The last couple of mornings
it’s been cold here. There’s no snow on the ground, but it is that “make
the skin on your face hurt," type of cold. I wake up, grit my teeth as
I slither out of the covers and rush for the fireplace. Our house has a
heater, but the system is so ancient that it costs $900 a month
to just warm the house up. Needless to say, we don’t turn it on.
The little ritual of rushing
to the fireplace has made me think of other fireplaces I’ve known…each has been
different and each has special memories...and each makes me shiver just thinking
about them!
There was the little wood
stove in our trailer in Oasis, NV, when dad was working at the Big Springs Ranch.
There was a HUGE metal sign behind it to help reflect the heat a bit. It was
bright yellow and said “Merge Left”. When the boss’s son shot out our pickup window on accident, dad promised not to tell if he painted over our ugly
sign.
John did, and dad didn’t
tell. The sign has a picture of my dad roping a horse in the desert painted with
BBQ paint so it wouldn’t melt behind the stove….it now hangs in the place of
honor over our piano!
There was the little coal
fireplace in St. Andrews, Scotland. The cottage we lived in in Scotland did NOT
have central heating. The fireplaces there were about 16” high x 20” wide at
the most and only the living room had heat. It was so cold that one year
our toothpaste froze! I can remember our mums and dad coming to tuck us in one
night and having them bust up laughing because Adrian and I were in bed with wool
sweaters, sweat pants, hats and gloves on!! Hey….we were cold! Rushing to the
fireplace in the morning was a little different there than it is here….coal doesn’t
catch fire very quickly, and it takes a couple hours for it to put out much
heat. I mean come on, it doesn’t make sense to try and light a bunch of rocks
on fire anyway!!!
Then there was the campfire
we had for 3 days at winter camp in Missouri when Adrian and dad decided to go
beaver trapping. THAT was probably the most miserable I’ve ever been in my
entire life. Adrian really likes to trap, I don’t, but I do like to be with my
family so I decided to tag along. We packed into where we were going to be
staying and on the way into camp, I was leading my horse down a slippery, snow
covered hill and fell in a creek up to my shins. I started off cold and wet and
never really warmed up. Adrian and I had decided prior to this trip that it
would be really cool to have a portable tipi that you could set up without
poles. With the help of our dad, who is literally good at anything he sets his
hand to, we made a small 10 ft tipi pattern that could be set up with poles, OR
tied around a tree so you wouldn’t have to pack poles with you. I hand sewed
our tipi and we were the most cozy people on that trip! Adrian says
that I should stop whining because she gave me the buffalo robe to sleep in so
I should have been the warmest! Adrian immediately fell asleep and snored
loudly throughout the entire night…I had just broken my collar bone, my feet
were still damp and I was COLD…I think I even cried I was so miserable! I was
so glad to get to our campfire the next morning! We were burning Osage Orange
wood and that stuff burns HOT!
There was the Coleman lamp I
had out in camp in Nevada. Yes, I agree with you, a lamp does not count as a
fireplace. But it was acting as heat that day…so there you go. The first night
I spent in camp in Charleston was before I was moved out
there full time. I just went out for a few days to help receive a couple loads
of cows from CA, and the first night was
butt-chillin cold! The generator wasn’t there yet for my trailer but I did
have a Coleman lamp, a big one! I remember holding my hands out to it for
warmth…which looking back on it now, was probably a horrible fire hazard in
that flammable old camp trailer! I had my bedroll…with a thick foam pad on the
bottom and wool blankets galore, but I think I still jumped in my pickup in the
early morning to turn on my heater and try and thaw out!
