“The future will be better tomorrow.” – George W Bush
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Cabin Day 4, 2013 - Another Nice Day
We were up early and did our normal morning routine which you should have memorized by now. It looked to be a sunny day, maybe a bit breezy.
Putting a few moth balls under the hood of the truck kept the pack rats from building any nests. We've found it is really important to keep them out of the engine compartment. A range of bad things can happen. At minimum, it is a nuisance to have to open the hood and clean out all the nesting materials. And, if we don't do this and go for a drive, the sticks and grass can catch on fire. Next along the offensive spectrum is when we start the engine and a rat under the hood gets caught in the engine and turned into small, gooey rat bits. This can create a smell, especially as the engine warms and there is usually cleanup under the truck required. We, and neighbors, have had rats chew on the wiring under the hood. This can cause a variety of hard-to-diagose problems, the worse of which is that the truck won't run. This is a particularly bad and potentially expensive scenario. Finally, as a variation on the second scenario, the rat can get caught in the V-belt (a serpentine belt in our case) and dislodge it making the truck unusable until fixed. This happened once a couple of years ago and all I can say is that having Internet access and YouTube rescued us as I found a video explaining how to put the belt back on a Chevy truck.
Because the weather yesterday was cloudy and rainy, we got very little battery charge from the sun. The battery capacity was at about 50% when we got up. It was cold overnight, too and the heater had run a couple of times making the situation even worse. So, during morning showers, I ran the generator. That way, when the well pump comes on (the largest drain on electricity we have) the generator could cover that demand. And, as long as the generator is running the batteries are getting a super charge. It was a sunny bright day, and by the end of the day, charging from the PV panels alone had us back at 100% charge.
We had leftover Bob's Oven Fried Chicken for lunch. It was a bit dry. I think our oven is miscalibrated and we cooked it too long at too low a temperture and it dried out. Still, it was tasty enough to satisfy us for lunch.
After lunch we did the customary short walk to the "bottom" with the dogs.
A neighbor was kind of enough to both loan me his chain saw as well as repair mine. He learned of my frustration with my saw through an earlier blog post, I think. I tried out my saw, which he had fully checked out and declared healthy. Once I put some gas in it, 
, it ran great. (Thanks David!) So, I grabbed the saw and Lynne and I decided to do a walk "around" and do trail maintenance on the way. There were numerous spots where trees had fallen across the trail. Some I could cut through and clear the existing trail, but with the saw I have and the amount of time and effort I'm willing to invest, there are some places that we just have to go around the fallen trees and make a new trail. What started out as a bright sunny but cool day quickly became a bright sunny hot day with the physical labor of haulilng the saw on the trail, cutting through limbs and logs, and then hauling the cut wood away from the trail. It is nice to get that done because now the trail is easily walkable. I'll be sore tomorrow, though.
I called Suburban Propane in Laramie and arranged a propane delivery for next Monday. We are only down to 50% which is very surprising given it has been 15 months or so since it was filled, and we leave the propane gas-forced-air heater running at 45° all winter. Either it was a warm summer, or we lost electricity and heat for a good part of it. Anyway, we'll be topped up and good for another year.
On our way home from shopping on Monday, Lynne declared "I forgot to get the ciabatta." We planned to have Outdoor Grilled Cheese sandwiches for dinner tonight and needed an appropriate bread. So, I made some. I have a very easy recipe that takes about 24 hours to make from start to finish. I started it yesterday afternoon and we cooked it this afternoon. And, it came out great!
We had a couple of sets of neighbors visit for a glass of wine and to catch up with each other. They came over about 4:00 and left about 5:30. They were all headed to the closest restaurant at Woods Landing, but we had our grilled cheese planned and really did not feel like going out again. Bet they had a good time.
The grilled cheese is a great sandwich that is truly grilled on the BBQ. We had made the chutney at home and canned a few jars, bringing one with us. So, other than having to make our own bread this time, it is an easy and tasty recipe.
Finally, the highlight of the evening was a moose visit. One minute, I'm sitting at the table which looks out over the western meadow admiring the emerging sunset. Then, I look over at Lynne to say something, and when I look back out the window there is a huge, dark-colored, bull moose standing there. I mean "right there", not 30 feet from the cabin. What a shock. It was like he was "transported" there. Of course with his long stride he can cover a lot of ground very fast even at a saunter, so it is not hard to see how he could go from out of my line of sight to smack dab in the middle of it in a few seconds. But, what a shock!
I'm sure Lynne will post photos on her blog sometime soon, so watch for that. He stood there moving a little, but mostly just staring at us for a very long time. This viewing makes the whole trip worthwhile for us!
Maple Apple Tartlets for dessert. I read a short story aloud to Lynne in front of a nice fire. Then, off to bed. G'night.
