BROKEN OAK HILL(R) Dispatches from the heart of Wisconsin At the Farm
Previous Report
The black hills spruce, white pine and blue spruce in the spring of 2010.
The lost spruce
Brother Tom provided this note about the spruce that snapped:
Just a little side note...that was a black hills spruce. I planted it, the white pine and I think the other spruce is a blue spruce...all at the same time in 1964. I still have the receipt somewhere. We bought several seedlings at a nursery in Wisconsin Rapids at that time...
Save me a piece of the spruce that fell down. Maybe I'll carve something out of it.
The balsam firs below the garage are weighted down from the storm.
Even the branches on the front yard oak we pulled down by the snow.
The closet in the mud room got some use as a place to hang our wet jackets.
By the end of the day Tuesday, the new mirror was in place in the upstairs bathroom.
The black hills spruce, white pine and blue spruce in the spring of 2010.
The lost spruce
Brother Tom provided this note about the spruce that snapped:
Just a little side note...that was a black hills spruce. I planted it, the white pine and I think the other spruce is a blue spruce...all at the same time in 1964. I still have the receipt somewhere. We bought several seedlings at a nursery in Wisconsin Rapids at that time...
Save me a piece of the spruce that fell down. Maybe I'll carve something out of it.
The balsam firs below the garage are weighted down from the storm.
Even the branches on the front yard oak we pulled down by the snow.
The closet in the mud room got some use as a place to hang our wet jackets.
By the end of the day Tuesday, the new mirror was in place in the upstairs bathroom.
Tuesday-Wednesday, Nov. 8-9
About 10 a.m. Thursday the Black Hills spruce was leaning badly, pulled over by the heavy snow, and by sometime after 11 it had snapped.
A brush with winter
On a visit to do more painting, Mother Nature has a surprise
One of the first things our builder, Jim Langendorf, said after we arrived Tuesday was something like, "When I saw you pull up, I figured it must be lunch time." It has been our pattern to arrive around then, no matter how good our intentions for an early departure from home. Jim was there with his dad, Burt, installing the countertops -- a big step in making the place look more like home. It was a
chillly day, in the 40s, but not bad weather. We had brought along a mirror for the upstairs bathroom, the big plain 36-inch by 48-inch variety, and Jim had that up within 15 minutes by himself. It was exciting to see the new countertops in the bathrooms as well as the kitchen. In the downstairs bath, the lighting was up and the shower doors are supposed to be installed later this week. The framed mirror is in the garage waiting for installation. The next step is for Bob the plumber to come back and install the sinks and faucets and a water heater, and we will practically be done.
Unfortunately, the wrong top had come for the cabinet in the laundry room -- it was supposed to match the one in the bathroom, but instead it matched the one in the kitchen. A phone call by Gayle got that straightened out and a
new one should be on the way shortly. We also brought up handles and knobs for the cabinets in the kitchen and downstairs bath and discussed putting those on with Jim.
We spent some time admiring the changes and visiting and then got with our staining and painting efforts. Jim and Burt took down the oak mantel and cut it down from its previous size to make it fit better and Gayle got busy staining more parts for the stairs while I finished up the painting upstairs on woodwork and doors.
Jim and his Dad left around 4 and we stayed until after dark and didn't head in to Mauston until about 6. As we snaked our way along S Highway in the darkness, three deer standing by the edge of the highway thought better of their urge to cross the road in front of us and trotted back into the woods.
Wednesday we awoke to a very frosty landscape outside our window at the Super 8 Motel and to a weather forecast that had changed from 2 to 5 inches of snow to one that was now predicting 5 to 8 inches. By the time we got in the road to the farm, the snow had begun and was already one or two inches deep. At the farm we drove in and pulled around so the Pilot was heading out toward the road as the snow continued to fall.
It was a wet, messy walk to the house, so the mudroom got its first workout. After a littl
e more time admiring the house, we set to work, Gayle staining and me doing some cleaning in the basement so I could move a few things from the garage into there. We continued to monitor the snow, which continued to fall and pile up. Sometime after 10, I decided to go move the Pilot out to the other side of the road. The driveway there just goes into a field, but it goes slightly down to the road, and to get out of the regular drive you have to go up to the road -- not always easy in the snow. I had just finished maneuvering around on the very snowy, slippery road (like a hog on ice as Dad would have said) and got the Pilot situated when the snowplow came roaring down the road. I had the Pilot far enough back to avoid impeding his progress.
