Just a few ruminations this morning while I wait for the tent to heat up enough to leave Charlie alone while I'm out foraging more firewood.
Don't, I repeat, don't ever put anything metal that has been outside for more than 15 minutes in your mouth when it's below freezing. Yes, this seems like common sense... We've all heard the horror stories about licking the flagpole. But when you're outside working, especially alone when it's getting dark, you sometimes forget that your lumber marking pen has a metal clip on it; or that the snaps on your coat are metal. It's just second nature to pull the pen cap off with your teeth or to nudge your jacket out of the way with your face. So, now I have two frost burns on my lip and a raw spot on my tongue where I had to yank the frozen pen cap from it.
The same goes for picking up anything metal that's been outside with your bare hands. I had taken a bunch of shelf brackets out of the shed and set them inside the front door. A couple minutes later, having taken off my gloves, I tried to grab them off the floor and they bit me! Luckily, no permanent damage was done to me or the brackets while I frantically waved my hand around to get them to let go. I remembered my lesson when I brought the chainsaws inside!
Yes, you heard right… I brought the chainsaws inside. You might be an Alaskan if you have a chainsaw in your living room and you have to start it inside before you go out (it's not that cold yet, but not far from it). I also brought the chain oil inside since it was about as viscous as blackstrap molasses which couldn't possibly be lubricating the chain all that effectively. Pretty soon we're going to have to start bringing the generator inside when it's not running.
I was supposed to do Deadite Patrol yesterday, but it was 6F with 20 mph winds and the tent would barely stay above 50F… so I made the executive decision that it might possibly be more beneficial to dip into our "insurance firewood" and continue putting up the insulation to keep in some of the heat we're making rather than near freeze to death to make more heat that the wind will just suck away.
Can I just say how incredibly difficult it is to manhandle 4x8 sheets of 3-inch thick foam board by yourself when it's seriously windy outside? This stuff only weighs about 2 lbs; but when the wind is pushing against it, you need the strength of Samson to keep it from flying away or pushing you over. And then there is the fun part of trying to maneuver the sheets around inside the tent with one person and a low ceiling. I made all sorts of creative use of spare lumber and household goods to make a deadman to hold sheets in place while I zip-tied them to the tent frame. Which, by the way, also sucked because the wind was blowing so hard that the tent kept jiggling and knocking things over and out of square… not so bad when I was working on a wall, but really not cool when I was doing the ceiling panels. I, unfortunately, did not get as much done while G-man was in Fairbanks as I'd hoped… but at least the bathroom is entirely done and I've gotten the western corners started. Hopefully, things will go a bit faster when he gets back and there's two people on the job.
OK - the tent is finally above 60F, time to bank the fire and go scavenge wood! At least the sun is out and the wind is only gusting around 12 mph (seriously, those NREL guys who said there wasn't enough wind here for turbine generators were smoking something!).
3 HOURS LATER:
The Husqvarna wouldn't start (it's Gungnir's and doesn't like me) and the Shindaiwa doesn't work as well on big or frozen stuff… but I managed. I sawed and I hauled, and sawed and hauled until my arms were sore, and sawed and hauled some more… at least until I came upon fresh bear scat and then I decided that I had enough wood for today (and if not, I'd just have to make it last). It's hard to know how much firewood you really have when it's still in tree form in all different diameters and lengths. So much easier to tell once you've bucked it all and stacked it; but by then it's a bit late to tell whether you need more since it starts getting dark around 5 these days.
I accidentally left the pee-tainers on the deck (meant to empty them before I started), but they're frozen solid now… oops! And I was going to have a PB&J for lunch before I start bucking the firewood… but the jam is frozen too. Looks like we're going to have to start bringing in the "fridge" cooler now as well. I think I might be able to rustle up some Spam if I contort myself around the foam panels that still need to be installed in the pantry. Hmmmmm… it would sure be nice if G-man got home from Fairbanks soon.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
10-31-09: Happy Halloween
Three guesses who carved which pumpkin :)
We tried to build snowmen bodies for our jack-o-lanterns, but the snow (while ample) is too dry and powdery here to stick together. In any case, we couldn't leave them outside unattended since they are, after all, edible and we don't want to invite critters. Just wanted to let you all know that we still take time out to do fun and silly things.