 |
| This was my first campsite...obviously this was in the summer, but I don't have a picture of it in the cold! |
There was the hip-high heater
that was in my cinderblock house in Tuscarora, NV. I have no idea WHAT that
heater was…but I do remember turning it up as high as it would go and sitting
on top of it until my jeans would start to smoke. The Roseberry was a funny
house, it had been an old cookhouse for the Rhoades Ranch and someone must have
gotten the paint on sale because the entire cinderblock house, inside and
out, was painted the most delicate of pale pinks. The doors didn’t fit quite
right and the windows whistled and since the house was built in the meadows, it
could get a little chilly. The coldest I know of was -22 F, which for some is
no big deal but for this California girl working for hours on end in those temperatures was life
changing! One particularly blizzard-y night, I got a call from my boss. He and
his 8-month pregnant wife and their little girl had tried to get home from town
and couldn’t make it up the road to their house. Even with him plowing
the way with the tractor first left them getting stuck. They made it to my house and spent the night. I put Ty
and Ronda in my room and drug my bedroll in front of the heater and went to
sleep. The next day Ronda brought me two space heaters to warm my bedroom up
with! Apparently the wind whistling through the window had made the bedroom too
cold for comfort the night before!
 |
| View out my kitchen window at the Roseberry...brrr! |
As I type this, I’m sitting
on the couch in front of my parent's fireplace. I am thankful for its heat and the
comfort it brings my family. The memories of fireplaces I’ve known are actually
heart-warming now, because they’re experiences I wouldn’t trade for the world.
I know some people who will read this didn’t grow up with electricity and some
of you may even be operating off a generator now! I’d love to hear about your
cold weather and fireplace stories, so please share them!
xo xo Liz
good thoughts! what is it about fireplaces? at their best they are warm and inviting, with the promise of heat, and light, comfort, at their worst a smoke belching nightmare!!
ReplyDeleteI lived in a little cabin high in the Laguna Mountains when I was oh about 21, that was a long time ago! There was no electricity, but the outhouse had a great view onto an open meadow and there was no need of a door...the fireplace worked great a little stone fireplace of native rock, the lady who owned the place sadi that when she was young there was always a little jar travelers could put an offering, as the cabin was never locked, and travelers would occasionally stop for a night.
My other favorite fireplace was in our house on the Coogan Ranch, a place I lived for ten years. Our house was originally a hunting lodge as Mr. Coogan ( Jackie Coogans' father) was an avid sportsman. The fireplace covered an entire wall and was made entirely of rose quartz, when you got a gire really going it would glow with pink light. The opening was huge, you could fit a huge chunk of oak wood in there and we often did, because, even though we were not far from the Mexican border, there was often lots of cold and snow. That fireplace was almost magical!
Wow, Holly....your stories left pictures in my head...thank you SO MUCH for sharing!! I desperately want to see the rose quartz fireplace, it sounds completely magical!! What a great place to live! :) I've stayed in a couple little shelters where there were offering jars where travelers could leave a litte something, pretty neat system I think, too bad there aren't more like those! :) Gosh, all I can think about right now is a room glowing pink light....sorry for my rambling! LOL
DeleteI honestly think that rose quartz fireplace is magical! I would often build a big fire in there on a cold night and bask in the glow! Some folks actually beleive that the mineral ros quartz has healing properties, and I think they may be right.
DeleteWell the one advantage of generators and fireplaces is that they continue regardless of lines :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know Adrian likes to trap. I grew up trapping and still do from time to time.
Stay warm!
HAHAHA Good point Jessica! :)
DeleteShe likes to but doesn't anymore because you're not allowed in California. When my dad was a kid he used to run a trap line all through the winter, but not any more. That'll be such a great skill and memory for you pass on to Quirt :)
Liz, you can, you just have to get a trappers license. My neighbor traps!
DeleteBack before things got romantic.... back before we were graced with a wedding, a second baby, world championships,.....and before we were graced with extra money.... we were the typical young cowboy family. Drifting from place to place in search of our lives. After a fast move it Post Tx and back... (when i say fast im talking 3 weeks)...we were starting our New adventure at the Jacques Brothers ranch in Shidler Ok. Unpacked and settled in for a week or so, and were just in time from the major ice storm. I mean major. No electricity for 1000 of people for over 2 weeks. We had a wonderful baby boy who was only six months old. I hung blankets on all the windows, all extra closed doors, drug all things we needed into the living room. There was a fire place... mind you it was only for looks and not heat.... but when its all you got, its all you got. Things were okay until the baby got sick. Bad sick. Off to the ER we went. Ear infection it was.... But there we sat 2 scared young parents with $25 to our name trying to figure out how the hell we were going to pay for the medicine. Grace of God, it cost $11!! So we managed to snuggled warm through the night, and rode with Chris during the day in the feed truck with a heater.