A favorite spruce tree out south of the house got broken over in the heavy snow and the power flickered several times before noon. As we ate our sandwiches for lunch, we wondered whether we would be stuck there for the night, perhaps having Cheerios for dinner since there wasn't much else available.
In the end, Gayle got a coat of polyuretha
ne on most of the stair parts and got the mantel stained, and I finished painting the trim and doors in the downstairs bedroom so that we won't have to be in there doing that after the carpeting is laid. Around 4 p.m. we wrapped up our work and closed up the house. figuring without lights we couldn't get a lot more done. I had taken a load of gear to the car (and fallen hard when I stepped on a piece of plywood buried by wet snow). I cleared the windshield and was able to pull right out into the road without any shoveling -- a happy development. And we hit the road for home -- our other home.
The late afternoon sun caught the tops of the trees at the end of the road as we left for home.
About 10 a.m. Thursday the Black Hills spruce was leaning badly, pulled over by the heavy snow, and by sometime after 11 it had snapped.
A brush with winter
On a visit to do more painting, Mother Nature has a surprise
One of the first things our builder, Jim Langendorf, said after we arrived Tuesday was something like, "When I saw you pull up, I figured it must be lunch time." It has been our pattern to arrive around then, no matter how good our intentions for an early departure from home. Jim was there with his dad, Burt, installing the countertops -- a big step in making the place look more like home. It was a
chillly day, in the 40s, but not bad weather. We had brought along a mirror for the upstairs bathroom, the big plain 36-inch by 48-inch variety, and Jim had that up within 15 minutes by himself. It was exciting to see the new countertops in the bathrooms as well as the kitchen. In the downstairs bath, the lighting was up and the shower doors are supposed to be installed later this week. The framed mirror is in the garage waiting for installation. The next step is for Bob the plumber to come back and install the sinks and faucets and a water heater, and we will practically be done. Unfortunately, the wrong top had come for the cabinet in the laundry room -- it was supposed to match the one in the bathroom, but instead it matched the one in the kitchen. A phone call by Gayle got that straightened out and a
new one should be on the way shortly. We also brought up handles and knobs for the cabinets in the kitchen and downstairs bath and discussed putting those on with Jim. We spent some time admiring the changes and visiting and then got with our staining and painting efforts. Jim and Burt took down the oak mantel and cut it down from its previous size to make it fit better and Gayle got busy staining more parts for the stairs while I finished up the painting upstairs on woodwork and doors.
Jim and his Dad left around 4 and we stayed until after dark and didn't head in to Mauston until about 6. As we snaked our way along S Highway in the darkness, three deer standing by the edge of the highway thought better of their urge to cross the road in front of us and trotted back into the woods.
Wednesday we awoke to a very frosty landscape outside our window at the Super 8 Motel and to a weather forecast that had changed from 2 to 5 inches of snow to one that was now predicting 5 to 8 inches. By the time we got in the road to the farm, the snow had begun and was already one or two inches deep. At the farm we drove in and pulled around so the Pilot was heading out toward the road as the snow continued to fall.
It was a wet, messy walk to the house, so the mudroom got its first workout. After a littl
e more time admiring the house, we set to work, Gayle staining and me doing some cleaning in the basement so I could move a few things from the garage into there. We continued to monitor the snow, which continued to fall and pile up. Sometime after 10, I decided to go move the Pilot out to the other side of the road. The driveway there just goes into a field, but it goes slightly down to the road, and to get out of the regular drive you have to go up to the road -- not always easy in the snow. I had just finished maneuvering around on the very snowy, slippery road (like a hog on ice as Dad would have said) and got the Pilot situated when the snowplow came roaring down the road. I had the Pilot far enough back to avoid impeding his progress. A favorite spruce tree out south of the house got broken over in the heavy snow and the power flickered several times before noon. As we ate our sandwiches for lunch, we wondered whether we would be stuck there for the night, perhaps having Cheerios for dinner since there wasn't much else available.
In the end, Gayle got a coat of polyuretha
ne on most of the stair parts and got the mantel stained, and I finished painting the trim and doors in the downstairs bedroom so that we won't have to be in there doing that after the carpeting is laid. Around 4 p.m. we wrapped up our work and closed up the house. figuring without lights we couldn't get a lot more done. I had taken a load of gear to the car (and fallen hard when I stepped on a piece of plywood buried by wet snow). I cleared the windshield and was able to pull right out into the road without any shoveling -- a happy development. And we hit the road for home -- our other home. The late afternoon sun caught the tops of the trees at the end of the road as we left for home.
