Christmas Day

Bear

Although it's very cold right now, we haven't had snow for a long time - I think the first (and last) snowfall was in November before Thanksgiving. Regardless, Bear loves to be outside and will stay there for the longest time all alone guarding his home. He has a lovely long outer coat and a very thick fleecy undercoat. He never gets cold.

Today, December 22, is my favorite day of the year. From now on the days will get longer and the nights shorter. Yay! Up here that makes a difference.

The support for the inner walls of my new work room is mostly up now and the electric lines have been added. Soon the walls will arrive, the insulation will be sprayed between the supports, and the walls will go up. Clicking on photos will enlarge them.

Clockwise - below

North

North-East

 

East

 

South-East

 

South

 

West

 

North-West

 

I have a very small basement under my small-ish house. Before I moved up north I "lived" in the east end of my pole barn after I had some very basic improvements done. I called that "Phase One". There already was well water and it was insulated. I had Darin add a kitchenette, electric baseboard heat, a bathroom/shower, a window, a glass doorwall, and a small fenced yard for my dogs. It was very comfortable but not suitable for a permanent year-round residence. It was, however, a great place to stay overnight or for long weekends while I continued to live in my Royal Oak home while my new house was being built - "Phase Two". After I sold my Royal Oak home and moved full time into my new home, the east end of the pole barn became a great guest house. It's so nice to have company nearby but living independently.

 

However, I lacked a place to 'work'. My basement is too small for storage, tools, a work bench, etc. So we're doing "Phase Three" now - turning the west end of the pole barn into a place for storage, a mower, a work bench, and tools. Darin has removed one large garage door on the north wall and will replace it with a window. The north garage door was unusable because, since the pole barn was built in the late 1980s, trees have grown up preventing access. The damaged existing west garage door will be replaced with an insulated one to allow me to get the mower in and out. There are currently two doors on the south wall. One, a "Dutch Door" will be replaced with a window; a new door will replace the other old one. Wiring has been updated and new overhead lights will be installed. Insulation and inner walls will be added.

My home currently does not have an entrance. There are three doors but none can be used by visitors because they can be accessed only by going through my yards. UPS, USPS, FedEx cannot deliver stuff easily; they can use the garage but I don't have a buzzer, bell, or a knocker. Sometime very soon I will finally finish my new digs by adding a small room which I will call my sitting room - "Phase Four". There will be a front door with a door-knocker. Guests will be able to come to my front door - yay! - and we can sit and chat in the new entry way.

I have enjoyed immensely the whole process even though it has taken several years. I've not been in a hurry, which, if you knew me, really knew me, would be most surprising.

Tout Est Bien!

Glorious sunrise today  I look forward to mornings. Clicking on photos enlarges them.

I had an inner ear viral infection last week that seemed serious so off to the ER in Harbor Beach. It's surprising what you can do when you have to.

The photos below are from Friday last week. Things started slowly but the sky seemed to catch fire.

And finally - to cool things off a bit - seagulls on the waters of Lake Huron later on that same day. During the day they forage on worms and insects exposed as farmers' fields are plowed.

Size Does Not Matter

At this time of the year I don't care how big the flowers are or how many there are per plant. Each one, no matter how small, is appreciated. I took these photos yesterday. All of the plants are volunteers. Clicking on photos will enlarge them. Can you identify the names of the plants?

Some Progress, Perhaps

I had some good news yesterday. Thanks Kathy.

 

Only Mid-Forties

The temps were down today but it was sunny so I worked outside much of the day. Icy fog this morning but still wonderful first light and sunrise. Some additional bluebird/tree swallow nest boxes arrived last night after dark and also an insulated shelter for my feral black cat. I hope he/she finds it and uses it this winter. I'm sure it's the same cat from last winter. I also had a ginger tabby which I have not seen for a long time. My thinking? Cats catch and eat rodents which carry the same ticks that deer carry. Those ticks carry Lyme disease (as well as some other horrific diseases) and even though cases of Lyme in this part of Michigan are very rare, they won't be for long - probably.

Moving? Nope.

I've just moved stuff from the west end of the pole barn to te east end in order to do some construction and organizing. Chaos? Temporary/