DeleteFast forward a few years, wonderful family, 2 toddlers. Chris and I were day working everyday. Drummonds had 750 momma vows to preg check on the kane ranch... which had a set of red pens that sat right on top of a big hill. Colder then Cold, wind blowing, we started in on them. Medicine was freezing in the bottles, we had a great idea of running the bottle from under our arm pits inside our coats and running the tube from the draw syringe down our other arm and the syringe would poke out of our coat sleeve!! It worked and the only bad thing was having to unzip your coat for the guys to help ya which bottles when you ran dry. It was so cold we begged Ree, yes the PW herself to take the kids and go gather up old wooden post out of fence lines!! That was the best fire I think I have ever felt!!!
So there is a momma story and a Cowgirl story... :) Amy Potter
Yup, it was great when we lived in camp because we didn't loose power no matter how bad the storm got!
DeleteYeah, you have to get licenses in most states now, frustrating, but what can you do?
Didn't know that!! Thanks for the heads up, Amanda!! :)
DeleteOH MY GOSH....Amy, for some reason your comment wasn't showing up before and I just now read it!!! That was an incredible story, I have goosebumps!! Wow, you guys went through hell and back again, I can't even imagine how scared you must have been with such a little baby and an ear infection and no money....that could've gone badly quickly!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share that....you better write all your memories down so you can share them with your kids when they grow up!!!! That's one heck of a bedtime story :)
DeleteWhat a fun fun post! I think there is nothing more warming and comforting than a fire. But I'll add that I am Completely terrified of fire as well! I realize its a crazy irrational fear, but it even carries over to the oven... The whole Hansel and Grettle thing really got to me ;) But I'll blame it on the Awful fires we had here when I was born.
ReplyDeleteI've lived several places where the stove was the only source of heat. So needless to say there were several times where my house was colder inside than it was outside. And I hate to be cold inside! Although I do enjoy winter. I have several stories I could share, but instead I think I'll tell you about my first Elk Camp and my first time in the high desert.
I was 14, and my sister and her husband had drawn elk tags for a unit outside of Burns. There were several other people in the hunting party that I didn't know, but since my dad had all the good wall tents, cool camp stuff and pack horses, we got to go. Even though I wasn't old enough, I got to drive most of the way. My dad and his buddy slept in the cook tent, which had a stove of course. I slept with my sister and her husband, we had a stove too but they didn't think we needed a fire. So as we got ready for bed, I kept my long johns on, and proceeded to add layers, including big wool socks. I had a stocking cap on under my hood which was pulled tight with draw strings. I then crawled in my down sleeping bag which was covered in wool blankets(my dad and I LOVE wool). And had my sister zip me in because I couldn't move. Everyone in camp thought I was a total loon. We had our two Heelers there, one had a cone on and a cast with a broken leg. Throughout the night you could hear that cone scrape against the tent door, it drove my sister crazy! But mostly the two dogs slept with me, or rather on me. I didn't mind. We woke up the next morning and I had Never been so cold! My body was literally racking in shivers. I stepped out, and it was 5 below, and there was snow on the ground. The temperature had dropped 30 degrees. Everyone in camp was huddled in the cook tent around that stove, ha, not so crazy now! Thankfully the next night I got a fire, I slept with fewer clothes, but not by much :D
AHAHAHAHA sounds like you were COLD!! I love it! What a fun time, to get to go to elk camp with your family, that sounds like it would be a blast! The dog situation totally sounds like something that would happen to my family!! hahahaha Thanks so much for sharing, loving all these stories! :)
DeleteI could go on and on about feeding cows with a team while -30, or snowmobiling to the highway to go to school when I was little, but the memories that stand out the most now are when Travis and I were first married. We lived in cow camps 9+ months of the year and usually in a tiny camper. The heater didn't work so we had to leave the stove on and a window cracked 24/7. We'd come in from riding and my feet and fingers would be numb. I put on my pj's and climb into bed even if it was before lunch, just to get warmed up. We've even started fires while moving cows just to try and thaw out a little bit.
