~Framboise Manor~: driveway...and early morning striped bass from the beach!

Friday, October 20, 2017

driveway...and early morning striped bass from the beach!

jambaloney here !

so as you all know we have a tractor now ( i like to call it "traktor" - it is the socialist in me ;-)

tibor's traktor

anyway - our driveway needs work - i normally do it by hand but at 160 feet down and 60 feet by the house - this has been harder and harder work ... so let's say hellooooo to the back blade!!!

first off i had to remove the backhoe - it was fairly easy - the bx23s comes with an advances coupling system - one person can remove the backhoe...

and install a 3 point hitch and a blade!!

i made sure to get a heavy duty model with various pitch and offset capabilities...

i started with the top part of the driveway... it is rutted and runoff goes all over the place..

i have never done this before but the idea is to grade it so the runoff goes down either side only...

after a bit of practice - i got the hang of it...

continuing around to the big part..

overgrown and rutted big time - the rain does a number!!

back to the top - i want the runoff to go around the corner here...

several passes and building up the middle

and a bit of practice on the downhill..

and quite a few passes required!!!

work at the bottom...

flatter and wider..

a LOT wider!!!

the round about took some work to get right...

back towards the house...

but finally results - rain on one side goes around this corner..

and on the other side this shallow trench...

here you can see both..

and final passes at the top made mini ditches

byproduct...

lots...

of...

ROCKS!!!!

the pics are a month old - the driveway is holding up great - it needs a bit more work to be ready for winter - but it will be MUCH easier to clear - plus we have a traktor now - saved a pile of $$ too so the traktor is paying itself off!!

i have been trying to get the right time for striped bass nailed - this morning was high tide and overcast at sunrise.. supoosed to be good - pretty ominous looking when i got to the beach

but it started clearing up..

when it is high tide the ocean actually flows into the mouth of the framboise river - this is called the "gut" around here..

the sun is really coming up now...

and for sweet sandy... a nice striped bass !!!!

Hope you are all having a great October - cheers!

(kymber interrupts and says traktor is really named "drunk tractor-dura"!)

19 comments:

DaniOctober 21, 2017 at 7:11 AM
Toys for boys... :D
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SolOctober 21, 2017 at 12:18 PM
Wow so much hard work put in on the driveway. WEll done! And look at that bass! yummy!
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KellyOctober 21, 2017 at 12:53 PM
Good job on the grading. There's certainly an art to it.

We fished yesterday evening and caught some very nice Bass (largemouth). I also caught a couple of Crappie. Lucky for them, we weren't keeping any last night... so back into the pond they went.
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Sandy LivesayOctober 22, 2017 at 8:46 PM
Jabaloney,
Great job on your driveway! Having a tractor really cuts the amount of work having to do it by hand. Yum....bass! I already know Sweet Kymber is making an amazing meal with your bass. Enjoy!!!

Hugs and love to both of you.
Sandy
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EdOctober 23, 2017 at 9:53 AM
Looking good! On the farm, we have to redo our driveway probably every four to five years so keep your blade handy.
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SusanOctober 23, 2017 at 4:40 PM
That is a LOT of driveway! Nice job - and the fish is gorgeous!
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Toirdhealbheach BeucailOctober 23, 2017 at 10:55 PM
My dad got one of those blades as well. He has found it very useful for exactly the same thing you are using it for.
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Rain October 25, 2017 at 3:44 PM
Lol...we have the entire SCTV series on DVD...we always start watching it again every other Christmas. Those were the days of my youth, watching SCTV on Friday nights in the basement lol...

Congrats on getting the driveway done! That is a lot of work, but looks very rewarding! I want a traktor! :) That bass looks great!
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Mike YukonOctober 25, 2017 at 6:11 PM
I think that traktor is worth its' weight in gold! :-)
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Rebecca A. MaynardJanuary 11, 2018 at 6:46 AM
Sometimes, excessive weight or rough friction can cause cracks to even the most rightfully and methodically constructed driveways. But the thing is if you need to make the road as healthy as a horse, you should pay attention to the detailing of the formation procedure as well as the materials.fence boards
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kymber here and talking about jambaloney.

i've always called him my angel. my rock. my best half. the best part of what i have always wanted to become.