(Forgive the photo quality, my camera does not like to take pics in low light conditions)
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Pics coming soon (promise)
No, I haven't forgotten that I promised you all photos of the wall tent and such. Guess I'm a little house-proud on that front… really want to get all the "improvements" done so that everything is neat, tidy and put away before I show anyone (*blushing*). But have no fear, the insulation is the last major project precluding me from takings pics, and we'll be working on that next week ( although we might need a few more things from Fairbanks… grrrrrrr, you're always one short on something, aren't you?).
It would be nice if the tool shed was done, but I can cram most of that stuff in the food cache (the first steel shed) or under the deck until we get it put together (tiny metal nuts and freezing temps, not fun). Still don't have back stairs or our second wood crib built, but other things took priority (and all those trips to Fairbanks eat up your time!). Didn't get a chance to erect our pole woodshed because the ground froze on us and I'm not even going to try digging post holes in that… a tarp is good enough for next year's wood and this winter's wood can get stacked under the deck.
All-in-all, while things are going a bit slower than I'd hoped, everything is coming together nicely and soon we'll be able to dedicate most of our time to scoping out our home site and finding/collecting timber for the house framing. I'll make sure to bring the camera on our forays. I can't guarantee that the batteries will last long in the cold… but I'll try to take more photos of the property for ya'll :)
G-Man sez...
Here's a pic I took the other day just to keep you all happy for a moment, I call it Moonrise at 20 degrees
It would be nice if the tool shed was done, but I can cram most of that stuff in the food cache (the first steel shed) or under the deck until we get it put together (tiny metal nuts and freezing temps, not fun). Still don't have back stairs or our second wood crib built, but other things took priority (and all those trips to Fairbanks eat up your time!). Didn't get a chance to erect our pole woodshed because the ground froze on us and I'm not even going to try digging post holes in that… a tarp is good enough for next year's wood and this winter's wood can get stacked under the deck.
All-in-all, while things are going a bit slower than I'd hoped, everything is coming together nicely and soon we'll be able to dedicate most of our time to scoping out our home site and finding/collecting timber for the house framing. I'll make sure to bring the camera on our forays. I can't guarantee that the batteries will last long in the cold… but I'll try to take more photos of the property for ya'll :)
G-Man sez...
Here's a pic I took the other day just to keep you all happy for a moment, I call it Moonrise at 20 degrees
Sub-freezing Carpentry
So, I'm outside trying to cut down some lumber to make a few needed storage units and some framing to install the insulation. Normally, even when it's cold, working outside is not a major problem; but today it's hovering around 20F and it's windy as all hell (gusts up to 30 mph). There's also snow on the ground and all over my lumber because the wind blew the tarp half-way across the yard. Here are just a few of the problems I ran into:
• Being pelted in the eyes with wind-blown snow and saw dust that got trapped behind my safety glasses (G-man had the same problem when he was bucking firewood)
• Some of the lumber was actually frozen together
• Some of the lumber was actually frozen solid and refused to be cut
• Battery life on the cordless tools was about an hour (switched to corded tools on the generator and recharged the batteries)
• Cords on corded tools will NOT bend out of the way and the sockets are frozen
• Had to let everything warm up before I could drill or screw… which meant I had to assemble all these units INSIDE our space-limited tent (which also meant I had to move everything we owned a few times and be really mindful of where I was in relation the stove!)
• It was so windy that my tools kept blowing across the ice on the deck
• I went snow-sailing across the yard when the wind caught the sheet of plywood I was carrying
• Not being able to work the safety AND the trigger on the power tools with my stupid Gumby gloves on
Ahhhh JOY! Life is good.
