“I have a rock garden. Last week three of them died.” – Richard Diran
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Success!
A quick note to let you know that I successfully reinstalled the serpentine belt on the Suburban. It was actually quite easy (in the daylight with a YouTube instructional video under my belt.) It took a flathead screwdriver and a 15mm ratchet and about 15 minutes. We are back up-and-running (and down one pack rat.)
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 09/21/2011 at 09:55 AM
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Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Day Six 2011 Cabin Trip
Each day, it seems like we do a lot. Then, at the end of the day, when I reflect back and write what we’ve done, my mind goes blank.
This morning we took the dogs for a nice walk up “poop hill” to the UFO landing site and back down along Wapiti Way to the cabin. Poop hill is aptly named. Not only do the dogs like to use it as a place to poop while on a walk, but the slow incline up the hill to about 9000 feet poops us out. We took some pictures and had a nice leisurely stroll.
The UFO landing site is a place in the midst of the high prairie and sage that has nothing growing on it. It is a round space about 4 feet in diameter that is just small granite rocks. Some of them seem to have a lot of copper in them because they turn green. And, each year there are new green stones on the site.
After the walk we washed some clothes. We bought a small hand-operated washer into which you put a couple of quarts of water, some soap and some bleach (if you want). Then you add the dirty clothes, seal them in tight with a lid, and then turn the crank to rotate the washing drum about one time each second. After a couple of minutes, you drain the soapy water. Repeat a couple of time with cold rinse water and, voila, clean clothes. Ringing them out well is a challenge, but they dry after a few hours on the line outside in the sun and dry air.
We had hot wings for lunch. Then, Lynne and I took a walk by ourselves on the north property. My old trail that I had cut and lovingly maintained for years is now hard to follow because of downed trees and overgrowth. Still, we made our way through the bottom then up over the hill and out onto the road. It was a nice walk sans dogs.
Dinner was leftover Chuckwagon Sandwiches and Mac & Cheese. After dinner we planned to take a drive around Sand Creek Park to see the sites and maybe even a moose or elk. We got the dogs into the truck (Bella does not like to go without her crate and is a pain to coax into the truck), and when I started it I knew right away that I’d just destroyed a pack rat. Sure enough a rat was in the engine compartment and when I started the truck I killed the rat, but in the process threw the serpentine belt off. What a pain!
We all piled out of the truck and I began the process of trying to figure out how to get the belt back onto the 6 different pulleys while avoiding rat guts. There is a drawing under the hood of the truck, but it is going to be a real challenge to get it back on by myself. I messed with it as long as there was some light. And, Lynne was helping with a flashlight. But, the most we got done was a basic understanding of how the routing goes and a very clear understanding this was not going to be simple.
I found a video on YouTube that may show me how to do it, so I am downloading that video while I write this blog post. I’ll keep you informed.
The good news is there is one less pack rat around tonight.
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 09/20/2011 at 07:28 PM
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Day Five 2011 Cabin Trip
Sam made noise all night. He finds crinkly things to chew on, and when he thinks we should be up he really starts making noise by knocking items off the counters onto the floor. This morning he chewed on a crinkly candy bag and knocked candies onto the floor. What a pain.
We took a walk “around” this morning—that is down to the pond on one side of the valley and back up on the other side. It is a nice 1/2 hour walk and the dogs enjoy it. Bella especially enjoys the pond. Here is a photo of her shaking off. It was early morning, the sun was low in the sky and caught all the water droplets in the air.
Hailey just looked on:
The big Aspen trees are still very green and I don’t know if we’ll see much color this year. Last year at the same time the Aspens were already golden. But, there are a few things changing color.
After we got back, I did a few chores. I put up a new solar powered exterior security light. I went into the crawlspace to see how mice and rats might be getting in (I found a spot.) Larry came over and we chatted for a while. I guess when he came over to fire up the fridge a few days ago, the place was a real mess and (bless his heart) he cleaned it up for us.
We had sandwiches for lunch, then I did a couple of other chores. For example, we have a decorative “wishing well”-like cover for the water well cap and a moose or elk had probably walked past it and knocked it over. It is broken some so I started the process of mending it. Unfortunately, I need some wood screws and brads, so finishing the chore will need to wait unit we go into town.
We put together a small puzzle—just to get some puzzling exercise. We’ll tackle a big one soon.
Grilled steaks and twice-baked potatoes for dinner. Then, we watched some “home movies” of our trip to the Seychelles in 1990 
Boy was I skinny then.
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 09/20/2011 at 08:10 AM
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Monday, September 19, 2011
Day Four 2011 Cabin Trip
Aren’t my blog post titles interesting and evocative?
I’m writing this on Monday, so “Day Four” was yesterday. And, we spent the first half of the day cleaning. Okay, the cabin really needed a deep clean anyway, but the pack rat visitation motivated us to get it done. Every surface got cleaned and the floor even got a good wet mopping.
The afternoon was lazy, I took a nap We took a short walk—I remember that.
For dinner we had Salt and Pepper Shrimp and it was very good. Lynne made a frozen chocolate pie for dessert. We built a small fire and watched it for a while then went to bed.
Lynne will post at length about the pack rat, so I’ll leave it to her.
I will leave you with a couple of photos of Calvatia Gigantea, our resident giant puffball mushroom (which is likely quite tasty right now, but we can’t bring ourselves to pick it and eat it because it is so beautiful.)
Posted under: Cabin News • Mushroom Articles • by Rick on 09/19/2011 at 01:11 PM
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Saturday, September 17, 2011
Day Three 2011 Cabin Trip
I hate pack rats. I don’t mean people who tend to accumulate lots of useless junk, I mean the rodent they are named for. We have them up here and they are a real pain.
Apparently, over the past week, a pack rat has somehow figured out how to infiltrate the cabin. Our friends who came over to fire up the propane fridge found the place a mess. Stuff knocked off the counters and rat crap everywhere. The smell is terrible.
They cleaned up really well, so when we arrived we could hardly tell. But, it is obvious we now have a rat problem. I got some poison in Laramie and have placed it in places the dogs and cats can’t reach. There is a nest in the fireplace behind the rock chimney but inside the “walls” of the chimney. We are afraid to light a fire! We found a place outside where the masonry has chipped away and that is how they got in. Maybe that is how they got in the house too, don’t know.
Anyway, we left Grand Island, Nebraska around 6:15 this morning and the trip in went pretty much the way it always does—Laramie by noon and then a couple of hours of shopping. We had to hit three stores before we got everything we needed for the first few days (people food, supplies, animal food, wine, …)
It rained a bit, so it is cool and damp. The fire in the stove feels good and the heater is working fine, so we will be comfortable.
The dogs remember everything and are constantly wanting outside to roam about.
The TV is working. And, it took several hours on the phone to support techs (in India) but now the satellite internet is working too (else you would not see this!)
Lynne will post about the big mushroom. Watch for it
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 09/17/2011 at 08:25 PM
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