Two more trees gone today. An apple tree by our neighbour's fence and the cherry tree in our front yard. I'll do a before and after of our house next time I am out with the camera. Yuri cut them into stove length blocks which will in a couple years make for very good shashlik fires. I sure wished I could have turned that cherry tree into usable material for building or turning as the wood grain was just lovely. As an aside, the nutritionist at Brooks Feedlot said years ago that horses chewed corral rails because they were after the grain in the wood...but I digress.
Yuri was here at 8:30 this morning, so we all went outside to help. The trees were huge and had to be cut down small section at a time to avoid too much collateral damage. Tanya's flowers took a beating but the fences and windows are still intact. It was a damp day with a strong west wind and it felt COLD. No Chinook (Foehn, for the uninitiated) but the temp did go up 10 degrees to to +5C (41F) and it was cold if you worked up a sweat then stood and waited for the next batch of stove length blocks or bunch of branches to haul.
I dressed warm. T-shirt under my shirt and then dug out my long underwear which I put on about once a year. They are local bought black tights, (with no feet, thank God). They fit like a second skin. Not so much poured in as painted on. Not a sight for the public but better than white Speedos (gotcha).
Bobik and Volk wanted to help so I let them run. They played like puppies, wrestling in the deep snow, chasing around and in general, having a wonderful time. Masha built a snowman and Bobik went over immediately and expressed his approval. When I finally put them back in their run, they were tired out and glad to go.
I have to bribe them, of course, with treats. I buy "Studentka Sausiska" at $1 per package of 9. These are half fat, half milk powder and the rest meat. I cut three up into 18 pieces (3x6) which I feed them one piece at a time as reward for going home. They are 6 times happier with the 18 pieces than if I gave them the same amount as 1 and 1/2 whole wieners each. I don't know if this is because they are dogs or because they are males.
Showing posts with label Ukrainian Chain Saw Massacre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ukrainian Chain Saw Massacre. Show all posts
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Chopping down the cherry tree
Apparently Moscow had a terrible wind storm yesterday which knocked over some 2000 trees. We had a bad windstorm the other day and today Tanya got worried about the big cherry tree in our front yard. It is over 20 years old and about 4 meters taller than the power lines passing in front of our place. The problem with the tree is how it grew. It is like three huge trees in one, coming together in an upside down tripod about 1 meter from the ground. That is the weak spot.
A very strong wind could rip one or more of the three "branches" off, splitting the trunk where they come together. It could damage our house and the power lines. The electric company had been by earlier this spring and told us to trim the tree away from the power line. So Tanya called our neighbour Valeria and he came over this afternoon to knock the top off the tree.
I never before saw anyone climb a tree wearing cheap slip-on rubber sandals but up to the top he went with a pruning saw and proceeded to dismember the tree limb by limb. Of course, Tanya hollered every time one dropped on her flower beds but she was worried about Valerie up so high and limbing the tree so close to the power lines. I told him I didn't want to have to find Natasha a new husband.
Once he got most of the high limbs off and away from the power line, he called it quits. We'll take the rest of the tree down in the winter. when Tanya's flowers are safe.
More wood to dry for shashlik. And in another 20 years we can cut down the weeping birch Tanya planted beside it this spring.
A very strong wind could rip one or more of the three "branches" off, splitting the trunk where they come together. It could damage our house and the power lines. The electric company had been by earlier this spring and told us to trim the tree away from the power line. So Tanya called our neighbour Valeria and he came over this afternoon to knock the top off the tree.
I never before saw anyone climb a tree wearing cheap slip-on rubber sandals but up to the top he went with a pruning saw and proceeded to dismember the tree limb by limb. Of course, Tanya hollered every time one dropped on her flower beds but she was worried about Valerie up so high and limbing the tree so close to the power lines. I told him I didn't want to have to find Natasha a new husband.
Once he got most of the high limbs off and away from the power line, he called it quits. We'll take the rest of the tree down in the winter. when Tanya's flowers are safe.