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 09/24/2013 at 01:17 PM
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Monday, September 23, 2013
Cabin Day 3, 2013 - Provisioning
Today was a provisioning day. We left for Laramie about 8:45 after coffee and muffins, feeding and walking dogs, and our morning showers. The wind blew all night and I finally had to take down the outdoor wind chime so we could sleep.
No luck trapping the rats again.
In Laramie we visited the local feed store for buffalo bones for the dogs. We got four of them, two for now (one each) and we'll save the other two for Christmas. We also got cat food there. Then we dumped a bag of trash at a local business owned by a fellow land-owner. It is great of him to let us dump our trash in his dumpster. We also got rid of our recycle items like bottles and glass as well as cardboard. Murdock's was next on the list where we got dog food, a dog bed for Bella, some dog treats, salt licks and deer block. Off next to Walmart where we did the bulk of our shopping--both food and hardware. Since we did not find everything we needed, we stopped at Albertson's grocery, but did not find our missing items there (basil, arugula, a lemon). So, off to Safeway where Lynne got the rest of the items we needed while I put gas in the truck and in a couple of 5-gallon gas cans. (We need gas for the generator, which must run when we don't have sun.) We picked up a few more items on the list at K-Mart, then popped into the Hastings book store to pick up a couple of books. MacDonalds for lunch on our way out of town and we were back on the road. Whew, that's exhausting.
The dogs went with us since it was very cool. But, I think they would have preferred staying at the cabin. The dirt roads were muddy and now the truck is almost unrecognizable from a coating of mud. Bella particularly does not like the washboard roads.
Part way home Lynne realized she did not buy the ciabatta bread we need for Tuesday's dinner. So, when we got home, I made some home-made dough that will rise overnight and we'll try some freshly baked bread tomorrow.
We unpacked everything. The fridge is now loaded, but it all fit. I installed a door stop on the bathroom door, replaced our busted Dust Buster, and piddled around with a few more chores such as replacing a light bulb in the closet and in a flashlight.
Stew with dumplings for dinner. Yum. Lynne does such a great job with stew! No recipe really, just ingredients that look right. The dumpling recipe is somewhere and I'll try to remember to post a link to it.
For now, I'm bushed. We just watched a very, very old movie called Seven Alone which is a true story of some kids trying to follow the Oregon trail after their parents died on the way.
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 09/23/2013 at 09:17 PM
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Sunday, September 22, 2013
Cabin Day 2, 2013 - Afternoon
The problem with life at the cabin is that it is so laid-back and free of demands and deadlines that I often forget what I've done a few hours after doing it.
So, this is my best stab at this afternoon. Tex-Mex Salad for lunch. Hmmm, what else?
Oh yeah, I read a bit. We started a jig-saw puzzle (donuts!).
And, it rained. We got several hours of rain, mostly a soft rain but it came down pretty good a couple of times. I realize how terrible it is to say in Colorado right now, but I really enjoyed the rain. We often get afternoon thunderstorms that blow through and give us a half hour of sprinkles. But, this was a slow-moving, drenching rain that this (high) country really needs. In total, we got a little over 1/10 of an inch.
We have a weather station that gives us temperature, humidity, rain and wind. Although the wind is probably not very accurate as the weather station is somewhat sheltered. I mean to fix that someday by mounting on an existing mount for an old weather station that would provide more accurate readings.
We finished last night's movie on DVD. It was good. Had not seen it in years. We also worked out the shopping list for a week's worth of meals and we'll hit Laramie tomorrow morning for our shopping.
I've set the rat traps for tonight using Cheddar cheese as bait. I know it is stereotypical, but it might work better than dog treats.
No charge on the batteries today, so we are running at 70% of full charge. That's fine as long as we get some sun tomorrow. Without the wind-powered generator, cloudy, rainy days really hit us hard.
Dinner was Bob's Oven Fried Chicken from the Firehouse Cookbook. We love it. It is flavorful and relatively healthy. We paired it with oven-roasted butternut squash.
During the rain we fired up the wood stove. I'll post a photo soon, but it is a replica of an old-fashioned wood cooking stove. We raised the temperature in the cabin from the mid-60s to the high-70s and it is now too hot. So, windows and doors are open and we had dessert (cookies and whiskey) on the front screened-in porch. It is hard to maintain a comfortable temperature with the stove unless one has the discipline to add a small log every half-hour or so. Instead, we tend to load it up and let it go.
We are all tired now, including the dogs. Coffee is made. So, I think it is off to bed soon to read for a while.
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 09/22/2013 at 07:47 PM
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Cabin Day 2, 2013 - Morning Chores
Up at 6:00 again this morning. The dogs just can't seem to adjust to Mountain Time. It was very dark and still outside, even with the near-full moon still in the sky. They needed to pee and took care of that quickly. They also wanted to get under the truck where I had set three large rat traps--baited with small dog biscuits--for the pack rats. No need to fear for the dogs, though. The traps were all sprung (and empty).
