Golden Fairyland

It all started with the air conditioner. We have two air conditioners in the windows, a Sharp in the living room and a Frigidaire in the main bedroom. On the morning of September 10th, it seemed like the fan in the bedroom air conditioner was making a funny noise. When I got out of bed, I turned it off.

That evening, just before bed, my husband turned the air conditioner on. Or tried to. It did turn on but would not blow. So he instantly turned it right back off. Over the course of the next few days, we tried it again. It worked once or twice, but the sounds it made concerned us. It sounded like there was an obstruction.

On the 16th, we removed the air conditioner and sat it on the bedroom floor, with my husband expressing intentions to take it apart and clean it. Perhaps it was just all gunked up in there. We would try to clean it before making any major decisions about getting rid of it or buying another one. I was very glad that this happened in mid-September instead of July!

We are in a pattern of rainy weather now. So Monday morning found my husband puttering around, getting things together. By 11 a.m., he was on the front porch, tearing the air conditioner apart. I got to help, of course. He gave me a brush and cleaning fluid and some of the exterior parts, which were quite dirty. Between interior and exterior, it was the filthiest air conditioner either of us had ever seen!

Once he had removed the metal housing, he cleaned all of the stuff inside. We did not open the freon part, or do anything dangerous. At one point, when he had loosened enough gunk, he got out our Shark shop vac and BLEW all the stuff out of the A/C. That worked like a charm. You wouldn't believe all the crud that was inside! It has been in use for 9 years. This was its first cleaning, aside from the removable filter, which my husband regularly cleans.

He worked on it from around 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., when he pronounced it clean enough to put back together. He did just that. Then he brought the unit back inside, plugged the air conditioner into the electric socket, and - yeehaw! - it ran like a champ! 

In today's disposable culture, we both wondered how many things are thrown away that simply need a good cleaning, or a tiny fix! Also, we wondered about this simple thing: WHY don't the people who MAKE window air conditioners put little handles on the sides, to make them easier to lift and move around? WHY?

Anyway, the air conditioner is back together now. We usually take it downstairs when we are done with it for the season but it sits in the living room right now, waiting to see if we get any hot days that would justify putting it back in. So it is living in the in-between land, somewhere between summer and autumn.

Around 2:30, my husband commented that he thought he could eat a steak. Over the weekend, we had talked about going to the Texas Roadhouse one of these days. I told him I'd be happy to treat him to a steak dinner as a reward for his hard work! So by 3 p.m., we were cleaned up and dressed and in the car. 

Shortly after that, we arrived at the steakhouse, and I caught my breath when I saw all of the gorgeous golden yellow trees (they might be some kind of honey locust) all around the restaurant. It was probably the best foliage display I've seen locally so far this season! WOW!!!

But even better than that, the buildings all around us had huge, dark, reflective windows. And in those windows, I could see the reflection of the foliage as well. It was amazing, and golden, and glorious, and everything was lit up like a flame, and reflected back on the glass. And so here is one of my best shots of the golden fairyland in town!

My soundtrack song is Ed Sheeran, with I See Fire.

P.S. When I am with my camera, which is often, I am sometimes asked by bystanders what I am taking pictures of. Over the weekend, I was on Tow Hill, examining the milkweed for more chrysalis friends. A man and woman walked by. The lady asked me what I was photographing. I said milkweed, looking for a butterfly or chrysalis. She twisted her mouth a little and asked, "Don't you have milkweed in YOUR OWN YARD?" Like I was a bad little girl, doing something wrong. I wasn't sure how to reply. I didn't find her remark or her manner very friendly. I told my husband later, and he encouraged me to just tell people, "I am a nature photographer. I find all kinds of interesting things to photograph, everywhere." Or perhaps, something a bit ruder. ;-) When I showed him my photo set of the golden trees, my husband laughed and said, "You're lucky nobody was standing there watching. They'd probably have asked, 'What's your wife taking pictures of? Trees? Well, don't you have trees in YOUR OWN YARD?!????'"