1/9-11/07 I went up to the property for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

The roads weren't too bad going over the pass or getting to the property but when I got there at 12:20 I saw that the driveway hadn't been plowed out since the last snowfall. There was about five inches of new snow and a berm that was too big to drive over. I spent about a half hour shoveling the driveway out. Then when I tried to park, I got stuck and ended up having to put chains on anyway just to get parked.

I measured 39 inches of snow on the ground. The flock of gray jays was there for peanuts before I even got moved in. It rained lightly off and on and there was a lot of snow in the trees that was melting, dripping, and falling.

After lunch, I went to work securing the rope handrails for the stairs. The scouts have decided to come up and camp at the property again in a couple weeks, so I'm glad that I now have a safe way for people to get up to and off of the porch. Next, I installed the housing for the electrical breaker panel. It started snowing at 6:00.

On Wednesday, there was about 2 inches of new snow on the ground. The hanging bird feeder had fallen during the night. The snow bank where it landed was completely covered in tracks from the critters who took advantage of the spilled birdseed during the night. The feeder had evidently unscrewed itself somehow. I don't know if a squirrel got it turning or the whether the wind did it, but to me it was one more clear indication of how poorly the thing had been designed. I put it back together and screwed it down as tight as I could before I hung it up again. We'll see if it comes loose again.

I wasn't feeling too well. I was sick at the stomach and didn't feel much like working. I puttered around putting things away and cleaning up in preparation for the scout visit. I hung a tarp along the bedroom wall thinking that if I enclosed the room that way, it might be a little warmer in there for the parents who will sleep there. I also got out another electric heater and turned it on to see if I could warm the bedroom up a little.

After about an hour, the main breaker at the power pole tripped. The heater in the trailer had also been on, so I learned that I can't run both heaters indefinitely on that one circuit. I decided to bring up a propane heater instead.

I was still feeling sick after lunch, so instead of working, I decided to tour the woods. It was completely still so I figured it would be safe enough, and the weather and the scenery were beautiful. I took our new digital camera and took a bunch of pictures of Dirtyface Ridge in the bright sun, and the trees with their loads of snow and ice. I was able to get around very easily on the snowshoes since the snow was pretty stiff and I didn't sink in hardly at all.

I specifically looked for possibilities for a sled run for the boys. There were plenty of steep slopes, but none with a safe runout. There were just too many trees and bushes for sledding. The sled hill at the state park will be closed when the scouts are here and there is no other sled hill in the area that I know of. So it looks like sledding might be out on this trip.

I went in early for the night and when I went to look at the pictures I had taken, all I got was a message saying "no images". Evidently I don't know how to work that new camera. I have some learning to do.

On Thursday morning it was 18 degrees outside. I felt a little better and spent the morning doing some more cleaning and tidying up. I left for home at 2:00.