Snow retreating

This view always makes me think of the "road less travelled".   The snow is retreating and so I think that this week will bring the closing of the snow machine trail.   Time to get riding those ponies again!

Window repairs and stair construction

The snow lingers but progress marches on.  The cutting was completed this week by Bob for the three basement stairs stringers.  The adjacent walls at the temporary stairs are in as well so it is "just" a matter of hoisting out the temporary ones and building the permanent ones in place.   Next up is getting the materials and cutting them ready for the treads and backing boards.  That way we are "stairless" for a shorter period of time.  The porch railing materials were kept swept clean through the winter for February installation, but it looks as though that will be postponed to a summer caper.

Income Tax Time.... induces snoozing

 George does not appreciate the point of income tax document preparation, he finds the whole business quite boring and cause for a nap.   If only he knew how much the Prime Minister scoops from his cat food fund!!!!  Note that Gabby presents herself as a beached whale as well on the sofa in the background.   Ivan is no doubt also snoozing somewhere.

Mago it seems finds tax time to also induce sleep, it must be my view right now affecting them all.

Harley the Wonder Dog identifies a new danger

Harley stands guard over the simmering danger hidden in the snow.  He has decided that moles are a great menace and spends hours looking for them.  He plants his nose deep into little holes, while madly digging and circling the hole like a live corkscrew.  Most of the time the mole is long gone....

More Spring Snow

 Initially we come into spring with some gentle melting and thawing.....

This is followed by another frosting with heavy wet snow.

Basement stair fabrication

Jim Tulloch made the first of three stringers for us to use as a template, and now Bob is fabricating the other two stringers.   Now that we have managed to build the walls on either side of the temporary stairs, we can prepare to hoist them out and replace them with the permanent (code compliant!) stairs.  Stairs are the sort of thing that you need to "get right the first time", so we are proceeding slowly and carefully - adjusting for the top and bottom attachment differences so that the stairs are identical in height.   There is no better tripping hazard than having one "out of line" stair height.   So far so good.

Snow Fleas!!!

Here are some snow fleas at the door to the barn from this morning.   Soft shelled tiny little fellows with an enormous "hop" ability, which they do if you move close to them.   Definitely a harbinger of spring which I usually see at this time of year on the cross country ski trails.

Transition to Spring

This white cedar shows the transition to spring, from winter on the right to thaw on the left.  And so the seasons sweep us along.  The thaw is gentle so far and we hope that March does not exit like a "lion".

Nothing like a warm supper in winter!

Angie relishes the last morsels of a hot mash supper, a nice way to stay warm in the continuing crisp days and nights of winter.

Protecting his toys

A bit of wind and snow the other night, Mago has deposited one of his favorite toys by the barn door for safety.  Here he tries to bring it to me....