn't get much, which is just fine. A bald eagle flew low over the house...kind of common this time of year...we usually see 1 every day.