The first bitter cold temperatures of the season have moved into the southern mountains of Appalachia. When I went to set the chickens free this morning all our remaining tender summer plants were shriveled and limp.
The Deer Hunter has lit the first fire in the wood stove and the house feels cozy and warm. After he got the fire going we both marched outside to see smoke roll across the house and smell the wonderful comforting scent of woodsmoke.
All summer I’ve continued to be amazed at the things I can now see out of the new window behind my desk. Today I realized I can add woodsmoke to the long list of newly noticed wonders.
Here’s a few “fire” posts from the archives.
Last night’s video: Granny Shares Her Oldest Treasures.
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Looking out your new windows was a good prompt to open the blinds and enjoy the view at my house.
Sometimes I think we tend to leave our eyes fixed on that which is at hand and forget to
look out and beyond our personal situation. Thank you for the reminder.
We had our first fire Monday night, just in the fireplace, not in the wood stove yet! Nothing like a full masonry fireplace with no insert, just a huge old school fire box! Yes we loose some heat up the chimney, but nothing the wood burner won’t replace (and then some.) The sound of crackling wood, the smell of the wood, the amazing beauty of the fire, the serenity it gives the soul, the warmth that gives you goosebumps all over, nothing can compare…..I’ve not met one person that sat by our fire and didn’t walk away better off for having been near it! Thank you Jesus for your amazing seasons and all the wonder and beauty each bring, I look forward to each one!
Donna, our daughter needed glasses and we didn’t realize it until she went to school. I suspected it but her pediatrician and her first teacher called me an over-protective parent. When we finally got glasses for her when she was 7 it made a huge difference in her school performance and her life in general. She has worn glasses for the 30+ years since.
I was blessed with better than average vision. Even today when I’m past 80, my uncorrected vision is 20-25 and I don’t wear glasses except to read. Darling daughter says she wishes I had give her those genes.
Isn’t being able to see such a blessing? I was like your daughter; I couldn’t see the board & kept squinting & squinting….But being a little kid, didn’t know that it was because there was something wrong with my eyes. I kept telling my mom I was getting headaches & the teacher had moved me to the front of the room. I think she finally mentioned something to my parents about having my eyes tested. What a difference! I didn’t know what it was to TRULY be able to see and a whole new world opened up for me. The Rotary Club is one charity I like to donate to because they help with eye exams & glasses for those unfortunate enough to not be able to afford eye care. As for being called an ‘over protective parent’, my grandma had a similar situation with her 3rd child. she kept telling the Dr. that the baby didn’t seem ‘right’. The Doc told her she was a “hysterical mother & had just been spoiled by having 2 easy babies first.” She continued to beg the Dr. to investigate further. It turned our my grandma was right to trust her mother’s intuition. Her daughter had actually been born missing half of her brain. She never saw, heard, talked, learned to sit, & struggled to eat (only a bottle) and she passed away at 2 1/2. Medical professionals at the time attributed it to ‘cat scratch fever’ as she had been scratched at her inlaw’s farm & suffered an infection while pregnant. Doctors (and teachers) don’t know everything. Parents’ intuitions are often to be trusted.
Tipper I always enjoy your posts they are or most lived by me. I love to be reminded of home back in the mountains of NC thank you dear ones and you Tipper for sharing these short articles .
I love the smell and the sounds of wood burning. We have gas logs here at this house, but I miss my other wood burning fireplace. Although it was really cold last night, here east of Raleigh, we didn’t get a frost, but we may tonight according to the weather report. They just showed on the news the striking fall colors in the mountains. You all that live in the mountains are really blessed with such beauty!! Tipper, I so enjoyed Granny’s favorite things last night. Although I have never met her, she is one sweet, special lady. I had tears in my eyes when she was talking about your Pap buying her the jewelry box. You can feel and see the love she has for your daddy still. She also has so much love for her other family when she was talking about her Christmases at home and about her grandpa buying that Bible for her. I could hear her talk all day. What a true treasure she is!!!
