Green stuff! Finally!

[theletch1]

As I walked Tucker this morning I noticed that the willow tree that stands on the edge of the creek at the back of our property has begun sprouting green leaves. I'm seeing a little green pop up here and there all over the place. I'm more than ready for winter to be over with. Spring, summer, fall... I can get outside and DO something. Cabin fever really set in this year and I'm ready to get outside and feel some sun on my face.

 

[MA-Caver]

Yeah spring is springing here and there. Here in TN it's sprung but the days to go out and play are intermittent at this point. We got rain off and on (which is normal I suppose) and have entered I think our tornado season. Atlanta was supposedly hit by a tornado and the NCAA tournament was interrupted (awww).
I've been invited out to more caving trips but have to turn them down until this March Madness goes away... or until my dad's team (Tennessee - natch) loses, which doesn't look like any time soon. And this is BOTH men and women's teams. SIGH.
No, I'm not crazy about basketball.

But the flowers my mom planted (bulbs) are blooming and making her landscape pretty. Trees are budding but haven't flowered as of yet. It's getting there.

Been a long winter. Thankfully the end is near.
Oh, I got new tires on m'jeep so am happy about that. :uhyeah:

 

[theletch1]

Which tires did you get for the Cherokee. I put Bridgestone All-terrain TAs on both my Cherokee and Erica's Wrangler last summer. 32/11.5/15. The (much) wider than stock gives them a really tough stance and going somewhat taller gives a bit more ground clearance. Now that the weather is warming up we'll be doing some trail rides through old logging trails around here.

We had rain like crazy last night. We need it though. Last several years have been drought for us. I'm going to put some bamboo out near the creek this year. It'll help with erosion and between the willow and the bamboo the wind will sound great on warm evenings.

 

[Kacey]

Springtime in Colorado is very on and off; it can (and a couple of weeks ago, did) reach the mid-70s one day and snow the next... sometimes it does that on the same day! Still, the average temperature is slowly edging up in the upper 40s, my trees are showing buds... the only downside to my yard melting off is that I need to go take care of all the doggy mess that the snow hid all winter

 

[theletch1]

We're not dealing with snow and 70's in the same day here, thankfully. We are having 30 degree temp swings each day, though. 30's in the morning when I get up for work and mid to upper 60's by the time I get home. My yard is trashed now because of all the damned moles that have set up shop. Anyone have a good way of getting rid of them? Tucker loves trying to dig for them and that's fine so long as he's on his runner in the field beside the house but I don't want him tearing up the part of the yard that we put the most effort into.

 

[exile]

This is a very, very bleak time of the year in Ohio. Chilly weather, leaden sky—it sort of casts a grey pall over life in general...

 

[crushing]

This is a very, very bleak time of the year in Ohio. Chilly weather, leaden sky—it sort of casts a grey pall over life in general...

Add to that the remaining, once beautiful snow is no longer so as it becomes a dingy, darkeningly grey sludge slurpee with chunks of cold earth and poorly preserved dull brown leaves of last autumn expose themselves like millions of Paul Ruebens in adult bookstores.

 

[MA-Caver]

Which tires did you get for the Cherokee. I put Bridgestone All-terrain TAs on both my Cherokee and Erica's Wrangler last summer. 32/11.5/15. The (much) wider than stock gives them a really tough stance and going somewhat taller gives a bit more ground clearance. Now that the weather is warming up we'll be doing some trail rides through old logging trails around here.

We had rain like crazy last night. We need it though. Last several years have been drought for us. I'm going to put some bamboo out near the creek this year. It'll help with erosion and between the willow and the bamboo the wind will sound great on warm evenings.

I got what I could afford at the time about $80 bucks apiece, Douglas XTRA-TRAC A/W's P235/75R15 Good for 30K miles. The ground clearance is more than adequate for what I do around here. Even if I were back in Utah off roading, the ground clearance would be sufficient. Anything more than that then I'd need a tougher vehicle. Right now clearance is roughly 20 inches from the ground to floorboards with the tires that gives me more than I need. Besides those Utahn backroads teach you how NOT to bottom out or hit the differential.

Sometime in June there's a cave trip I'm invited on. The guy leading the trip says that at least one vehicle would need to be 4-wheel drive to make it up a dirt/rocky road to the cave's entrance. I just gave a nice sized

Rained hard today here now it's just sprinkling. Folks say the area in a drought as well (southern TN). I don't see it myself but I'll take their word for it since they've lived here longer... also the normally wet caves are "drier than normal". Which means less mud.

 

[theletch1]

Less mud? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Last year the farmers only got one cutting of hay where they would normally get 3. That really hit the cattlemen hard as well as those with horses. The creek on our property ran dry for several months. That hasn't happened in forever. It's raining here now. A slow, steady drizzle. I've turned off anything that would make noise and am just listening to it. My fingers on the keyboard, my dog snoring quietly and the rain. If I keep this up much longer it'll be nap time.

We have a Gander Mountain opening up just a few miles away so we are a little more motivated than usual to get the warm weather started. I'm gonna need a second job if I know the way Erica and I will behave in that store.

 

[MA-Caver]

Less mud? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Well it depends upon the caver. Some really like all the mud and others (like moi) are more used to drier conditions in caves. So for me it's a good thing.

The only thing that we got close to a "Gander Mountain" is a Sportsman Warehouse. Their selection is alright. Am hoping to get a new 2-3 man tent and a new light weight bag for upcoming camping trips. It'll depend. Hope to be working again here soon.