A Sunny Winter Day

Today, Sunday, it was a beautiful, sunny winters day.  The kind that warms your heart if not your body.  It was the kind of day that you just want to look outside and relish the sunshine and the vision of temperatures warmer than reality.  I put on my insulated underwear, medium weight coat, hat leather gloves and headed outside to clean the part of the driveway that had snow that re-deposited itself overnight.  The job was quickly done so I broomed the snow off the truck windscreen and spent some time tgetting ice off the drive too.  It felt great to be outside and moving like nature intended.  Now as the sun is well below the horizon, I reflect on a day well spent.

Yesterday, Saturday, Dan came over with his truck and we filled it with hickory and oak from downed trees of seasons past.  There remains several truck loads on the ground but at least two piles near the driveway are gone.  The trunk and top of the stately Ash tree that seccumbed to the Ash Borer remains on the ground where it crashed this summer after being felled by the arborist.  Unfortunately, I have 7 more to go.  That is a lot of cords of wood. I started up the snowblower that has not run for more than 2 seasons and used it to clean the 2″ of snow off the driveway.  I could have used the shovel but the blower beckoned and it is always fun to walk behind and see the snow shoot out the two stage spout.  That just about killed the day but I finished with disconnecting the + terminal of the battery on the tractor after having it on the charger for a week or more: it is ready for spring.

My new dual band HT ham radio is a pretty cool device that has great audio and transmitter.  I now have all the local area repeaters programmed into it plus all 7 NOAA weather channels and Marine 9,16,21A, 22A, 23A, 68,69,71, 72 Channels.  It is a very versitile radio and all for $58.  It is made in China, of course.  I enjoy the occasional chats, of course, but really the device is a means to program new adventures like APRS, EchoLink and other digital comms.  Someday I will have the pictured Kenwood D710A that I can use to reach out and touch someone.