FEBRUARY 1895
Fri. Feb. 1st. Cloudy and quite cool and began to rain slowly at 2 in eve and got harder at 3 to 5 1/2 and quit then. We put our meat out to smoke early in morn and Willie and I cut off ends of logs for new barn and set blocks by 12 and we put up 1 round of logs and some of sleepers at 12 1/2 to 2 and rain stopped us. I hauled a cartload of wood from field at 2 1/2 to 3 in rain. Lewis here awhile in eve.
Sat. 2nd. Cloudy and chilly from N and damp air and ground wet. Willie and I hauled 4 cartloads of wood in morn by 11 and Pa packed up some. I had a dull pain in my head all yesterday and last night and today I began to vomit at 11 1/2 and sat by fire most of eve and went to bed before night and was sick all night. Clara and Mary came in eve and stayed awhile. Mr. Sims paid me $8 for cane (2,000 stalks) in morn.
Sun. 3rd. Bright and chilly from NW. My headache left me in morn. Willie and I rode Hattie and Joe to Clara's in morn and found Hattie's colt, Rex, there and led him home by 11. Wiley D dined here and Beau C here all eve and both here till bedtime. Gussie and Leroy D here awhile in eve.
Mon. 4th. Bright and quite cool and chilly early in morn and late in eve. Pa threshed corn stalks most of day. Willie and I worked on new barn most of day. We laid floor and put blocks under sleepers and sills (9 in all) and we strung our last killing of meat and put it out to smoke with the 1st. The new preacher, Bishop, here in eve awhile. and Bud and Beau C and Wiley D came by late in eve and Willie rode Joe and went with them to Jack DeLoach's to a sociable at night.
Tue. 5th. Cloudy, chilly early in morn but warmer in eve and began to rain slowly at 1 and lasted most of eve. Pa threshed stalks in field till 1 1/2 and I rived boards for new barn in morn and took in meat at 1 to 1 1/4 and walked and found Cherry with a red bull calf in Sims' field but it was too young to drive home and I found Hattie's colt there and led it home. Willie returned from sociable at 1 1/2.
Wed. 6th. Cloudy and warmer and rained some in slow sprinkles in morn and some in eve from SW and changed to NW at dark and a high cold N wind all night. Willie and I put out our meat to smoke early in morn but had to take it right in on account of rain. We drove up Cherry with a young calf by 8 1/2 and we rived boards and put up logs on body of new barn balance of day. Pa threshed stalks in field most of day. Bud here in eve awhile.
Thu. 7th. Bright, nearly clear, and ground frozen hard all day and didn't thaw but little in sunshine all day and a high freezing wind all day. We did nothing but pack and cut up some wood all day - too cold to work any.
Fri. 8th. Clear and very cold. The ground thawed but little in sun all day but calmer than yesterday. Willie and I cut and packed up 4 logs for new barn (we didn't have enough to build it high enough) from NW of orchard in morn and Pa, Willie and I cut and hauled 4 cartloads of wood from 2nd Cane hollow in eve.
Sat. 9th. Cloudy and ground frozen very hard and wind from E in morn and didn't thaw much but sleeted and rained some late in eve and at night. I led Hattie to store with saddle on and got some meal and coffee and nails and staples and walked all way back and returned at 12. I got wood and fed everything in eve. Pa walked to Clara's in eve and Willie to Gussie's.
Sun. 10th. It began to rain before day in slow showers from E and froze on trees till 12 but all thawed off in eve and the ground thawed too from rain which lasted till in night. It was very chilly all day. All of us home all day. Wiley D came late in eve on way home from his Pa's and stayed here all night on account of rain.
Mon. 11th. Cloudy and rained in slow sprinkles and mist-like most of morn and wind cold from N and snowed in very fine drops late in eve and began to freeze at 3 in eve. We did nothing but pack and cut up some wood. Wiley D here last night and today till late in eve.
Tue. 12th. Cloudy and ground frozen hard and a cold wind W of N and snowed in fine drops all morn and sun shined most of eve and thawed some but very cold at night. Willie and I cut down the large dead elm W of big gate toward cow pen for wood and we packed and cut up some in morn. Dan and Bud and Lewis dined here and we held a Trustee's meeting and elected Mrs. Baker again. Joe Miller and Clara here in eve awhile.
Wed. 13th. Bright and cold. Wind from E of N and ground frozen hard and only thawed some in sun all day. Willie and I hung out meat to smoke early in morn and rived some boards and put 1 round more of logs on new barn and nailed down plates and lathing on the 4 corners and packed up some wood. Pa threshed all of cut of cotton stalks by front gate on both sides today.
Thu. 14th. It snowed good deal last night and 2 in. deep early in morn and began to snow again slowly early in morn and lasted all day and heavily all eve and till in night. Pa and Willie got some wood and I arose with a headache and began to vomit at 7 and I lay in bed till 2 and got up and fed everything in snow. My headache got better before dark and left me in night.
Fri. 15th. It snowed all last night and slowly all this morn till 12 and I think the snow is about 5 or 6 in. deep all over the ground. Still cloudy all eve and wind still cold from N and thick ice everywhere. Willie and I packed and cut up some wood in morn and again in eve. Bud and Hamp McGraw and Gussie dined here and left late in eve.