More wood to dry for shashlik. And in another 20 years we can cut down the weeping birch Tanya planted beside it this spring.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Lessons Learned and Still to Learn
First.
For two years, ever since we moved here, low water pressure has been a problem we just accepted as the way things are. Until a couple weeks ago, Tanya asked Lucia about their water pressure. Lots of pressure at her house so it was not the city water system, it was our problem.
We called Yuri in of course and he took the pipes apart. We had pressure to the meter but none after. So he installed a new meter, cleaned junk out of all the shut-off valves, and installed another filter in front of the meter. Now the water pressure will take the skin off your back in the shower.
Makes you wonder how often in life we accept things as "the way things are" when it is within our own power to change them?
Second
I bought an electric chain saw in Krivii Rih a week ago yesterday to cut up all the wood around here into fuel lengths. Russian built and $40 cheaper than a Makita. The young man at Epicenter took it out of the box and plugged it in to show me that it worked, then put it back in the box. Neither of us looked closely at it.
Sunday, Roman and I took it out of the box to assemble and go saw some tree branches. There is a cast aluminum set of anti-kickback teeth at the front of the saw. The casting was broken. Someone had dropped it in the factory as there was no damage to the box and no broken pieces in the box.
Andrei and I took it back to Epicenter on Tuesday when we were looking for tires, explained the problem, filled out the required documents and were told that we would hear from them in 14 days. To get that far took us an hour. It is unlikely we will get a replacement as I had my chance to inspect it in the store and they will argue that I dropped it.
Third (but old)
Within a month of when I first bought the car, i managed to break the right back tail light. We fixed it with red tape and you can hardly see it unless you look carefully. We ordered the part, picked it up in Dnipropetrovsk and put it in the garage "for the next time I broke the tail light". A year ago, I decided to install it, opened the box and the part was for the LEFT tail light. I had my chance to inspect it when I picked up the box and did not. Well, if I ever break the left tail light, I am set.
Canadians have no idea how fortunate they are to get the quality of service they do. Much of it is based on trust. Here there is no trust (and justifiably so) and it increases cost of doing business dramatically.
For two years, ever since we moved here, low water pressure has been a problem we just accepted as the way things are. Until a couple weeks ago, Tanya asked Lucia about their water pressure. Lots of pressure at her house so it was not the city water system, it was our problem.
We called Yuri in of course and he took the pipes apart. We had pressure to the meter but none after. So he installed a new meter, cleaned junk out of all the shut-off valves, and installed another filter in front of the meter. Now the water pressure will take the skin off your back in the shower.
Makes you wonder how often in life we accept things as "the way things are" when it is within our own power to change them?
Second
I bought an electric chain saw in Krivii Rih a week ago yesterday to cut up all the wood around here into fuel lengths. Russian built and $40 cheaper than a Makita. The young man at Epicenter took it out of the box and plugged it in to show me that it worked, then put it back in the box. Neither of us looked closely at it.
Sunday, Roman and I took it out of the box to assemble and go saw some tree branches. There is a cast aluminum set of anti-kickback teeth at the front of the saw. The casting was broken. Someone had dropped it in the factory as there was no damage to the box and no broken pieces in the box.
Andrei and I took it back to Epicenter on Tuesday when we were looking for tires, explained the problem, filled out the required documents and were told that we would hear from them in 14 days. To get that far took us an hour. It is unlikely we will get a replacement as I had my chance to inspect it in the store and they will argue that I dropped it.
Third (but old)
Within a month of when I first bought the car, i managed to break the right back tail light. We fixed it with red tape and you can hardly see it unless you look carefully. We ordered the part, picked it up in Dnipropetrovsk and put it in the garage "for the next time I broke the tail light". A year ago, I decided to install it, opened the box and the part was for the LEFT tail light. I had my chance to inspect it when I picked up the box and did not. Well, if I ever break the left tail light, I am set.
Canadians have no idea how fortunate they are to get the quality of service they do. Much of it is based on trust. Here there is no trust (and justifiably so) and it increases cost of doing business dramatically.
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