Firewood

Diane & Ken, neighbors of ours up here on the mountain made us an offer we couldn't refuse yesterday.  We were on our way down the mountain and we stopped to visit with them for a few minutes.  They were using their log splitter to add to their woodpile and offered us some already split oak firewood.  Of course we accepted and thanked them for the wood and we picked it up today. 

We hauled enough down to fill the wood rack inside and half of a larger rack on the porch.  I would estimate we have enough wood for at least 5 nights of burning in the fireplace.  It is a heatalator fireplace with two metal sections and a space between them where two input ducts bring in the cold air below and it comes out heated via a large grate above the fireplace opening.  It actually produces more heat than standard fireplaces and we love it.



It sounds like we picked up the firewood just in time since they are calling for a cold front to move through late Thursday and Friday with temps down in the low 30s at night and only in the 50s during the day.  I hope this is just a short cold snap since we don't want to be here for the first snowfall like we did a few years ago.

Gerry felt liking raking leaves today and cleared all the leaves from around the cabin.  There are more leaves to fall and with some expected high winds the next few days, I am sure it will look like she didn't rake the leaves.  I was hoping for a dry day on Tuesday so we could burn leaves and some branches that are laying around the place.  

The cabins in the area were built around the mid 60s and were two basic styles.  A-Frame and regular cabins.  The three cabins behind us were all a-frame and two of the original cabins are still much like they were when built.   The a-frame cabins look very neat, however they don't have a lot of useable space in them.  Fine for weekend use, but long term use would be very confining.

The migration of our friends to Tucson began last week with Linda & Sherwin leaving Maine for Chicago to visit relatives & then on to Tucson.  Tomorrow, cousin Sharon & Al will leave in their 5th wheel for Tucson if all goes well.  Then later in the week Dee & Ron will be driving out to Tucson in their van.  They left their 5th wheel there over the summer and it looks like that was a good move for them with fuel prices beginning to rise once again.  Judy & Steve will be leaving once the deer season ends in MN around mid November.

Our good friends Gloria & Doug have already left Missouri for Florida and should be there soon.  They prefer the east coast of Florida to the dryness of the desert.  Maybe next year we will be joining them in Florida and bypassing the long drive to Arizona.  John and Pat have already flown the coop also as they are heading for their Florida home.

Finally, we should be on the road o/a November 4 and arriving in Tucson after December 1st.  All plans are written in jello and can change at any moment. 

We went to Wal-Mart this evening and saw 9 RVs parked there for the night.  Three were from Ontario, Canada; 1 from Washington; 1 from Florida and couldn't see the tags for the other units.  A couple had their slide out, antenna's up, jacks down and settled in for the evening.

11 more days to departure.

Snowbirds and Shooter

The trees are becoming quite bare up here in a hurry.  Cool weather and wind have taken their toll on the foliage in a hurry.  We are located about 1600ft above sea level and the trees down around 700ft still have some color and leaves.  Not here.  I took a ride down to an old reservoir where you could actually see the water a few years back.  Now the trees have grown down to the water's edge and the view has been destroyed except for the dam area.  

At one time there was a gun club near the property and I remember going down there to sight our guns in.  The only thing left of the club is an old foundation and a clearing.  The trees are quickly overtaking that area also.  It doesn't take long for the forest to retake the land if left unchecked.  The drive down there was very pretty and the road was somewhat rough, but well worth a look see.

It looks like the snowbird migration is in full swing with a number of bloggers that I follow heading south and west for warmer weather.  There are three major areas in the the U.S. that attract the majority of the snowbirds.  Florida seems to be the choice for those of us on the east coast and the midwest section of the country.  Many snowbirds from the upper midwest migrate to Florida or the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. (RGV).  Westerners tend to head to southern Arizona around Yuma, Phoenix or Tucson.  Each section has it's good and bad points.  Humidity in Florida, wind in the RGV and cool nights in southwest Arizona.  

We traveled to the Florida Keys for 11 years and loved it down there.  Warm, some humidity and very laid back atmosphere made it great.  High prices and changes in the atmosphere made it less attractive to us so we have traveled to Tucson for the last 5 years and this will make our 6th year there if we ever get on the road.

We scoped out the RGV one fall and liked it, but the wind never stopped blowing the whole time we were there.  They also have some large parks down there that seemed a little cramped to us.  The people who go there swear by it so there must be some good in the place.

I don't think it really matters where you spend the winter as long as it is warm, have friendly people around you and lots of activities to keep you amused.  It is like that old saying " a bad fishing day is better than a good day at work".  Same holds true for getting out of the cold weather and enjoying the sun.  It's great that we all don't like the same place, or it sure would be crowded.

Our daughter and son in law have a Maine Coon cat named Shooter that is beautiful, even if it is the meanest, most ornery cat I have ever seen.  She is about 20 lbs and is like a pit bull, she doesn't hiss before she strikes and sure is fast at it.  It is the only cat that I will not pet or try to be friends with and I am responsible for saving it's life when it was abandoned when it was a kitten.  Jack and I were in the woods shooting, heard a crying out on our way leaving the range  and found the kitten.  She fit in the palm of my hand and was scared to death.  Jack fell in love with the kitten and the rest is history.

Our family has a tradition of naming their animals after booze and Shooter has a double naming heritage.  Booze and shooting.  How about that?

14 days and we should be on the road.  Yeah!