• Being pelted in the eyes with wind-blown snow and saw dust that got trapped behind my safety glasses (G-man had the same problem when he was bucking firewood)
• Some of the lumber was actually frozen together
• Some of the lumber was actually frozen solid and refused to be cut
• Battery life on the cordless tools was about an hour (switched to corded tools on the generator and recharged the batteries)
• Cords on corded tools will NOT bend out of the way and the sockets are frozen
• Had to let everything warm up before I could drill or screw… which meant I had to assemble all these units INSIDE our space-limited tent (which also meant I had to move everything we owned a few times and be really mindful of where I was in relation the stove!)
• It was so windy that my tools kept blowing across the ice on the deck
• I went snow-sailing across the yard when the wind caught the sheet of plywood I was carrying
• Not being able to work the safety AND the trigger on the power tools with my stupid Gumby gloves on
Ahhhh JOY! Life is good.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Bush Injuries...
Ok. So here's something that everyone experiences sooner or later in the Alaskan bush, or elsewhere. Working injuries…
So here's mine
This is two days after I did it (please note the healthy disrespect for shaving of the legs, and the huge missed spot on day two.
Here's 3 days
You'll see the legs better shaved.
So you're wondering how did I do this… Was it a bear… nope, was it a tree falling after felling… nope, was it a meteor that struck me from the heavens that would have struck down a lesser human… nope. I tripped over an old tree stump while carrying a smallish 50lb deadite, joy! This was my second tree of the day too, and while it hurt like hell, I just plodded along until later that evening when I was finished up and resting, then wondered what the hell I was doing. Ah well live and learn.
So you're now wondering how you can trip over a tree stump, well it's not too difficult when it's about 18-24" high, and you're plodding through smallish new growth spruce with a 8-10" dusting of snow. I kind of think that I might have made it worse for myself if I'd fallen over I'd likely be fine, but nope I had to be like a "weeble" and wobbled but didn't fall down. Thus leading me to scraping my shin down the sharp point of the stump from the broken tree. This happened on Tuesday 27th the bitter irony is that I should have been doing this on Monday, Tuesday I had planned to go up to Fairbanks for some stuff and to get the truck re-aligned after my little departure from normal control; but it snowed on Monday, Monday night and Tuesday morning and discretion is the better part of valor. Wednesday I did some more work around the place, like bucking the stuff we didn't get to on Tuesday, but I avoided going back into anything uncleared. Wednesday and Thursday were the same. Friday I ventured forth into the bush again and wouldn't you know it, a freakin' willow about 1/4" diameter and about 20" long jabbed me right in the middle of that gouge, but anyway we got enough firewood for the next couple of days; which was good since when I checked out my leg I had a swelling just below the tape on my dressing, so Saturday (Halloween) I rested up [Plickety says "And I rested up as well, other than bucking the last bit of yesterday's collection, because I managed to drop a log on my foot during the middle of the night fire-feeding and busted the knuckle of my big toe again."]. I think the bruising is the worst part now, which is taking a little while to come down.
To my credit barring aches, pains, muscle strains, and some bashed fingers and toes this is the first major injury I've had here. Anyway must get on.
Franken Feet & Gumby Hands
Just a little rant about boots and gloves. Really people, who in the hell's hands actually fit in gloves anyway?! Seriously, I think the model for the manufacturer's blanks must be a mutant with abnormally long fingers, or maybe they have blind seamstresses or something. I am so friggin' tired of not being able to do simple stuff, like work a zipper, because the tips of the glove fingers are, like, a half-inch too long. What the hell is that all about? Don't even try to do anything detailed, like tighten 3/8" nuts or anything. Heck, I can barely even get my finger into the chainsaw trigger guard with those stupid Gumby hands. Can't even manage to pull the other glove on sometimes or tuck in my cuffs. Why do we have to chose between warm, protected hands and actually being able to use them?!
