Teddy, move over

Gambol uncovered a vole nest: one critter per dog. After some coaxing, he traded for a piece of cheese but Buddy swallowed his in 2 gulps, no cheese chaser.
I carried it home for the chickens and had visions of the first time Dad and I met Teddy Moritz, the falconer with the super dachshund pack, as she quartered a fresh bunny barehanded and fed parts to her bird and dogs. I used my foot to halve the vole, but then fed it barehanded to my girls, who were grateful for the treat.

More flooring

Doug, John, and Cody worked on the flooring, finishing off the powder room and covering the kitchen, dining room, and powder room with cardboard to protect it during the construction. John and Cody put down the walnut accent strip dividing the kitchen and dining room from the great room. This 6" accent strip echoes the walnut post. They also added a bullnose edger board along the top of the staircase.  They also put down boards to divide the wood floor from the areas that will be tiled.  These divider boards are placed perpendicular to the courses of wood on the floor, so they will provide a buffer between the different rates of expansion of the wood flooring and the tile.
They have put down an outline for the hearth.  Jerry and Chris, from PennWood, agreed that the Lopi stove did not require very much insulation on the hearth, so it can be almost flush with the flooring if we use regular tile. Of course, if we go with the 1” blue stone, that would cause the hearth to be elevated above the level of the floor to some degree. Something to consider. Decisions, decisions.

Jonas installed the remaining railing posts in the loft. Three of these posts are positioned right next to a timber post, so the railing posts were split in half and then installed so that it looks like the railing post is embedded in the timber post. Jonas and Bill will now start on building the railings and balusters in their workshop and bring them to the house in sections that will fit between the installed posts. The maple treads for the staircase up to the loft were delivered and are ready for installation.
Adrian is extending the major ducts in the basement and connecting them to floor vents on the main floor.

We've lost count of the 4-legged-furry field Popsicles (voles) the boys have snacked on.  Gambol found 2 today: ate the first one quickly but he played a little too long with the second one and Buddy took it away.  Gambol tosses his finds in the air and rolls his shoulders over the critter (tenderizing it perhaps?). Buddy can't be bothered; he just gulps them down.
Reading Hiding in Plain Sight Marta Perry

deep snow

Gambol and Buddy hunted for voles in the deep snow. The boys plunge their heads under the snow and shovel forward. They pop up 5-10 feet later, blow snow from their noses, and shovel on. The meadow tracks show clearly that they can't run more than 5 steps in a straight line. There are moments that I can see one or both dogs only by their wagging flag, their entire body is under the snow. Gambol caught and ate 2 voles before Buddy noticed that he'd missed lunch. I wonder what the Diamond Pet food people think of these snacks.
Although the sun is bright and the sky blue, at 25 degrees we still have 14 undrifted inches. It's not light and fluffy though. It is dry, not so good for snowballs, but more grainy than flaky and not sparkly in the brilliant sun. The dogs look like white poodles after about 15 minutes in the meadow.  Buddy has longer hair so he collects more ice balls all over himself: ears, belly, legs.  He actually jingles when he runs. They must weigh him down, but he doesn't give up.  Gambol isn't immune to the ice pack but he is better able to shake off.  It takes us almost as long to de-ice the boys as we spend outside.  Neither dog cares for the hair drier so we just rub them down with towels.
I've opened the chicken coop but the birds aren't enthralled with the white stuff.  They sit in the sun but don't venture out to the snow.  No ice balls for them.
Paul finished hand shoveling the driveway today.  He was able to plow below the shed yesterday in a narrow lane before the RTV gave up and would only go to first gear, no reverse.  Then he used the tractor shovel to do the hill but something is wrong with it now.  Dodderers, we'll be calling. A lot of what he did is dry now.

Reading:  Split Second (Baldacci)***murder and politics. Two disgraced Secret Service agents are unwilling actors in a reenactment. The good guys win.