Piled

We are out cleaning up old branches and logs from the slabs to build the next burn pile.  I figured we would check and see how the dogs and pigs are getting along.  They are little buddies.  Lorna enjoys spending time with all of them :).  

The kids were a great help doing many trailer loads of old tree branches.  Jeff used the tractor to haul as much as he could.  It had been sitting for so long that the branches were crumbling to dust.  It was way more work than we planned!  We got the slab cleaned up (90%) and then we worked on a construction pile and even cleared out a pile from the barn.

Thankfully the sisters missionaries, Sister Murray and Sister McCormick, came to help do service.  We got so much done with their help!  Our burn pile is back and bigger than ever!  Now we have to wait for the right weather conditions so we don't light the whole compound on fire!  

 

Neutral

I remembered that I still have left over neutral paint from painting Jeff's office.  I got motivated and started in the the kitchen.  Since I still had paint left I moved into the living room.  I ended up having enough paint to finish the bonus room too!  That just leaved the bedrooms and laundry room (besides the bathrooms) to finish painting.  It is so hard to get a good photo of the neutral color because once it's all painted it just looks white.  I have a photo of the front door because that wall is the new paint color and the kid photo wall is still primer... can you tell?  

I had been wanting to redo the kid photo wall, but I had to wait until everything was painted.  We even got a new desk for the family computer so it didn't take up as much space.  Once everything was set it was time to redo the photos!  I think they turned out better and now the room feels complete!  Yay for projects getting done!  Also a shout out to Mhari and Lorna who were great helpers when I asked for help :).  

 

Burned

The pile continued to smolder overnight and the large logs were pretty much gone in the morning!  I was surprised the small weeds didn't burn off.  The wind picked up and the grass surrounding the burn pile caught fire.  The grass in the small paddock where the fire was contained burned up.  I was glad to have it all surrounded by sidewalk.  Now that we got one pile burned we will make a new one to keep cleaning up the property!  It feels nice to get things cleared!

Burn Pile!

The weather was perfect to do our very first burn pile!  This sapling tree pile has been waiting for some time.  It was a good one for us to get some experience with as it is in the compound surrounded by concrete.  Clark got it lit and then added some old diesel fuel.  The fire actually moved across the pile pretty quickly.  By the afternoon the main pile was all burned.  There were some large logs that were still burning, but it seemed pretty simple!  

 

Melted!

Freedom!  We are able to get off the hill.  I made it out to the grocery store to pick up a few necessities.  It's nice to know we aren't stuck with frozen roads anymore.  Life can get back to normal now!  I was surprised to find that our small lake was still frozen after so much has melted.  It's always nice to have the crazy winter storms over with!

 

That's a Nope for Me

Mhari and I went on a walk to check out our roads.  We still have a lot of ice on the ranch, but the main road may melt faster as it's asphalt.  By the time we made it to our county road we saw it was still frozen over.  That means we aren't going anywhere.  Mhari was scheduled to work today so she has to call around and find someone to take her shift. 

Thankfully they finally canceled seminary for tomorrow so Tami Cabrera doesn't have to teach for me.  We know that storms will affect us more as we are on a hill, but man, it wasn't supposed to continue as long as it has.  I'm thankful we are still safe, warm, and fed ;).  

 

Storm has Gone

The weather has cleared, but the ice is still here.  The sun makes everything so pretty!  School was canceled and Seminary is canceled for tomorrow so that is good.  The road on our hill is still frozen over so we aren't going anywhere yet.  

We did lose power last night, and thankfully it came on this afternoon.  It was out for about 20 hours.  It seems like there were just a couple of houses out, but man it was slow to fix.  We are definitely thinking more about back up generators and emergency supplies.  I am grateful we are safe and warm, even when the power was out the house didn't get too cold! 

 

Sunday, Ice Day

Church was canceled.  Well, even if it wasn't we are so iced in we aren't going anywhere.  The buffalo are just chillin.  I hope they enjoy these crazy cold temperatures!  Mhari and Lorna tried sliding on our asphalt hill in a sled.  Unfortunately, the ice wasn't slippery enough.  It was fun to watch them try though!  Our car is pretty frozen in!  I wonder how long we will be iced in!?