Sidelined, Part IV

As a builder and forester, Henry has found time during the pandemic year to take on many projects around the property……

Here he is with his sidekick Isadoro pouring concrete for the floor of the wood shed.

Looks like fun, but this process took many hours of planning, preparation and execution.

Cutting down dead or dying trees is exciting, but also requires judgment and experience to insure that the tree falls in the right direction, rather than crushing a bystander or the pump house….. (This one accidentally took out the zip line.)

The woods surrounding the house ideally get burned once a year, to cut down on the undergrowth and promote a nicer environment for the deer and human inhabitants. This usually takes place near dusk, as the wind drops and falling temperatures and rising humidity keep the well-planned flames under control. Quite a beautiful sight.

And I helped!

(My contribution to the effort included monitoring the progress of the conflagration and clearing straggling fingers of flame – called catch-outs – in addition to having a beer when all was said and done.)

Henry fulfilled a long-held dream of renting a cherry-picker so that he could prune surrounding trees himself. This scheme went temporarily awry when he got stuck about 60 feet up in the air – with night falling, cold encroaching and me unable to figure out how to operate the mechanism that would bring him back to earth.

(Son Clay came to the rescue…. eventually.)

Many of you know that Henry is a rock hound, and typically brings many pounds of rock, sand, dirt, and other geological specimens home from our trips. Significant investments were made in rock-polishing equipment to enhance some of these treasures. Henry added a sound-proofed room on to the barn to muffle the constant roar!

I engaged in a few homely pursuits in addition to the challenge of processing and preparing bushels of home-grown bounty. A couple of knitting projects (the second one stalled a bit, but still under way)….

An obsession with Japanese ramen led to some experiments, and a modest on-line spree to find the right kind of bowls…..

Leisure time included flights in the powered parachute when our schedules and the weather cooperated. The video shows birds on nearby Lake Nacogdoches.

The homestead from the air….. and a sunset over the lake (from ground level).

Time for relaxation …..

(Henry is enjoying the massage chair we had to have after experiencing them on our trip to Japan. Delighted that we got it – almost every night we each get a treat. If you have room in your house, it is well worth the investment, especially for creaky old people!)

Granddaughter Lily helped with some personal grooming…..

Tragedy struck one night after dark on a July evening. I was rounding the house briskly after a 4-wheeler outing and tripped over a garden gnome that Henry had positioned in the yard to cover up a piece of pipe that he feared someone would trip over. Yow!

(Trust me – this evil ogre is invisible at twilight. Dog added for scale.)

My wrist was surgically repaired with a plate and pins that I will carry forever more. All better now!

Like everyone, we had a chance to do a few Zoom meetings.

We are still working on our Zoom skills…..

Alarmed over speculation that there might be attempts to interfere with the voting process in the US presidential election in November, we volunteered with the nonpartisan Election Protection program. Our role included monitoring several polling stations in Nacogdoches and providing information to voters about the process and eligibility.

Raider helped too. We saw not a scintilla of evidence of fraud!

….. And that’s it! Our pandemic year in 4 blog installments.

We are now fully vaccinated against the virus. Still want to know what that will mean in the near and medium term, anxious to get out in the world again. We are resigned to the wait, and will be embarking on more agricultural efforts this summer. The next blog post will look at those preparations. Stay well and positive!