I’m not ready for winter yet…

[Scott G]

This past week 12-14″ snow with freezing rain mixed in for fun, below freezing every day, everything iced, all day, all week…

Had to wear my pac boots with calks to cut & throw 10 cords of 4′ boltwood down the north face of a godawful 50% very rocky slope…

Took off my calks and put on reg boots for firewood delivery to town with the truck. Climbed on the back to finish off the load, forgot I didn’t have the calks on after being used to the traction for the past week and promptly took a major air backflip off of the truck and landed on my head/back on rock hard frozen ground…

4WD went out on the truck and I haven’t fixed the chains from last year…

Not whining, I’m just not in the mood yet…

[TaylorJohnson]

Scott,
It sounds like you are having some challenges to say the least. It is a blizzard here right now as I look out the window,,,,, I to am not ready for this. I am not even over last winter yet. But like the old Norwegians say around here ( well I guess we will do what we do in the old country ,, let it snow ) . Taylor Johnson.

[lancek]

Well boys look like were in for it this year no snow here yet but colder than nomal and lotts of rain and scott your not the only one not ready my 4x4s out too ill wait until its knee deep in mud untill i decide to fix it though its funner that way lancek

[TaylorJohnson]

Back in Feb of 98 or 99 I was felling trees in a t shirt in MN and the NOV before that I hunted deer in jeans and a flannel shirt. Not this year , 7 months to go,,,,, well what ever life goes on . We had a good summer up here all 3 weeks of it and the 2 weeks of fall were also nice LOL . Taylor Johnson

[OldKat]

@Scott G 11617 wrote:

This past week 12-14″ snow with freezing rain mixed in for fun, below freezing every day, everything iced, all day, all week…

Had to wear my pac boots with calks to cut & throw 10 cords of 4′ boltwood down the north face of a godawful 50% very rocky slope…

Took off my calks and put on reg boots for firewood delivery to town with the truck. Climbed on the back to finish off the load, forgot I didn’t have the calks on after being used to the traction for the past week and promptly took a major air backflip off of the truck and landed on my head/back on rock hard frozen ground…

4WD went out on the truck and I haven’t fixed the chains from last year…

Not whining, I’m just not in the mood yet…

All Summer long, and I mean all 120 miserable, wretched days of it 🙂 or 120 Days of Hell as I call it, I have been telling my wife that I am too dang old to put up with this heat and humidity & that we should consider selling out and moving north. Then I read things like this …no offense, but YUCK.

There is bound to be a spot that isn’t too far north, nor too far south … THAT is where I want to live! 😀

[Carl Russell]

Although I’m not really ready for the weather, and I think we’re gonna get our first snow tonight, I actually feel in pretty good order for this winter. This summer was really a disappointment, but I got over that a couple of months ago, and basically I always keep my sights on winter.

I’ve gotta say though Scott I agree that I am never ready for slipping and sliding on ice. Sorry to hear about the fall.

I got the bobsled out the other day and started hauling firewood. Even on dirt it works great, but it kind of gets me in the mindset for snow. Nothing like riding a nice jag of fine straight logs down a packed snow trail behind a pair of lively horses, bridle chains jingling, and ice chips flying from sharpened caulks. But I could wait 30-45 more days.

Carl

[TaylorJohnson]

Man Carl, You make it sound pretty good you half got me looking forward to it LOL. Winter is not all bad there is a lot I like about it but it can get long in Norther WI were I live for sure. Taylor Johnson

[lancek]

You know old cat there is a place thats perfect but its south of you, its name is coasta rica some of my amish freinds were down there and they said it never grew colder than 40 and nerver grew hotter than 80 so thats pretty good weather to me!
And Taylor its not the winters that got me up there in wisconsin its that dog gone alfull spring time where it would not warm up untill june thats the time of year that I hated! lancek

[Big Horses]

Hmmm..let’s see…. last Thursday night (10-08) it snowed about 4 inches.. then Saturday it was -17, Sunday -12, and yesterday -13, but it’s supposed to be about 50 and raining by Thursday. That’s a bit early for us to get that kind of cold! But it’s just going to make “Indian Summer” feel all that much better!
I like the Norwegian comment!! haha
JH

[OldKat]

@lancek 11643 wrote:

You know old cat there is a place thats perfect but its south of you, its name is coasta rica some of my amish freinds were down there and they said it never grew colder than 40 and nerver grew hotter than 80 so thats pretty good weather to me!
And Taylor its not the winters that got me up there in wisconsin its that dog gone alfull spring time where it would not warm up untill june thats the time of year that I hated! lancek

So I understand. My interest in that “easy living” climate goes back a ways. My college friend, Ricardo, was from Uruguay and he told me the same thing about Uruguay that you said about Costa Rica … or at least parts of Uruguay are that way. I looked into it earlier this year after I found that I am too old to immigrate to either Australia or New Zeeland. Unfortunately, Uruguay’s government is an even bigger train wreck than ours is, so weather isn’t the only consideration.

Parts of the pampas in Argentina sure look nice. Guess I’ll do like the old Harry Nilsson song says; “Going somewhere where the weather suits my clothes”! Wherever THAT may be, it sure ain’t HERE.

[lancek]

OOO Scott,
look at the weather comming out of california your going to get it agian but look at it this way MORE FIrerwood Sales Lancek

[Scott G]

Yeah, It seems as though the jet stream has us in its sites for awhile.

Its not that I have anything against winter. I grew up in the Rockies and used to be a ski bum. My priorities have changed as I have gotten older and the lack of a smooth transition for seasons out here, which is the norm, has gotten to the point of being the equivalent of shock therapy.

The truth is I prefer to cut when its cold. Skidding is easier and the logs stay cleaner too as well as less potential for residual damage.

I am just slower to adapt to abrupt change than I use to be and every winter I never seem to accomplish what I had been set/planned to do by the first big dump & serious cold. You wouldn’t think this would be a problem for someone who has lived in the mountains his entire life…

[lancek]

Well that is where mr procrastonation creeps in! Each year we say we are going to be ready for this stuff and when it comes we are not. And nobody laugh out there we are all guilty of it ! Now for the not addjusting to things that just means we are getting older. lol:D
O and thanks Scott, I think you jinks me. today I was twiching some logs along a ridge and I turned around to go back for another turn when I step on my chain the horse cept going my feet went up in the air and I landed flat on my but and if that wasnt embaresing enough I then poceded to slide down the hill in this confluant stream all the way to the big puddle at the bottom!
My boys were rolling on the ground laughing up on top of the hill and I think my horse was to because he had an allfull funny look on his face. Lancek

[Gabe Ayers]

Man if we had a video collection of all the stuff that happens out there it would be a blooper reel that we could sell for more money than the wood is worth. I just hate falling into water or mud, but if you are out there – you eventually will….or I do and most everyone I know does too… I feel lucky when it happens at the end of the day instead of the beginning, because it is going to happen…

The weather doesn’t allow us that graceful seasonal shift that I seem to remember as an outdoor person most of my life. The changes seemed historically to be accompanied by various outdoor work to prepare for the different weather, soil conditions and increased efforts required to do anything, including stand up on old legs. Nowadays a fellow can go to bed with temps in the 70’s and wake up with them in the 30’s. The one word description of modern weather is “extreme”.

Meanwhile we all seem to find a way to enjoy our work and share it liberally with anyone interested and that is a complimentary aspect of this culture. The stories on this board keep all of us from feeling alone in our efforts despite the many miles that separate our landings, woodlots, famrs and ranches. I am glad that I am not the only one that gives the boys (young men) something to laugh at…

Thanks for sharing your lives with all of us DAP people…. keep up your good work when you can. We are always selling and giving firewood away too…it just makes our forestry work look better to not leave large pieces in the woods. The biggest factor for some sites is that skidding that rough stuff creates more impact on the skid trails than just extracting saw logs. Makes us be all the more careful about contour layout or going down and across, down and across the slope to get the wood to a landing. The other benefit is that it doesn’t require as much remedial work like water bars and filter piles at the end of them. Somehow the layout becomes more important to be efficient in creating the least impact and no remedial work. It is hard for the water to follow a trail of impact that is diverse. Everywhere we work there is evidence of previous skidding and it isn’t always diverse. When one goes straight up and down the hill for any distance water magnifies our presence after the job is over.

Glad everyone is working, winter is on the way, it just seems to arrive so dramatically instead of gradually, everywhere…

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