Chimney Fire. Yikes!

Or that's what the chimney sweep dudes tell me. About two weeks ago I had noticed it became a little smokey inside. Then one day I started a fire, went outdoors for ten minutes, returned and smoke was pouring out the seams in the chimney pipe. That was enough. At least the fire extinguisher worked. Not that I needed it, but did have to put the small fire out and air out the inside with 20 degree temps looming outside.

So today I get a visit from the chimney dudes. Getting tired of that cold heat, plus the power bill was near $200 last month for a small 1100 square feet. It seems burning wet wood (I knew that) and moisture build up with the flue closed to get a longer burn was a good recipe for massive creosote buildup in the angled portions of the chimney pipe.

"Some of the pipe may be warped..." mentioned one guy. Today's rainy weather prevents them from getting on the roof for a full inspection. A warped pipe means a weaker pipe...I guess. It's not noticeable from inside or out, but I believe they said it's double insulated or similar to oil cargo ships that have two hulls.  Added protection.

"So I guess that rules out getting it cranked up until you come back?"

The answer was.."if it was mine I'd get it going."

I'm still thinking, but hey they're the pros. The wood is much drier now, or in a range woodheat.org considers good.

Stranded In The Hills

What's wrong with this picture? Or what looks different?

No snow. Yep...much of it has melted away. Cold? What else is new.

I tried driving into town Sunday thinking it wouldn't be a problem until I got to the top of my driveway. Most of the snow had melted on my side but not the steep road leading up. Considering it's been well over 30 years since I've driven in snow I thought what's a few inches going to do?

Wrong! Thinking back I'm lucky I didn't go over the side. Almost landed in a small ravine bear the bottom. Not only was the road snow covered but iced from the Saturday night cold. I felt it sliding half way down the hill, turned close to the drainage ditch on the right in an attempt to gain traction. It worked until I got to the ravine. Yikes! After ten minutes of thought and evaluation I managed to steer it straight back on to the road and slid to the bottom where once again there was no snow.

So...two days later and it's still ice. This time of the year the sun sits so low it's not able to melt any snow or ice on that part of the hill. The truck sits abandoned at the bottom, waiting for rain or warm weather. Did I make it to town? No. There's another hill that gets no sun leading down to the main highway. A neighbor landed in the creek Saturday trying.

On the shopping list. A four wheel drive. My closest neighbor has no problems getting his small Toyota pickup (4WD) up and down the road...a little spooky but it works. We went into town Sunday for necessities. Sooo, it looks like Thursday or Friday before I can get back to normal.

Another sale sign at the top of the hill noticed since my return. That makes six properties up for sale. I heard a small lot of 1.5 acres went for $7K during my Xmas visit to Florida.

If I Only Had A Tobaggan

..or a sled for that matter,  but there ain't no chair lift around here! With what looks to be two inches of snow that fell Friday and the continued cold weather, this snow will probably last a few days, this hill would be a winner. But if you can't stop, forget it; past the fence and down about twenty feet into the woods.

Pictures taken about 8:15 this AM. I need real gloves!

And the creek. Snow really brings out the beauty of nasty old man winter.

The trails into the woods...

Icicles

Mulch Pit

Or you can call it the wood chip pit; next to the county garbage collection place on this side of Ellijay. The smaller piles shown are about six feet high and probably twenty feet deep. New and old chips, mulch or good composting stuff; whatever one wants to call it. I've been busy digging into the center of it and coming up with what I think to be some healthy stuff for the gardens I have scattered all over the place here.

Add some cow manure to the mix, once I can get it, and it should be worm city. I inquired at the dairy farm down the road about some manure. "Too  wet now." But finally I know a good source instead of spending $$ at Lowes. For five bucks a bucket (yard) I'm pleased.

Off To Florida Thursday. Some winter pics of my lovely lawn failure.

Creek running strong all month...

Time To Flee This Winter...again

I can tolerate 26 in the AM and 45 or 50 in the afternoon...but not this. My favorite time to work outdoors is between 8 and 11 AM, but wait until the crust on the ground thaws out? I've been trying to get the west side area done for a week now. Then it rains again. Sure I've covered it...but. I've actually been screen sifting (rocks) all the soil dug out and mixing with some really good composted wood chips from up the road...add some leaves to the mix as well. The horse crap guys never called me back and I don't want to press it. Maybe when I return from my trip to warmth.

I would suspect this will be good and fertile come late April when I can get some of those winter sowed plants in the ground. I also hope to get either horse or cow stuff when I return from Florida in late January. Yep, there's a cow dung place nearby...but they want money. Not sure how much yet, but beats spending all that money at Lowe's.

Got a little carried away with tilling other soil around the property. I knew I should have looked at the summer pics to find out what was growing where. So here were a few young Hostas I killed. I would suspect they won't come up now that they're six inches under now? The two in the upper left are under. Didn't touch the right side.

