Out With The Old and In With The New

I had to say goodbye to an old friend. This was the first brand new truck I ever owned. I bought it in 1995 from a dealer in Ellsworth and has served me well for the last 176,484 miles. I never had to have anything major done to it during all those years.
But last Saturday Nana and I were going to the library, on a snowy day and the road still had ice on it from the last storm, when we came over a hill and had no where to go. There were two trucks in the road, one in each lane.
Luckily no one was hurt in the accident.



So on Sunday Nana did all the leg work on the Internet to find what where we could buy a truck that I wanted (I don't have the patience to do it). This dealer was just 10 miles from the house and after all the research she did we knew the price we wanted to pay for this truck.
When we got to the dealer we knew half the people working there and had a chance to catch up on what everyone and their families were doing.
Next came the price of the truck and it was almost $3000 less than we anticipated. So always forward and life never goes back. Hopefully we can move on past the accident.

It's Tough Out There

During the snowstorm the birds still need to eat so we try to keep the feeders full for them.












Different feeders for different birds. Some like seeds, some like suet.












Waiting in the wings a Pielated Woodpecker is waiting for it's turn to get some suet. Most of the time it takes quite a while for them to come to the feeder because they are very careful looking out for dangerous situations.

Lost

Jonesie was out shoveling snow last night and this morning this all we found out in the yard.
I suppose someone should go dig him out sometime today.

Hanging on

Here are some pics of fruit's that refuse to buckle under winter's wrath.
This is a "High Bush Cranberry" that we planted a few years ago in hopes of having the red contrast against the snow. It has worked and each year the bush gets bigger and more fruit appear.







The "Sumac" seed pods hang on as long as possible. The Pileated Woodpecker and other birds enjoy the seeds that they get from the bush.











This one is my neighbors apple tree. I have no idea what kind it is but it sure seems to be a tough one and not willing to let go of it's fruit.

Clean up Crew

This is a photo of our steps that lead away from the house only you cannot see any steps except my footprints.











Nana asked if there was anything she could do to help and so she got the opportunity to clean off the brick walkway and the steps.

Cleanup started at about 9 a.m. and we finished, or pooped out, at 2 p.m. At which time it started to snow again and when I finally came out of the garage we had gotten another 2-3 inches of snow.

Maybe more pics tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!

2011 Blizzard Cleanup

This is looking out from inside the garage.













Even "Bucky" was not left unscathed. I have to admit that he is a real trooper as this is the second big snow of the year that he has had to put up with.

The last count on the total for our area is at 76" so far this year. Usually we get about 8" in Feb.







To begin the day the first order of business was to uncover the dryer vent before any clothes went thru. It is under there somewhere.











I called this photo snow waves. Actually this is our back deck and the snow was not the wet heart attack snow so the image it left was kinda fun to see.

Team Coverage of Snowstorm 2011

This was the opening day of the Great Snowstorm of 2011.

I went for a walk in the morning as it was a balmy 11 degrees and we had lost a lot of snow last week.








But, by 10:20 in the morning the little white flakes started falling and continued until midnight.
On Monday morning we had about 15 inches of snow on the ground and it started snowing again.

Winter Walking

One of my favorite things to do in the winter is walking. I almost always walk back thru our woods and out to a snowmobile trail and back home.










My walk takes me about 40 minutes and I probably walk for about 2 miles.

We have had some nice thawing temperatures lately, but during that last two days it has gotten cold again. This makes walking much easier as I can walk on top of the snow instead of walking thru it.










As you can see it was a really nice morning for a walk with the temperature at about 8 degrees. This all before a big snowstorm that is suppose to blanket us with another 12 inches of snow tonight.

Back in the kitchen

We are still on a quest to conquer the best "sticky buns".












And this was not it. They did taste okay but just okay it was a very messy job to make and clean up.











This recipe was from "The Barefoot Contessa" and was said it was a snap to make.
I think I will pass on making these again.