ReplyDeleteAbout December when we were camped at Sheep Creek, the guy working for Travis (he had a family and little kids so Travis let him have the cabin there) moved back to the valley. Before he even had all of his stuff out of the cabin we were moving in. Oh the luxury of a heater and being able to stretch your arms out wide and not touch a wall with either hand! It got so cold that night the diesle pickup gelled up and we couldn't start it. Travis caught a horse and was going to trot to the next camp where there was a phone to call in some help. I didn't even offer to go with him, it was 11 and the temperature hadn't reach zero yet. You couldn't have paid me to trot the 10 miles! Luckily Travis only made it about a mile before he flagged down a hunter to come in and give us a jump start to get going again!
That winter when we took the cows across the Bruneau River to the 71 I got so dang cold I got off and led my horse 1 mile down into the canyon and 1 mile out the other side trying to warm up. I had just got off to walk when my horse slipped on a patch of ice and mashed my stirrup flat. All I could think of was how miserable it would have been if I was still on him when he fell, and had my foot mashed in the stirrup and injured.
I'm not very tough when it comes to cold. I always say that a bad day cowboying beats a good day teaching, but there have been a few mornings here in Lamoille that I have been pretty content to sit in my kitchen with a cup of tea and admire the cold outside.
I KNEW we'd get a good story out of you Jen!! :) You're so crazy tough it's not even funny!!! That was so nice of you guys to let the family have the cabin, but you must've been so excited to get into some bigger space! Talk about getting to know one another up close and personal in a little camper when you're first married!! LOL I know how you feel, the other day it was storming and I was looking out the window with my coffee and just thinking how happy I was that I didn't have to be out there working! :)
DeleteMy husband was the assistant cattle manger/cowboy boss at a feedyard in the TX Panhadle a few years ago when a few of the guys quit him in the middle of a horrible storm. So I got the call to day work for him, the snow was belly deep on my horse (who is 16 hands tall)and it was COLD!! It was below freezing when we would get to work and only warm up to about 5 degrees during the day, I had so many clothes on I looked like the Michelin man! Long handles,jeans, shirt, sweat shirt, snow boots, insulated coveralls,hoodie,and my husbands parka which was rated for below freezing temps,a wild rag and a face mask. Snow boots were upon my feet! I thought I was going to freeze and I dang sure had to use a chair to get on my horse :) with all of those clothes on. We rode the north end and had a few thousand we had to look at. I remember going home at the end of the day and laying on the floor, snuggling with my little, boy in front of the fireplace with the central heat on as well and falling asleep with most of those layers still on trying to thaw out!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I don't even know how you got on your horse! That's hysterical, you must've been so glad to get the heater turned on! That's crazy those guys quit on your husband in the middle of work and a storm...makes me think of the John Wayne movie, The Cowboys!! :) Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time out to share your story!! Loved it! :)
DeleteWhen I was a little girl around 10 years old my Dad had a trapline that he would check on horseback before we could afford a snowmobile. I was told if I wanted to go I had to get dressed and get outside before he was done saddling his horse to have mine saddled too. I was in such a rush to get out the door that I didn't put extra layers on, just my long johns. Half way through the treck through the bush and meadows I was REALLY cold. Being a ranch raised kid I was taught not to whine or complain. I can still see the steam from horses nose with each snort and the hear the crunch of the powdery snow under his feet. The frost on my hair and eyelashes and the sting of my face. After Dad tied a coyote, snared and froze in a strange angular position to the back of his saddle decided he should check on me. He looked at me got on his horse and said "honey we are gonna travel harder now, follow me." We loped through a meadow and through some trees and came to an old shack locked with a padlock. Dad reared back, kicked the door in and started building a fire in the old cook stove that hadn't been used in years and years. He then took an old iron legged chair set it on top of the stove and placed me on it. He took my boots and mitts off and tried to stuff as much of me as he could inside his winter clothes with my feet on his sides and my hands under his armpits. I will never forget the sting as the warmth entered my body. I can't remember much more after that but I can remember him appologizing to me and telling me everything would be alright. He must have had words for my mother when we got home because she made sure I was dressed well after this.
