{"id":5973,"date":"2020-01-13T11:32:40","date_gmt":"2020-01-13T18:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rodbinder.com\/journal\/?p=5973"},"modified":"2020-02-26T15:22:57","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T22:22:57","slug":"jan-13-outdoors-its-34","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rodbinder.com\/journal\/2020\/01\/13\/jan-13-outdoors-its-34\/","title":{"rendered":"Jan 13 Baby it’s -38 Outside"},"content":{"rendered":"

“In cold weather states like Vermont, where the weather can get to 20 below zero, home heating assistance is critically important. In fact, it is a life and death issue.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bernie Sanders<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, it is cold with forecasts of colder. I need to go out and chainsaw wood, -38 right now extreme wind chill warning at my place and doesn’t look like it’s going to let up soon. Yesterday the forecast said Sunday it would be warmer. Now it says Monday next.<\/p>\n

Even my parcels I have been tracking at the Post office are not moving. That doesn’t matter I wouldn’t ask Gracie \"\"(my van) to try to move in this weather. We will wait for a heatwave, anything -20 or better is good here.<\/p>\n

This is what cold spells do, they move in and never leave. I still need to have wood to stay warm. So no matter what I need to go out and chainsaw, then I need to transport split and transport again. Now the bad thing, I don’t think my generator will run in these temps. I may have to split by hand.<\/p>\n

So far been doing just the indoor work, moving wood out of the wheelbarrow, doing cat litter boxes, and moving the last bag of cat food inside. I needed to make that last for a week. Even running a little low on birdseed for my outdoor friends.<\/p>\n

I think we can make it food-wise until Monday. I don’t really expect the weather to warm by then but that is when we need to go to town. One of the parcels is cat food. The birdseed is a better price in town than on Amazon. So I need to make the trip into town.<\/p>\n

I cleaned the solar panels twice but that is a \"\"waste of time it is still snowing out there.\u00a0 If I can’t make power I will be forced to use the tablet for doing my blog. I would prefer doing more wood than that.<\/p>\n

Oh yeah, the last fun thing since my run-in with the nasty Public works manager only the top ten feet of my driveway is being plowed. I know it isn’t the grader operator we have talked many times. So it means I gotta drag my snowblower out bring the gen down hope I can get the gen started, so I can turn over the blower. Starting run low on fuel to down to my last five gallons.<\/p>\n

Broken body or not, it needs doing.<\/p>\n

So far:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Got the chainsaw sharpened, or at least ran the files through the teeth. My back, wrist and hands already hurt. I am sitting in the fire room on the floor trying to use heat and cold to treat the pain. Ya you guessed it the cold comes when I get outside.<\/p>\n

Oh, yeah just spotted a fluffy little stowaway, it is playing with the big guys. He or she seems to be having a good time. To the big cats, it is a curiosity, but they don’t see the little thing as food. Thank God.<\/p>\n

From my vantage point here on the floor sore back against the wall, I can watch the purr ball and I can see the birds at the feeder outside the window.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Help !!!\u00a0 It’s horrible. I am being attacked, it ran up my arm at full speed and is now purring extremely loud and biting my ear.<\/p>\n

If only I could stay here for the rest of the day haha. That ain’t gonna happen.<\/p>\n

All my food parcels have arrived four hours late. I won’t be travelling there today.<\/p>\n

Well, the temp has gone up now it is only -37. Time to take advantage of the warmer temp, ya right.<\/p>\n

If I made it you will hear about it later.<\/p>\n

I got dressed and thought I would try my new dust mask. It helped. Just a note to myself, pee before getting dressed for the cold weather.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>
\nI managed to cut a long log about 30 feet long. I chose it like I did the other day. This log was free and clear. Easy to cut. I needed that since my time outdoors was limited.<\/p>\n

What I didn’t know was the log was dense and heavy. I found that out loading the first four on the wheelbarrow.<\/p>\n

The logs were a 150 pounds each easy. So that meant pushing 6 hundred pounds through deep snow. That wasn’t so easy. I pulled a muscle on the side of my ribs.<\/p>\n

The second and third loads were going to be a lot tougher. I wanted to try getting them into the shop. The weather forecasters can’t seem to get the snowfall amounts right.<\/p>\n

I wanted to have them ready to split indoors. First I needed to take a rest break. One hand is numb and cold.<\/p>\n

I was smart enough to have a coffee ready to pour, but not smart enough to bring it with me before I sat on the floor.<\/p>\n

Getting off the floor was comical. I have my coffee now, and I am sitting on an old milk crate back to the fire.<\/span><\/p>\n

I will warm up and drink my coffee before I attempt my next load. Updates, later r u bored yet?<\/p>\n

I have a\u00a0 question that I need to find an answer for. Why does coffee taste better after hard work?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All logs inside save one. Now I needed to find the energy to split. If the gen will run and if the splitter will run.<\/p>\n

It is getting too dark to split now I will wait until tomorrow. I think I got enough accomplished today and I think I may have enough wood to last till morning. It will mean I have to split and transport twice as much then.<\/p>\n