Weather and Roads

28°F/-2.2°C, mostly clear. High of 63 today!

It was a windows open, coffee on the porch kind of day. Bright sun, light breeze, so warm I worked outside with no jacket! Of course, tomorrow we will be in the 30s again, but this was a nice break. We started the day with 4" of snow still on the ground, but by this evening the deck is clear and there are bare patches of earth everywhere. 

But the driveway is still covered, and with rain predicted for tonight, I have a feeling we're going to end up with a real slicky-slide. And of course, the tractor blew a hydraulic hose, so has no steering! Larry had a dicey ol' time getting it back into the garage, where it will stay until we go out and get a new hose. Always something, but at least this is, I think, a minor something.

It probably seems odd, and maybe boring, that I start every post with the weather. But frankly, the weather impacts what we do almost every single day. It's the first thing we check in the morning, both of us wandering to the front door to look out at what the day is bringing. Today, since it was so fine, we took all the stuff I had ready for booths and thrift out to the van and loaded it up. Then I puttered around the yard, picking up odd bits of branches and such, while Larry got on the tractor and worked on breaking up the ice on the driveway until that hose broke. We finished sanding a dresser for painting because that has to be done outside, and cleaned up both porches. I washed a blanket and hung it outside to dry. 

"Coffee on the porch with dogs", a not-so-still-life. 

Had it been a cold day, or raining, most of that would not have been on the to-do list. Instead it would have been more inside cleaning and working on my painting projects, while Larry would have worked on some projects in the workroom. This is probably what tomorrow will look like actually,  as the weather turns nasty once again.

Yesterday's trip to town and our Ravenswood booths wore me out! But it was so cool to see the icy Ohio. I wanted to go up on the bridge (to Ohio) to take photos, but Larry nixxed that idea as too dangerous, and he was right, as there really isn't any allowance for pedestrian traffic up there.

There were a few open spots, and a channel in the center that was not as thickly iced over, but it is apparent that there has not been any river traffic for days. 

My shoes are heavily cleated, but even so it was tricky going. There was ice under the snow in places that would give way, or cause a sudden slip so I was stepping carefully! There weren't any other tracks that I could see. No wonder.

The old railroad bridge is actually still in use, as trains, often carrying coal or chemicals, roll through this park, and the town,  several times a day.

Joe's Run was still pretty icy when we went out in the morning, as you can see here, but by evening it had cleared significantly.  The school busses hasn't run for over 2 weeks, and there's been no trash pickup for three weeks. I think we may get back to normal now though, with today's thaw.

The driveway yesterday morning:

then one of the blind hills on the ridge road,

and a not too good shot of the view.

Our neighbor Dave's hay waits to be used. He puts up plenty so never has a shortage. 

 

Dave's barn. I remember when his father, Dan, Dave, and Dave's 5 brothers built this with lumber Dan had timberland from his land. Those Simon's men were characters! All of them natural born storytellers and pranksters. 

The blue gate to one of Dave's pastures. He actually lives about 2 miles from us but there are only 2 other houses between us---one is his nephew and the other his cousin.

Further down the road, you xan see where the Atate has hindered, and there's been plenty of traffic, but still everyone is careful if they meet another vehicle because this one-lane road is tricky in slick weather.

It was nice to go, even nicer to come home!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.