"That" Time of Year

[Moss Man]

It's that time of year, fall is upon us. Maybe not by the calender yet, but it is here.

Dug some garden spuds today, can't wait to taste test them.

Stacked some bone dry wood near the woodstove, can't wait for that radiant heat to warm my bones.

Eyed some garden carrots and onions to go with those fresh spuds for a beef stew, nothing warms the soul like homemade beefstew on a cool blustery fall sunday afternoon.

Tomorrow is woodsman day at the local agricultural fair, I would like to compete in the modified class with the "Walkerized" 394XP, but I'm not ready for it.

Leaves are falling more rapidly everyday, thoughts wonder towards gathering wood for next season already.

The daylight wanes and thoughts are on being inside more, feeding the stove and hoping winter projects hold out until spring.

Fall is by far my favorite season here in Maine, but what follows it can be a little daunting.

 

[Outlander]

It is starting to cool off in the evenings here in Iowa too. The sweet corn is in the freezer, green beans are starting the second round, melons are ready and great for eating and the wife is making tomato sauce and salsa from the tomatos, peppers and onions. Next week we will dig the potatos and put them in the cave. You can't beat the cool weather and all the home grown fresh food. Went fishing today and caught a nice mess of bluegills to seal up and save for the winter. Can't wait to fire up the stove when the evenings start getting cooler.

 

[Moss Man]

It is starting to cool off in the evenings here in Iowa too. The sweet corn is in the freezer, green beans are starting the second round, melons are ready and great for eating and the wife is making tomato sauce and salsa from the tomatos, peppers and onions. Next week we will dig the potatos and put them in the cave. You can't beat the cool weather and all the home grown fresh food. Went fishing today and caught a nice mess of bluegills to seal up and save for the winter. Can't wait to fire up the stove when the evenings start getting cooler.

Cave equals a root cellar? We don't have a good storage place.....just yet.

 

[Outlander]

We call it a cave but it is a root cellar if that is what you want to call it. Either way it is "underground storage". Cool, dry and doesn't freeze.

 

[371groundie]

you missed a good time at the fair. i won the log roll.

there was some drama in the hotsaw classes, so you didnt miss much.

 

[Moss Man]

you missed a good time at the fair. i won the log roll.

there was some drama in the hotsaw classes, so you didnt miss much.

I was there for the better part of the log roll, which guy were you? I was sitting right on the end of the grandstand closet to the log roll area.

I watched 2 hot saws and then had to head home.

 

[WetBehindtheEar]

Went fishing today and caught a nice mess of bluegills to seal up and save for the winter.

Don't know exactly where in IA you live but those 'gills taste 1000x better when caught through the ice... and save you some space in the freezer to boot.

Hard water season will soon be upon us. Ask Crappie Keith about winter slabs... damn. I can't wait.

:greenchainsaw:

 

[371groundie]

i was in a carhartt tshirt and bluejeans wearing labonville logger heels.

for the better part of logroll i was sitting on the log towards the main gate and flirting with the ladies. i was the smaller member of the pair that both had the same first name.

i also won logroll at clinton on friday, it was a good weekend.

hopefully dixville notch NH will treat me well saturday.

 

[Moss Man]

i was in a carhartt tshirt and bluejeans wearing labonville logger heels.

for the better part of logroll i was sitting on the log towards the main gate and flirting with the ladies. i was the smaller member of the pair that both had the same first name.

i also won logroll at clinton on friday, it was a good weekend.

hopefully dixville notch NH will treat me well saturday.

Next time you come up my way call me. I just pmed you my new cell number.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Much the same here, some leaves already dropping, although most have not started changing yet. It has been unseasonably warm here for the last week or 2, highs in the 80s and predicted nearly the same through the rest of the week. Corn here is still green, but the dairy guys will very soon be playing catchup trying to find fields with enough plant moisture to make good feed. Soybeans are dying off and dropping leaves, and the combines will be rolling shortly.

Daylight is getting shorter fast, headlights to work in the morning, and nearly so on the way home (I leave approx 530am, and most nights lately, not home till 7pm or a bit later). This morning was cool and breezy, and I was thinking it felt like saw weather, but by lunchtime the sun was out and making it hot and sticky again, so I resisted the urge to check out of work a few hours early.

Bow deer season started last weekend here, and while I only rifle hunt, on my trips to the woods I'm starting to see quite a few rubs from the bucks taking the velvet off the hat racks. I gotta get the trail camera out, hang the stand and start getting ready for "Holy Week", Thanksgiving week here in WI, the 9 day rifle season.