he has a soul as big as the biggest mountain, he is strong, he is in incredible physical condition, he is 51 and yet most people think he is under 40. he is humble and modest, charming, gorgeous and will help anyone with anything at anytime. he never grumbles and only every now and again complains or is a tiny bit cranky (nothing that a hug can't fix!). he can cut both sides out of 70 tires in minutes, build raised beds from scrap wood that he drags out of the forest, weedwhack 800ft of our road down to the river, and haul more wheelbarrows of dirt, mulch, rocks and seaweed than is probably medically-advised. he's learned how to braid, make bread and no one makes better rice - not even the chinese. he supports my every, crazy endevour. he went 44 years without a driver's license and got his license after being trained by my crazily-wonderful french canadian friend in 2 weeks. she never stopped talking the whole time. in french.

he has biked everywhere his entire life, at one job he biked 24km EACH WAY. that's to and from! 24km to work AND 24km from work! oh and just accidentally has an honours degree in philosophy.

i believe that he is Our Lord's most beautiful and perfect creation. but i might be biased. he can very accurately shoot a ben pearson cougar re-curve from both the left and right. and his aim is dead on.

he is bow-legged and only 5'7", but has the most incredible eyes. and a tiny mole on his upper lip. he writes the most romantic "insta-poems". he tells me he loves me several times a day. he calls me "babe" and "honey". and he means it.
he loves hot sauce and spicey things like cayenne and banana peppers, he buys (or now picks) me flowers, he left a lucrative, high-paying IT job and his family to follow me here to this remote little island. he builds me shelves and washes all of our laundry with me by hand.

oh and he was baptized Anglican. and was an alter boy. sheesh. somehow, through my intervention, i am turning him into a pagan-christian-fundamentalist-confuscian. look, even i can't figure that out!

the name jambaloney is a nickname that i gave him over 10 years ago. he still uses it. he can be reached at "jambaloney@gmail.com". he loves comments or emails. and he loves me.

if i were given the opportunity to wish one thing for the world - i would wish that every woman on the planet had a jambaloney. i know that i could save the world this way. i have friends who have asked me to clone him. i am trying. believe me, i am trying. one day i will perfect the science involved, and when that happens, i promise all of you a jambaloney.

i love him more than...breathing, lobster, boiled dinner, fresh bread out of the oven, bugging out, singing back up for Madonna (ok...i made that one up!), fresh sheets on the bed, a glass of red wine after a long day, sunflower seeds, lavender, growing my own potatoes, T.S. Eliot, dancing, my babies (who are really just cranky old cats!) and the Bible.

i love him more than i love Framboise Manor. and i really love Framboise Manor.

About kymber

(this pic might seem odd. trust me, it's not. 20 yrs ago kymber went shopping with a girlfriend from the military and bought this dress. then she hooked up with that girlfriend recently. they caught up through email and one day kymberz friend mentioned that specific dress. kymber said she still had it (kymber still has her prom gown for crying out loud!). the friend did not believe it. so we had to take a pic of kymber wearing the 20yr old dress for her friend. kymber always likes to add accessories...and well, we had the bunny ears laying around. ya know, cuz everyone always has pink bunny ears laying around. ok, that's it...i am out of here! jambaloney)

what can i say about kymber?? A LOT!! most of it will have to wait for blog entries ‘cuz i just don’t have enough space here to do her justice…

so i’ll have to do my best… first and foremost, kymber is my partner and i will love her forever. she is the best partner anyone could ever have, i am one lucky guy!! she is 46, she is sweet as can be, smart as a whip, super cute, exceptionally feminine, strong as an ox, honest, kind, empathetic, wise, an amazing dancer, a master wit in speaking and writing….i could go on..i will!

at 5’ 1’’ she packs a wallop – a true force of nature - she is a master gardener and chef and spent 10 years in the Canadian Military – she has done 2 tours of Alert (the north bloody-cold pole). she is a UN-certified Korean linguist and spoils our 2 cats rotten. she also spent 12yrs working in the federal government, as a communications analyst at SolGen (now PSEPC) and Fintrac. she loves nature in the true sense of the phrase..the wildflowers, insects and birds here at framboise manor keep her entranced and captivated for hours.

anyone who is her friend knows that she will stop at nothing to help and heal, dedication and loyalty are an integral part of who she is and she is dead serious about anything she puts her mind to. yet she maintains the most delicate touch and a smile on her face always, never afraid to live and love no matter where and when.

she is the most genuine human being i have ever met! and she has encouraged me to embark on the most crazy and exciting adventure i could imagine… thank you babe - i sooo love you!!!

(and she can be reached at kymberzmail@gmail.com)