Same goes for boots. Why on earth can't they make insulated boots with steel toes and shin guards that aren't bulbous and clunky? There's room for 14 pairs of socks at the toes, but anything more than a thin nylon liner and you can't get your foot through the ankle?! Not to mention that they force you walk like Frankenstein or an absolute spastic 'tard. Geez, these are winter work and hiking boots, you'd think that someone would have figured out that the people wearing them might actually be walking over uneven ground in the snow and might need some dexterity to handle hidden ditches and stumps.
And don't get me started on how you can't really find any good, solid work gloves for women. Sure, you can find all sorts of dainty, flimsy gardening gloves that almost fit a woman's hands; but real heavy duty gloves… forget it! Yeah, and a men's small is NOT a lady's medium, no matter what Captain Incompetent says at Home Labyrinth! What? I know there have to be some women out there somewhere who actually need proper work gloves… do they all have to have them custom-made, have them altered, or just suffer with ill-fit?
Arg!! Maybe it's me that's the mutant! I mean, I know that I'm a klutz with horrible balance, and I'm all bendy-freaky-double-jointed. Yep, and I'm doing MEN'S work out here in the bush… good little women won't be lumberjacking and doing construction, they'll be in the kitchen with oven mitts or tending their flowers where cutesy garden gloves are sufficient (ok, that's sarcasm folks).
Ahhh… rant over, I feel better now.
[G-Man says "No, you're not a mutant, I have the same problem. I can wear a medium, but can't wear any liners to keep in the heat. I can wear a large, and I have 1/2" too long fingers in the gloves. Even when a glove "fits" it doesn't really fit in all the right places, fingers are too long, short, tight or loose, same goes for the palm. And what's with the wrist cuffs? They're either super-short so they just get to your wrist, or like some old motorcycle gauntlet that comes half way up your arm."]
Same goes for boots. Why on earth can't they make insulated boots with steel toes and shin guards that aren't bulbous and clunky? There's room for 14 pairs of socks at the toes, but anything more than a thin nylon liner and you can't get your foot through the ankle?! Not to mention that they force you walk like Frankenstein or an absolute spastic 'tard. Geez, these are winter work and hiking boots, you'd think that someone would have figured out that the people wearing them might actually be walking over uneven ground in the snow and might need some dexterity to handle hidden ditches and stumps.
And don't get me started on how you can't really find any good, solid work gloves for women. Sure, you can find all sorts of dainty, flimsy gardening gloves that almost fit a woman's hands; but real heavy duty gloves… forget it! Yeah, and a men's small is NOT a lady's medium, no matter what Captain Incompetent says at Home Labyrinth! What? I know there have to be some women out there somewhere who actually need proper work gloves… do they all have to have them custom-made, have them altered, or just suffer with ill-fit?
Arg!! Maybe it's me that's the mutant! I mean, I know that I'm a klutz with horrible balance, and I'm all bendy-freaky-double-jointed. Yep, and I'm doing MEN'S work out here in the bush… good little women won't be lumberjacking and doing construction, they'll be in the kitchen with oven mitts or tending their flowers where cutesy garden gloves are sufficient (ok, that's sarcasm folks).
Ahhh… rant over, I feel better now.
[G-Man says "No, you're not a mutant, I have the same problem. I can wear a medium, but can't wear any liners to keep in the heat. I can wear a large, and I have 1/2" too long fingers in the gloves. Even when a glove "fits" it doesn't really fit in all the right places, fingers are too long, short, tight or loose, same goes for the palm. And what's with the wrist cuffs? They're either super-short so they just get to your wrist, or like some old motorcycle gauntlet that comes half way up your arm."]
Charge of the light Brigade pt. 2
In preparation for his trip into Fairbanks, G-Man headed off into Manley to gas up Sonja. Just a short little trip because we had to do a massive deadite patrol so I'd have plenty of firewood while he was gone. Maybe an hour… 90 minutes, tops, since the weather was getting bad.
