Wood is Wealth

A while back I wrote about wood and how important it is in Northern New Mexico. To Tom, Wood Equals Wealth. He says Chuck and Rick, his old friends, would understand. Even at our old Corona place we burned wood for heat and when we recently read of a ban on fireplace burning in the Corona area, Tom said, "We would have frozen if that happened while we were living there." Well, we wouldn't have frozen, but it would have been as cold as a well digger's butt in our little Temescal Canyon stone house.

There's no ban on burning here, which is good since many people rely totally on wood for their heat and it's a lot colder here in the winter than in SoCal.

 I don't know why we need such a stockpile, but I guess if we have room, why the heck not?

The first year we were here we applied for a forest cutting permit, but never used it since we had plenty of down and dead wood on our place.

Our place when we first moved in, pre wood piles

The trees that look dead here aren't really, it's just winter time and they are dormant.

Still, we've found plenty of dead trees that need cutting up and since Tom is up to the task, he cuts them up, hauls them home and we have free heating. You can't beat that.

Last year Tom and Z cut down this tree because it was diseased. When Z came for this year's Thanksgiving visit, they planned to cut it up, but the chainsaw was out of commission so Z dodged the wood cutting bullet.

The chainsaw is back in action now, so here's Tom doing his logger duties. When he cuts wood, Ms. P and I go along, too, in case events were to go terribly wrong. The helmet keeps his face safe from flying bits and has built in ear protectors.  I like his woodcutter chaps, don't you?

Ms. Pearl and I aren't totally useless, though. I helped lift those logs into the Ranger.

Off in the distance look closely and there are The Lazy Boyz, Roman and Buffalo, soaking up the sun, well fed and content.

Tomorrow, something quilty!

Quilty Pleasures: HST Overload Quilt Almost Finished!

We are almost to the first finish for the year, with just the handwork on the binding left to do.

It's the HST Overload Quilt by Red Pepper Quilts, and when it's totally done, I will give you a better look. (Get your sunglasses ready.)

Good To Be Back Home Again

When we left for Southern California a couple of weeks ago, I thought, "Gee! It will be warmer there, so let the fun begin!" Instead, the weather was record-breaking in its coldness and it even snowed not too far from Trudy's place where we were staying under the carport in our little teardrop trailer. And it rained, too. My flip flops remained in the suitcase.

Of course, as soon as we got home, the Cali weather recovered and temps were a balmy 75 degrees. Just my luck!

It was still a good visit and Trudy was much better after having picked up a vicious flu bug at our place during her Thanksgiving visit. Thanks to excellent nursing from Pattie and with Z's weekend respite care, she's back in the game and once again beating me at Words With Friends.

After a brew pub dinner and night spent with brother K and sis-in-law J at their Isabella casita, we headed back to NM, provisioned ourselves at Trader Joe's and drove north.

Now we are home and it's time to declutter and get rid of the dust rabbits (they are bigger than dust bunnies) which have accumulated since Thanksgiving. (I had the flu, too, and then there were Christmas presents to make and to buy and then it was time to go!)

And there is sewing and quilt making to do, AQS Quilt Week in Albuquerque, a Growing Dome to plant, and an Arctic Front coming in.

 Let The Fun Begin!