Home on the range

We're now solidly into the spring (thankfully) and have been outside a lot. We get out in the winter, too, and we try not to complain about it, but the warm sun really gets us going. What follows are a few photos of our recent weeks since we got back from Philadelphia.

Now that we're not burning so much wood in our stove, it's time to start cutting wood for next year.  In the spring we approach this chore at a leisurely pace, so for a little bet of fun and exercise I've been dropping some of the trees with my axes.  And lookin a bit menacing at the same time.

Don't worry, I always have attentive supervision.

One day a couple weeks ago Hobbs came out to help me with some homework.  He was so happy and active... I have to admit he was a bit of a distraction for me.

He seems to be asking, "Is that all you've gotten done.  Here, let me poop on your computer; maybe that'll help."

This is an axe head that Nathan gave me awhile ago.  It was a big, beautiful, rusty mess.  After some clean up and a new handle, it looks pretty good.  It cuts even better.  Seriously, this is my new favorite felling axe.

I had to rehang my favorite limbing axe, too.  I love this little axe, and learned, again, about using the right tool for the right job.  This axe is for limbing and chopping kindling.  It is NOT for splitting logs.  So... learned that the hard way.

Three rehung axes and a rejuvenated blacksmithing hammer that I can't wait to use.

One day of my spring break I helped Jenn and Zhora transport some hay bales from one farm to their farm.  They have goats now and goats need food.  We went for a hike to the top of their beautiful property and looked out over the valley.

The farmer's market is officially open!  Cold, but open.

Sarah is teaching me to sew and to use her sewing machine!  I LOVE working with her on anything.  It's such an amazing feeling to teach and learn from/with her.  As always, we have close supervision.

We are in the early days of this complex sewing machine, so there are a lot of direction reading breaks.

This is what it would look like if you put a machine in front of a cave man.  Unfortunately, I am not acting.  This is what I actually look like.

April 7.  Happy anniversary 21st amendment!

Take a close look.  This is what the kitchen looks like right now.  If all goes well, in two weeks it will look completely new!  ... Well, not the nasty linoleum, that has to wait, but the counters will be new at least.

Mom and dad came for a visit last weekend and we had so much fun.  This photo is of the result of the fun.  Everyone needed to take a nap!  I think this is after the Cornell Vet Hospital's open house.  Mom helped out all morning, then we toured it ourselves, then we went to lunch, then we worked around the house... then we napped.  That huge box from frozen turkey taco filling is full of papers that I still need to grade.  Teaching is so cool because we get so much time off and tenure is easy and all we have to do is put some overheads up.

We also worked in the yard and did A LOT of problem solving and prep for the concrete counter tops.  It was great to have Dad around for measuring and problem solving.

On the final night of their visit we carved a few more hours out and had a fire and looked at the stars through the astronomical binoculars Ian and Eleftheria got us as a wedding present.  It was amazing to see the Pleiades and the Orion nebula.  Sarah and I are really looking forward to the next full moon!  Hopefully there will be a full moon sometime this summer when everyone is around.

The next day I had to take a little nap after school.

 

Indy tried to help rock my hammock.

Sarah has been talking about this drink for a month or so now.  She and Jenn went to a mixology class at the Argos Inn and learned all about shrub and sampled lots of amazing sounding drinks.  I'm pretty skeptical about any drink made with bourbon besides a glass of bourbon, but I'd heard so much about the Woodsman that I had to try it.  We had a wonderful time sipping our drinks, chatting in the sunshine, and trying to tune out the sound of "jazz" coming from the other room.  It sounded like a bunch of drugged emus running through a music shop.  There was quite a crowd gathered pretending to understand it, too.  Kind of like modern art.  I know... no culture.

And this is from this past Sunday.  Sarah  and I finished up the forms to pour the concrete into for the counter tops.  It was a lovely day, made all the more lovely by working together on a house project. 

Strict supervision.

Not related to the countertops.

Not related to the chainsaw.

FINALLY!

What's next?!

Till next time! 

Old Town and Fireman's Hall Musem

On the final day of our visit to Philadelphia we visited the historic district. I think we both were surprised and pleased by our discovery of the Fireman's Hall Museum.  For me, this is what a museum should be, small, but with a diverse, well labelled, and interesting collection.  The entrance was a donation, and we were the only ones there.  It was great.

There were lots of old plaques and coats of arms. 

Sarah Played dress up!  Where are the helmets though?!  That's what everyone wants to try on.

I pretended to bring the fireboat in to save the city.

More amazing plaques and coats and such.  Some of these dated back to the 1700s!

These are emblems for the Hand-in-Hand Fire and Life Insurance Co.  It's one of the oldest firefighting company's around and was formed as a direct result of the Great Fire of London.  Franklin's Union Fire Co. collaborated with Hand-in-Hand to buy Philadelphia a fire bell that could be heard for many blocks in the mid 1700s.

Ben Franklin.   This guy was everywhere!  In 1736 he helped to found the first firefighting company in Philly, called Union Fire Company.  The images of these early firefighters are truly incredible.  They were a swarm of men who'd brought their own leather buckets to the fire and proceeded to throw water and enter houses and rescue people and property.  According to one of the exhibits, Philadelphians were pretty cautious about fire because many of them remembered or had heard of the Great Fire of London in 1666.  Indeed, the city was founded in 1682, so I guess that's possible.

This is the most amazing stained glass window.  It;s a tribute to all the firefighters (men AND women, now) who have died serving their community.

This is an old timey parade carriage.  I really wanted to take it for Veneta, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how they got it upstairs.

More cool carriages.  Sarah and I could have stayed another hour, but the meter was ticking and we still wanted to see the Elven Alley... or whatever it was called.

And here it is.  More old houses, less elves than I expected, less information than Sarah expected.  Still, the old old houses were really cool.  Looks like at least one Loyalist still lives in the city.  Or maybe somebody's just being ironic.

I'm not sure these are marked accurately.  Colonial and early American history aren't my areas of expertise, but I don;t remember anything about Franklin inventing the skyscraper.  Still, the guy was everywhere, and who am I to argue with signage?

Tommy Jefferson lived right next door.  They were best friends and played together often, although Tom thought Ben was a little ADHD and Ben felt Tom was a bit of a braggart.  One time, when Ben was acting like he had too much to do, Tom set his slaves quarters on fire so that Ben had to show up with all his cool toys.  They had a barbeque over the smoldering shack and invented the Philly cheese steak and a little thing called the moon.

We stopped at the Reading Market, but there are no pictures because it was so busy and I was too overstimulated to keep my composure.  Sarah did a great job keeping me calm and helping me through the city.  I never once got shot or mugged, although there were a couple close calls with the roving gangs of hipsters.  Sarah won't admit it, but they made her nervous, too.  She drove the ENTIRE time we were in the city; which was a good thing since I could not have done it.  Her parallel parking skills are something to behold, honestly.  I promised to drive there and back, and I did, for the most part, but on the way out, she drove for a little bit.  That little bit just happened to coincide with an April snowstorm!  Crazy stuff, friends.  So anyway, that's the trip that was.  We had a very nice time and are looking forward to planning our next unconventional spring break for next year.