November and most of December so far has been beyond belief weatherwise. There has been fog most mornings but the temperatures have been hanging about 20 degrees warmer than the norm. I'm hoping to get outside later this week to work on cleaning up my asparagus bed a little more before really cold weather sets in. Yesterday, Mr P set up the log splitter for me to begin splitting the logs that were already cut in lengths and he used a chain saw to cut the logs that needed to be cut into lengths so that they could then be split. Everything got cut into lengths (two pieces were not cut completely through so will have to done later) and I used the splitter to split two small wagon loads. That firewood got stacked on the front porch to fill in what has been used here and there when the nights were cool or the weather was damp.
Rain is in the forecast for later this afternoon so the splitter and the big wagon were prepared this morning so the rest of the wood could be split. We worked for almost an hour, then took a break for a much needed drink and our dinner preparations were started. Other than the two lengths of firewood that weren't completely cut through with the chain saw and one log that we won't cut or use because there is metal imbedded in the tree itself (found when a chain was ruined early on during the cutting stage on one section of the log) the wood dumped at the side of the driveway is done. A locust tree just beyond the pile in the woods and lengths still off to the side of the front yard from previous storm damage will be done when time permits. What a relief to have that huge pile gone!
Hunting season for buck and doe began November 30 and finally ended at dusk on Saturday, December 12. We pulled the memory card from the camera mounted in the woods and saw pictures of the deer that move through the back of our property on a regular basis. We heard very little shooting over the course of the two weeks of hunting season but the son of one of our neighbors regularly sat in his tree stand the first day of the season, most evenings and always on both Saturdays. The photo of our big beautiful buck was snapped on December 10th so we are hoping that he managed to hide well through the last day. We'll check the camera a little later this week or early next week to see which deer made it through this hunting season.
This evening's dinner is in the crock pot. Our local grocery store had some nice looking chuck roasts. A coworker gave me the recipe which is really simple and makes a delicious roast beef. Mix a packet of Good Seasons Italian dressing, a packet of McCormick brown gravy mix and a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing with one cup of water (I used 1 cup of beef broth) and pour it over the roast in the crock pot. I added some sliced onion that was part of one that I used yesterday and set the beef to cook for 8 hours. There will be mashed potatoes and a vegetable or applesauce to go along with the beef later tonight. Any leftovers will be turned into hot roast beef sandwiches.
Mr P has an eye appointment later today and I will be doing some sewing and work on a few Christmas gifts for the Grandsons and my Mom. There will be some more cookie baking later this week too.
Enjoy this nice weather if you are having some of the same stuff we have been fortunate to get.
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