Tall Trees

"My leaves are turning crimson," the giant oak tree said,

"It's almost time these children should seek their winter's bed,

But how they still cling to me and gleam with crimson hue,

They truly are more lovely than cirrus clouds of blue.

Winifred Sackville Stoner, Jr. - A Song of the Woods

I love and am grateful for the seasons.

I can't get all of these trees into one photo

without backing far away and then they just look like regular trees.

I thought I would try two photos to try and give an idea of their height. The bottom photo also shows the greenhouse and the woodshed. The top of the pine tree is not able to be seen from this angle.

This is a photo I took on Sunday.

I'm using old photos because I slept the day away because of a migraine. Phooey. All my painting plans are put off until tomorrow. I hope that will work out ok. We had leftovers tonight. I just heated up whatever I could find in the fridge. Think I'm going to go back to bed.

[3 eggs today]

Rain tomorrow. 80% chance.

Smiles

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Getting Ready

I think it was Henry Ford who said that if you chopped your own wood you warm yourself twice. Well, this year, Tom, ordered in some wood all ready to be stacked in the woodshed, but he did get a workout carrying and stacking all the wood. Looks like he will be getting some more wood or he has plans to use some of our wood and split it with the splitter John left.

Some years the wood was delivered and dumped in a pile and left to dry over the summer. Other years, Tom, cut trees, split them, and stacked the wood. A few years we left the wood in a pile and covered it with tarps before the rain and snows. It is a lot nicer going out to the woodshed and getting wood than fighting with a tarp, especially if it is wet and has puddles or snow. I like that "squirrel storing away nuts" feeling of getting ready for winter.

The old dog food and chicken feed bags are full of kindling and the straw is there for me to use to freshen the hens nest boxes. Once in awhile, Tom, finds an egg or a broody hen in the shed when he is working out there, but the chickens don't make a habit of hanging out in the woodshed because it is usually shut up tight. The metal panels come off the back and the side behind the wood, so we can access the old wood and use it up first. Good thing, because it is the driest and burns best. We wait to have our first fire until we are having a heavy rain. I worry about sparks setting alight the dry forest and we for sure don't want any forest fires!

My brother built this shed originally to hold building supplies when he was building this house. Then he divided it and fixed this side up for a horse for his daughter. The other side is for feed and tools. There is something really neat about a woodshed stacked full of wood ready to keep us warm through the winter. Nice cosy feeling.

[4 eggs today]

Smiles

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