It's all in stories...Brothers Odd

Yeti once again was complaining that Wisconsin Winters  would be too cold for him.  He moved back from the Himalayan mountain ranges because he was sure it would so much nicer back in his homeland. 

He was a huge Legend in the Himalayan mountains, but he was tired of the winds, snows, and frankly all the humans that were trying to catch sight of him. 

He thought at least if he could get back to his place of birth he'd find the climate much more to his liking. 

Yeti lit a huge on a large match and was going to get a huge bonfire going and put it in the Brother's Odd Hut....

Big Foot shouted out and ran over! 
"Don't burn the Hut down Yeti!"

Hmmm. Whew! 

The Brothers Odd then stood around the fire to discuss the upcoming winter months.

How were they all going to fit in this tiny hut?

A fire inside will surely burn it down and then they wouldn't have a home at all. 

Chewie watches, hidden from view. Maybe his half siblings could use some help. Well, at least some guidance.

He ponders Yeti's aversion to cold. What is that all about? Yetis, by legend, were supposed to love the cold and snow.

He recalls Yeti's father, a mixed breed of Squatch, telling his mom that Baby Yeti was not quite what he expected. Yeti was born pure white in the middle of summer. They decided to send him to a snowy climate so he could hide from the humans.

Chewie thought poor Yeti had gotten a bum deal.

Chewie took a walk to think bout things. The forest animals always seemed to follow him around he noticed. He didn't mind. 

In his galactic travels he'd come across many critters. The forest animals were nice company and not too demanding or dangerous. At least none of them were raccoons and owned a space ship. That was a fella to watch out for.

Chewie hiked to the creek and climbed a large old Oak stump. He closed his eyes and summoned up the powers of heat. 

Perhaps he'd go back to his ship and see if he could figure out a way to help his odd half brothers.

On his way past Miss Stinky's place he made a nice warm fire for her and her little Stinker. Miss Stinky thanked him. She loved Chewie's warm flames that never burnt a thing but gave off beautiful heat.

He rather liked these woods. Perhaps he'd stay a while.... 

But.....

When in doubt, make up stories...

I spent the warm rainy day making apple sauce. One of my earlier experiments to make apple butter turned out awful. It was a slow cooker recipe and I must have done something quite awful to make it so bad.

In between cooking, cleaning, and being quiet so the other half could have his naps, I decided to experiment with shooting...what else? Toys. I can be quiet while stuck indoors and my brain is distracted from stressful things.

I used a digital back drop for these shots just for experimenting. Basically, I set the Lego folks on blocks in front of my Smart TV and put up some selected pictures on the screen.

They didn't turn out quite the way I wanted, but still, it was fun to try. There were some miserable failures involved. But that is what I like about photography. Try it, adjust, try it again, and perhaps improve.

I was sure at one time that the only true photography was of landscapes, wide open vistas of mountains, lakes, skies, and forests. I don't have open vistas in this area unless I am standing on crop land or a bluff. I turned my attention to the small things in the forest. 

I took a Still Life class on line and discovered the fun of being able to do photography indoors. I didn't find all the subjects I tried exhilarating. But I did discover new ways of enjoying photography.

My first Lego person presented himself in 2017. A child I was babysitting gave me a Lego minifigure. I used it in a Still Life as a joke:

The photo made absolutely no sense what so ever. A cup of coffee with a flower and a Lego person in it and rose petals and baubles tossed around the cup? I really got a kick out of it never the less. My husband thought I'd gone over to the Looney Bin.

Small things in the forest interest me also. The world of tiny is so often missed by those of us looking for the beauty of large.

So I decided to take some time in between rains to run out into the woods by the house and have some fun.

I decided to continue the story of Squatch and Big Foot. They'd heard that they had a brother that was a Yeti and they went searching to find him. Yeti was trying to build a fire. Contrary to popular belief, Yeti does NOT like the cold at all. He'd rather be warm and cuddly near a fire.

Squatch and Big Foot invited them back to Squatch's little stick house.

Yeti was so relieved to have found a fire and his long lost brothers at the same time. As the boys talked, Yeti asked them if they recalled their oldest half brother that was shunned from the family. 