I did not wear glasses until I was 15 years old and couldn’t pass the vision test for my driver’s license. I had been told at high school after having a vision test I needed glasses but I lied and told my parents I didn’t need glasses because I knew it would be a hardship for them to buy a pair for me. I was just like some of the others, I could not believe how much clearer and brighter things were after getting them. Even today, I can read and do almost anything close without glasses but can hardly see across the room.
My schools never had teachers aids, the classes would average about 35 students and one teacher. Unlike today, we had very few discipline problems, either the men teachers or principal would introduce you to the board of education and you would behave after that. The last thing you wanted was for your parents to find out because instead of suing like today, because they would give you another whipping to go along with the one you got at school. I was shy too, and loved sitting in back of the class, There was two advantages to this, I very seldom got called on and it allowed me to check out the girls without being noticed! Even though most of the boys carried knives since elementary or grammar school, any fights in high school between boys in high school would usually be over a girl. The coaches would take you to the gym and put boxing gloves on you and tell you to go ahead and settle it. Nobody ever thought of pulling a knife on anyone.
KW – I am so glad you had a nurse who caught your eyesight problem early!! Growing up in San Diego county, we averaged 40 to 45 students per teacher, and I don’t remember any teacher assistants helping them in grade school. I do remember the TA’s in high school, though. I know they all had their hands full with so many kids, so the quiet ones like me were skipped over a lot. My last name is in the middle of the alphabet, but I was moved around frequently. When I found out my first grade teacher was retiring, I stopped by to see her at the school a few years ago. I asked her if she remembered throwing the chalk and erasers at me, she did. We had a good laugh about it. She felt sorry that she had not caught on that I was asking my neighbors what the board said, but I told her she had always been one of my favorite teachers. And she was.
Donna. : )
Your new windows look very nice, I’m glad you got them fixed! This first cold morning makes me think cold weather is really coming. Part of me wishes it would stay warm year round but that is not the nature of these wonderful mountains we live in, and I really do appreciate them!
We have been without a wood stove for a lot of years now. But I can well remember the comfort of that dry heat when the house was toasty. Seems to me as if there is no other heat quite like it. The kids even tell me I cooked on it in the Blizzard of 93. I don’t recall doing that but I recall how having that stove was a life saver. After 29 years I don’t trust my memory much but I think we were without power for 10 days.
Back in the day, there were quite a few major tasks to the life ways that were milestones in the year. Getting up winter wood was one of those, as was plowing, planting, laying by, harvesting, canning, etc. None of them could be missed without serious consequences.
Enjoy your toasty warm and that memorable spice of wood smoke!
I miss having a wood burning fireplace like we had in two previous houses. In our current home we have propane logs. It gives off plenty of heat and the flames flickering around is pretty to watch. I still miss the smell of wood burning and the sound of the wood crackling from a wood burning fireplace. I know the wood fireplace was a lot more work, but now days I think the work is worth it compared to the fuel prices for propane logs. I’ve learned to be content with what I have and thankful I can still enjoy the warmth and sights of a fireplace.
Our first frost last night was light but got down to 29 degrees. I covered up the one pepper plant I hadn’t picked yet, but I figure the other plants that had lots of blooms will die off now since I didn’t cover them up. It’s sad to see them go, but after the big harvest I got from them on Monday I have plenty of peppers to pickle for canning and chop for freezing to use for cooking this winter. Our garden was a blessing and I’m thankful for the harvest I got.
My husband and I live in a senior retirement community. We are so blessed to have an apartment that has a beautiful view of trees. Right now I am looking at the beautiful fall colors of the trees. God gives us so many blessings. So enjoyed seeing Granny and her treasures. She is a delight. Take care and God bless ❣️
Though we hit 30 here, I’m holding off of lighting our first fire. We only have 3 days of freezing temps then it warms up to Autumn again. Back when we were both much younger and could handle the preparations, we would invite our neighbors over for a First Fire meal of stews or soups. Now we are both unable to set the house in order enough to have company. Such is the way of life.
