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Not really SAD, but

A lot of people are affected with Seasonal Affective Disorder in Wisconsin.  We have many, many days without sun during the winter months.  This year, we've had a string of days with heavy fog and unseasonably warm temperatures in the 30's and 40's.   Personally, I can't claim that I've ever really felt the effects of SAD, but this year, knowing that we are likely moving west later next year, I've been very impatient and annoyed with Wisconsin weather.   Sun trying to fight through the clouds It hasn't helped that my daily routine involves looking at the weather in Fort Collins and Tucson.  Their weather has been spectacularly sunny and more pleasant this time of year.   So, I haven't been blogging much because not much is going on. I've substituted indoor pickleball for hiking. The trails have been muddy and not much fun. For Christmas, we had my mother, Julia's brother and Allie here.  I went and retrieved my mother from Cedar Rapids a...
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Throwin' Down Wood

I've been sleeping really well since the Daylight Savings' time change.  Several days per week, Julia gets up early at 4:50 a.m. and goes to her morning "Boot Camp" work out at the high school.  When I owned the coffee business, I woke at 4:50 every morning, but that isn't my preference anymore

I heard her get up and forced myself to go back to sleep--probably took less than three seconds.  I didn't wake up until about 6:30.  My first groggy thought was that it was raining.   Nope, she was back and had turned the shower on. 

This morning, I made up a batch of sourdough for baking tomorrow morning and then played a couple of hours of pickleball.  This afternoon, Callie and I hiked Gibraltar Rock.

There were a ton of people at Gibraltar.  Both parking lots were nearly full.  No off-leash dogs though, so it was fun to take Callie along.  On top of the cliffs, I walked by a large family, noticing there was a very special off-trail wheelchair with treads instead of tires.  When I mentioned that I had a son with Duchennes who would love "the nice ride," she let me know that her young son has Beckers muscular dystrophy and that the chair was the result of a lot of fund-raising.  It warms my heart when I see that families of disabled kids go the extra mile for special experiences.  

We didn't have a tank wheelchair for Justin, but he did have a lot of special experiences, including swimming with reef sharks in Bimini for his Make-a-Wish.  And we definitely took his conventional wheelchair to places that took it out of warranty coverage.  These days, we have a hard time getting him out of his dorm room, but that's where his tools are (computer, phone, tv) and where he feels most independent.  Everyone has to hike his own hike.

This afternoon, I spent a couple of hours in my woods, throwin' down wood.  It sounds a lot cooler than it is.  I cut up a fallen oak tree on our property a few days ago.  The rounds are way up the hill.  I threw the rounds down the hill until I could get them close to my woodpile. It's a whole lot easier than using a wheelbarrow. 


The rounds start where I'm taking the photo and are scattered up the hill from where I'm standing.  It only takes a couple of throws for the smaller pieces of wood.  The bigger rounds generally take three throws unless I'm particularly lucky in the way that they bounce down the hill.  Julia has her boot camp.  I have my wood throwing and processing.

While today was beautiful, rain is predicted for the next three days.  When it stops raining on Friday,  I will hand-split the rounds for wood heat during the winter of 2024-25. 

 

Next winter's wood is already in the pole shed.  I've got enough stacked and seasoning for the winter after that. 

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