Light, Fire, Power, Oh My!

 

Bill has been lighting fires all around the woods lately.  

It's a late fall thing for him. 

When there's guaranteed moisture in the air and the burning ban has been lifted, he assembles little twigs and lights a fire.  

Once it gets going, he  drags piles of brush and other residue and feeds the fire.

These burning projects are all part of creating a neat and tidy forest. 

He also tends his bonfires closely and even takes trips to the woods long after dark to make sure the fire is fully out. 

This morning, before daylight, he lit another fire---in the stove. 

I noted in a blog post a few days ago that we usually don't have a fire in the wood stove until Thanksgiving. 

Well, we had no power for nearly five hours overnight, so the house was cold AND dark, especially the toilet seat. 

I've also reported before that Bill is a Boy Scout who remains "prepared" with lanterns and flashlights and batteries galore. 

As usual, when the power goes out in the middle of the night, my hubby also takes off on surveillance missions, driving around the neighborhood to see the extent of the power outage. 

This morning he said Filipowski's up the road had power but Selle Road was out. 

Once I arose and put on some clothes, I took my iPhone to the car where the Internet works.  

After some brief scrolling through Facebook, I learned that more than 1,000 of us out in this area were without power and that the cause may have been a tree over the line. 

So, the crews must have found it and removed the problem. 

It's always nice when the lights come back on.  At that point this morning, I was able to ditch my sponge bath and take a full-fledged shower. 

To say the least, the morning has been a bit mixed up, but that's okay.  

We often are so immersed in our strict daily routines, that it does the mind some good to have to think rather than just going through the motions. 

Did I say it feels good to have a cozy living room with a fire in the stove?

The "Be Prepared" Boy Scout takes care of those things. 

Two links below:  one telling about a town in Florida that cancelled next year's St. Patrick's Day Parade and the crazy reason why.   

The second tells about the worldwide origin of St. Patrick's Day Parades.  The first ever was not in Ireland; it was held in Florida. 

https://www.npr.org/2026/11/14/nx-s1-6041093/st-patricks-day-parade-canceled-florida-dei?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

https://www.irishstar.com/culture/first-st-patricks-day-parade-34863444

The ZAGS lost yesterday by one point.  

I was disappointed with the final score but NOT with the ZAGS.  

It was a close back-and-forth game between the ZAGS and the visiting LSU Tigers. 

Regardless of the loss, I think the ZAGS are about as entertaining as I've ever seen them, and I have no doubt they'll get even better.  

In reference to LSU, Bill pointed out some college sports irony this morning while reading the paper. 

The ZAGS lost to LSU in the final second of their basketball game in Spokane.  

Later in the day, the LSU Tigers were hosting the Texas Longhorns for a big college football game. 

The Tigers lost the game to their visitors IN THE LAST SECOND. 

                                                                                                --AI Enhancement

Wishing my niece Maureen a fabulous day. 

We now have more color at night, thanks to the two new strings of solar-powered Christmas lights. 

They came mid afternoon yesterday, so they didn't get too much solar. 

Still, it was great to see the new and free solar color outside for a couple of hours last night. 

In my mind, these additions to the yard at night take the place of all the pretty flowers we enjoyed in the day time for several months. 

Saturday Slight

 

I don't know why, but I could feel a deep sense of  pride when Melissa told her students at Selle Valley Carden School, "This is Mrs. Love, and she was my teacher." 

I guess it's partially the pride that goes with the profession with a substantial extra layer because Melissa became a teacher herself. 

And, from what I can see, she's a dandy. 

We always had a great relationship when she sat in my English classroom back in the late 1990s.  It was an unspoken country-girl bond and the fact that our families had been connected by teachers since the 1940s.  

Our dad's mother taught Melissa's grandparents.

I pulled into the school parking lot yesterday after seeing Melissa's students seated on the fence, waving and flashing posters about a fundraiser.  I also saw the word "donuts" on one poster. 

Well, it turns out that it was a Krispy Kreme fundraiser.  I felt a bit reluctant at the thought of Bill having to eat a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts all by himself (cuz my colitis acts up with too many sweets).  

So, I asked for a compromise.  

Numerous times while driving past the school, I've seen the cedar planting boxes and have thought some of those would be nice for our stump tables. 

So, instead of donuts, I bought a box.  The decision seemed okay with all the energetic kids and the planter box will last a lot longer than donuts.  

https://www.livescience.com/animals/which-animal-farts-the-most?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

It's an article that asks which animal farts the most. 

I was pretty sure that I knew the answer from my lifetime observations on a farm, and I was right. 

It was just after 5:30 a.m. PST, and Annie had already posted this photo of her friend Miriam and her. 

