Wisconsin Snow Storm

No matter where you measured there was plenty of snow this past weekend.


























I started to practice my space management at 8:30 on Sunday morning and quit at 4:30. Along with help from our neighbor we moved almost all of the snow that needed to be moved.










Even "Bucky the 6 Point" was having a hard time with the snow.

Hard Water Action

Summer fun is done and it is time to get to some serious fishing. This is one of my favorite things to do in the winter.

I was the first one to venture out onto this lake this year. There was the usual number of rocks and chunks of wood out on the ice but no one had gone out yet, I walked out about 3 feet and drilled a hole and found about 3 inches is of ice. I continued to drill a hole about every 3-4 feet and had between 3 and 4 inches of ice all the way out.



That was last weekend. This week, after some pretty cold temperatures, the ice is now between 4 and 6 inches thick.
Here is a view from inside "the shack". Outside it was 11 degrees and inside, with the aid of my "Buddy Propane Heater", it was warm enough to not have to wear gloves or a hat.







As you can see it was a successful day on the ice. The fish stopped biting at the same time the snow started to fall on this day but I was lucky enough to be on the ice before 7 and catch a few for dinner.

Manny's in the Kitchen

Here we go again. I was suppose to be cleaning bathrooms today but that seemed a little boring to me. And besides, we are suppose to get 10 to 14 inches of snow tomorrow and that seemed to me to be the right time to clean bathrooms.









I have always wanted to make these all in one cups. It is the total breakfast in one shot. Toast, bacon, and an egg.











Here is how it is done and they were perfect. I ate one of them while still very hot, this is the way to go.

Early Wisconsin Winter Scenes

The first weekend of December brought us our first snowstorm. We have had snow before this but it usually was preceded by rain and just made a big mess here.

With the snow comes the end of the lollypop bush. It was a pretty good year as we got two crops off of the bush this year but now we will have to wait and see what next summer brings.






I think out of that storm we got maybe between 5 and 6 inches of light fluffy snow. I must be getting old as it took nearly 5 hours for me to clear everything.

What a Difference 6 Months Makes

The pond has taken on a new look in the last week. It has been cold here getting down near "0" in the morning. We are making good ice now and as you can tell, all of the wildlife seems to be using the frozen pond as a short cut to where ever they are going.

First Ride

One day Em walked up to me and asked if she could go for a four wheeler ride. we went up the driveway to check the mail and took a detour back to the garage thru the woods.










As you can see she really like it. Later we went out into the woods but it was very cold and we didn't last to long before she asked to go back to the garage and warm up by the wood stove.

Wisconsin Pics

Here are some pictures from the Thanksgiving vacation. Some of the holiday decorations were up and the kids thought they were pretty neat.











E has always wanted to operate this machine but we have been lucky to not have any snow. This year we had a few inches of snow and it gave us a chance to see if the snow blower worked.










E had a good time on the computer playing games on Mini Clips during the times when the temperature outside was at about 10 degrees.











Em was busy taking it easy as some days it was just to cold to even go to Jonesie's garage.

On the Farm in Wisc.

The boys from Portland visited an actual working beef and cash crop farm in Wisconsin.

After loading up some corn to feed to the deer at home, we decided to visit the beef on the farm.









The beef seemed to be interested in us as when we moved they moved with us.


Oh by the way, the one with the white face was named "cheeseburger".

Trouble in the attic

I have had some kind of varmint living in the garage attic. I set a few mouse traps and they kept disappearing.
The next step was to use an old live trap that Nana use to use in her college days.









So far I have trapped 4 of the little creatures. Oh by the way it is a flying squirrel.
Hopefully I have gotten the whole family by now.

New Toy

Nana insisted that I get a trail camera to put out in the woods. I always wanted one but could never decide on one to buy.
So this year I took the plunge and have \had a good time seeing what is out there when I am not.










These are all night shots using infred and so now I know what is there and what time they showed up.
The coyote was a bonus. We know they are there as we hear them at night but never get to see them.








To date, with two SD cards, I think I have around 600 pictures. Always something going on in the woods.

The Vermin Strike Again

It is that time of the year when things need to be checked before the snow flies.

