January 10 thru 11, 1894

I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest.  If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me.
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Wednesday, January 10, 1894 --- Another fairly typical day.  Bert and Leman do the chores in the morning, and then go to the woods and cut some more firewood.  They also split the wood, and corded it up - three cords.  (A full cord is a large amount of wood. It measures 4 feet high by 4 feet wide by eight feet long (4' x 4' x 8') and has a volume of 128 cubic feet.)

Bert and Leman do the evening chores.  John Babcock went to the "hollow" to get kerosene... not sure if Bert is referring to Ingleside?  Ingleside was known as Riker's Hollow previously.  I'm guessing he bought kerosene from James Avery in Ingleside?

Thursday, January 11, 1894 --- They do the morning chores as usual, and then sit in the house a little while.  (I'm not at all sure why Bert mentions sitting in the house so often. They seem to have a different work ethic than my great great grandfather Henry C. Olney - a neighbor of theirs.  Or maybe Henry just never mentioned rest periods in the same way that he never much mentioned doing the daily morning and evening chores?)  They then went back to the woods and cut and split more firewood. (Note this would have been done with axe and two man crosscut saw.... no power chainsaws in those days!)  They then hitch up the horses, and "drawed" a couple of loads of firewood back to the house.  They then did the evening chores.  Bert notes that it snowed, and "the wind is a rising" tonight.