The mousetraps were reinstalled in March, but have remained empty for more than a month. We have licked the rodent problem and we can now safely go shopping for a real bed. We have been sleeping on an inflatable mattress for close to a year. It's okay, but very cold when we arrive at midnight in the winter. Timing is everything; we take advantage of yet another firm's no interest offer and haul the new mattress down in the new trailer.
Our intial thought is to use whatever money left over from the sale of the property not eaten up by the septic system to put a downpayment on a tractor. We even go shopping for estimates. At the same time, we're shopping woodstoves again. After research, we narrow it down to a few, and go visit two local retailers. I'm thinking DS is going to want a Jotul, as they look most like the VC we had picked, or a PE Alderlea, as you can swing out the top grill and cook on the top of it. I am leaning towards the Alderlea, but the model we are most considering does not come in an enamel finish, which is an important consideration. When we actually get to see all the stoves, though, we both fall in love with the Hearthstone soapstone stoves. There isn't much cost difference, you can cook on them, and what cast iron is on them can be had enamelled in one of several colors. Finally, our choice is made...again. Here it is:
More mulling over the snow removal option eventually leads us to the conclusion that to buy a tractor now would not be the best use of our money. First off, because we've had less time to save, we're looking at $400 monthly payments if we want interest-free. This scares us both. Second, it will sit idle 90% of the time, not to mention being vulnerable to being stolen. Not a worry we want. Finally, it will likely cost us about $400 to have the local guy clear the snow for us for the number of times we'll go up, and the bonus to this is there'll be no more walking in at midnight. We'll be able to drive right to the door. We are relieved.
After considering options, we decide that upgrading the insulation on the second floor, and changing out the south window that is leaking is the best investment for whatever cash is left after the septic and woodstove are installed. I want R-50 in the ceilings and R 20 or 22 in the walls. And a vapour barrier. DS thinks R-50 is overkill, until she learns that this is the Energy-Star standard in homes being built now. R 22 is their rating for walls. Despite insulation being her trade, the ceilings are always blown in, and this is done by another crew, so she wasn't current on what was being done. We're still not in agreement on how this will be accomplished.
I'm prepared to pull up all the boards in the side crawlspaces and add to R-50. She feels that will be a ginormous amount of work, and will rob us of valuable storage space. My argument is that we have 3 years before we will have the cash for any major renos, all we have is time, and I have a plan for the storage issue. We'll work it out; we always do.
We finally gather the courage to attack the attic of the garage. We throw all the metal for salvage out the second-story hatch and end up with quite a pile. There are several drive shafts, sundry parts for an old tractor, an old humidifier, dented front and rear chrome bumpers from an old Ford, and many other similar 'finds'. I come across the pump hose and nozzle from an old gas pump and decided to set it aside for E-Bay. You never know. Anything containing aluminum or copper we also set aside, as their prices have skyrocketed. This includes a few old radiators.
There is also a lot of junk in the garage attic, and the new trailer is shown the road to the dump. By the time we're done, it has cost us about $100, plus gas, to haul all the junk left behind when we took possession. All the hazardous waste gets transported to the garage in the village, who is the local drop-off point. No charge. The metal, we will sell. It has taken our time and effort, but since we didn't have the money to begin any substantial renovations, it has kept us busy. Financially, we will come out ahead.
We embark on the clean-up of the back clearing. This is a veritable 'gold mine' of scrap metal. An old oil tank, several I-beams of various sizes, one with a small bulldozer track welded down it's length...what is that about? An old trailer frame, wheels still on it. We learn they no longer turn when we hitch it up and haul it out. No matter. We load it and haul it down to the garage, where we have collected all the scrap while waiting to be ready to have the dumpster delivered.
We fire up the bulldozer and collect the last few items in the clearing. The most challenging is a 9' wide snowblower, suitable for clearing snow on a municipal scale. It was probably placed on the edge of the clearing, but that was years ago, and it is now in the edge of the forest.
We had already taken off the snow chute and the frame for attaching it to the vehicle. WD-40 is truly a miraculous substance, loosening off bolts we were certain would never move again. Finally, we're left with the carcass: two huge snow- and ice-chomping augers and the main transmission/fan at the back of the unit. We chain up one end to the bulldozer and pull it out of the forest. Changing the angle of the pull, we spin the snowblower so now we can bring the blade of the 'dozer right up to the augers. We chain it on and cross our fingers. The ass end of the 'dozer lifts a little, but it picks up the snowblower. We feel triumphant as the ‘dozer carries this monstrosity to the junk staging area. Finally, the clearing is devoid of all scrap metal.
We have purchased our first chainsaw and have begun teaching ourselves how to use it, with help from research and family. We cleared away the junk brush along the south side of the stream below the falls and cleaned up a trail we found. We have also collected two cords of stovewood by cutting up two trees the beavers felled for us in the summer of 2007 and collecting a number of standing deadwood white birch near the house.
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