Spring is just around the corner, I am noticing the oak trees, which keep their leaves all winter long, are beginning to turn, they fall off and are replaced in very short order. Most other locations, the leaves turn in fall/autumn, but not our oak trees. I am also noticing the other trees, which have lost their leaves are starting to bud, just little bumps on the branches right now, but will soon bust out into a riot of bright green leaves.
Another sign of spring is the days are getting longer, something I appreciate, I find I can get more done during the daylight, when it gets dark, I just want to crawl in bed and relax.
I am looking forward to the green grass and spring flowers, I love taking pictures as I drive all over west Texas doing merchandising, I get to see some very pretty country, much of it is harsh and hard, but there is a beauty if you are willing to look. I am building up a portfolio of pictures I can use for making cards, (greeting and post cards), mainly to sell to the tourists who pass through on vacation, also to sell to the locals who wish to see something pretty all year long.
The SkyCastle is growing, slowly, but still moving along. PB has been working on the room under the house, we are built on a hillside, so the front of the ground floor room is tall, but as it goes back, the “floor” slopes up, so PB has been digging out the floor, one section at a time, then pouring concrete walls to support the back of the house. Once it’s complete, it will be our bedroom, it will be partially underground with thick concrete walls, there will be two doors but no windows. The idea is to have a protected space that is easy to heat in winter, and stays cool in summer. It will also free up the room we use as a bedroom now, we can use it as a dining room or perhaps even another bedroom when we have overnight guests.
The other project around here is the lawn tractor, PB is working on making it a half track vehicle, it will be better able to get up and down the steep and rocky terrain, and to help preserve the land. Regular tires tend to dig ruts in the dirt, smoother tires can’t get a good hold, and aggressive tires tear up what they go over. You can see the teaser article about this here: https://off-grid.net/56795-2/.
A couple of weeks ago, PB hurt his knee on a ladder, the hardest part about this injury was keeping him off that leg, he wants to work, he needs to do chores, but every time he used that leg, it hurt, a lot. It is healing now, with the help of ibuprofen and a MSM & glucosamine supplement. He isn’t complaining about the pain as much now, which is a good thing.
That’s about all for this blog update, if you have anything you would like to know, any questions you would like to ask, feel free to post them in the comments below.
