Dear Dave,
I will borrow the paraphrase here, Dave.
“Some of us are born to projects, others have projects thrust upon them.” The batteries on Lisa’s golf cart passed away quietly this winter, thus I need to replace them. I decided to go with a lithium battery as they last longer than lead-acid and weigh less. I have begun this project and hope to complete it without incident. I removed the six lead-acid batteries which were quite heavy and I am doing a few modifications to replace them with one, large lithium battery. I will let you know how it goes, incident or not.
I like early mornings but do not always truly embrace them, Dave. I wake-up about 4 am but I like to doze a little sometimes in between cups of coffee. I decided recently to try a little early-morning baking. It’s nice because it gets me up and moving plus it fills the house with good smells. I make some pretty healthy oatmeal bars that are high in protein and replace sugar with mashed bananas. The protein comes from greek yogurt and a little protein powder. I think it makes the place feel cozy.
I have also been making pancakes with cabbage, carrots and onion. I caramelize the carrots and onions so they taste sweet and the cabbage gets boiled. It all gets thrown together with a few eggs, 4 tablespoons of flour and some baking powder then spooned onto the griddle. Lisa likes them with raspberry sriracha sauce. I combined these pancakes with omelets the other night and I think they were a good combination.
We have a few weeks left of “Project Feederwatch.” Lisa and I have kept track each weekend of the visitors to our bird feeders after which we upload the results to the Cornell School of Ornithology. We’ve always enjoyed watching the birds however this exercise has made us feel more a part of their world. We had 17 Juncos here last weekend and we have regular visits from a female Cardinal and a Northern Flicker. It’s been such a worthwhile use of time.
So now is the time to focus on spring, Dave. You and I spoke recently of how your shop is servicing farm equipment prior to planting. I will head back to buckthorn removal. This year my early focus will be on a small patch of trees which I plan to first completely clean up the area and then plant new trees and bushes to one day shade out the buckthorn. This will be the third year of buckthorn treatment and I have treated a little under two acres. At that rate, I will retire the same year we are buckthorn-free. Slow and steady wins the race, I sure hope it ends with a big trophy, Dave.
Jamie and I had planned a trip to Carrington in March but it seems that it won’t happen, Dave. I think the whole undertaking is a metaphor for life, just too busy with life to live it.
Tell everyone hello, your little bro