They had just finished running a 5K race in Savannah, Georgia. Meanwhile, Annie's friend Sam ran the Half Marathon.

Annie and her group are in the Deep South for the weekend, so below are a few photos that she has taken in their travels in and around Savannah and Hilton Head, South Carolina. 

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

It's GAME DAY!

The LSU Tigers have arrived in Spokane, so it's "game on" today at 12:30 p.m. PST. 

USA Channel is covering the game.  Let's hope the announcers didn't get caught in the airline shutdown. 

This matchup has a little family interest in that Bill's mother Ora earned her Master's Degree at LSU, and, of course the general "Luzianna" connection makes the game special for Bill. 

We'll be decked out in our ZAGS wear and cheering as the Bulldogs chase the Tigers around the gym and do their best to "hold that Tiger (figuratively, of course--no fouls!)

🏀GO, ZAGS!!!🏀

Critter Corners and Such

 

This is Nattie.  

He belongs to my sisters, and, in addition to his beauty, he's very sociable. 

He loves to join in on conversations, rubbing legs and making his presence or absence known. 

Yesterday afternoon it was the latter.  

Nattie had left the gab session next to Barbara and Laurie's barn. 

We found him in my car.  I'd left the door open, so he climbed in, checked out the car and then rejoined us as we visited. 

Below:  since I don't have horses around, my apple peelings go out on the stumps, and within a few hours, they're gone. 

This visitor cleaned them all up as a solo visitor to the stumps.  

Later, when the Lovestead trio came by, no apple peelings!  

I'm sure they'll catch some with the next batch of peelings. 

In addition to apple peelings, I've been scattering a few sunflower seeds on the stumps. 

If you leave, something will come. 

In this case, twas the squirrels. 

I have apple treats from Co Op over at Roxane's for the horses.  

Lily had already gobbled down a handful and since I didn't have any more to give her, she stuck her tongue out. 

While visiting with my sister Laurie yesterday afternoon, I looked over to the south and saw one deer. 

Then, I saw a second, and then I noticed two more, which blended in with the blah colors so much they were hard to spot. 

Some of the deer started racing around, and then, seemingly out of nowhere came the big rack with a buck under it. 

He walked around checking out the scene for a minute or two and then headed back to the woods. 

In the midst of our conversation and observation, we saw at least eight deer.  

We did not realize there was a second buck, but my camera did. 

It was a fun interlude as we visited. 

Gather round, my children.  

Let's eat, and so they did, all 'cept one or two. 

It was a cute scene at my sisters' neighbors' place. 

I try to move ever so slowly when I see the deer in the lawn, always hoping to get a little closer with the camera. 

The deer will have none of that.  Just as I think I can take another step or two, they wheel around, stick their tails in the air and leave. 

This one went to the edge of the woods and moseyed around, always watching me and hoping I'll leave so they can come back for another bite. 

Yesterday while driving home from my sisters' farm, I noticed that one of the neighbors up the road has an impressive Christmas light display in her yard.  

I know people don't like us to rush Christmas, but when it comes to colorful outdoor lights twinkling in the darkness, I can't help myself.  

Today I ordered a string of solar lights to drape over the fence boards seen in the photo above. 

It should be here tomorrow. 

That means we can look out our south windows and enjoy the magical colors, and I'll never apologize for loving Christmas lights any time of year. 

Still, when darkness prevails, colored lights lift our moods. 

Turkeys are a rather common sight in the county.  Now, they're more noticeable than ever cuz all the babies have grown into adulthood.  

There's a spot in our area where turkeys abound, and yesterday they seemed to be abounding in numbers like I'd never seen before. 

The photo shows just a small portion of yesterday's population on the road, the ditches, the yards and the woods. 

They hang out with deer and if you ever need a turkey-deer fix, it's available any time, any day. 

Part of Bill's wood pile for the winter.  

He putters away all year, sawing and moving and splitting and piling.  

This year he's enjoying splitting more than ever thanks to his wood splitter which requires much less muscle than an axe does. 

We usually tough out the cold until Thanksgiving, using the forced-air thermostats. 

After Thanksgiving, the wood stove will provide more than enough warmth along with the exercise of bringing in the wood. 

That's when a kettle of water on top of the stove will be kept full to combat the dry air.  

I'm still peeling.  

This was yesterday's batch.  I have yet to cook it up into applesauce.  

I also brought home some pie crusts and will fill them with sliced apples, sugar, a little flour and cinnamon.  

I'll also make up some crumble to sprinkle over the top, and, if all goes well, we'll have some homemade apple pies.

Yum! 

Still, some flowers are growing and refusing to go into hibernation.  

I love it. 

Happy Friday. 

Enjoy your day and, of course, whatever critters come to visit your house.