Posts from the ‘Photos’ category

More to the grayish

A gray kind of day yesterday as storm #3 prepares to move in. It was not “due” until after 11 – my work week (a short one!) is filling up and I decided on a last pre-Christmas supply run while driving was decent. I started back home about 11:30…

…the weather people nailed this one – at least the start. It was windy, snowing lightly and most of that snow swirling around. The highway was actually fine, no accumulation on the road until I got to my own…

The road and scenery looked a bit different than last week in the motorhome.

Almost home…

One of my acquisitions from this day’s trip – a heated water bowl. Karl didn’t mind the change and it adds a bit of color to a day which tended more to the grayish.

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.

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.

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…