Snow stick Winner and a Robin

April 8 was a very warm day with a breeze that melted snow to beat the band.

I kept checking throughout the day.

By evening Chance declared it snow free!
The winner is Terri @Backward B Ranch who guessed April 7th.  Congratulations Terri!
Recently I finished a few more carvings.

I painted them just the other day.

This is the one I chose to send to Terri. It will be in the mail soon.
Now for the rest of you.  We will leave the snow stick in place and if it gets more than three inches of snow we will restart the contest with the same guesses.  Your guess can be found here.  It is Minnesnowda after all, spring can disappear any moment in a snowstorm.
A Robin appeared in our yard on April 9th in the evening.

It was way high up in a tree.  Eventually after calling and calling it took off toward the lake.  We usually have a pair that nest here, perhaps one of them is late arriving.  I am certain that “She who sees robins first” has already had robins in her yard.  I will graciously let her win this year because she had surgery on her arm yesterday.  My other baby brother is taking good care of her. 

Warmer Weather and Broken Crap

The snow is melting!  We are all pleased as punch and happier than pigs in slop.

Melt faster!

I had a roast in the oven the other day and my oven went bonkers, switching on and off beeping..like it was possessed.   Since then I have baked some cinnamon rolls  with no problems.  Far Guy says it might be a relay switch or a sensor.  Haven’t called the repair man yet.  Maybe it fixed itself!

I lost a crown, luckily I felt it fall off and captured it with my tongue before I swallowed it…that would have been a crappy retrieval.  $49 for cement and a Dentist to repair the damn thing.

Direct TV sucks.  After three months of repairs after repairs we gave up and now have basic cable through our Internet Provider.  It was installed on both televisions.  I will miss my east and west coast feeds and New York and LA exciting news.  We still enjoy our Roku and Netflix.  I am glad to have that pain in the neck Direct TV behind us. 

Far Guy’s garage door went ballistic and the raising/lowering arm busted off.  It had a fight with some ice and lost.  He was able to fix it. 

We are wondering what will break next…troubles come in threes and we are waiting for the next two events with great anticipation.

I am not sure that we can count poor Chance.  Last week when I got home from the cities he immediately showed me he had a sore eye.  He communicated by looking at me and pawing at his eye.  I checked it out and he had a stye. Luckily we had the ointment on hand, he still has the stye but it is much smaller and  he doesn’t seem bothered by it…but he sits nicely and lets me look at it a couple of times a day.  I will continue the ointment until the stye is gone.  It is his right eye.   He has had several styes before..but I am not certain that I noted which eye.

Snow and Swans

It snowed a little more.  It snows and melts and repeats daily.  Not exactly spring like.

The snow stick is stable at 9 inches.

We went for a ride.  Trumpeter Swans, Canada Geese, Wild Turkeys and Sandhill Cranes are visiting the cornfields.  Very little water is open for them. 

You can almost play “find the swans” in this photo.

 

The Monday blizzard went north of us, and the one predicted for Friday is supposed to go south of us…we must be incredibly lucky.

Snow Stick, Spines and Seafood

We still have winter here, it has been below zero again. –13 F one morning that is –25 C eh.

Somewhere about 10 1/ 2 to 11 inches of snow remains at the snow stick.

Harriet asked about Bullhead that I mentioned yesterday.  We have a fish here in Minnesota called a Bullhead.  Technically it is a Catfish…but we call them Bullheads.  Here is a link to some photos at the MN DNR site.  Bullheads have spines near their fins.  Along the shore of Shell Lake when my baby brother stepped on a dead bullhead one of those spines penetrated his foot, and he got an infection which lead to blood poisoning, which lead to me waiting on him hand and foot.  He was only allowed up to go to the bathroom.  His foot was elevated in a plastic bag to draw out the poison.   Bullheads are not normally a fish that you “fish” for, but some people eat them.  I like Catfish…I consider it a good tasting fish…but I usually buy farm raised Catfish at the grocery store.

If I could I would march right into a Captain D’s Restaurant and order up some catfish and some hush puppies.  Then I would head to Richard’s Patio south of Lafayette Louisiana and order up some Crawfish, then to D and B Gumbo in Gulfport Mississippi for some Gumbo, then  to the NCO Club at Tyndall AFB in Florida to order some lobster.  Seafood Road Trip!!  Side effect… weird dreams for a few nights!  Seafood always makes me dream how about you?

Snow Stick Contest 2014

Yes, I am all set for the snow stick contest!  You can enter by guessing the date and morning or afternoon that the snow will be totally gone from the snow stick.

There are 17 1/2 inches of snow at the snow stick.  When will it melt?  Here are previous melt dates.
2011 April 8
2012 March 13
2013 April 30 
As you can see we have about a six week window.  So guess away…guess the date and morning or evening.
The winners..there might be more than one will get a bark carving.

These are my last three creations, none of mine ever look alike, they are all one of a kind.  These three are Linda in Colorado Johnson’s Cottonwood bark.  It is a lighter bark than we have here in Minnesota. It carves beautifully!
They have joined the rest of my carvings in an old shoe box awaiting homes.  I give some away, and occasionally I sell a few.  They can sit on shelves or they can be fitted with an eyehook for a ribbon and become a Christmas ornament.

These are not huge carvings…the pen is for a reference.  I like carving them as they fit comfortably in my arthritic hands.
I have a few more in the works…so you never can tell which carving you might get.  I carve at least one afternoon a week.  Sometimes more…Minnesota winters…ya you betcha nothing better than an afternoon spent with sharp knives. 
This is one of my favorite bark carvings.

I will probably keep this one for myself as it has a very fragile back…bark is what it is and I like the tree that the bark told me was there.
Guess away.  I will add the guesses to the bottom of this post.  Guessing closes Sunday night March 9 at 9PM.  Those of you that are bashful can email me with your guess, my email can be found by clicking on the yellow flower on the left sidebar.


Guesses:
March 29 Evening Kathy
March 30 AM Linda P.
April 3 AM Muffie
April 5 Susan in Glyndon
April 7 Terri @Backward B Ranch
April 12 PM Nancy Wyoming Breezes
April 13 L.D.
April 13 PM Elaine Sanders
April 14 PM Terry and Linda
April 15 AM Iggy
April 15 PM Kathy b
April 16 Am Alvina M.
April 16 PM Deanna Fort Worth
April 17 AM DJan
April 17 PM Red
April 18 PM Marlys H. Seattle
April 19 Pm Lisa J. Bemidji MN
April 20 Leah
April 21 PM Shirley
April 22 PM Barb B. Hoople ND
April 23 PM Furry Gnome
April 24 PM Jess Noling
April 25 PM LindaG
April 26 PM Phyllis Pritchard
April 27 PM Kay Lloyd   Kansas City area
April 27 PM Sandy B. Ada MN
April 28 PM Karen Wyndson Farm
April 29 PM Wendy Danielson
April 30 PM Country Gal
April 30 PM Linda M
April 30 PM Francine Primitive Stars
May 1 ladyfi
May 1 Grandma Barbs This and That
May 1 PM Linda Reeder
May 2 Ryker
May 3 AM Mildred Blackberry Lane
May 3 Karen M. Wisconsin
May 7 PM Rita
May 10 PM Cathy Monroe
May 13 Judith Bell ( It better be gone by the time she returns to Tamarac or she will be unhappy)
May 14 Evening Robin
June 1 Cynthia ( a fellow pessimistic Minnesota gal)