A bit of bad news first, I suppose. During the night our Dalmatian Sophie passed away. It was no big surprise, really, seeing as his health had never been good to begin with, and for him it was definitely a relief, but still, it dampens the mood somewhat to lose one of the pack. He looked peaceful and relaxed on his blanket, however, so I would suspect he went fast and without pain. We should all be so lucky.
The weather is still abysmal. Some serious winds picked up again, making the trees stand at a decided tilt, and rain has been coming down infrequently, but plenty. Everything is soaking wet, stuff is not smelling all that pleasant and I, for one am more than ready for a break in the clouds. Jeez…heck, even the dogs have had it.
Writing. Nothing huge, but steadily schlogging through still. Passed 18,000 words now, with the character solidly in place by now. I am doubted if I should ad another one somewhere round these parts, but haven’t made up my mind yet.
Yesterday we could pick up our chainsaw, of which the repairs cost 20 bucks…which I think is about the standard for something like that. Also left Liane’s to see if it is fixable, too. I’m thinking yes, because big brother looked it over and for as far as we could see the only problem would be the chain not getting any oil.
Since in the bad weather there wasn’t much of anything we could do at home anyway (except for messing around in the carport) we decided to go into the woods to see if there is any firewood that we could get there in the near future. As it turns out, so I’ve heard from the vet assistant, in these parts it is allowed to go into the woods and take fallen trees apart for personal use (or selling). In fact, they love it when people do that, seeing as it decreases the fire hazard on the mountain. Did some serious exploring going along ragged trails leading up the mountain. Got as far as the tree line before a chain closed the road off. Did do some walking there, which was weird in the dense clouds that didn’t allow us to look much farther than a few yards the entire time.
It was beautiful, even, or especially because of the clouds, I’m not sure. Everything with soaking wet, the soil red, gray and black (rocky surfaces breaking through everywhere), covered by newly grown grass and Arum plants. The tree trunks were black with moisture, the branches heavy, and wherever you looked there was water and mist. It was in fact a little eerie, like some horror movie. Hah. It was beautiful, too, though. Mysterious and wonderful, in particular when we walked a bit through the mist, seeing nothing but the path at our feet and the trees that stood by the edge of the abyss of white, the green vibrant against the white.
Knight II as along for the ride (still have to keep an eye on him) and he even went along for a bit of the walk during which we explored a row of fallen trees. He bounded along, going ahead constantly, because let’s face it, compared to him I’m a slowpoke. Then, at some point when were on our way back up to the car, he went ahead, all cheerful and everything, only to stand by the car, all confused that he couldn’t get it. It was just embarrassing. What kind of a dog prefers the car over a walk, for crying out loud?
But anyway, we found plenty of trees that toppled over during the rains, their roots no longer able to stand the pressure, so it looks like we’ll be heading out into the woods one of these days to get us some extra firewood.
Once at home, the rain started up seriously once more, so I spent the remainder of the day working on my woods sculpture…which is something I did today as well. Gawd, it turned out beautifully. The varnish dried perfectly, and the sanded and shaped piece of whitish eucalyptus wood I put inside it, contrasts beautifully. I have a picture of the end result right here:
I love how it looks exactly the way I imagined it beforehand.
Exchanged some messages with “my” pen pal pilot who’s still at war…well, he’s flying out wounded and such, which is rather vital I’m sure. Gawd, the stories he tells. I definitely wouldn’t be suited for a war zone. I can enjoy it in movies, I don’t mind reading about it, but the real thing…well, it’s just too realistic. Luckily, he personally is doing well, and for now that is all that matters.
Let’s see, there were the normal chores and such, along with a cooking session (today Cousin Ed made pumpkin soup) of pasta, a satay sauce, and fresh veggies. Had to go into the yard today to get the last of the pumpkins from the plants. Lost a few to the rats and such, but at least there are some. And also took out all the peppers, which are not going to turn any redder in this weather Managed to get a full crate of both veggies, so that’s not bad.
Knight II had his checkup this morning (I’m getting consistent information now that by Friday his bandage might go off, so he’ll only need to wear the sock for a bit, yay!) and he behaved perfectly.
We lost the side mirror of the Opel, meaning we had to order a new one at the garage. Got to pick that up today, and took Knight along. If for no other reason than the fact that they love him there. They’re all dog lovers, thankfully.
Then last but not least is painting Liane’s beams for the second time. Despite the wet weather, it had to be done, so we hauled the lot of them down the mountain to the car port and painted them the second time around. If a bug gets to climb in there after all, it deserves it for evolving beyond all that poison. Jeez.
Well, that’s it for me. Time for bed.
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