Another earthquake

M4.7, Epicenter near Greenbriar, which is south of Harrison.

This was felt pretty far around. Loretta said it woke her up and she wondered what kind of thunder would shake the house for that long. Gab also said she felt it. There was also the thunderstorm going on, and I was sleeping pretty good at 11 pm. They're both new mothers, so maybe that's why they woke so easily to it.

Here's a link to the USGS report on it: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Quakes/nm022811a.php

To get an idea of how far it was felt, here's another link that shows the areas reporting that they felt it.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/events/nm/022811a/us/index.html

Signs of Spring

Every day it looks a little more like Spring will be here soon. Farmer's almanac says there's still a big snow storm for the month of March, though. I hope it's wrong. My blog background pic is the same tree that had the ice in it for the previous pic, but now you can see the leaf buds getting ready to open.


The faucet was my project for today. It's been waiting on the sidelines for me to get it done, but today was a good day for it. Not too cold. Now I can water the horses a lot easier. During winter, the old faucet by the old house had frozen and broken, so I had put a plug in it temporarily.



* I forgot to mention that I was standing out by the newly installed faucet, admiring my handiwork when the thing started spraying water all over me. Apparently I didn't tighten the pipe clamp at the top end enough. But now it seems to be tight and holding.

Homestead Update

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This blog started out as a homesteading journal. I posted pictures of our venture here in the Ozarks, and essays about how things were going.

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For the most part it has been a struggle and never really approached sustainability, which was my original goal. I work so far from home, it's impossible to both take care of the homestead and earn the income needed to keep it floating.

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Recently Gary and I divorced, and now the land will have to be sold as part of the divorce settlement. I'm waiting on the appraisal, but maybe if it comes in at a reasonable amount, I'll be able to refinance it and buy it back myself.

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Or maybe my future homesteading efforts will become a joint venture with a friend/partner who's interested in the same goals.

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Or maybe I'll just start fresh somewhere else nearby. It's very unlikely that I'll give up. That's just not my nature.

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The future is wide open and I'll keep you posted on my progress, whether I'm here at the same old homestead or somewhere else.

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In the meantime, herb walks will continue as before. Before each season, I'll post the schedule and locations. We may start using the park trails at Boxley this year instead.

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Chloe's Valentine

A little post-Valentine day cuteness from Chloe:

Her momma kissed her on the cheek (wearing color-coordinated lipstick) before taking the picture.

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Baby Keigan

Here's a recent pic of Keigan. She's doing great, but loves to sleep all day and be awake all night. She sleeps like a little rock, so it's impossible to keep her awake in an effort to swap her schedule around. So if you see Gab with dark circles under her eyes, that would be why...

Snow Pics

Bobbie Sue didn't enjoy the snow so much. She holed up in her igloo and refused to come out much.

More Pics 2/5/2011

Mixed in with the snow pictures this time, is baby Keigan. Chloe got to see her first snowball, but she wasn't too impressed.


The icicles on the old mercantile store in the square:

Where the driveway meets the creek:

Grand-Baby Keigan sleeping in her swing. Maybe it'll snow next year for her:

Grand-Baby Chloe checking out her first snowball:

Bobbie Sue and Badger in the snow:

Snow 2011

Sunrise. When the sun comes up, the first place to see light is on the western ridgetop. So this sunrise picture is taken facing the west, not the east.

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It was snowing so hard in places on my way home from work yesterday that visibility was reduced to only what was directly in front of my windshield. A true Ozark blizzard.

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And then the roads were so snow covered there was no way to tell where each lane began or ended, or where the road began or ended. Abandoned or wrecked cars on the sides lent a clue ever few miles, though, as to where not to drive.

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By the time I reached my jeep at the square where I leave it, already about 5" had accumulated on the hood of it. Dusted it off, warmed it up, and managed to make it home over more roads that looked like a foot had fallen since the last time I'd driven them.

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Woke up this morning to even more snow. I can't remember ever having so much, and it's nice snow, not too cold and great for sledding. So far, I like it. But I haven't tried to go anywhere, and this morning I need to get over to Gab's house somehow. I might need a snowmobile.

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In a little while, I'll get outside and take more pictures.

More Pictures

A few more pictures from the great winter storm of 2011. The power went out for a few hours yesterday, and that would have been uncomfortable if it had gone on all night or longer. Other than being very cold, it hasn't been that bad so far. Tomorrow I should be able to go to work, but the kids are still out of school.

Ice crystals on the tree outside my balcony. It was too cold to go farther than that to take pictures!

Beautiful illuminated ice on the mountain to the south, again, from my balcony (you can see it better if you click on the photo to go to the full size file):

Less of a closeup of the ice on the mountain. When the sun shines through it, the light scatters and makes it look very bright. The photo doesn't come near to showing how it really looked.

Ice 2011

It was raining pretty hard when I woke up this morning, and at first I though, uh-oh, I should have gone to work. But when I looked outside, I could see that things were going to get worse.

That's ice on the tree, and the longer it rains the thicker it will get. If it's building on the trees, that means it's building on the power lines, too.

The lights blinked once, but we didn't lose power. Now the rain is m ostly sleet, so it should quit building on the trees and power lines. Soon it should turn to snow.

Momma and Daddy decided they'd had enough of ice the first time they got caught here in one, so they went back home already.

I'm getting my clothes washed before the water freezes, because with below zero temperatures in the forecast, I know it will freeze.