Saturday, November 14, 2009

a few things

optical illusion

On my way to work this morning, before the sun was all the way up, I saw a black and white cat that appeared to be floating in mid air. It was sitting on a fence post, and the post was nearly the same color as the soy bean stubble in the field behind it.

back to normal

I passed the place where the steer was on top of the hay bale, and now there are two steers, and three goats. One of the goats has horns. Guess who was on top of the bale today?

stove gloat

Last night I put a piece of wood in the stove about an hour before bedtime, and closed the damper when I went to bed. This morning the stove was still warm (not unusual) and I saw there was still some wood unburned, so I opened the damper and the flames woke up, and I got to drink my coffee by the fire. Then I closed the damper when I left, and when I got home ten hours later there was nothing left but ashes, but the stove was still warm. Three pieces of wood put out heat for eighteen hours. Color me impressed.

6 comments:

  1. I want two things:
    1. That stove
    2. For you to start taking your camera everywhere you go. I wanna SEE that floating cat and that billy goat!

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  2. Daryl,
    1. You can get that stove--the kitchen stove is a Jøtul "Black Bear" model, the revised edition of the one in my kitchen at the old house. (I like the damper on the old one better, but I'm liking the glass door the new damper design makes room for, too.) This is the one that has what they call a "cigar burn", where you light the fire at the front and it burns back along the length of the wood slowly and completely. Having lived with that stove for eight (?) years when I was making decisions for this house, I was willing to spend the money on the stove of a life time.

    2. I actually had the camera with me yesterday (on my way home from work I had to go take pictures of the stoves at the old house to please the insurance company) but think: if I had stopped the car to take a picture, how long would that cat have stayed in position before saying "I'm leaving now!" The goat might have been possible, but then I'd have been late for work. (When we opened the door at eight, we had 18 dogs come in in the first 12 minutes. No, I didn't want to be late.)

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  3. I'm with Daryl re that ever-ready camera. You'd be surprised how many subject would continue to pose for you.. and if not.. nothing lost. Though I have to admit, you probably have the best snapshot.. mentally. :)

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  4. I wish I'd seen the floating cat!

    We have not yet lit our stove! It has been cold, but not cold enough (we don't have a lot of wood, so we're saving it for when it gets really cold).

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  5. Cats do fly; it's a little known secret because they're so clever about hiding their activities from humans. This one must have gotten sloppy.

    I'd lock my doors; they do NOT like to be found out.

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  6. I would have thought flying was much too high energy for anyone past kittenhood, Crabby. The embarrassment must be why it froze into breadloaf when it spotted me.

    Bag Lady, I have my wood mentally divided into rather stingy months, but my hunters (who dropped off 48 ounces of liver yesterday) informed me they'll be getting me some more later.

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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