Local Habitat for Humanity ReStore

We are doing some housebuilding here at Timber Life, if you have been reading my posts a while you may have heard me speak of it.

The weather has turned off absolutely frigid the last couple of days and the nails are bending as we try to get the room walls put together. We don't have the ability to warm up our space.  We are dependent on the ambient temperature  for pliability of wood, as well as personal warmth...

With the inability to build yesterday, we decided it was time go find some fixtures to move forward when we warm up a little in the next week.

Our first stop for the day began at our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I wanted to get there early since the inventory changes from day to day. We arrived five minutes before the store doors opened for the scheduled Saturday: 9:00 - 6:00. Hubby and I were the third vehicle in the lot wanting to peruse the stock without having a lot of competition, but others had the same thought. The store was soon bustling with deal seekers.

We pulled into the parking lot about five minutes before the store opened

I want to applaud the location upgrade recently experienced by the ReStore. They had their beginning in a smaller building with a lack of parking; as they became better known they outgrew the space.

My visits to my Mom in Des Moines allowed me the chance to watch the reclamation of a building/business on Euclid Ave. and I-235, left vacant by one of the first lumber companies I became aware of on the eastside after calling the area home.

The Des Moines Home and Garden Show is in town this weekend too. A booth there is surely going to help  the public to become more aware of the alternative opportunities in recycling leftover, or unwanted building supplies. The inventory contains both new, and used.

My next post will give a little insight to what I saw...

A Retroactive Look of February Weather at Timber Life

Going through my blogposts I came across one, three years and a few days ago. Definitely a big difference in the amount of snow that year compared to this one at Timber Life. We were finally beginning to see some open ground with the growing strength of the afternoon sun.

This year we haven't seen any great accumulation of  snow. Sometimes it has taken a few hours,a couple of days to a week to disappear, but our tractor which usually has been called to duty already to get that stuff out of the way hasn't been used for that cause. At least not yet...

                                                     

                                                                 February 7th, 2012


Posted on February 5th, 2009





The deer have been populating open areas to feed. They are hungry and continue to search for food at all hours of the day now.

Timber floors still being covered with layers of snow, takes the deer out where the sun has opened ground in the thawing spells of last weekend.

These deer are only a sampling of what I saw and what has been seen.

Notice all the young ones...that number continues to grow because of the capability of 6 month old does to conceive and become mothers. I continue to see a very small deer,which I assume was born at the end of last summer, running with the herd.



Too much attention sent them off to look just over the fence for somewhere else to enjoy a nibble...

Returning to February 7th, 2012

Our deer population isn't as numerous as it was back in 2009 and before. Extreme winters,human hunting quotas and coyotes have been a factor in my opinion to a decline that seemed to become evident from my perspective last year. Maybe others see a different slant on the same picture.

The weather in the last week has brought some heavy fogs to blanket us. Yesterday, turned out to produce quite a show as the fog began to ascend at 11:30 in the morning. The sun didn't breakout of the clouds until much later in the day. However, before the temperatures warmed and sent the frost dashing earthward - I captured some visions of Mother Nature's crystalline designs to create works of my own for decorating my cabin in the woods...

Still Seeing Scrapes?

My pictures are getting dated already...A week and a half ago we had a layer of snow laying around , the warm temperatures weren't yet making much of a difference in the white stuff disappearing.

While out for a walk I discovered on  one side of the ravine dissecting the property  that the small trees seemed to carry new bark injuries with ground scrapes in close proximity . Signs of a late rut? Only a thought after seeing an antlered buck in the vicinity with does and their offspring frequenting the area.

Deer hoof printed frozen creek

The little creek running through the ravine still made a ribbon of solid ice for the deer to use as a path to get from place to place. Totally dependent on available moisture from land run-off there is varying levels from season to season.

On the opposite side of the ravine I found a different scenario, the bark was being shredded in what I believe to be the beginning of another stage in the life and times of the whitetail buck population in our area...

Afternoon Walk -Wednesday

Wednesday morning started with taking care of things for my Mom. Grocery shopping , catching up on important business communications, checking on the schedule for upcoming appointments etc....

Coming home to get the paperwork done it was time for a change of pace by mid-afternoon, I wanted to take advantage of the mild temperatures.Snow continued to carpet the ground as I set out to scope the landscape for deer sheds. Hearing about others beginning to be successful on their quest for collecting had sent the twitch through me to see if anything was laying around here yet...

Miss Kitty pussy footing through the snow

I alluded to my walking companions in my last post.

Bless her little heart this is the second outing Miss Kitty followed my usual walking buddy and me through the snow.

The last occasion she went with us, she would stop,  yowl,look around and keep on coming. She could have gone back to the house...silly thing just kept following. I can truly say I have been adopted.

Sadie was having a great time running everywhere to checkout the scents galore. She stopped sniffing for a minute when I called to get her to look at me. 

I'll have to admit she has become quite a ham when the camera gets pulled out. That is unless I make a motion for heading out the door first.

 Poor girl always gets messy paws, and wet all over in this type of weather with snow, or mud, but I know she doesn't mind.

Sadie always must lead the way and  Miss Kitty wanted to be in front of me at this point in our expedition. The challenge began!

These two always have a season of discontent before they finally get on with the task at hand.

I can't remember now how many seasons of discontent there were while we were out.

 

Sadie and Miss Kitty listen to Ruby bay

Attention! Attention,PLEASE!!!

Ruby, our neighbor's Tree Walking Coonhound was visiting on the southside of our property with her owner. They had come to check a  raccoon trap.

Little Ruby doesn't go anywhere without announcing her approach...while she is riding in the pickup anyway. Last summer we had some excitement when she took off and wouldn't answer our calls. Created a worry for a time.

Picking up where I left off before Ruby dropped in - I was still batting zero in my search for sheds this Wednesday afternoon, so I headed the pack back home over another trail in the chance I might pass an antler tucked in a conspicuous spot. By the time we got close to the house the cat was lagging far behind and we came straggling in just in time for the animals to eat their supper.

As it stands now I  am going to have to keep looking, because my score remained at zero for this shed hunting expedition...

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The Great Salt Lick

I am sure with winter weather knocking at your door, wherever you might live that receives snow,  traveling on the  highways have added an extra coat of road additives to the side of your car or truck. Heading to the car wash gets a bit laborious to keep it clean.

Here at Timber Life we always have some assistance with giving our vehicles a bath without moving them from their parking spot.

It wasn't until three or four  years ago we actually had this kind of activity start, a mystery for a time.

The rock salt and brine used here in Iowa seems to have a twofold purpose; one for the road, and after the animals found it a dietary mineral source.

These pictures were taken last weekend...

Checking Saturday this side of the car was almost licked clean by our nocturnal visitors and they were starting on the other side.

Yes,you may have already guessed! The deer are the culprits.

Rain came and washed the car the rest of the way.
I guess I will have to go somewhere now the car has gotten cleaned off to renew the mineral content.

However, after today's snow possibilities and cold this weekend, the weather forecast is, let me rub my eyes here,  for up to 50 degrees on Monday and 40's the rest of the week . Spring for the first week of February?!?

With the unseasonable temperatures it has given me more of a chance to take advantage of walks in the timber and fields. Check back to see who goes along...