Back inside, I started the coffee percolating. And, we both checked our email. By the time the coffee was done the sun was starting to rise. So, we grabbed cameras and stepped outside the back door to snap a few photos. Here are a couple I took. One is the moon above a dead tree (more on dead trees in a future post). One of the sunrise over dead trees.
We made our favorite bran muffins for breakfast.
While eating breakfast, Lynne saw a doe in the meadow to the west of the cabin. So, for the next hour or so we watched Cabin TV while the doe wandered from one tasty treat to the next. We snapped photos, of course.
When she finally left, we took the dogs for a short walk to the top of "poop hill", so named because it is a favorite place (well away from the cabin) for dogs to poop. When we used to come up for weekends with as many as 10 dogs, it was nice to train them to wait until we were on poop hill rather than do their duty close to the cabin where Lynne would dutifully scoop it up. We also walked down to Serenity Point so I could see the trees that have blown down across the trail. I'll try to clear them later if I can get the damned chain saw started.
It was breezy by the time we took our walk. "Breezy" is a local euphamism for "windy as hell". But, the dogs didn't care and the walk did us good. Nice exercise.
It is dry here compared to NJ. And, every year we suffer the same consequences. Dry skin and bloody snot. Just about the time we get used to it, we will head home to muggy land.
The pack rats had left us offerings on the back stoop again. I think Lynne will have photos on her blog. And, when I opened the hood of the truck to check for nests, sure enough, unlike yesterday, there were several nice nests of grass, flowers and sticks. After we've been here for while, they will add dried dog poop to the materials. Oh, and there were four small dog biscuits in there too. I guess the dog treats don't work well as rat bait and are considered valueable decorations instead. New strategy needed tonight.
I think most of you know that the cabin is off-the-grid. We call it our battery-powered house. We have PV panels on the roof that charge a bank of 8 lead-acid batteries in the crawl space. Those batteries drive an inverter that converts 24VDC to 120VAC and powers the house. (We also have a wind-powered generator, but have decommissioned it while we are living in New Jersey.) We rely on several hours of bright sun each day to recharge the batteries and keep us going. I am always looking for ways to reduce our energy usage (including complaining to Lynne about leaving stuff turned on). This year I bought some 13 watt LED lights for our ceiling fixtures. They are quite bright with 750 lumens. Lynne and I manipulated the extensible ladder inside the cabin to replace six 15 watt, 500 lumen bulbs this morning. Wow, lots more light and less electricity usage!
Before I close for the morning and go take my shower, I'd like to reassure people who have asked that we are not impacted by the flooding that has and is occurring in Colorado. While the worst of the flooding is taking place where we used to live in the Loveland / Fort Collins area, it is not an issue for us up here. We did see some flooding along the North Platte river in Nebraska, downstream as far as Roscoe and now we hear it is even further. We saw fields inundated by water and several farms including farm houses and outbuildings in pools of water. So, even hundreds of miles downstream, the disasterous flooding has an impact.
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 09/22/2013 at 10:30 AM
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Saturday, September 21, 2013
Cabin Day 1, 2013 - Afternoon
Lunch was a lightly grilled pepper turkey and provolone cheese sandwich on whole grain bread. It wasn't as good as it sounds. The turkey had little flavor. But, it filled an empty spot in my belly and I was satisfied. What's next?
Nap. A nice 1-hour long nap.
When I woke, Lynne was nowhere to be found. But, her camera was gone, so I figured she'd gone out to take photos. I'd give her an hour before the dogs and I set out as a search party. She soon returned, having started a short hike down to Serenity Point, she ended up going "around", which is our term for a hike all the way to the beaver pond in the bottom of the canyon then back up the other side to the road (that is at the "bottom"). Stick with me, you'll figure out all the names for various hikes. (We'll do "poop hill" soon.)
Apparently there are a lot of trees blown down and the trail needs serious maintenance. Sounds like work. And, I did not bring my good chain saw this year. So, we'll see what gets done.
Mostly, the afternoon was lazy. We planned meals for the next week and now need to turn that menu plan into a shopping list for a trip into town on Monday. I read a lot. Am reading a book called Wool which has me captivated. It is the first in a trilogy. And, I am a slow reader. So, I've got my reading commitment for the rest of the year. We watched the news on TV and also a bit of a special on the Colorado floods. Dinner was charcoal grilled hamburgers with a can of pink beans. That was pretty yummy. Somewhere in there I did a few additional chores including replacement of the batteries in the outdoor weather station. Doesn't seem like much. We do spend a lot of time staring out the window in a meditative state--watching a branch of a tree blow in the breeze or chipmunks scurrying along fallen trees or Stellar Jays picking at the meager offerings in the bird feeder.
Watched part of the third Star Trek movie (The Search for Spock), but by about 8:30 we could no longer pay attention to the movie, so it was time for "final pees" (dogs and people) and off to bed.
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 09/21/2013 at 04:24 PM
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