Speaking of Hostas. They're kind of growing on me. And lot's of other stuff I didn't like five months ago when I didn't know a hill of beans about this and that. So. How about a Hosta garden? Maybe I can finally finish off that area down by the creek (above). Check out this Hosta site.

And bring on the bog garden. Ever hear of elephant ears? I may get a few of 'em for the bog. They can get quite massive the way I'm reading into it. This place should be teeming with all sorts of stuff next summer. When the heck is winter over, dang it! OMG, it hasn't officially started.

West side...raised beds...shivering; not to scale.  Red wood ships will be buried, covered with fresh wood chips. I even thought of a low trellis in the back of a few beds with some climbing things. Leftover lattice laying around. Only the first one bottom left gets enough sun for a morning glory? But do they need morning sun? They won't get it until mid morning.

 On to Florida Dec 16 or 17.

Winter Snow

Just a sprinkling the other day...

These Dianthus continue to surprise me. Moreover, recent reading tells me they may make it through the winter months while flowering at the same time. Everything else around here is gone thanks to the 20 degree temps Saturday morning. Except that funky thing in the planter is still hanging in there.

Exception: Violas, marigolds. I plan on a nice showing of the Violas and some pansies (aren't they the same?) next winter by starting  from seed and containers in the summer. Should be very different along with other winter flowering things.

Noticed the other day an interesting find on the top of the roof. Looks like some shingles are loosening. I'm not about to explore it. That roof pitch is far too steep for me. No leakage the way I see it after three inches of rain last week. More rain on the way tomorrow. I'm assuming the heavy winds last week were the cause. Kind of rare for winds to actually have an effect here because of the location. Only when they blow hard from the north do I really feel or hear it. Mother has had wind chimes hanging for two years on the porch, but why bother?

More bulbs popping through the soil... Dutch Iris

Mexican Heather Has A Winter Coat

I guess this shrub oozes moisture when it gets cold? This morning the temps reached 26, but it's not the first time this fall. I've seen two days at 27 around 7:30 AM. Anyway it's all dressed for the cold. Not as green compared to a few months ago when it thaws out.

Dianthus still hanging in there although they look beat up with frost covering them. Give it a few hours and they look healthy as ever.

The whatchamacallit....Pineapple Sage continues along, although looking like it's no longer reaching for the sky.

Petunias take on a new look with the frost covering them...

And that thing in the middle of the hanging basket. No clue as to the name and how long it will last?

Few remaining Impatiens along the stone wall hanging in there...barely.

Oh Boy - Accumulated Snow Expected

Accumulated - To gather or pile up; amass. To mount up; increase.

Guess that means I'll be trapped at home if the temperatures stay low for a few days. Oh boy expected snowfall totals on channel 2 upcoming. They don't know. Guess is 1/2" to four.

Sunday temps

High- 40

Low- 25

Monday

High-43

Low- 29

The Weather Radar

Firewood supply very low. Some fallen Cherry trees I cut up a few months ago seem okay to burn. Finally found my moisture meters. Reading before rain the last few days was in a decent dry range. With all the moisture around it's risen a bit.

and about getting that critter ...what do you think?

I don't think my studio can handle a dog that loves to chew stuff up and run around...for now. Remember how much I complained about the Verizon wireless being so sloooow out west? Now it's running quicker than my dsl.

Look for a snow video if it actually does snow.

Mild Winters in Georgia? Bah Hum Bug

Back to the little mountains. Yea, after seeing those monsters out west some of these local mountains are bunny hills. Winter nearing and end? Nope. Pipes frozen this morning, temperature under 20 degrees. Which leads me to think; what to do for next winter and how long?

The Keys are beginning to look good. Been thinking of a travel trailer anyway. Nothing huge, just enough for two...but this one looks like it can handle more than 2. Something like this may do the trick, but used, unless I can really hammer the price down. It's 27 feet in length and would be a problem parking on this property, unless I get the roundabout driveway done this spring.

There's a huge RV place on the way to Atlanta I may check out.

Brrr...it's cold

Ellijay Winter

Folks up here said they have mild winters. Looking at some numbers from Wunderground the past few years I was in agreement with them. However since I left January 10 the lows have been under freezing eleven of those days and January 16 showed five degrees!

With an adjustment for my little place out of the way by taking off another 4-5 degrees the numbers would be around 15 or 16 days under freezing. I'd probably be boiling water for hot sponge baths! I'm going to have to look into those frozen pipes a bit more.

Another cold front hits the area with a chance of snow today. Above pic.

I guess I timed it pretty well. Tempe has been the bright spot with wonderful weather, but I have seen some temps in the twenties when in Roswell NM. And the rain in North Georgia! So much for the drought. January numbers show over 18 inches in the Ellijay area. Imagine if one fifth of that was snow precipitation. One inch of rain equals a foot of snow...correct? 3.6 inches would be three and a half feet of snow.