This was new to them, but they said they did recall the family having some arguments when they were little Squatches. They grew up and went their separate ways with their own unique identities.

There was something said about a half brother from another mother that behaved strangely and didn't conform to their standards.

The Three odd brothers decided that they would look for their half brother who had gone missing.

Meanwhile in the forest...
Wait, What?

A space ship?

Chewie crash lands in a forest with his little space cruiser. He sets out to fix the cruiser when something strikes him as very familiar. This feels like a forest he knew long ago.

He finds mushrooms to eat which remind him of the food he used to eat with his little funny Half Brothers. It reminds him of the joyful times he had before the elders found him 'different' and threw him out of the clan.

Chewie takes a bath in the cold creek of his Squatchhood. He is now pretty sure that his space cruiser crash landed in the forest of his youth.

.......

Yep, that's what happens when you decide to let the imagination play out.

I did make some great applesauce without messing it up. Washed windows, did laundry and started to clear warm weather stuff off the porch.

I guess I divide my days between all my chores/farm stuff and daydreaming of what could be...

Endless days of snow and rain...

There are good things and not so great things about long stretches of cold rainy and snowy days.

The good thing was I worked on some deep cleaning. During the other half's nappy time, I had to be quiet [no vaccum cleaning or killing dust bison]. I moved Charlie's pillow to the new-old Christmas Chair which has had its legs cut off.

When I came back in the living room to mop the floor, I saw this. What a perfect spot for him! He likes the couch better. 

Squatch decided that he needed to build a good shelter. He was tired of cold wet fur and colder chilly nights.  Besides, he had Dog to think of.

He consulted with Doe who was one of the very first toys in my collection. She suggested building one.

A cream cheese container wrapped in cast off aluminum and encased in clay would make a good small cave.

Not exactly a castle, but...

with a fire, it seems pretty cozy. 

And then a neighbor dropped by for conversation, but the fire was so nice and warm....

He fell fast asleep. But his chicken carried on a conversation with Dog.

I made even a bigger mess in the one room I intended to clean up. I need to go back and do some major sorting. Out with the old junk, and in with the new junk?

Drink water

 

I took the 'boys' on a walk to the creek. Sven was happy not to be in his pen, he took the opportunity to stop and nibble at things as we hiked. Charlie tried to get him to run and play but I guess Sven was more interested in munching and looking around. 

I really hadn't had him out on as many walks/hikes as I should have been doing.
He seems to be very happy most of the time with Li'l Richard's company. 

When I did chores early Tuesday, Sven was shivering. I spent time after chores cleaning out his stall and putting in fresh dry bedding. When I tried to shut him in tonight he threw a temper tantrum. He couldn't see his buddy in the next pen. Pony Goat Love. Or something like that. When they are in the larger lot together Li'l Richard likes to chase Sven around. 

They really have become attached to each other.

I spent most of the afternoon working on brush piles and burning the last of the mess I'd made out by the rock outcropping. That is, until I get more Buckthorn cut down.

Working with a small fire nearby was nice and toasty. I forgot how cold it really was. 10 degrees.

I used the larger hand saw on a couple of the old hard dry Buckthorn trees. My little saw wouldn't do well on that hard wood. I'll have to go back and cover up the stumps a bit later.

The girded trees should die within in a year. Meanwhile I will use them to attach a blind to so I can have myself a Woman Cave.

I actually thought of putting up a bird feeder this winter and using the blind to stay out of sight and out of the frigid breezes. 

I don't know. I could be kidding myself. But it is a good project and will keep me busy. I am encouraged as it is looking pretty nice compared to what it had been.
When the snow falls I can still cut Buckthorn and cover the stumps to smother them.

It does wear a bit on me though. My hands kept cramping up tonight while making supper. Ever have a cramp in your hand that makes your fingers curl up tight? Wow!

I know I hadn't had water out with me. Bad me. Cold weather, working hard, and dehydration are more than likely the culprits. I'll take a thermos out with me next time. 

Last but not least. I created a Christmas colored Fractal for fun tonight.

I had forgotten how fun and frustrating this program can be. I did like this one though.