First Campfire of the Spring

This last Sunday afternoon I sat in front of my first campfire after the snow had melted.

And, of course, you-know-who had to be right in the middle of it. It is not visible in the picture but, he singed the hair of his eyebrows. He has seen fire before, in the wood stove. But, he had never seen an open flame fire. He quickly figured out that getting too close is no bueno.

It was a, “gloriously gloomy” day — Meaning, that it was completely overcast and cool. There was also the threat of rain showers. Sure enough one passed through. Undeterred, I protected the fire from the falling water and retreated under the patio cover till the shower passed.

Rest in Peace my Friend

This morning, at about one-thirty, Kodiak Bear (Kody) passed over the great divide to the place of eternal rest. He left us on the date of his fourteenth birthday. He passed peacefully at home on his pillow.

Kodiak Bear, “Kody”

03/23/2009 — 03/23/2023

It is Finished

Most folks around these parts, myself included, do not start thinking about putting up firewood for the Winter until mid-to-late Summer. This year, simply wanting to get on his list, I contacted the guy I got my firewood from last year asking if he would be selling again this year. His answer was, “Yes. How much do you want?” When I told him, to my astonishment, he replied, “I can start bringing you some next week.” Wait, what? It is only April! It seems this guy is not an opportunistic seasonal firewood seller but, a year-round purveyor of the stuff.

He brought me four loads of firewood, one a week for four weeks. Spreading it out like that made splitting and stacking the firewood much easier for me. The end result of his deliveries and my hard work resulted in what you see depicted in the photograph below. That stack is, approximately, four (4) cords of mostly Red Fir with a little bit of Tamarack (Western Larch). The small pile outside the stack is wood that is saturated in sap or, “pitch.” It is really great as a fire starter and will flame up even when wet.

This fall, when everyone else is complaining that they have to get their wood in, I will have long forgotten the sore muscles I endured back in April and May.

Water, Cold, and Warm

On 26 February, after a week of really cold temperatures, the creek behind the, “Undisclosed Location” was frozen over.

But, it started to warm up and later that same day, the ice began to melt.

The day after that, open water returned.

On 28 February the rain fell. Nearly an inch and a half of it. That is a lot of water and melting snow coming down off the mountain behind me.

The high temperature today, 01 March, was 47ºF the creek is even more, “swolled up.”

It would seem that Winter is coming to an end.

Spring is not here yet but…

The, “Angel of the Fountain” showed herself four days ago on the 18^th. 

This Winter started out like gang-busters. Lots of snow. It was looking like this area might finally get a more, “normal” Winter. More like my first Winter here at the, “Undisclosed Location.” Alas, there has not been any significant snow since January 6^th.

Celestial Winter ends with the Vernal (Spring) Equinox on March 20^th at 08:33 PDT. On that date, the hours of daylight will be the same as the hours of darkness. But, that is just a date on a calendar. It could snow after that date but, I am not holding my breath.

What to do After Coming Out of the, “Pestilence.”

A couple of weeks ago, I was struck down with symptoms stemming from the “Plandemic,” It was no fun. It started like a cold. Then came the unstoppable, incessant, persistent, chest-racking, dry cough… AUGH! Fortunately, the cough tormented me for only about five days. After a couple more days, I no longer felt sick. Buuuut, I was completely and totally wiped out and just plain “whupped.” I slept and slept and slept some more for another five days or so. Then one day I felt better. The day after that I had the energy and motivation to go to the grocer; and have been “right as rain” ever since.

Whilst I was down and out I did not have much of an appetite. My sustenance was derived mostly from homemade and pressure canned chicken broth and when that ran out, store bought Chicken Noodle Soup.” I was surprised to note that I had not made any chicken broth since December of 2018. Yes, that is right, three years ago. (I am laughing out loud as I type this because I am picturing a very good friend of mine dry-heaving uncontrollably at the thought of eating something more than two weeks old and, horror of horrors, made three plus years ago. I did it, and I will do it again. It was very tasty and satisfying.)

As I noted above, I completely exhausted my stash of chicken broth. So, when I went to the grocer, I picked up the necessary ingredients to make some more. I had more carrots, celery, yellow onion and fresh dill than I had chicken. Instead of tossing them into the compost, I made vegetable broth. I really have no use for vegetable broth but, I will use it as the liquid for my next batch of chicken broth.

I made the turkey broth using the Thanksgiving Day turkey carcass I rescued from going into the trash after the big dinner at some friends’ house.

Snow and More Snow

Back in March of 2018 I posted, “It All Came Down, Part II” with photographs of snow slowly coming off my roof. Since then it has not snowed enough or, stayed cold enough for that to happen. That is, until this year.

Sometimes one looks at snow on the ground and wonders, “Where did that come from?”

The answer? From the crown of the roof.

Meanwhile, the snow that has slid from the patio cover has piled up on the deck.

And sloughed off to the underside of the patio.

All that is after I cleared the snow earlier in the season. One might wonder why I did not keep up with the removal of the snow. Well, when it slides off the roof in the middle of the night and becomes ice before I wake up, it is next to impossible to shovel.

As I write this, no significant amount of snow has fallen in a month; and there was some rain since then as well. So, since the Winters of 2016-2017, and to a lesser degree 2017-2018, there has been no real snow until this year and it seems what started as a more typical Winter has fizzled. There is no snow in the foreseeable forecast.

Either way, the boyz and I are safe, warm and dry.

What to do when it is snowing outside.

“Man, I could never live where you do. All that cold and snow? Being trapped inside for months on end? You can have it!” I have heard these words many times. Sometimes from you — You know who you are.

First of all, the cold. Guess what? I do not want to live with the heat where you live. When it is hot, there is only so much clothing one can take off in an attempt to cool off. Avoiding cold is far easier to accomplish. The right clothing worn in layers makes for a comfortable venture outside.

But, once the outside chores are finished, what then? At the risk of being snarky, that is a question just as easily asked when the temperature outside is seventy degrees Fahrenheit. But, here is something I did just the other day.

Can you guess what it is? I know my friends code-named “Nanu’s Wife” and her beau “Nanu” know what it is.

Give up? It is Habanero Jelly. I can hear some of you now, “Habanero? That stuff will blow the back of your head off!” Perhaps. But, I tamp down the heat by removing the membranes (ribs) from inside the peppers.

I do not eat a lot of it myself. Instead, I give it away.

“Whad-ya do with it?” Put it on toast. Drizzle it over ice cream. One guy I know puts it on grilled cheese.

Now, go get something to wipe the envious drool off of your chin before you muck up your keyboard, tablet or, phone.

Snow. Lots of it… Finally. II

Here are a couple of pictures that depict the snow that has fallen over the last week.