...Or, how to warm up on a really cold day after feeling it was tooooo cold to go out.
The wind chill was below...cold. The temps were 'fresh'. Mr. Kind Neighbor stopped by to ask if he could cut up some of the trees we had chopped down and dropped in the pasture.
Yep, he certainly could. He was also looking to make some posts for corners of a fence he wanted to make.
I took him around to point out some trees he could take down. Locusts are very good for making corner posts once they are de-barked. We have a few younger trees that would make excellent posts without much work.
He then offered to cut up the old ash trees that fell on the east fence. Nice, I can repair the fence this spring.
He also will be cutting up the other pile for his own wood stove. There is no hurry and he can do it at any time.
He said he'd clean things up and burn the brush pile he makes. Huh. Go figure.
He is a Forester guy. He is the person that the state and county will send out to help you manage a better forest on your land.
Plus he knows what he is doing and as a bonus...he is a neighbor that is nice. We also offered him hunting on our land next deer season. We've watched him for two years and he is quite skilled at that too. He doesn't just wound them and have to track them for hours.
I spent most of the very cold morning, practicing and engaging in photography skills for my 365 Toy Photography Challenge. It was a good morning to try new things for me.
This is the tavern and the shop buildings from the Medieval Town Square--> the project Rich and I worked on. I've never tried a 'full' scene before. Placing the figures in the windows and in front of the building took a lot of effort and time to get them just right.
Fun though.
Then I took some interior shots. One of my favorite ones is the sleeping female warrior, Tilla.
I enjoyed trying to use the kitchen of the tavern...I mean, it looks like the cook is going to make Lobster for breakfast???
Do you know that I can do laundry and this at the same time? Well, sort of.
With laundry done, I decided to go to work outside.
It doesn't look like a huge pile, but it is two years worth of sticks and branches. After getting that started, I added logs, long branches, and walked about picking up chunks of wood. I added the other pieces a little at a time.
I never like a huge roaring fire.
To give you an idea of how much walking I did to pick things up and drop them on the fire.... my watch thingy said it was 5 miles. Whaaaat? I do know that I was bone tired by bedtime.
I got a great workout picking up log chunks and dragging long logs though.
By morning, the center had burned through and I was able to tip the unburnt sections back onto the hot coals and finish it off.
It is pretty nice to have such a nice neighbor. We don't see him or her and the kids often, especially in the winter. But they are kind people.
And, if you are wondering, while working in the nice fresh temps --> think 15 F -- I took off my coveralls and was toasty warm. Burning and piling brush piles is one of my favorite winter activities.
I know. I am odd.