Hiemal and Apricity & heaters

[see the little black doggy in the far 

left side of the photo?]

Hiemal:
of or relating to Winter

Apricity:
the warmth of the Winter Sun

These odd words are pretty accurate at describing my latest hiking adventures. While in the woods and out of the wind, I can appreciate Apricity.

When moving into the deep valleys I enjoy Hiemal temperatures in the shaded part. 

However, Olive and I found a rather warm area next to one of the large caves we found. She basked in sun.

We trekked along the bluffs to find the large bluff rock with a 'hole' in it.

The orange arrow points to where I was...

I did NOT venture out on the rock. The top of it was covered in ice... even Charlie didn't venture any further.

We headed up along a hogback ridge and found a spot to sit and have snacks and take a breather. 

My goal this month was to find out if one could get to the top of that bluff. 

I sure felt humbled by finding that spot and observing the river from 80 feet above it.

Now to return when the ice is gone and explore the narrow and very steep valley below it. Will it give me an entrance to that 'hole'? I don't know yet.

Olive said this is what she had needed before her work week. She needed to get the cobwebs out of her head and fresh air into her lungs. 
She likened our little adventure to Lewis and Clark.

I laughed and said that it was better to be Lewis and Clark than Thelma & Louise -- because that relationship ended badly!

Heaters ~~~

When I got home I found out that the motor and fan on our heater was screaming and misbehaving. It screeched and groaned and made the awful-ist noises. It had been getting worse over the all week.

At 8PM, Olive showed up with 3 large space heaters. I turned off the offensive heater and we temporarily solved the problem with one space heater. 

Now to go on and start with phone calls to replace this heater.
Photo from 2016 when the Cabin Heater was installed. Direct Vent LP heater. For our Tiny Home we use about 200 gallons of LP per winter. So it has done a great job so far. Our last heater of the same kind lasted 15 years before we replaced it.

Of course this week promises to be fraught with horrible winter weather all week. So any chance of fixing our heat right away may be an issue.

This morning I made some phone calls. Now I wait for someone to get back to me.

That old Trunk and other things

That old trunk I moved into the kitchen area happened to end up staying there. Somedays I use it for a laundry folding spot, some days I used it for...well,

this...

 I had a huge list of to-do's and some of it included the 'other' half. But just after his coffee and breakfast he went back to bed. Such can be our routine.

I thought I'd let it warm up a bit outside before I approached installing the large tank heater. If I busied myself with laundry and doing something creative, I could stay in the house and keep an eye on things.

My friend at the Farmer's Market had set aside a couple of neat gourds she thought I might like for me on Saturday. She said, "I thought of you and your pictures!"

So how could I not use them to do a bit of still life?
I admit, I don't have a studio and I don't have the fancy lighting stuff, but this will have to do for right now. I enjoyed picking out some paper to use as foreground and backround and trying to arrange things in a pleasing manner.

According to some Still Life experts, I don't follow the rules of just 3 objects, dramatic lighting, and moving from tall to short.

I have tried and tried to emulate some of those amazing and dramatic photos, but I keep coming back to just having some fun. 

I mean who can keep from smiling at Groot and a tiny wooden deer?

I have a feeling that Groot will keep showing up now and again.

Then of course, I had to clean up and organize things.

But not before just a bit more fun...

toys behaving badly....

Mice in the cupboards? 

Then I had to put things away and make lunch and tend to my mules.

The above is a sample of the odd box I found. The bottom piece is the only drawer our old kitchen had. Yes, you read that correctly. Our old kitchen had one drawer that was long and narrow. 

After tending to hubby and his lunch, I was able to find football highlights on YouTube for him to watch while I changed out the tank heater and did some in hand work with Siera. She seems a bit off in attitude with all the other mules. She is generally bossy and has been hanging out away from the others.

I have a call into the farrier for a trim anyway. He is fantastic at spotting any issues.

Finally, Charlie and I headed for the woods to collect SD cards from the cameras and have some quiet time.

Who can resist a Halloween themed photo....