ReplyDeleteLynn Larsen Degano
Holy crow Lynn, sounds like you were maybe in the first stages of hypothermia if he was that worried about you!! Little kids just don't have the resources to stay as warm as adults...that must have been so frightening for your dad!! I read this out loud to my mums....we both agreed it's a great story and sounds like you had a close call! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your memory with us! :)
DeleteThank you for letting me share!
DeleteOut of the park, as usual!
ReplyDeleteThis post brings back SO many memories of growing up in New Hampshire, wintering in Wyoming and now Colorado. We had a wood stove that heated up our entire 100-year-old house in New Hampshire, and it wasn't uncommon to see a family member with their palms and rears faced to it at any given point in the day. We loved that thing to death. It became our savior during week-long power outages (we ate loads of sloppy joes for all meals of the day - courtesy of our stove.) One year we had a bad chimney fire, and that was the end of the old faithful blue wood stove. It was replaced with a noisy metal pellet stove - winter was never quite the same. Maybe it a little safer, but not as cozy.
In Wyoming, our little shack on the ranch had cracks all through the doors and windows and the wind howled constantly across the basin - enter my trusty, trusty space heater. I have never known a better friend and spent many nights with it blowing heat directly up into my bed.
The little space heater is still with us here in our converted barn/studio apartment in the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado. Although we wake up to 45-degree mornings IN the house despite the heater chugging through the night, we still prefer it to our fancy cast iron stove that cooks us out of the house. We're still trying to figure out how to keep our new wood stove here from skyrocketing to 90 degrees (this thing was probably meant to heat a 9-room home instead of a studio!), but can appreciate all of the toasty warm winter memories it brings back :)
Have a great week, Liz!
Jessy
Jessy, your 100-year-old house in New Hampshire sounds incredible!! Everyone thinks living in ancient houses are romantic, but I don't think they realize how cold they can get! Good luck trying to make a "cool" fire for your studio!! hehehe sounds like it works above average! :) Merry Christmas and happy Monday! :)
DeleteI miss my parents house like none other! I'll be a sad girl when they sell it.
DeleteI know it's such an odd complaint to have TOO much heat now, but it seems like we're finding ways to keep our current stove from running us out of the house!
Merry Christmas to you too, Liz :)
Very cool post! Growing up, we lived in a lot of different places, from a car, to a school bus in the woods, to a fancy schmancy place in town with a swimming pool and a jacuzzi, and not in that order.
ReplyDeleteWherever we were living, the heat source was always my place of comfort. If we were homeless, it was a campfire. One of the houses we lived in didn't have a working heater, so I spent all winter sitting next to the oven with my feet inside the oven.
When I think of "home," I think of the school bus in the woods. My parents had a trailer with a fireplace, and my brothers and I had beds in the school bus. Looking back, I suppose it's a good thing that in our shenanigans we broke out at least a few of those bus windows, because our heat source in the bus was a kerosene heater. Not exactly a safe situation! To this day, I love the smell of kerosene.
AnyLou, it sounds like you went through some hard times growing up, thank you so much for sharing your story with us!! It's funny how smells like that bring back all sorts of memories in the blink of an eye. I have an awesome mental image of you with your feet in the oven...wish I was an artist so I could draw it! :)
DeleteIt was hard at the time, but I've grown up to be such a happy person that I forget when I tell my 'stories' that they can be sad... I started reading at a really young age, so whatever was happening, I would always be bundled up in blankets or sitting next to the heat (or both) with my nose in a book. I would sit for hours with a blanket wrapped around me in a kitchen chair, pulled up as close as I could get to the oven, with my nose in a book and my feet in the oven. Good memories. ;-) Or, in the bus, I would have the kerosene heater on next to my bed, I would be all wrapped up in blankets, and I would have a flashlight under the blankets, reading all night long.
DeleteThat's awesome that you look back at your memories with happiness and you definitely sound like a happy person....LOVE THAT!!! Positive people make my day! :) I started reading at a really young age as well, I feel so blessed for it! I used to get into trouble for reading instead of doing my school work!! Oops!! hehehe :)
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