Well, I puttered about the 'Stead moving lumber, clearing out stumps that keep trying to kill us, and basically tidying up the bucking area so it would be safer for me to buck a wahootey-load of deadites while he was away. It's a bit brisk outside and it's snowing a little. An hour goes by and I'm not too concerned. Two hours go by and I'm starting to get a little worried (and running out of piddly chores to do). Three hours go by and I go inside to check on Charlie, feed the fire, and get some hot coffee to warm up before striking off into the woods to get trees by myself.
I no sooner throw some logs on the fire and pour my coffee and WHAM! I get a horrible sense of foreboding. It's snowing pretty hard by now and visibility is low. Gungnir has already wiped out on that road once and, with the weather being bad, not too many people are out driving. If he'd ditched it somewhere, it could be hours before anyone found him.
So I filled the stove to brimming and banked the fire down, then threw on a few extra layers of clothes and started Willow up. Now, keep in mind that I have not ever actually driven Willow before… hand-operated vehicles and I do not get along. Frankly, driving a 4-wheeler down a country road when it's 20-odd degrees out and blustery is not my idea of safe entertainment. I did have the presence of mind to wear my bright green coat and my flaming red head sock to hopefully improve anyone's ability to see me on the road. I also grabbed the goggles because, unlike Gungnir, I don't like the feel of my eyeballs freezing.
I trundle my way towards town, freezing my freakin' butt off (well, my hands more than my butt), scanning the road for any signs of an accident or someone wiping out into the trees. Nothing. Just tooling along at 20 mph was causing me mortal terror (really, I am petrified driving motorcycles and ATVs). Every mile I contemplated just turning around and going home. Maybe he was just visiting someone in town. But, no, he knew we had stuff to do before he left town... so I soldiered on. Maybe he was wrecked just around the next bend or just another mile away.
I make it into Manley without seeing him on the road or in anyone's driveway. I stop in at the Trading Post (cum Post Office, cum Gas Station) to regain some feeling in my hands and to check if anyone had even seen him come in earlier. Yes, he'd been there, a couple of hours ago. I couldn't think of who he'd be visiting that I hadn't passed on the way in; so once my hands thawed out, I struck off back home. Good news, the snow was letting up… bad news, it was letting up because it was getting too cold to snow anymore.
On the way back, risk of frostbite and hypothermia overruled any of my normal vehicular concerns. I was cranking along at 40mph (about the speed when I start to lift off the seat) and kept praying that I'd either see G-man just ahead or he'd catch up with me… anything, just let me get inside somewhere warm! But no dice… I made it all the way home, expecting him to be waiting for me, but the driveway was empty. My hands were so cold that I could barely get the keys out of the ignition or get the tent open. I fumbled with the damper and opened the firebox to let the fire blaze full blast… which only served to make my hands go from numb to screaming in agony. I swear to God, it felt like someone had smashed my hands with a sledgehammer. I knew I had to get my gloves off so my hands would warm up, but I couldn't make my fingers work and I was afraid to bite the fingertips of the gloves to yank them off since I couldn't tell if I had frost bite or not. I just curled them up to my chest and started crying.
And that's when G-man pulls up outside. Seems that he'd stopped in to ask Jimmy a quick question and got trapped in a long-winded conversation. He was surprised to find that I'd driven into town on Willow looking for him because I was worried… he just figured that I'd started cutting down trees and was crying because I'd mangled myself on something. I guess my concern touched him because he helped me get my gloves and cold clothes off and put on warm ones, then made me some coffee while I shivered for about an hour… yes, I was mildly hypothermic; but, no, I didn't have frostbite.
So, let it be known to all who might doubt it, that I do love my husband enough to risk life, limb and freezing temperatures just because I'm worried about his safety.
Note to self: wear the arctic mittens next time, or get some heated riding gloves! Definitely bring more HotSnapz.
