Magic of the fall season continues

Each morning this past week we wake up to find the mountains covered in mists. Then we all wait patiently for the mists to part and reveal which part of the mountaintops are covered in snow. However, the past few days the weather has been so cloudy that the mountains have not obliged us with a peek through the veils. It reminds me of Mists of Avalon when the priestesses would part the mists to reveal the magical land of Avalon. It is like magic.

Driving to town has been a feast for the eyes lately. The winding country roads are covered in trees with the most brilliant yellows and oranges. As we go downhill we get this sweeping view of the valley down below in all of its autumn glory. It is amazing to drive by and watch the yellow leaves blowing everywhere. Then of course there is the backdrop of the mountains. I understand that many of those trees will lose their leaves completely in the next week or so.

We visited our cagefree family friends up in the canyon yesterday. It is generally about ten degrees cooler than it is here. I got a real taste of the cold to come when I got out of the car and the bitter wind whipped my shawl nearly off of my body. Luckily we were then greeted by a warm fire inside. Oh, how I miss having a hearth, a real one....and how nice it would be to have one in a climate where it truly does get cold. I'm not going to spend the whole season complaining when there are so many things to be thankful for but I can assure you that the two things I will be pining for all season are a hearth and a bathtub.

As usual I am a bit nutty over energy efficiency. Why else would I spend most nights sitting in almost darkness with candles and oil lamps lit? I'm sure it makes little difference compared to CFL lighting but I'm weird like that....so now my mind is trying to figure out the most efficient way to heat this place. I have a fancy looking fake fireplace that so far seems pretty crappy on the heat output. We have a small ceramic space heater that has been a lifesaver, especially in the rv. That thing puts out a lot of heat. We put it on upstairs last night and I woke up thinking I was in a furnace I was so hot. Then we have this huge monster of a propane heater that I'm a little afraid of. So I'm trying to figure out which heating methods are going to be cheapest and most energy efficient. Electric? Propane? I'm not really sure. What I do like about the propane is that it seems to have a thermostat setting whereas the heater will simply run constantly. It is hard to say at this point. I'm used to paying highest energy costs in summers with AC but it is a switch here with using more energy in the cooler months. The cloudiness has really kept it cooler in the house than usual. As long as there is sun it really heats things up with the huge windows. New Mexico seems to have plenty of sunny days. I would almost gather to say more than Florida so I'm thinking this cloudy weather will be in the minority. I hope.

There is a true wildness about the weather here today. Looking outside there are homes dotting the landscape but still so much untouched nature to experience. The winds are ferocious. I think I am beginning to get used to them...that or they don't phase me anymore because I remember being so petrified when the winds would rock the rv. Winds outside don't bother me anymore when I'm in a house, especially such a solid structure as this. It has been howling most of the day and night though, rain on and off....and mists completely shrouding the mountains in the distance. Supposedly there could be snow showers tonight. I don't really know what that means...if there could actually be snow on the ground or not. One thing for sure is that this week has indoctrinated me rather quickly into some bitter cold temperatures.