Geese are gathering as well, and the parking lot at work is getting a whitewashing from the big flying rats crapping all over while roaming the ponds and grass around the shops in our industrial park.

Fall is one of the most beautiful times of year in the north country, but we sure pay for it come winter, at least those of us who burn wood don't do it directly out of pocket!

WBTE - Iced fish are always better, but I'll still take em all summer out of the lake down the road from the house, clear and 102' deep. It stays mighty cool all summer, local trout unlimited even stocks German Browns and Rainbows in there every few years. Them are a hoot to catch on a crappie pole through the ice, if they don't just break you off. Too bad the season is closed on em in the winter.

I'll sign off now that I've worn out a few pairs of reading glasses!

 

[Outlander]

Don't know exactly where in IA you live but those 'gills taste 1000x better when caught through the ice... and save you some space in the freezer to boot.

Hard water season will soon be upon us. Ask Crappie Keith about winter slabs... damn. I can't wait.

:greenchainsaw:

I know exactly what you mean, can't explain it but anytime I pull Bluegills through 6 or more inches of ice they taste soooooo much better.

 

[biggenius29]

For me

I dont have my wood furnace yet.

I do have the chimney installed and my HVAC guy on call when I get a furnace downstairs for hookup.

I dont have enough wood cut to last me a winter when I do get the furnace.

I do have plenty of wood for next year though.

We are praying and hoping that we dont get frost for another month. The beans are coming along great, but the corn is about a month behind.

On the bright side, we just put up a more efficient grain dryer so the gas bill will hopefully not change to much from before.

But, if we dont get frost for another month we need to put up more grain bins in a hurry.

 

[audible fart]

This time of year makes me glad I sweat myself stupid scrounging and hand splitting all spring and summer. Even scrounged a leaf spring squashing bed full today then hand split it.
I must be doing something right; I've had people in the neighborhood ask me how much I charge for firewood and I don't even sell it! Just addicted to scrounging and hand splitting. And being prepared. The rope is replaced on the stove door and my new ms390 will be used all winter long every time I get some good scrounging material. Bring it on winter. You punk.

 

[Soby1]

Fall and spring my favorite seasons.Ma and I are taking the the bikes out for a color tour on sat.But I'm looking forward to that first bowl of chili and slab of beer bread sitting next to the wood burner and watching the game.Oh can't forget the Bud Lights they seem to taste good any season!!

 

[LAH]

nothing warms the soul like homemade beefstew on a cool blustery fall sunday afternoon.

amen

 

[woodbooga]

Maples have been bright red in the swamps for a week and a half. All's still green on the upcountry slopes - for now but not for long.

Soon I'll be mowing the lawn more to mulch leaves than to keep the grass low.

After supper chores requiring daylight will soon be a thing of the not-too-distant past. Unless we elect to have supper earlier. But soon too even that option will disappear.

Off in the distance, the peak of Mt. Washington - treeless and barren - streches out its gunmetal blue profile against an azure sky. In a matter of weeks, New England's highest peak will be under several inches of snow and its vast white expanse will foretell of what's soon to come for us in the foothills.

Pumpkins are on the vines and the apple trees -boughs bent under the weight - are laden with galas and macs. What doesn't get picked on impulse for a snack will either be dried in slices by the cookstove, or else get baked into one of the wife's famous mile-high apple pies in the oven adjoining the firebox.

There's lots to love about a New England autumntide.

 

[peterc38]

Off in the distance, the peak of Mt. Washington - treeless and barren - streches out its gunmetal blue profile against an azure sky.

Woodbooga,

Were you an English Major? :greenchainsaw:

 

[wood4heat]

Next week we will dig the potatos and put them in the cave.

My family is from Braddyville Iowa. Grandpa told lots of stories about the farm he grew up on and a couple times mentioned a cave. Well my cousin owns that farm now and I was back there this summer. All that is left is the barn but I go see it whenever I'm back. This year I was thinking about Grandpas stories and asked my cousin if he knew where the cave was. Sure he said and took me to see it. The roof has started to cave in but I peered down in there and could see the brick lining the walls. It was neat to put a place with some of those old stories.

Didn't get a pic of the cave but this is the barn:

 

[woodbooga]

Woodbooga,

Were you an English Major? :greenchainsaw:

No sir. Just love that mountain. I find the immovable to be very moving.

 

[Outlander]

wood4heat, I live an hour from Braddyville. Gotta love the diner(can't remember the name) on the east side of 71, always great conversation in there over the noon hour. Is that barn just north of town on 71? Looks familiar to me.