getting organized....

First off, how do you like my new title picture?? Yesterday, as Ed and I were doing barn chores, we heard a plane land on the air strip behind the farm. Ed said.."suppose that's Dale?" so we ran out of the barn just as a pretty little blue and white plane flew over the farm. We gave a big wave, and sure enough, the plane tipped it's wings in a "hello" sign. It circled once and then came around again, so we knew it was Dale!!!! I wished I had thought to grab my camera, and take a shot of her flying by... she gets so many good photos of the farm, maybe she would like to have one of her flying.... (next time Dale!!!)

As previously reported, we have the outdoor wood furnace chugging.. it's doing a great job at keeping the house warm, and for this winter, it will be our main source of heat. Right now we are just burning "junk wood", which is a two fold blessing.. warmth and clean up!!!!!


Here, Ed is loading the wood furnace.. which isn't such an exciting shot, except that.. look who's helping...

Annabelle... we thought she was a "barn cat", but now that she has discovered us working up around the house, she comes and hangs out with us there!!!! Ed thinks she'll be a "house" cat before it's all said and done... I say "NO.. I need a barn cat".....

When the builders finished their work early last summer, they began to clean up around the house. Normally, they would take away all the scrap wood and it would just end up in a landfill somewhere. Knowing that we would be using the wood furnace, I couldn't bear the idea of all this "free" heat being thrown away, so we asked them to pile it up and we would take care of it.


With all the "other projects" happening over the summer, moving the piles wasn't high on the list, but now that Ed is trying to move dirt around, and the thought that snow isn't that far away... it's time to get these piles into a usable fashion.

Ed took some palates that had been left behind and made them into wood racks. The open ones are for the bigger pieces and the "green" boxes for all the little stuff that can either go into the furnace or in the wood stove.

We had some big piles that needed to be sorted thru, but it didn't take as much time as we thought. And by placing the wood on the palates, it's easy to move them around with the tractor. Once we have all the dirt in place, the palates can be kept near the stove, but for now, they are in the garage..keeping dry on a very rainy day.

When the work was done, not only did we end up with several nice loads of wood, but everything looks so much neater!!!

Now we can move some dirt and get rid of those "piles" that have been making me "crazy" all summer.

I don't know if it's a "new england" thing, or if it's the same with anyone who lives with a "cold season".. but this time of year, I just get a feeling to get organized and picked up, days are getting shorter and cooler.. it's time to button up......