Archive for ‘December, 2008’

Snow Day in pastels

**These photos were on Artful Tales in the larger sizes I was trying. I will have the new, larger format on From the Front Porch – hopefully to start the New Year. I made the decision to have only one blog and From the Front Porch will be it – sticking to writing and photos of the simple things in my life that I wish to share.

I want to thank all who commented and emailed – so helpful to know how things look to you, especially when I’m sitting here dithering!

Artful Tales has been dismantled, but I am keeping the domain name, just in case… and it has sentimental value – a shared venture at it’s start.

We got snow

We got a bit of snow…about 10 inches by midday. Karl blazed the trail for our early afternoon walk, although I think a few deer had gone before..

This explains a lot…

Yep.

I didn’t do much better…my hat after my snowblowing. The rest of me looked pretty much the same as the hat and Karl’s face.

We got snow.

The road home – from the motorhome

Another winter storm is forecast for this afternoon through Thursday evening. The motorhome had 2-3 days of propane left. Temps forecast to stay colder than normal through the next week. Several decisions yesterday – get propane, winterize…

Karl rode with me in the motorhome on a trip for propane and a few grocery items. It was a beautiful day and the temperature had risen to near 10 when we left yesterday in the early afternoon. Flathead River was frozen in a sea of snowy sparkles, but no place for a motorhome to pull over for a photo. The road home, however, was beautiful and irresistible…

The Road Home…from the motorhome.

RV winterizing (partial winterizing) notes: Pulled antifreeze through the water lines (all faucets, shower, toilet – missed outside shower), drained the water heater, left the fresh water tank full. Furnace at 50. Auxillary ceramic, electric heater in the fresh water bay. Water heater plug broke on removal, let warm water drain and used pliers to remove remains of plug. Need to replace plug before filling water heater. Water heater left on bypass currently.

Decided to do this partial winterize after spending $110 on propane in 2 weeks and more arctic cold forecast. Was keeping furnace at 68 and water heater running (on propane). With the lines full of anti-freeze and the water heater drained, the furnace is set at 50 and water heater is off. Propane use should be half as much. Electric heater will sustain fresh water bay at the lower furnace setting.

We love our woodstove

By “we”, I mean Bob and I…Karl would be happy if the thing stayed stone cold and the heat off… I didn’t always appreciate a woodstove. When I as a young teen, my dad decided to put a woodstove in our basement to provide supplemental heat. Being a mechanical engineer, the project was exhaustingly researched, the stove acquired and installed and then the fun began – getting wood. It was fun the first few times…

After spending 13 years in sunny California, when I moved to Montana and back to a four season climate, one of the things that I wanted was a woodstove in my house. All my houses have had woodstoves or converted fireplaces. And even though it is messy and work getting wood – I don’t cut, but I do split, stack and move it around – I do love both the heat and cheeriness of a woodstove going.

In this house, the stove is a Vermont Castings Vigilante, circa 1977.

It is fairly small but in this little house, I have to be careful I don’t get it running too hot. All stoves have their idiosyncracies and outside/inside temp affect how they will burn. The first year, the first time I closed it up to burn hot through the night, I woke sweating -the entire house over 80 degrees. I have since learned how to (mostly) manage it to keep it comfortable, but occasionally it gets away from me…

When the cat is “sunning” himself in front of the woodstove, particularly when it is from a distance on the ottoman, it is a good sign that maybe it is time to let the fire die back a bit…

Karl prefers the coldest spot in the house, right in front of the slider with all that nice frigid air seeping in.

Bob and I, we love our woodstove.

A little sunshine on a Sunday morning

This morning was clear – stars and the full moon lit our early morning “down the driveway” walk. Despite being -6, with no wind and dressed for the occasion – it did not feel that cold. I love moonlight shining through the woods and we had our usual dawdle back – me on the driveway and Karl on the east property perimeter.

The sun rose and the temperature with it, climbing to near zero by 10 a.m.. I might have waited for a bit more warmth, but 10 is our usual morning walk time and Karl was pestering to go, so I suited up and off we went. I took my smaller (and older!) camera, despite the temps, but it got too cold quickly. I did get a couple shots before it refused to operate..

A bit more snow on the mountains, but not as much as I expected to see. The Swan Range curves around to the north, close enough that my property was in a wind shadow for the cold wind that was blowing out of the North-Northeast. Along a corridor through Columbia Falls and Kalispell, the weather info showed winds high enough to cause the wind chill to be in the -20’s. But even on our walk there was not even a breeze high in the trees – it was quiet, sunny and beautiful.

Karl and I played a little snow soccer when we got home. I warmed up a bit inside and then went back out with camera and tripod to see if I could get a photo (quickly!) of Karl and I…. I call the procedure “the Karl and Ann rodeo” …

Thanks to a timer that will click off a number of shots after a delay, I not only got the story, but both of us almost facing the camera…

For my next trick, I will try to get the Ann, Karl and Bob Christmas photo…this usually takes the better part of a day and ends up with me needing a nap…