Once again something has put their stash in the air intake compartment of the old, and I mean old, 4 wheeler.









I think it puts between 50 and 100 Red Oak acorns in the air intake area. But this year it has started in on the air cleaner.

It must be stopped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I almost forgot tis one

On one of my trips, Nana called and told me that the furnace would not work. Wee, she called the furnace man then I called him several times without even a call back.

So on one of the short weekends I got home, I tacked something I know NOTHING about. I have never done anything to a furnace except change the filter.

I got out the book and to my surprise it was quite helpful. It told me that if this light flashed 3 times it was a plugged vent line. Anyway, after several phone calls to the most helpful HVAC guy I have ever met, I decided it was a certain part. He didn't think so but sold me the part anyway.






I got home and installed the part and tried the furnace. This time the starter fan would not even turn. I guessed that there had to be water in there from all the summer storms. I removed the fan and this what I found - a long, long dead squirrel. It had been there for some time and I am only guessing it was a squirrel.

I removed it and cleaned out everything and put it all back together. This time everything worked and the book along with the HVAC guy was correct - it was a plugged vent.

Finally Time for Baking

So finally today I had a chance to try out a new recipe from Cooks Country. These are called Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies.

They turned out to be quite good and as the name says, they are soft and chewy.

Long Time No Blog

If anyone is interested, I have been very busy this year going from one job to the next with maybe 1 day in between. I guess it is a good problem to have but it sure gets tiring with so much up and down in planes.

Her is an example of 5 days of travel. Monday night I slept in Portland, Or, Tuesday at a Holiday Inn in San Antonio, Wednesday was in Corpus Christi, Thursday a different hotel in San Antonio and Friday in Spring Valley, WI.

So finally this weekend has been a 4 day weekend so far and I am hoping for more time off this week because on 11-1 I have to be in Ponca City, OK.

Labor Day Fishing

With my trusty guide and boat Captain Nana, we headed out to the great lake Eau Galle in pursuit of Large Mouth Bass.
The skies were threatening us with rain and I wanted to leave but Captain Nana said "No we are going to fish"









So the hunt began with Jonesie beating the water silly for about 45 minutes with a spinner bait and a plastic salamander.











Finally, the bass had had enough of me throwing baits when I caught one 14.5' long, just legal. "Nana, do you want fresh fish tonight" I asked and the first fish went on the stringer.










Two more GREAT BIG ones were caught and Captain Nana said that they must be returned to the depths of The Great Eau Galle Lake.

One More Time

I could not resist putting Nana"s warning on the blog. She put it on an old tile and held up quite well even with more rain falling on it.














This picture is from the snowmobile trail that runs past the farm.

It not only washed out the 6 inches of gravel but also the bedrock that was laid down for the railroad tracks that were here.
It is hard to believe that after so many years of freight trains running over this ground that the water could be strong enough to wash out the old railroad bed.

The Rain Does Help Some Things On The Farm

With so much rain, the flowers are the best they have ever been.



























The Coleus have never looked so good as this year.

Rain, Rain Go Away

On Tuesday evening we had a rain storm that wouldn't give up for 4 hours. After the 4 hours we had received over 6 inches of rain.











Nana went for a walk the next day looking for trees that may have fallen down and discovered that the driveway had washed away.












These are the remains of the two 24 inch culverts that were under the driveway. We had so much rain that the culverts could not handle it.

A Short Family Reunion

Here are some pics of the afternoon get together. We had cousins from Houston and Chicago. The old adults came from Houston, Mercer, Spring Valley and Oregon.
A good time was had by all.























And of course, what is a family reunion without dessert? There were 5 pies, 1 almond tart, a pan of brownies and a pan of Rice Krispies bars.











AND DON'T FORGET, THERE IS A NEW AUTOBIOGRAPHY TITLE POSTED

Cousins having fun

The four cousins got together at the reunion and seemed to have fun with water balloons, super soakers etc.











They then shifted to the basement and the Wii game and were doing a lot of bowling. At one point one of the adults yelled down stairs and asked what they were doing. The reply was "we are playing poker".