A Pink And Amber Sunrise / A New Project Dawn

Song:  To Zanarkand

From:  FF X 

I had gotten up before dawn and began cooking rice for my breakfast.

As I sipped on my coffee...

I noticed the clouds turning colors...

so...

I stepped out onto the 2nd floor deck and took these sunrise shots.

After the pinks in the clouds faded as the sun continued to rise...

the clouds took on an amber color.

Although the air was quite cold...

I had dressed warmly as I knew I would be observing this sunrise 

for more than a few minutes.

The clouds were such that I knew the potential for a continued beautiful sunrise

was there.

Before the sun could fully emerge...

the sky filled with thick clouds...

and as it so happen to be...

within an hour...

it began snowing.

After watching the sunrise...

the rice was ready and I made Natto for breakfast.

It looks like today's project will begin indoors.

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As I have finally received all the tools for my two main winter projects...

Basic Logging around my property...

and the cleaning of my home's windows...

I will begin soon.

The weather will be the prime dictator as to which project I shall do on a particular day.

If it is windy or especially cold or snowy...

I will just do the indoor portion of the windows.

If not...

I will begin with the forest...

first by removing brush and small trees...

and then working my way up to larger and larger trees.

I already have various tools not pictured here...

such as a root cutter...

an axe...

and other articles of clothing...

especially a sun hat.

The UV rays at my altitude are brutal...

and besides putting on 100 SPF UF protective lotion...

I have a wide brimmed hat.

I had thoroughly researched this chainsaw.

It is perfect for my needs.

I only need to get a chainsaw chain sharpener...

but I had to get the exact width of the chain before ordering one.

The only maintenance for my chainsaw will be to ensure the bar and chain oil

reservoir is kept full.

And that I every so often...

sharpen the chain on the cutting surfaces.

Although they sell plastic wedges...

I wanted one which I could also use to split logs.

This is a 5 lb metal one which I can not only use to fell trees...

but to split the tree rounds I will cut from the trees after I fell them.

This pair of chainsaw safety pants are a must for me.

If you will remember my disastrous mishaps in the kitchen

with a simple vegetable slicer...

well...

I knew I would not only need these before operating a chainsaw...

but other protective gear as well.

Ah yes...

I definitely needed these as well.

-----------

And these...

plus my 26 foot ladder will allow me to clean the large windows

at the front of my house.

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The snow is coming down rather heavily right now.

And so...

an indoor project it shall be  :)

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Addendum:  

After but an hour...

it had stopped snowing.

The sky is now partially blue.

I just finished with the great room lower inside windows.

The window washing equipment and spray worked so well.

What I especially liked about the Rain X cleaner and water repellant 

is that it is a very simple operation of cleaning and then just a quick wipe

with a dry cloth for a streak free and anti fog and water repellant protection coating.

If it stays nice outside...

I will do the outside great room lower windows as well.

As I cleaned the windows...

I played my music playlist on the fireplace mantle speakers.

It was a pleasure.

Music just makes everything a joy to do.

That and...

Taco Night.

Tonight...

I am going to treat myself to a three taco combo plate at Baja Billy's.

It just makes me happy thinking about what a great meal I have in store for myself.  :)

A New Route For Bandi

  

Song:  FF Prelude (cover)

Cover Artist:  Jonathan Morris

Original Composer:  Nobuo Uematsu 

(This is a re-post from another one of my blogs...

The Three Wheeled Philosopher )

I had awakened to another beautiful day.

Last night it had snowed just a bit...

covering the landscape with just enough snow to glinter in the sunlight.

Although the air temperature was 5 F ( - 15 C )...

the warmth of the sun made it perfectly comfortable to be outside with just light clothing.

As I knew today Bandi and I would go a little farther and on a different route...

I made sure we fueled up with a heavier breakfast.

I often pick up Rotisserie Chicken whenever I go grocery shopping.

I put together some Chicken Quesadillas.

I usually buy 200 flour tortillas at once and freeze them.

Just 1 minute in the micro and they come out steaming hot.

I put in some chicken...

and crumbled some pepper jack cheese over it...

and I then folded it over and put it in the microwave for 1 minute.

Everything was heated up...

and the cheese had melted perfectly.

This is the verde I love most.

Its the sauce...

both the verde...

and the red enchilada and taco sauces that make Mexican food so addictive.

I smothered the chicken and melted cheese with the verde sauce...

...and re-folded the tortilla...

and I ate a total of three of these.

After I had finished one...

I would make another so each one would be nice and hot.

I shared some with Bandi...

as she also loves them.

A few hours later...

Bandi and I started on our new trike route.

As you can see...

just a few inches of fresh snow coated the ground.

Bandi loves going on her runs.

When she gets back...

she hops up on my bed (our bed  :)...

stretches out...

and takes a nap.

This time we would go halfway down the mountain...

and then turn around...

for a total of 3 miles on this run.

I am carefully building Bandi's endurance 

by slowly increasing the distance...

while providing more breaks during her run.

I keep my eye on her as she runs next to my trike.

If she starts to fall back...

I know it is break time.

I wait until her breathing returns to normal before going again.

Just around this curve is Sunset Point.

I rested her here for a bit...

but as the first half of our route is all downhill...

she only needed short breaks.

However...

on our way back up...

I gave her much longer breaks.

The county had plowed the roads this morning.

We were at the halfway point here...

so I turned around.

We headed back up the mountain...

towards home.

You can see how the road serpentines its way up the mountain.

We made our way to an overlook of the road from which we had just come.

In the distance you can see our turnaround point.

I zoomed in on the turnaround point...

just beyond the middle of the sideways "M".

We continued our climb...

with magnificent view after magnificent view presenting itself.

We were nearing Sunset Point in this photo.

We arrived home feeling refreshed.

What another beautiful day.

Being out on the road with fresh snow on the ground...

crisp air and blue skies...

made me feel as if I were a child once again.

The joy felt being in the middle of a winter wonderland is always so refreshing.

And even though the air temperature was 5 F...

there was very little wind...

and so...

the sun and our exercise kept us plenty warm.

I just had on sweat pants...

a sweat jacket...

a micro fiber beanie...

micro fiber gloves...

and my regular shoes.

My trike is just so perfect for mountain riding in the snow.

It is perfectly stable...

the tires have excellent grip...

and with the e-drive...

I may keep my heart rate in my desired zone.

I will be traveling around the whole state of Colorado in the future...

seeking out great riding trails.

I will be towing Bandi's doggie carrier for the longer runs...

so she may rest as I ride once she tires.

We have many adventures in store for our future.

In the meantime...

I had ordered a chainsaw and other tree felling equipment.

Winter is the perfect time for me to start clearing some of the surrounding forest.

I will be going more into this once I start felling the first of many trees.

And even though I will have to cut each piece of wood into certain sizes...

and then haul them up the ridge near the road and pile them in neat groups...

this is all part of living on a forested mountain ridge.

I look forward to it...

as not only will it be a workout in and of itself...

but I love doing projects around the home...

I love making and seeing improvements.

I will be doing this for not only fire prevention...

but to clear some of the distant views so I may better enjoy the mountains...

and to make space for some different trees I will try to grow at my altitude

(I want some red autumn colors as well).

I will be working at my own pace...

but I will be doing a little bit almost everyday.

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We all have an inner desire to make progress in life...

or at least...

all of us should.

I have seen too many people not even start projects

because they simply get overwhelmed by the magnitude of the whole job.

However...

by just taking small bites on a frequent basis...

the job is broken up into much smaller daily objectives...

all of which may then easily be accomplished.