Work Site Shots

We had the pleasure of working in a log cabin in a wonderful old part of town a few days ago and across the street I spotted this Totem like sculpture with five little bears climbing up... Cute huh?

I had to throw this shot in just because I love the color of this cabin all frosted in white and the icicle that is nearly reaching the ground.

The log cabin where we swept the chimney has an old rock fireplace all covered in lichen and a fabulous view out the window.

This is a shot of the creek running right outside their back door.

Gorgeous. It hasn't snowed much at all yet but it sure is pretty already.

Ahh...so fresh and crisp ;0)

Workin' Girl

The last two weeks Rugby has been a workin' dawg. Up until then her time was often spent like this... "Hey Rugs! We are goin' to sweep some chimney's today, wake up!"

So now I take her for a brief walk every hour and she spends the rest of the time in the car. We are constantly coming back to the work truck to get tools etc. so she gets frequent visits and has fun watching the birds, squirrels, and today I am pretty sure I saw a weasel...maybe... I saw a small flat headed critter that looked like a weasel. I gotta look it up and see if they exist here. ;0)

The best part of the day according to Lady Rugglesby is lunch, by far the greatest thing that happens. In the shot above Kevin has just pulled out a roast beef sandwich. Look at her eyes...

Look at her body! He he... this totally cracks me up.
She is "sitting pretty", something she does EVERY time she wants food so... she does it a lot.

"Oh my...that looks good. You're gonna give me some right?"

Look at her TAIL!!! She loves her lunchtime so much. He he :0)

The Morgue Unit

I am back to work as a chimney sweep for the summer and today I had to go into a condo I call the Morgue Unit. I dread going into this place like none other. There have been worse places I have had the misfortune to work in but this one actually scares me. I get a bad case of the willies, the first time I cleaned this chimney I was shocked. Now I guess I am just stunned. I can't believe anyone would decorate their vacation rental home this way. I wonder if it is a place they rarely visit or do they spend long spells of time sitting under dead animal heads. When I enter the front door I am greeted by this fine fellow. Whoa...just got a chill up my back ...

This one is in the living room...

and so is this one...

I see these three beauties going up the stairs to the loft. The one at the bottom has amazing curly horns. Just Gorgeous.

This one is very unusual...The horns are straight and very long and he has a beard.Stunning but I can't look for too long. Eww
Did you ever go to Disneyland and see "The Bear Country Jamboree? That strange Winnie the Pooh ride is in its spot now. Well if you did than you will know what I mean when I say this Incredible massive creature below (water buffalo?) could start talking at anytime and when he does I will jump out of my skin.

This little baby makes me so sad... and scared. It looks like it could, no...it looks like it should stand up and dart across the room. I am afraid it will!
It's whole little body is there!

Oh boy... this one is right above my head while I vacuum and shovel the ash out of the firebox.
Poor baby is peeking through the stairs at me...eek...I gotta hurry and get outta here.Shiver.

Whew...I am glad I won't have to go into that condo again for two years. Shake it off, Shake it off
The stuffed head of this fellow didn't give me the willies...

He was just two doors down and made me feel much better.

Smile...Shiver ;0)

Look both ways, deer!

Kevin and I were on our way to a chimney sweeping job when I saw a beautiful deer. I love deer, they are just so sweet and innocent, I will always think of Bambi when I see one. I am a Disney girl. I never get tired of seeing them, who would? Although I AM tired of seeing them on peoples walls as decoration...

I digress...

The many yellow deer crossing signs warned me in advance to have my camera out. When I spotted her I yelled out something like"Look a Deer"
and Kevin pulled over, that's my man.

Then something happened I had never witnessed before. This gorgeous creature looked both ways!

Really!

She looked left

and then right

and then she crossed the road, completely calm and methodical. She went so cautiously that I was able to capture the whole thing. Amazing.

That reminds me of a couple other deer moments we had while visiting Yosemite National Park last August, which is so close we should go much more often than we do.

Under a bush right next to a outdoor restaurant patio bustling with tourists lay this beautiful Buck. Impressive huh?

His antlers were covered in a mossy velvet. So Lovely. I could have watched him all afternoon.

Then in the parking lot we came across this little family. They are actually called Mule Deer, due to those lovely large ears.

Aren't they pretty? I was so close to them and I had this crazy desire to reach out and pet that furry head or slide my hand over that velvety antler, but then I saw myself in the news as one of those people who messes with the wildlife and ends up getting gored.

Oh Boy!...Never touch the wildlife. and remember...

Slow Down and always Look Both Ways!

Cabin with a View

I recently went along with Kevin to a small summer cabin up at our beautiful Twin Lakes. I was there just to stand at the bottom of his ladder while he repaired the chimney, so in between his trips up and down the ladder I took a few photos of the woods around us.

You can see just a bit of the lake from the cabin.

This tree had no pine cones on its lower branches, only at the tippy top. I was once told that cones only at the top means a big snowy winter is coming. I wonder if that's true?

Here is a shot of a pokey mossy sort of plant, it looked like tiny stars.

Doesn't this log look like a nice home for a woodland creature? Maybe a Gnome.

No one makes water gardens like Mother Nature.

Here is a fairy sized one.

Not a bad days work.

Lunching with a Coyote

This is one of the perks of being a Chimney Sweep in the mountains. Since we are outside most of the day we never know who will be stopping by. This coyote seemed just as fascinated with me as I was of him. Maybe he wanted my turkey sandwich?