Firewood

Firewood seems to consume a great many months of our lives. In the fall it starts with the loading of wheelbarrows and the lighting of stoves which continues through the many winter months and spring brings the cutting and chopping of more wood to replenish the woodshed.

K has been out alongside my dad helping this year.


Together they have been cutting down some of the leaning alders and cutting them into the exact lengths needed to fit our woodstoves.

My younger two have been out checking out what they've been up to as well. They love to use the rounds as balance beams, seeing who can last the longest as they walk along them rolling from side to side :)

One big perk to having a growing boy is that he can help with some of the manly chores. With his dad away for work so much of the time this is definitely appreciated by this mama...



Plus there are some monetary rewards that make the work just a little bit sweeter *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

right now, I AM

....popping in to say hello and let you know I'm still here *grin*.

The time change brought with it warmer weather, melting snow, longer days and a break in the heavy rain showers which in turn has given us a chance to finally get outdoors and get down to our yearly farm spring clean :)

We've been busy little bees rebuilding the chicken coop, pulling burrs and alders, clearing brush, cutting windfalls for firewood and burning really big piles of brush. My oldest has been helping out with the firewood cutting and I love seeing him run around in his bright green ear muffs to protect his ears from the loud sounds of the chainsaw.

I've got lots of photos to share and hope to get back to my regular blogging real soon. I've been so tired by the time we finish dinner and all the children are in bed that I've just been hanging out with Hubby and enjoying some much needed down time :) I didn't even get my yarn along post up this week! Now that's a first *grin*.

Hope you all are having a fantastic week!

Hugs,
Rosina

Little Helper

When wood heat is your only source of warmth in your home one can never seem to have enough firewood *grin*.

The steep road that my dad has cut up through the mountain behind our home is not suitable for driving on during the summer months because the ground is just to soft but in the dead of winter when the ground has finally frozen rock solid you can drive all the way to the top. A ride up or down is not for the faint of heart though. On the way up the nose of the truck just points towards the sky and with the road being so narrow it feels like the slightest wrong move may send you plummeting over the edge *grin*. I swear the man is fearless!

My youngest guy was so happy to help with firewood today :)

Even though there were smaller sticks that he could easily move in the back of the truck he was drawn to the oversized rounds that required a lot of 'man' power *grin*. He tries so hard up with big brother and Opa!

The temperature has warmed up slightly today and the clouds started to roll in. It's always nice to have that little bit of cloudy insulation during the night time. It makes my job of keeping the house warm easier :) There's talk of snow for tomorrow to so I'm hoping that we wake up to a fresh blanket of snow in the morning!

Hugs,
Rosina

My Little Farmer

Well actually he's really not so little anymore :)
He's the man of the family while his dad is away at sea and he takes his role and the big shoes that go along with it very seriously.

Oh my goodness he is such a BIG help to his mama!!
This year he has taken to splitting the firewood. I never even had to ask him. I think it may have been the lure of being able to swing the big splitting maul *grin* but whatever it may have been that called him to the firewood heap we now have 8 cords of wood drying in the woodshed :)

Lately he's been by my side in the garden planting the vegetables and weeding. I think next year I may turn the garden over to him and let him make all of the plans for what we will do as he shows so much interest in it and has plenty of ideas for what we should be doing! You know that old saying about 'backseat drivers'? Well I've got myself a big ol' backseat gardener! LOL.

Don't worry though he's enjoying his youth with gusto. Between the fishing, bike riding, tree fort building, camping, swimming, sister teasing and general boyish mischief he's having a really good time :)

Case in point, he's taken to setting booby traps lately and he is dead set on catching mama in one of them but so far I've outsmarted him every time *grin*. Actually it was just my good luck last night as he had rigged up a heap of boxes in the bathroom tied to the door knob just before he and the others went to bed knowing that no one else would go in the bathroom anymore but me. What he didn't count on was little brother making an emergency trip to the bathroom and he was the one that got bombed by the box wall! Haha, foiled his plans again *grin*.

Oh how I love my boys and my pretty little princess girl to :)
~ Rosina