We were to get a freeze here in SC PA this morning but thank the good Lord the furnace came on and the house is toasty warm. I haven’t ventured outside to check on the lilac bush that had started to re-bloom yet as I meant to go out and cut some for flower vases yesterday and got on to other projects forgetting about them. Oh well:) I do remember the crisp cold mornings of childhood and getting in front of a warm fire. I can still reminisce about it when I step out in the cold fall evenings and smell wood smoke drifting through the air from a neighbor’s wood stove.
I always enjoy hearing Granny talk as I have said before – she is a “Treasure” to you and your family. Her memories of a great Christmas her Mother fixed for them every year with the bag of candy, Oranges and Apples, was just like my Mother told me her Mother fixed for her 11 children. The goodness and love of family shows through.
Ahh. The visuals you paint with words … and today, the smells you give us with words! Indeed, woodsmoke wafting in the air and trees, .. ahh, s’more! So comforting. How appreciative I am for your open gratitude for small things – which really are The Big Things. Thank you.
Even though we don’t heat with wood, I love the smell of a wood fire! There’s a type of comfort, to me, that is there.
On another note, we watched your video about battery chainsaws and the squirrel wolves. It sounds like your husband is finding warbles under the skins of the squirrels. Bot flies are the why and cause of the infestation. Warbles are found in rabbits around here, but I bet the squirrels have them as well. I know when we were kids we would also keep an eye out on our horses as they could get them, which thankfully never happened. I found a link below that has info, which is kinda gross really, but it does explain their lifecycle.
https://www.travel4wildlife.com/cuterebra-larva-disgusting-bot-fly-facts/
Tipper, I so enjoyed your post today. I love the smell of fireplace burning and leaves burning also. We love to go to Cracker Barrel in the fall and winter and sit close to the fireplace and smell and enjoy the sound also. When we pull up at our Cracker Barrel, I ask my hubbie to park at the end where the smoke goes so I can enjoy before we go in. We have a standing joke in the family that one day when we retire and money is short, if we can’t afford to eat out, we can always make a bologna sandwich and go sit in the parking lot at Cracker Barrel and smell the fireplace! hahaha Thank you so much for reminding us to be thankful for what we have and take the time to enjoy the little things, because they are so important to our well being.
Donna, I too had the same experience when I got my first pair of eyeglasses in the third grade. For several years I was being sent to the nurses office to get my eyes checked. Then finally they got a new nurse who cared more about the pupils and actually sent a note home to my parents about me needing glasses. My last name was towards the end of the alphabet so I was always made to sit in the back row of a 30 student class.
I was amazed that everything was so crystal clear: houses, cars on the road, and each leaf on the tree could be seen. I can still remember that wonder : )
Tipper –
Where I live now on the west coast the high for today shows it will be around 91 F. I am still planting seeds in the garden for the Fall/Winter. When the cool weather will finally get here it can get down the the upper 20’s and sometimes even down to 14!
It stays warm up through the first week of November usually. Then if we get some moisture falling from the sky in the form of rain we may get fog that will come and stay for weeks – they call it rule fog. All the duck hunters just love that cold damp weather. We have many duck hunting clubs around us.
I like the fog if I do not have to drive to town. The fog will hang on all the plants and trees in the garden and drip to the ground.
My spell check on this phone changed my word tule to rule – for such a smart phone it sure can not spell sometimes ; )
tule fog *
We have our first frost and freeze this morning in upstate SC. It is 29 degrees but suppose to warm up to low 60’s for daytime high, the same temps forecast for the next two days. I turned my heat on for the first time this season. I don’t have a wood heater but wish I did. Have you ever heard that wood will warm you up multiple times-when you cut it, load it, unload, split, stack it and then tote in house before you burn it. My parents heated only with wood and I usually kept a years supply cut ahead for them. We had our on trees.
