The first week was such that we managed four days of pruning. 
Us old folks have completed about 3 acres and son Dylan has been at it too. He works in the Pinot Noir section while we do all the rest. He has pruned about 4 acres to our 3.5. There is another 10 acres that we will do over the next four weeks. This week a small ground-hugging white flower bloomed. The vines are still dormant. A few early blossoming trees are about to break buds. There is much activity on the farming, orchards, and ranch lands. That’s March in Central Washington State.
Next week is March too. And it doesn’t look great for pruning.
The outlook: Rain likely, possibly mixed with snow.
I started today, Saturday, by cleaning the creosote from the spark arrestor screen at the top of the flue.
The first winter of using the wood stove I didn’t realize the consequence of keeping the screen clean. The house filled with smoke and gases. Now I take a wire brush to it about once a month. Mine looks something like this, except after 7 years of use, it is blackened.
I’ve had a pair of Yellow bellied marmots show up. It is odd that none were around last year. I purchased bag of “Repels-All” granules made from garlic oil, putrescent whole egg solids, and cloves. The claim is that animals don’t like the smell and that it irritates the airways without hurting them. I got the bag out of the shed and sprinkled it where I have seen the marmots. Perhaps they will go visit the neighbors.
This time, and in the past, they have come to the front of the house and are moving golf ball size stones and trying to dig under the wall. There is a 2 ft deep concrete foundation there, but I guess they didn’t get that memo. They have created a mess in a small shed that will take me hours to clean up. The joy of living in the country.
This is the night for jumping forward. 
Those of mine that still require a personal touch have already jumped. Now it is ice cream time.
Keeping track
on the Naneum Fan
John
Seeds that get dropped to the ground are not enough to keep the doves around.
Draw a line from North Dakota down to Atlanta, then over to the Ocean and up to Newfoundland. Folks in that area of the USA and adjacent Canada will remember the winter of 2025-2026. 1914 and 1950 were similar.
As 2025 ended the readings were in the blue, and then it warmed (the pastel-salmon color). It dropped into the cold zone by mid-month. Tuesday of this coming week might get up to 40°F, but that will be temporary. The rest of the month will be slightly better than now, but not much. 
The local grocery stores have discounted the Christmas stuff and replaced candy and merchandise with Valentine’s Day things. At Freddy’s I bought two 18″ high white Christmas Bears for $2.49 each, discounted from, $24.98. A check of the web shows such things for $20 to $30.
The new year brings a full moon that is also a supermoon – closer, larger, and brighter than average. 
The term “perihelion” comes from the Greek words “peri,” meaning near, and “helios,” meaning sun. When away from, “ap” replaces “peri” and we have aphelion, about July 6th. 94.5 milliom miles.
I frequently find it out by the fence seen in the distance. The snow must have held it down.
The truck is the old fashioned type with rear wheel drive, a 4X High, and a 4X Low. The shifts can be done from inside the cab. Really old technology required one to turn “hubs” on the front wheels. These have mostly been replaced by auto-hubs. I sometimes use the 4X Low when pulling a log or several from the wood lot up to the shed. 
Meanwhile, the next ten days looks like this:
The recently constructed frame will get a roof of maroon-colored metal – also repurposed. It needs to be cut to a shorter length and I need the special screws to hold it in place. The rubber gaskets that prevent leakage do not last through years of sun and winter cold. 