These Rainy Mornings

Tonight is Cornish Christmas in Grass Valley, the town where I work my day job, so my bosses don't need me in until noon. Granted I'll be working until 9pm tonight, but the work will be fun since we'll be too busy to be bored.

This morning after being not-so-gently coaxed out of my warm bed and into the rain by Charlotte's loud bleating. I took hay to her and Buttercup, let the chickens out, and ran back inside for some much needed coffee. Right now Justin's slowly getting the fire going, due to some wet wood, and soon we'll head back out in the rain to clean out the barn and lay down fresh straw. Since I have extra time this morning Justin and I agreed we'd work on cutting and splitting some fallen oaks around the property. Our little wood stove demands more fuel and I demand a warm house! We bought a nice maul (wood splitter) from our local hardware store a couple weeks ago and have put it to good use. Justin taught me how to split wood properly and I must say that I feel a little more hardcore every time. After I've worked up a good sweat and can hardly catch my breath Justin takes over and makes my measly splitting look like child's play with a leap and a sharp swing of the maul. He can take a giant round of oak and turn it into 8 or more perfectly even wedges with 2-4 whacks. Show-off.

I'm very thankful to have Justin here to teach me the more manly side of homesteading. He has learned a lot of useful winter skills like splitting and stacking wood. It may not sound like a whole lot, but this guy gets the work done with gusto and he's an excellent teacher. If you'd have asked me as a child in Pasadena if I'd be living in the country splitting wood to keep my house warm I would have said "No, that's why we have gas and Poppy to bring the wood in". Yikes right? Nevertheless, I'm better for it. My weakling arms are getting stronger and I feel more and more confident in my "roughing-it" skills.

Ok, coffee's done and the rain is lightening up...