Oil Tank Refill Adventure

That's the oil tank up there behind the trees.
Hey, that tank is waaaayyy up there!

So, Gregg left early to go Caribou hunting this morning and I went back to bed after he left. When I got up later, the cabin was cold. I checked and the heating oil was out! We knew it was getting low so we had a 5 gallon can of it to pour into the reserve tank, but Gregg didn't want to do that until the big tank was completely out, so that he would know exactly how much oil we still had. So, of course, the tank runs dry this morning and I had to refill it with the 40 pound, 5 gallon can. First, I had to break trail through two feet of snow uphill to the tank, and brush the snow off of the top to find the entry point.

Then, I had to slide back down the snowy hill, get tools from his shop – a wrench, hammer, and chisel, go back up the hill with these tucked in my pockets, because I needed my hands to climb up the snowy slope. I finally got the cap off of the tank and then trudged/slid back down the hill to get the oil can. In order to get it up the hill, I had to swing it a couple of feet up in front of me, take two steps, swing the can up again, take two more steps, and on and on. By the time, I got to the tank, I was out of breath for sure!

That slope is much steeper and
more treacherous than it looks!

It was 10 degrees outside and I had on snow boots, leggings, fleece jacket, and gloves. As I leaned against the metal tank to pour the oil in the top, my leggings froze to the side of the tank. Thankfully, they didn’t rip when I pulled away! That’s cold, folks!

After the 5-gallon can was empty, I screwed the tank cap back on, and slid/trudged back down the hill, can in hand, put the tools and can away, and could hardly believe that I’d actually just accomplished that all by myself.

I went inside to start the oil stove (cabin was now 54 degrees) and thought to myself that I bet Gregg does these things to me on purpose, because he knows I can take care of things, but I doubt myself. He wants me to be confident that I can do what needs to be done around here when he’s not around. I did it!