Musings

I wanted to go out for a good walk, but thought the feet-warm situation was probably…not-so-good. Then, I remembered I’d squirreled away a perfectly good pair of low-top boots. Adequate, given the accumulation. So, I dug around and found an appropriate pair of socks (socks and shoes must work together, you know).

Aha! Then, I remembered that I’d tucked in my gaiters, and I was ready to suit up!

Nice walk, toasty all the way! Saw lots of deer tracks from approximately mid-day, even one place they’d gotten some apples from beneath the snow.

Posted at 10:15 PM | 3 Comments »

We watched the weather transition soon after this. The snow stopped, and the wind kicked up. I don’t know if you can pick out the one red spot near the center of the photo, a lone apple hanging on above the reach of the deer.

Great apple production this year, both many apples and nice apples. No spraying or other bug repellants applied, and yet, far fewer insect invasions in the fruit than I ever remember seeing before.

Inside, the Guru brought in lots of wood and the stove kicked out the heat, very pleasant.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Warm and cozy Tee-Emm

Good to know the eagle is still watchful along the beach. That’s him/her just left of center, in what’s left of his/her favorite treetop. (Trees sometimes have a rough time on this property.)

The freeze has just struck, and so some of the apples have centers that got frozen. Worse weather is coming within the next day. We have plenty of firewood, groceries, and vodka/gin.

Posted at 9:39 PM | 2 Comments »

I think I’ve posted a photo of this corner before. The late afternoon light (and we had maybe four minutes of that) illuminates it in a nice way; this is after the sun-brightness faded, unfortunately (fumbled on getting the right camera primed).

A half-hour ago, the sky was darkened by big flakes. Now it’s clear, especially to the south (“bad” weather comes from the northwest, usually), where I even see a few small, puffy clouds with pink tops. Still, the temps are dropping, and will continue to do so through the night, we hear. Good thing I cleaned the ashes out of the stove.

Yeah, the stove was doing a poor job of drawing yesterday (like nearly none at all), and I futzed around with the problem, and finally figured out that I needed to do that chore and open up the grate at the bottom of the firebox in the process. I should have known; the ash bucket in the outhouse was nearly empty!

Posted at 5:18 PM | Comments Off on Chain of evidence

Woke up to a dusting, and a stunning early-dawn sky. Lucky us, the sun emerged, and took all the snow before the day was out, and most of it by mid-morning. By the afternoon, the sky had clouded up, but the morning was stellar.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Overnight bonus

Off on the left is half an apple tree; the left trunk took out the other half—better that than a person or a pickup.

I went out and communed with the stump and the twin tree-corpses this afternoon. Huge trunks, now…potential lumber (we hope). And plenty of branch-firewood.

Sometime later, big fluffy flakes came down for a few minutes. Then, the sun came out—the first time since we arrived. It lasted only as long as the snow. Then there was another flutter of snow. Now it’s just grey (and dark), and wet underfoot.

Big news: the fixit-guys finished up, and the cottage is as whole as it could be. Whoopee!

* I think….

Posted at 5:50 PM | Comments Off on Planted by my great-uncle*

Good to have talented professionals fixing oww-ies. This open-ceiling situation lasted about two hours, and it’s now fixed, even the shingles in place.

This “tree event” was not so bad on the house as our previous “events,” but equally bad for the tree. Like the previous (ATL) pair, it gave its life…the others fell in the winds; this one stayed standing and subsequently powerful chainsaws brought it down.

Anyone want to take the trunk for lumber?

Posted at 5:13 PM | 1 Comment »

I’m used to willing the wood stove that bears this to kick out the heat. When it’s cool in the house (like today), I am usually surprised how long it takes the heat to really radiate into the room, and not just to hover below the ceiling. We’ve reached the point where the floor is still chilly, but the room is tolerable, if you still have your fleece jacket on. The trend is great!

We’re going to have to reorganize the firewood. We’re inundated with pine, most of it too fresh, and what we need is “keepers,” larger chunks of slower burning wood.

On the other hand, once this place gets warm, I just need to keep the fire going and we’ll be fine, and some of that fresh pine may be fine then. Of course, keeping the fire going through the night is pretty difficult without a reload in the dark hours (the firebox is not very large) and some very large chunks of super-slow wood.

Posted at 6:04 PM | 2 Comments »

Saw some fine late-day oblique-angled sunlit trees in the fading hours of this day.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Yes, mountains

This seems appropriate for a time-discombobulated day…. Slept in (unusual), but getting sleepy on old time. Strange body.

We’ve voted but the ads continue. Annoying ads, too. Do they really motivate people to vote?

On the other hand, the wind has died down, and that’s a major comfort….

Posted at 10:22 PM | 1 Comment »