Archive for the ‘Images Captured’ Category
Bear Pose
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Happy twelve/twelve/twelve!
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Our bear could barely bear this first big snow storm of the season. He took on a bit of a “see no evil/hear no evil” look.
Lesson Learned
Round 2 goes to John, and if I felt more bold than I do, I would declare myself the victor. However, I am calling it a draw.
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The tractor put up a good fight, repeatedly clinging to the snow that would hit the bucket or blade. As my confidence increased, and I became more aggressive, the tractor sensed the opportunity to up the intensity a bit and left me stuck, teetering on the edge of the driveway, with the front wheels down in the soft snow. I had gotten away with the maneuver several times before. You just never know when the big rear wheels will suddenly lose their grip.
I found myself on the edge of giving in, and shut the engine down to prevent making a bad situation worse. I walked back up the driveway, considering my options. Who would I call for assistance, neighbor to the north, or neighbor to the south? Then I decided to try one last trick before seeking outside help. I remembered an old ice cream bucket that Cyndie had found when we were packing for our move.
The contents of that bucket have been with me since 1980, when I worked as a security guard at a shingle manufacturer in Minneapolis, while I was attending tech school. The manufacturer gave away the ceramic granules that go on top of the shingles, which can be used to provide great traction. It is amazing that I kept that bucket around all this time.
Between those granules and my years of winter driving experience, I was able to ever-so-slowly rock the tractor up out of that predicament. As I looked behind me when I finally got it moving on solid pavement, I noticed the neighbor to the north starting down the road toward me with a bucket of his own in his hand. I was able to wave him off and get back to putting the finishing touches on my work.
Next time down to the road, I took a moment to rotate the back blade 18o° and then backed up to push the snow into the ditch. Lesson learned.
Got Snow?
It finally fell. Snowflakes are still falling this morning, and Mozyr is engrossed in all the new views out our windows. The increasing accumulation presents many learning opportunities for me. I am learning where the snow collects in the corners where our roof lines meet. I am learning where ice develops as dripping ensues. And, I will soon learn whether I need to put chains on the tractor yet, or not.
In a twist of timing fate, I am alone for these lessons this week, as Cyndie happens to be in Arizona, continuing with her apprenticeship training with horses. On the good side, there will be no one to witness my foibles as I experiment with clearing snow with the back-blade on our tractor. I can tell her it worked perfect, first try. Yeah. Sure.
New Surprise
We’ve been on the new property for over a month now, and are continuing to discover surprises. When one of the contractors was surveying our place to quote some work, I heard him say, “Oh, you have an eagle.”
An eagle? What did he mean by that?
He pointed to it.
For the entire time I have been walking this property, starting with the visits before making an offer, through the many visits after our offer was accepted, then for weeks, (WEEKS!) after we have been living here, I failed to discover a statue of a perched eagle located near the entrance to the barn. Granted, it had been swallowed by growing things, which created a canopy that completely hid the eagle’s profile…
But, it only took this guy a few seconds to spot it as he walked by to view the space behind the barn.
I’m wondering about the origin of the piece, and also the decision for its placement. I’ll be checking with the folks who sold us the property, but wouldn’t be surprised if it was here when they bought the place.
They told us that’s why they left the bear. It was from the previous owner, and our sellers felt it should stay with the property. We are discovering there are multiple things left from previous owners. The old barbed wire fence was here long before the log home was built, which happened in 1990.
It’s been fun discovering little surprises like this one. They continue to make this place seem more and more special every day!
Pictorial Review
Cyndie putting the final touches on the Thanksgiving spread
Gathering around the old family table.
November morning with a new dusting of snow.
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Footprints in the new snow
Pequenita up on the highest shelf of the closet
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Mozyr watching the wildlife on our deck
Happy Thanksgiving
Today is the annual Thanksgiving holiday in the US, where tradition has it that we prepare a feast, with roast turkey being the most common main course. We will not be parting with tradition. In fact, we are combining new and old, cooking the traditional meal to be served on the old family table, but the turkey will be cooked in the brand new roaster Cyndie bought for the occasion, and we are hosting Thanksgiving dinner in our new house for the first time.
There is a lot that we are thankful for this year. I will take this opportunity to thank you for following our adventures here, and for being a part of Relative Something.
Spinning Around
Some days it seems easy, some days it’s as if everything is in front of my brain declaring a need for attention all at the same time. My computer and iPad at home, and my computer at the day-job all have searches and files saved with research, manuals and instructions, …buying information. Maintenance recommendations for the water softener. A log splitter. Air compressors. The Wisconsin Department of Forestry. We should have a different vehicle. I want a Jeep, but we could sure use the hauling ability of a pickup truck. Too bad I really could use a high mileage vehicle right now. It’s got my head spinning. So much for my list of items sorted by priority.
One trick I use to counter the spin is creating images like this one. It’s a different kind of spin. One that works for me.
I haven’t had a chance yet to tell our friends who visited us recently, and who exhausted every option troubleshooting an outdoor light that wasn’t working for us, that I found the switch that controls it. I had researched the cost of buying a replacement fixture and was moments short of contacting the folks who sold us this property, to confirm I wasn’t missing something, when I decided to make one more effort to look for a switch. I don’t know why we missed it that other night. Maybe it was a little farther from the side of the door than we expected it would be. But when I stepped up and peeked behind the dresser that we had placed beside the door, I immediately saw the switch, right in the middle of the back of it.
The whole time Ryan was trying to discover why it wouldn’t light, it was the simple reason of the switch behind my dresser being in the ‘off’ position.
No wonder I find my head spinning sometimes.
