Friday, June 12, 2009 -
It was sunny this morning, but feels cooler than the past couple of mornings. NWS is now predicting 50% chance of thunderstorms for Sunday, with a 40% chance between now and then.
I feel lazy this morning and have taken my time reading a magazine and then starting the generator so I could collect my emails and send yesterday’s update. Zack and I have played and took a short walk and he is now napping while I do some research online.
After playing with Zack again, I changed into my old work clothes and went out to get something done. I am split between having so many tasks on my list, that I hardly know where to start. I unloaded the gas, 2 x 4s, insulation board, and propane tanks from the truck and then parked it in the garage. I got the trail mower out and then backed the Argo out of the garage, hooking the trail mower up to it. If you remember correctly, I had attempted to start the unused trail mower to circulate the Sta-Bil in the gas tank, and the pull start cord wouldn’t retract, well, for whatever reason, it was retracted and with several pulls I was able to get it started. I mowed the front half of the property before parking both of them back in the garage. I really just wanted to see if the damn thing worked, and it does. Because it is a “trail mower” and not a lawn mower, it doesn’t cut close to the ground and my grass isn’t really high enough to make much difference, but I was able to cover the same area in about 30 minutes that took me a day with the push mower, so I am happy.
I then decided to use the bulldozer to smooth out my driveway, so started it up and moved it out of the garage. The right track seemed way too tight, so I got out my wrenches to adjust it. Because I’ve had the tracks come off of the gears so often, I try to keep them adjusted and lubed on a regular basis, but this track was so tight that if I didn’t know better, I’d say it shrank in the rain. There was absolutely no play in it at all. I loosened the lock bolt and attempted to turn the adjusting bolt, but it was frozen in place. I can’t believe that it must have rusted fast in just the few months of non-use, but nothing I did could get it to move. I sprayed it liberally with Wrench Free and let it soak.
I checked the opposite side, and it adjusted without a problem, so I had to figure some way to free up the right side. I finally ended up using a pipe wrench and 6-ton hydraulic jack to make it move a fraction of an inch. After about 8 times of jacking the wrench, it loosened enough that I was able to move it without the jack. I guess it was just the rust, but then I noticed that the track was not riding on the top roller, but actually the outside was riding on the outer edge of the roller.
Closer examination leads me to believe that the upright holding the roller is bent inward and it caused the roller to move enough that I can’t get the track to ride in the roller. I worked on it until 7:30 and became exhausted, so I quit and played with Zack. I can’t believe how fast I got tired, and I mean like I had been working hard all day long, not just a few hours. I am drinking lots of water and resting often, remembering how high my blood pressure has been. No need to have a stroke over something I can finish tomorrow.
I fed Zack and Zoey came to ask for some canned food, so I gave her a little. She only eats about a quarter of one of the small cans and that satisfies her. I sat down to cool off and relax before taking my shower. After my shower, I fixed myself a couple of frozen French bead pizzas and sat down to watch television before going to bed at midnight.