Sat. 16th. Cloudy and snowed slowly most of morn and wind cold from N. It thawed little in eve but don't seem to be any warmer. Willie and I cut down a dead beech just W of here in hollow in morn and Pa helped us pack up wood from there till 11. I cut up wood and fed everything in eve. Pa walked to Clara's and Willie walked rabbit hunting. Nellie at Lewis' all day.
Sun 17th. Clear and wind from SW. A hard freeze in morn over the snow but warmer in eve and more than half of snow thawed off. Gussie and Wiley D dined here. Helen and her mother went home today. Bud here in eve awhile. I walked to Sims' in morn and to Clara's in eve.
Mon. 18th. Bright, nearly clear, and ground frozen hard in morn, but sun shined warm and wind from SW all day and all of ground thawed by 1 and most of snow before night. Pa, Willie and I cut wood most of morn just W of Dewberry cut and I hauled all of it (6 cartloads) with Hattie in eve and ground was very wet and soft. Pa and Willie split some rails in 2nd Cane hollow in eve.
Tue. 19th. Cloudy and cold from NW and sprinkled rain some in morn early and again at 12 1/2 to 1 1/2 and cleared up late in eve. Willie rived boards and I sawed out door to new barn and faced it in morn and Pa threshed stalks in field. Lucy McGraw came at 1 (and Bud with her) and she stayed all night. Willie rode Joe to Cohen's in eve and got some coffee. I sawed off both ends of rafters for new barn in eve.
Wed. 20th. Bright, nearly clear, and a hard freeze in morn but warmer in eve. The snow of a week ago has not quite all thawed yet. Pa, Willie and I cut some rafters and 3 posts and 1 long plate for shed on E side of new barn and beveled rafters for body of house in morn and we put up rafters on body and posts and plate of shed and sawed rafters for it in eve. Lucy McGraw left in morn. Harry Miller came at dusk and stayed all night.
Thu. 21st. Bright, a slight freeze in morn but warmer in eve from SW. Pa threshed stalks in field all day. Willie and I worked on new barn most of day. We put up rafters of shed on E side and lathing on that side of house and shed except about 2 courses at top and we cut and split and packed up some more lathing from NW of orchard late in eve. Harry Miller left early in morn. Nellie, Dixie, and Rena scoured and sunned everything today.
Fri. 22nd. Cloudy and warmer from SW but sun shined most of morn and it changed to N at 4 1/2 in eve and rained in little sprinkles till in night. Pa threshed stalks in field most of day. Dixie and Rena drove Hattie to Ed Ogden's (at Wat's old store) in morn and returned at sunset. Willie and I worked on new barn most of day. We finished putting on all lathing by 12 and we covered part of shed on E side in eve. Bass Stevens came at 12 to 2 and got a load of cane which he paid for some time ago. Our cane is very badly damaged by cold.
Sat. 23rd. Cloudy and wind chilly from NE but no rain. Willie rode Joe fox hunting in morn. I drove Hattie to old buggy to town in morn and carried 1 doz. hens to Max Dampf and I paid Adams my account ($6.10) and got 1 peck Dent corn - 60cts.- and 2 boxes of lye and pkg. of envelopes from him which I paid for and I got 1 bu. meal and 1/2 bu. salt and 1 gal. coal oil and 2 lbs. soda and 2 spools thread and paper needles from Dampf. I got Neyland to straighten my land assessment. I returned at 2 1/4 in eve.
Sun. 24th. Cloudy and warmer from SE all morn and bright and pleasant in eve from S. Nellie and Willie drove Hattie to town to preaching at Presbyterian Church in morn and returned at 2. Gussie and Helen and baby here all day and Bud here in eve. I walked down in Elmwood field and saw some of our cows in morn.
Mon. 25th. Bright and pleasant from S but cloudy some all eve. I covered part of shed and part of roof of new barn on E side all day and Pa handed me boards. Willie worked on Donegal road most of day and they finished it. I put Salome and Hattie's little colt, Rex, in cow pasture early in morn and I put Rose and Kate in there too (to calve) early in morn.
Tue. 26th. Cloudy but bright most of day from S and pleasant. I took headache last night and began to vomit early in morn at sunrise and lay on a pallet and vomited till 1 and drank cup coffee and biscuit at 1 1/2 and got up at 2 1/2 but was very sick at my stomach till after sunset and it left me after eating some milk and bread for supper. Pa cut briars and sprouts on wire fence road just E of yard and orchard all day and Willie cut locust posts in Sims' field most of day to put on line fence E of us (to repair it).
Wed. 27th. Cloudy some but bright and pleasant from S. Pa cut briars and sprouts on line fence E of orchard most of day. Willie and I covered our new barn all morn and finished E side and 2 courses on W side and used up nearly all of boards. Willie cut a red oak down in cow pasture on branch for boards in eve. I drove Hattie to Cohen's in eve to new buggy and got 25 lbs. of nails and 4 1/2 of wire staples and 1 pr. hames and 1 of trace chains and 2 lap rings and 3 double plow lines and 2 qts. onion sets and 5 lbs. coffee and 1 Singletree all for $4.65 on credit and returned before sunset. Nellie walked to Clara's in morn and there all day.
Thu. 28th. Cloudy some all day. Foggy most of morn but bright and warm from SW in eve. Pa finished cutting briars on line fence E of orchard in morn and he threshed stalks in eve. Willie and I worked all day cutting off board timbers (2 lengths) on red oak down in cow pasture on branch. Rose cow gave birth to a heifer calf down toward Coon place today.