Slash
2009 slash pile, about 10 feet high and 20 feet in diameter at ground level
Noted at the top of my "Spring 2010 To-Do List" is "Burn west pasture slash pile." So, although it's not quite spring, Doug and I planned to start the bonfire Saturday morning. Burning restrictions and permits don't apply as long as there are at least 3 inches of snow on the ground. There are about 6 inches of shushy snow in the west pasture. There are also fairly deep snowmelt ponds, one of which surrounds and underlies the slash pile in question.
The slash is the result of Doug's clearance operations, thinning a thick, scrappy woods into more like parkland/rough pasture.I mark the keeper trees with yellow caution tape and those that need cutting with black Gorilla Tape. The logs become firewood and the branches become slash piles.
March can be the best time to burn slash, which is surprisingly reluctant to catch fire even though it's been sitting for months. For one thing, it's usually not so cold as to deter standing around outside for hours. Last March, our daughter and son-in-law Phoebe and Dave came for a weekend and took care of several slash piles in a one-day event Phoebe called "Red Neck Olympics" because it involved running from one pile to another in a seven-acre site to keep scraping the debris together and encouraging the fires.
We learned the technique for a successful slash pile burn from Beltrami County Forestry Steward Jerry Stensing. Step 1: stuff wads of newspapers into windward cavities of the piles.Step 2: soak the newspapers and surrounding branches with kerosene. Step 3: Attach a metal tube to the nozzle of a propane tank. Step 4: Turn on the gas and light the torch with a flint sparker. Step 5: Aim the torch into the accellerants. This should get the fire going, although it sometimes requires several repeats of Steps 4 and 5. As the piles burn down, the minders must continually rake the outlying slash into the center, not always easy if the stuff is frozen down.
There was the rub on Saturday. The slash pile destined for burning stands in water. Even if we got some of it to burn above the snowmelt level, we'd still have a mess.So, we put off the first item on the "Spring 2010 To-Do List" until November or December. There will be a "Fall 2010 To-Do LIst," of course.
Posted by: Molly Miron on 3/15/2010 at 10:37 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: news fanily outdoors
Winter squash
Squash storeroom
I was surprised last fall to find, after the frost wilted the leaves in the upland garden, a healthy crop of winter squash. It was a cold summer, not, I thought, conducive to squash production. We've eaten most of the butternuts, buttercups, acorns and Mandans. What's left, and I admit being a little tired of, are rouge vif d'etampes, the flattened squash that are a sort of French pumpkin, like the one Fairy Godmother used to make Cinderella's coach. The more oblong orange fruits are Snack Jack pumpkins. They are like a small sugar pumpkin, but have nearly shell-less seeds for toasting.
Actually, my rouge vif d'etampes might be hybrids because I planted them from saved seeds of a squash I bought at the Iowa City Farmers Market a few years ago. That one was redder. But in any case, these are tasty squashes for baking and pies, and very prolific.
They store well in an area that's dry, not too warm, but warmer than a potato cellar. Hence, these are resting on foam shipping materials on the basement library floor. Filed under books by authors whose names start with A.
It's time to start planning the 2010 garden.
Posted by: Molly Miron on 3/10/2010 at 10:48 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Tags: news family garden
Thaw
It's melting
The spring thaw is well on its way. Paths Doug blew snow from to reach the hay store and woodpile are showing bare, albeit frozen, ground.The deck is clear, and as soon as the furniture is dry, I plan to sit outside in the strong afternoon sun.
The horses are starting to shed. The palomino is pale enough that she doesn't leave much evidence when she rolls in the snow. But the bay mare's rolling spots have brown hair, rather like large, dingy snow angels.
Of course, the thaw has its downside. The slush in the driveway is about 8 inches deep. It was passable when it was frozen, but Sunday and today I got the car stuck. Doug got me out so I could get to work today by shoving against the bumper with a prybar.
The icicles on the west side of the house have melted and the ice dams have broken up. I'm thankful for that. No leaks in the house.
It's getting to be time to think about starting garden seeds inside.
Of course, we wouldn't surprised if we have a few more deposits of snow.
Posted by: Molly Miron on 3/08/2010 at 10:14 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Tags: news family weather
Logging Queen
.jpg)
Ella Lindquist wearing her Logging Days Queen crosscut saw badge.
In 1986, the late Earle Dickinson and family had the happy thought of electing a Logging Days Queen to the annual Buena Vista Logging Days celebration. They chose Ella Lindquist as the first honoree because of her interest in Logging Days and her history as the daughter and wife of loggers. For many years, she helped organize the music and food for the winter festival.
As I was told the story, the Logging Days organizers' intent was to elect a new Queen every year, but that wasn't how Ella understood the title. A Queen is Queen for life, after all. On Feb. 21, Queen Ella gave up her reign. She died at age 99 years and eight months, but there has been no replacement. There might be another Logging Days Queen some day, but no one can take Ella's place.
The last time I saw her, she had dressed up in her customary stylish dress and picture hat, called a taxi from her assisted living home and arrived at the 2006 Jaycees Water Carnival Parade. She usually rode on the Buena Vista float, but BV didn't enter the parade that year. Undeterred, Ella hitched her walker over to a parade organizer and told her to find her a float. A Beltrami County deputy, who knew Ella, as did pretty much everybody, asked Michael Meuers if she could ride in the convertible he was driving to lead the way for the DFL candidates. Michael said he would be honored and helped Ella into the car. She gave the crowds her queenly parade wave and was greeted by shouts of "Ella! Ella!"
I know Ella had become very frail in the last years, so I'm glad I have that memory of her commandeering a parade car.
Posted by: Molly Miron on 3/02/2010 at 1:13 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Tags: local news
Longer days
.jpg)
Western woods
Our house is lined up as close as can be along north-south-east-west axes.The sky was clear when I snapped this photo of snowy evening woods on Feb. 21. Sub-zero cold greets us nearly every morning, but the longer days give hope for spring. It's less than a month until the spring equnox when the sun will set exactly outside our western windows. I'll have seeds started in paper pots and count the days until northern Minnesota actual spring, as opposed to calendar spring.
Posted by: Molly Miron on 2/25/2010 at 11:47 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: news local
Blog Archive: Next »