Tipper, looking at the picture of your stove made me curious, I see the flat top and design and I think it might be one of those “bear” heaters made by Fisher stove company. That name may not be correct. They made 3 or 4 sizes called baby bear, mama bear, papa bear and maybe grandpa bear. They were all made the same, just different size.
Going outside together to see the smoke sounds like something Murrman and me would do. I finally cleaned windows (had not cleaned them for a year probably) and when I got done, I went outside and all around the house to witness their shine and pat myself in the back! Lol If you think I’m taking it ALL in and savoring it all, you’d be right! I’m getting to the point in my life where I really appreciate and see more than I ever have in all the small things around me. I enjoy a cup of coffee in the quiet of the early evening. I enjoy a lit candle and the gas logs in the fireplace first thing in the morning or last thing at night. I know 15 years more will be a good run for my life so time is shortening on me… I so enjoyed granny’s favorite things. I’d have to say SHE is one of my favorite people! She’s just the genuine article and more precious than the Hope Diamond!!! I sure do appreciate seeing and listening to your wonderful mother.
Your blog this morning got me to thinking that we should all stop and savor and truly delight in those precious small moments that make life wonderful.
Love the smell of wood and leaves burning…makes for a ‘cozy’ feel too. It is a clear 43 degrees here in upstate Florida this morning…possible frost, but I hope not as I did not cover my I did not cover my coconut plant nor my pineapple plant. Wonderful post, as always, and looking for to the next one. God Bless and thanks.
Good morning Tipper! You mentioned amazin’ at things you could see out your window all summer and I couldn’t help but chuckle and wonder if it was just in general or because y’all finally got around to replacing all your windows on your home? Stay warm!
Roman-Goid morning! Yes new windows I can actually see it though 🙂
Being able to finally see all the little wonders out of your new windows that you previously couldn’t with the old ones, reminds me of when I got my first pair of glasses. When we were little, my older sister had a book about a little girl getting her first pair of glasses. She was amazed at all the small details she could see of the many things around her, things she had not noticed before. As a small little girl, I remember swinging on the swing set in the backyard, and wondering where all the houses on the hills and mountains around the valley I lived in disappeared to. There was a definite difference in what I remember seeing previously, and what I was not seeing now. I was in about second grade when I remember swinging and wondering that one day. In first grade, I remember my teacher throwing chalk and erasers at me all the time, while she was at the front of the room, trying to get me to stop talking in class. Other teachers would come to my desk and slam a book on it to get my attention. I honestly was asking the kids around me what was being written on the board. I never said anything to anyone, not even my parents, that I couldn’t see anything. I would just move to the new desk my teachers put me at in attempts to stop me from talking in class. The summer before I went into 9th grade, at my yearly school physical, I had an eye test. I don’t know why it was never caught at previous eye tests, because I do remember taking them all through my school years, but at this eye exam, it was discovered that I am legally blind. All those years of slowly losing my clear vision, and I just kept quiet about it, although I do remember noticing it. When I finally got my first pair of glasses, I was amazed that you could see the individual leaves on trees, trees weren’t just a big green blob! And those houses on the hills and mountains around me were suddenly back! I honestly was excited and running everywhere noticing so many things others take for granted. When you mentioned in this post, you and Matt going outside to watch that first fire of the season smoke curling through the air, it took me back to when I first was able to see again. I think the reason I didn’t say anything about my eyesight fading away all those years before, is because I am a quiet person. I keep a lot of things to myself (you wouldn’t guess that with my long comments now would you?!). But I do. And I was even worse about keeping quiet when I was younger. It wasn’t until I was in my 30s that people actually started hearing me talk more. I enjoyed your post this morning, Tipper, just like I always do!!
Donna. : )