Got the van almost totally unloaded and did a little work on utensils in my shop. I tried to get some mowing done late in the day. While it hadn't actually rained, sunshine had been scarce and the grass was too wet for mowing. It kept clogging up the lawnmower's bag chute. I was seriously contemplating abandoning mowing in favor of returning to work in my shop when it started raining. Returning to working on utensils became my obvious choice.
Wednesday, 5/13/09:Jo and I drove back down to North Little Rock and bought one of the Chevrolet vans we'd looked at on Monday. It's a 2007 E2500 (3/4 ton) with an extended box and a 4.8-liter V8. In one way, it's hard to get excited about a bare bones cargo van. However, even without any extras, the new van is a lot better ride than the 1983 Ford Econoline cargo van we've been driving since the early 1990s.
Jo drove the van back home from North Little Rock. She says it climbs the hills a lot better than the old Econoline and that you have to be careful not to exceed the speed limit. As you approached the highway speed limit in our old van, it began vibrating and rattling so badly you dared not drive it any faster.
Once home, we fired up the chainsaw and went to work clearing the road down to our house. When we cleared the road after the January ice storm, our main concern was just getting out to the county road. We left several broken limbs that were dangling into the road but not so badly that they interfered with getting out. Of course, we intended trim up those limbs as soon as we completed the main task, but of course, we'd never finished the job. We weren't concerned that the dangling limbs scratched up the old van, but didn't want the new one to suffer the same fate.
Thursday, 5/14/09:
Thunderstorms moved through overnight and dumped about an inch of rain. The day remained overcast and damp so mowing was not an option. I worked on spoons.
Friday, 5/15/09:
A partly sunny day with enough drying that I gave mowing a try during the late afternoon. In places where the grass was thick and high, it was still wet, but I managed to get quite a bit of mowing done. I mowed in a patchwork, cutting those areas that most needed cut: Around the garden beds where veggies are growing, between the house and studio where we still need to set up those canopies we packed wet in Tupelo and several paths so we wouldn't have to walk in knee-high grass when getting from Point A to Point B.
Saturday, 5/16/09:
More thunderstorms overnight. From the way things looked on the radar, I thought we were really going to get battered, but it didn't happen. Only .3" of rain fell and there was little thunder and lightning in our immediate area. However, overcast skies and even a little light rain stuck with us all day, so all my work was done in the shop and not outside.
The temperature got up around 85º on Thursday, but could only manage the lower sixties for a high temperature today. It's forecast to drop into the upper forties tonight. Chilly for mid-May.
