April 22, 2010

April showers bring May flowers and we are definitely into the April showers.  The Soffit is 90% done, 2 trim boards and some caulking will finish it off.  We used all our split firewood so we have taken a bit of time to split and stack some to start it drying for next winter.
The crocus are wonderfully abundant.  They are so fun to spot in the woods and the clusters have so many blooms.  We got our bee hive on Monday and have the location picked out.  It is definitely out of the way so don't worry about bees.  We will get bees in 2 weeks.
Tally is biding his time to get onto his spring projects, it takes so long for the ground to dry out enough for him to finish the landscaping at the Boxcar Cabin.  In the meantime I have decided to utilize him for a jump start on the deep spring cleaning.
I bought tomato plants and will have to baby them in the house for 4 weeks when the final danger of frost is over.  I knew it was a bad idea but I could not resist.  When things start to turn green outside it is hard to not want to start gardening.  Unfortunately I must wait.
Cabin days are filling up nicely.  It is nice to hear guests tell their cabin search story.  One woman recently told me she is returning to the Black Hills and, after staying in cabins near the highway last year, extensively researched cabins for something quiet and away from highway noise.  She chose us.  What a treat.  

spring is in the air

Can't believe I haven't written since February. The glaciers are finally almost gone and there is a hint of green in the grass. No sign of buds in the trees. There is a symphony of sound from the birds. The ground is still frozen and the heaving has begun. I am so anxious to start the garden.
We decided to try our hand at bees this spring. We will locate them in a quiet out of the way spot and in future years we hope to have honey for our guests.
Nothing much has been happening on the cabins except for rentals. It has been nice to get the occasional winter guest. The ground is too wet and muddy around the Boxcar Cabin to do any work on the exterior.
We took advantage of the time and cold weather last week to relocate my laundry area so we can work on the small room and bathroom in our house, we can work on our place in the summer when the cabins are rented. We will now take a break on that and finish the soffit of the garage. Tally is feeling a bit overwhelmed by the projects left for us to do but we plug away on them and have a feeling of accomplishment when something gets finished.

2/6/09

Wonderful snow we have. We had guests leave the Log Cabin this morning. They were thrilled to finally be staying in the Black Hills and have it snow.

Tally and I x-country skied this morning for a few hours. We follow our hiking trails. For novices we don't do too bad. It is harder to ski down a hill than hike it. I fell twice before I played it safe and side stepped down. Tally just took off his skis and walked. I think we are improving in this Silver City winter wonderland.

We have not been doing anything on the cabins lately. We have been working our second job almost every day at the Civic Center in Rapid City. The Black Hills Stock Show is going on, both of us have been doing camera work and spotlight work for the rodeo. It is a good change of pace for us. Tally has also been doing some finish trim work for his sister. Family obligations are infringing on Happy Trails projects. Luckily he has one window left and then we can evaluate priorities for Happy Trails.

The chickens are happy and laying eggs. Please do not buy eggs for your visit here. I have plenty for guests. They are fun to watch out my desk window.