Looks like it's cold all over. Bundle up if you're not out west today!

Vegas Weather today....high near 70.

The Summit - Top Of The Hill

It's not often I climb the summit. At least that's what I now call it. It's the top side of the property, spanning two acres or so. The guy who handled the surveying when I bought the place didn't use good markers so now that the leaves are off the trees I can find older ones and make them more obvious.

It's not sloped as bad as I thought and there is a flat area (white arrow) on top for another small cabin. Double white line indicates the driveway that borders the east side of the property. Orange line shows the property line to the top or north side. Gravel driveway is the extreme west side line that extends to the creek and my neighbor.

And 'lil Freddie took the trip with me. He's become attached to me now that I save steak bones for him.

Oh lookie here, remnants of an old still my neighbor told me about. This lies on his side of the gravel road above. There's also another one across the creek from me. I'll get some piocs of that another day.

150 Years Ago - Could We Survive?

I was thinking about this today while chopping more firewood. If I was thrown into the past knowing what I know I probably would not last a few weeks in the mountains. I could probably make it in Florida (fishing) but not here. I'm no hunter so I would starve easily, but water would not be a problem.

Take the chore of finding and chopping firewood. With the use of a chainsaw I gathered enough firewood today to last five days. From actual cutting, lugging with an over sized wheel barrel and splitting, time spent was about three hours. Using methods from 150 years ago, I would imagine that would be a two day job in the least. That big cross cut saw above doesn't look easy to operate. It would wear me out in ten minutes.

Think about your ancestors and what they had to endure. Considering I don't use the heat stove 24 hours (electric heat in the morning) a day combined with housing insulation of today, what I cut today may have lasted those folks only a day or two. When is there time for hunting?

We have an obesity problem in the USA today. I have an idea. Throw 'em in the wild for a few months. They're bound to lose some weight.

More Snow Video - Narration Of Pics

...and a better view of what is where on parts of the property. I think I can get pretty good at this video stuff. I kinda rushed it. Could definitely do a better job, but learning the functions of Window Movie Maker more than anything. It comes packaged with XP, but I never played with it. Beats that Pinnacle program I bought last year (steeper learning curve but with more options), but navigation is very similar making it easier for me to work with.

The UPS guy made it here before the second small snowfall. My lighting system arrived. This should definately improve indoor photos and video.

This guy was funny. "Are you such and such...better be." I don't think he likes coming down that driveway...LOL. At least he knows where I am after 3-4 visits since I've been here.

Snow in North Georgia - Ellijay GA

See the video wrap up below....

At least it's snowing east of Ellijay, Georgia where I am located. It has to be borderline as the temperature shows 34 degrees on the back porch at 6:15 AM. A few degrees warmer and it's bound to be rain. Another size able round of precip is on the way and should reach within an hour or so. Shown on the map it's moving left to right or west to east. I am located east of the circle and plus sign halfway to the county border.

Thinking back this is the first time I've actually seen any reasonable (more than flurries and something on the ground) snowfall amount since October of 1978 when I spent some time in Flagstaff, Arizona. Some fellow workers and I took a weekend trip to the Grand Canyon and stayed overnight near the campus of Northern Arizona University.

It all that green stuff becomes snow, I ain't going anywhere today. The steep driveway will not be navigable. It's bad enough with wet slippery leaves. Almost forgot UPS is is due. I wonder if they'll make an attempt to get down here. I'll get some pics of him trying to get out...LOL.

Up Tennesee Way - Almost. Thanksgiving

I couldn't turn down an invite for a Thanksgiving bite from Chip who handled my stone work recently. He talked about his property but I didn't think it would be as nice as it really is. He was low key about it...grumbling more about how well my creek runs compared to his that now runs on a trickle. But, it trickles into a nice sized pond full of trout that he raises.

Apparently with the small trickle the pond isn't a good environment for trout at the moment due to the ongoing drought in the area. Trout need plenty of oxygen I'm told, and the creek is the major supplier. Not much of a fisherman on this end, he was talking about two foot long trout. Sounds big to me!

Apparently his six acre spread did well when conditions were good for the trout. With signs posted along roadsides in the area people would tent out in the yard and woods for a chance at a good catch. Only fee was $ 5.00 a pound if you took the fish home with you. It sounds so simple. He adores the place and I don't blame him. I'd love to see it with the trees in full cover.

Three year old Adrian gives me casting lessons. This little guy knew what he was doing.

A ride up some dirt trails with Laddy Boy in back of the pickup with Chip's son who is back from Iraq for awhile. The views are impressive looking east to where Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee meet. Some stubborn oaks dotted across the landscape yet to drop all their leaves.