Almost Summer at the Ranch-Country Busy

For the past couple weeks it's been busy at the Nickel and Dime, well, our version of busy:

The cabin got a new coating of oil based stain, which makes it look as good as new. Thank goodness we only have to do this every 7-10 years.

There are two bridges across the creek, but Tom made some "walk the plank" bridges for the harder to access areas. At the end of each plank, he drilled a couple holes and added rope handles so he can pull them off the creek when the water gets high.

Since we heat with wood and winters are, in my dad's Tennessee vernacular, "colder than a well-digger's a@#," the wood gathering and sawing continues. So far we haven't needed to go to the National Forest to cut wood since there is plenty right here. We haven't had to cut anything living yet, just dead and down branches. It isn't as pretty as big logs, carefully split, but wood is wood and if it keeps us warm, who cares how it looks?

And it's green! I twirl around and sing, "The hills are alive with the sound of music," but the steers just look at each other and say, "I think there's some more of that Blue Grama grass over here, Bro."