Rain, Rain Go Away

7 inches of rain fell here in a 24-hour period...killing our brussel sprout plants. Additionally, all this rain has helped us (re)realize how glad we are that we didn't buy that abandon farm property. Ever since the first time that we set foot on the property, the pond and a good portion of the land around the pond was flooded. Previously, we thought that it was super soggy because Iowa had gotten an unusual amount of rain this spring and summer. Maybe not especially accurate. Later, we were told that the field on the east side of the property line is slightly higher and may cause excess water (and probably agricultural chemical) run-off into the pond...therefore flooding the property. Hmmm - Yeah, we made the right decision.

New Pal

Before vacation, Jason purchased a manual, hydraulic wood splitter. Our backyard wood splitting practices have evolved from using a steel splitting wedge and sledge hammer to a very large ax. But, both were very strenuous and time-consuming and sometimes impossible. We'd seen our neighbor using a hydraulic splitter with a foot pump pedal, so Jason starting researching but only found manual ones online (no where local). Genius me suggested calling Shoppers located a mere 12 minutes away. Long story short - this is our new, powerful pal. It works awesome and can split up to 18" pieces. Less than a month ago, we picked-up a truckload of oak and a truckload of maple. Good hardwoods for burning. The wood will need to 'season' for a year before we can use it. Now, we just need to find some softwoods to get our fires started. Being campers, we have been ripped-off far too many times on the cost of firewood, so this was definitely the route to go for us. People often post free firewood on Craigslist but it's never cut-up in manageable pieces. We estimate that he has split $250-$300 worth of firewood. Not too bad for only the cost of fuel to pick it up. One day, this will come-in especially useful when we have our wood-burning stove. He split all of this in two afternoons - about 4-5 hours total. I split a few, too. :o)

Slowin' things down...

We've spent the entire summer looking forward to our 9-day camping, boating, and fishing vacation in Missouri and (as you may have guessed by the picture) our vacation was cut short. I broke my right ankle at 6 a.m. on Monday morning (only two days into our trip). We had gotten up early to go fishing and the grass was still dew-covered. Needless to say, I was in flip-flops and slipped. Jason frantically drove the 20-miles to the nearest emergency room and they informed us that I had broken my fibula. They put me in a temporary cast and suggested that I see a orthopedist as soon as we returned to Iowa. We tried to tough it out...We stayed in a hotel for two days resting and relaxing and then attempted a day of boating and camping, but it was just too much for both of us and we ended-up heading home. I see my doctor tomorrow. I'm really hoping things are not as bad as they seem. Everything is so difficult - even the most simplest of tasks. So much pain! And I have always thought that I had a fairly high pain tolerance. I know that people struggle with much bigger challenges, but I'm feelin' pretty 'me-centered' right now.