Well, I puttered about the 'Stead moving lumber, clearing out stumps that keep trying to kill us, and basically tidying up the bucking area so it would be safer for me to buck a wahootey-load of deadites while he was away. It's a bit brisk outside and it's snowing a little. An hour goes by and I'm not too concerned. Two hours go by and I'm starting to get a little worried (and running out of piddly chores to do). Three hours go by and I go inside to check on Charlie, feed the fire, and get some hot coffee to warm up before striking off into the woods to get trees by myself.
I no sooner throw some logs on the fire and pour my coffee and WHAM! I get a horrible sense of foreboding. It's snowing pretty hard by now and visibility is low. Gungnir has already wiped out on that road once and, with the weather being bad, not too many people are out driving. If he'd ditched it somewhere, it could be hours before anyone found him.
So I filled the stove to brimming and banked the fire down, then threw on a few extra layers of clothes and started Willow up. Now, keep in mind that I have not ever actually driven Willow before… hand-operated vehicles and I do not get along. Frankly, driving a 4-wheeler down a country road when it's 20-odd degrees out and blustery is not my idea of safe entertainment. I did have the presence of mind to wear my bright green coat and my flaming red head sock to hopefully improve anyone's ability to see me on the road. I also grabbed the goggles because, unlike Gungnir, I don't like the feel of my eyeballs freezing.
I trundle my way towards town, freezing my freakin' butt off (well, my hands more than my butt), scanning the road for any signs of an accident or someone wiping out into the trees. Nothing. Just tooling along at 20 mph was causing me mortal terror (really, I am petrified driving motorcycles and ATVs). Every mile I contemplated just turning around and going home. Maybe he was just visiting someone in town. But, no, he knew we had stuff to do before he left town... so I soldiered on. Maybe he was wrecked just around the next bend or just another mile away.
I make it into Manley without seeing him on the road or in anyone's driveway. I stop in at the Trading Post (cum Post Office, cum Gas Station) to regain some feeling in my hands and to check if anyone had even seen him come in earlier. Yes, he'd been there, a couple of hours ago. I couldn't think of who he'd be visiting that I hadn't passed on the way in; so once my hands thawed out, I struck off back home. Good news, the snow was letting up… bad news, it was letting up because it was getting too cold to snow anymore.
On the way back, risk of frostbite and hypothermia overruled any of my normal vehicular concerns. I was cranking along at 40mph (about the speed when I start to lift off the seat) and kept praying that I'd either see G-man just ahead or he'd catch up with me… anything, just let me get inside somewhere warm! But no dice… I made it all the way home, expecting him to be waiting for me, but the driveway was empty. My hands were so cold that I could barely get the keys out of the ignition or get the tent open. I fumbled with the damper and opened the firebox to let the fire blaze full blast… which only served to make my hands go from numb to screaming in agony. I swear to God, it felt like someone had smashed my hands with a sledgehammer. I knew I had to get my gloves off so my hands would warm up, but I couldn't make my fingers work and I was afraid to bite the fingertips of the gloves to yank them off since I couldn't tell if I had frost bite or not. I just curled them up to my chest and started crying.
And that's when G-man pulls up outside. Seems that he'd stopped in to ask Jimmy a quick question and got trapped in a long-winded conversation. He was surprised to find that I'd driven into town on Willow looking for him because I was worried… he just figured that I'd started cutting down trees and was crying because I'd mangled myself on something. I guess my concern touched him because he helped me get my gloves and cold clothes off and put on warm ones, then made me some coffee while I shivered for about an hour… yes, I was mildly hypothermic; but, no, I didn't have frostbite.
So, let it be known to all who might doubt it, that I do love my husband enough to risk life, limb and freezing temperatures just because I'm worried about his safety.
Note to self: wear the arctic mittens next time, or get some heated riding gloves! Definitely bring more HotSnapz.
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