Thursday, June 11, 2009 -
It is a bright sunny morning, but there are numerous clouds on the horizon and NWS is still predicting 40% chance of a thunderstorm this afternoon.
I had my usual morning and then got ready to head into town to have additional work done on my teeth. I loaded all the gas cans; two propane tanks and a bag of trash, planning on going to the transfer station to dump the old water heater.
I wasn’t sure if they still had traffic control in effect for the Marysville Road, so I left the cabin with enough time to allow me to get to the check point at the usual 15 past the hour departure time. As we got to Belmont, which is the road going to the ski resort, the sign was out to wait for the follow me vehicle and they were working on the road, spreading gravel and rolling it for a large parking area for recreational users. At about five after the hour, they waved me through and I drove into Marysville and got in line behind the three cars waiting for the follow me truck.
Aside from painting the lines and finishing the guardrail installation, they appear to be finished, having paved all of the aprons and side road approaches. I really see no reason for continued road control, but it provides work for the people that do it. We made it to town and went right to the transfer station, dumping the trash bag and putting the old water heater in the metal reclamation area. We then drove to Montana Propane and had the two empty tanks filled. On the way back into town, I stopped and grabbed a burger for lunch and after eating, I called Fred’s cabin to say hi to all the guys. This is the week that they met for the annual get together.
Jack answered the phone and we talked for a while, bring each other up on current events. Fred and some others were out on one of Fred’s “walks,” which usually takes an hour or two. As it approached my appointment time, I said goodbye and drove to the dentist office.
They took me right in and John explained that he needed to clean up the tooth before taking a mold to cast my new crown. I thought he had done all of the work during the last visit and wasn’t prepared for another shot to numb the left side of my face. The work took about an hour and he filled my broken wisdom tooth to help it last longer. He didn’t charge me for the filling, saying I was such a good patient and was already paying a lot for the root canal and crown. I paid for today’s work and scheduled an appointment for putting the crown on.
We drove over to Safeway where I got a few items and filled the gas cans, and stopped at Home Depot to get some treated 2 x 4s for the cattle guard I will build, and then headed for home. We arrived at Marysville Road at about 20 after 6 PM, so waited with the other vehicles. I expected to wait until 6:45, but she brought cars down at 6:30 and then stopped to tell me, no one else, just me, that next week the times would change and leaving Marysville would be on the hour and returning would be on the half-hour. She then turned around and took us up the road.
The road already had the right side fog line and center lines painted, and I thought they may have done them all of the way to Marysville, but we soon came upon the truck in the center of the road. It had broken down and was waiting for someone to come repair it.
We stopped at Mary and Guy’s to drop off some magazines I share with them, but they weren’t home, so he headed up the mountain, arriving home at a little after 7 PM. I unloaded the truck and played with Zack before starting the generator and sitting down to relax.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 -
It is partially cloudy this morning, with the sun shining through as much as being hidden. It is warmer by several degrees, so the cold front is gone. NWS is predicting 30 and 40% chances of thunderstorms for the entire week, and because we need the moisture, I would welcome it.
My chipmunks have been entertaining me with their antics all morning and I have named another one. He is “Itchy” because he either has a nerve disorder, mites, or lice, because he constantly stops to scratch himself. Another one I have named is “Humper”, as he has tried to mate with ever other chipmunk that will hold still. I attached the empty peanut butter jar to the top of the 2 x 4 that holds the end of the firewood rack, and filled it with sunflower seeds. I have watched several of the little guys try to figure out how to get to them, but so far haven’t witnessed any of them achieving success. I know one of them will figure out how to get to them and will keep me entertained.
I spend most of the morning doing additional research and trying to communicate with the battery place to purchase the batteries, but Hughes slowed me down again, saying I exceeded my usage. When I am in town tomorrow, I will call them and talk to someone. If they can guaranty that Hughes won’t slow me down, I’ll pay another $20.00 a month to upgrade.
I drove to the Divide and called my dentist to confirm my appointment for tomorrow at 2:30, came back, changed the oil in the small generator and wired it to the cabin. It uses less gas and I am almost out of gas for the big generator. Zack and I played for a bit and then I fixed him his dinner, and then showered and will think about my dinner. I’ll fix something and then relax for the rest of the night.
I just witnessed one of my little friends get into the sunflower seed jar. He stretched his little body between the closest pieces of wood and pulled himself to the rim of the plastic jar. He is now sitting INSIDE the jar, filling his cheeks with as many seeds as he can. Those that he is eating, drops the shells back into the jar and I am not sure how I’ll dump them out to refill it. Watching them are better than a Saturday Matinee with cartoons.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 -
As soon as the temperature dropped to 36 degrees last night (7 PM), it started to snow heavily again. The scene could have been from this past falls first snowstorms, and I imagine I’ll awake to find everything white once again.
It is still overcast this morning, but warmer than the past few days. I believe the cold front is passing and it will be more like June than January. It got down to 25 degrees last night after a high of 57, while it is already 47 degrees at 11:00 this morning. I am seeing some breaks in the clouds, but it did just sleet a little about an hour ago.
Having replaced the water heater and waiting for the new batteries, I am taking it easy today and have no real plans to do much. I didn’t do the wash last night, so that will take up some of today.
I managed to do exactly what I said I’d do, some wash and nothing else. I spent the day researching this and that, mainly if another satellite internet provider could offer me consistent speeds without this bullshit slow down for Fair Access Policy. It seems all of them have the same thing, to one degree or another. I found out that if I pay for the step or two up in service, I could avoid the damn thing. It is like being held for ransom to pay them to NOT slow down my service, but it is happening so frequently, other than bringing a class action lawsuit against them, I don’t have much choice. I’ll do some additional investigation before deciding what I’ll do, but I am definitely sending a letter to the CEO of Hughes Net and a few others.
After playing with Zack and feeding him and Zoey (she is back to eating mainly dry and only asking for canned every four or five days), I showered, had dinner and then relaxed for the remainder of the evening.

Yes, it's June, but up here that doesn't mean much

Monday, June 8, 2009 - Snow & More Snow
I guess it was a good thing that I ended up having to go to town yesterday as there is about a foot of snow covering everything this morning. I awoke at 5:30 and again at 8:00 to see the trees and maybe a hint of frost on the grass, but when I finally got up at 10:00, there was almost a foot of snow on everything.
In about two hours, almost twelve inches of snow has fallen and continues to fall heavily at noon. The low temperature last night was 25 degrees, but it was 37 degrees when I got up and is now 39 at noon. I have had it snow here when the temperature was as high as 47, so this isn’t anything new, but the amount in a short time is. Anytime you want to see what my weather is, go to: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?site=tfx&smap=1&textField1=46.699583333333&textField2=-112.33125
I can’t get online as the snow has completely covered the receiving dish and I’ll have to get out the ladder and climb up to brush it off. I am still planning on replacing the water heater today, and am thankful for an indoor task. I will complete this later and let you know how it goes.
I spent the remainder of the morning finishing my research and making a decision on which batteries to buy. I decided to purchase four 12 volt, 8D sized AGM deep cycle batteries, but I am waiting for an email telling me what the shipping cost will be. One place online has free shipping, but the batteries are more expensive by about $75.00 each. Each battery weighs 165 pounds, so freight costs will be for a total of 660 + pounds. If the actual shipping costs are lower than the price difference, I’ll know who I will purchase them from. Both places say they ship in two to three days and depending on how they ship them, I am still looking at having to run the generator for all my power needs until the end of the week, or maybe longer.
I attempted to find out if Interstate Batteries, here in town, carries similar batteries, but their web site is terrible and I can’t locate any of the deep cycle AGM batteries that I know they have, so other than going into town and asking them, I’ll order online and wait for them.
The company that sells four at a discount charges shipping while the other one offers free delivery, but no discount for volume purchase. The difference between them, without figuring the cost of freight, is 472.80. I can’t imagine shipping costs equaling that amount, so am pretty sure I’ll just pay the freight and get the four batteries at discount. It pays to do some research and comparative shopping.
It is now 5:30 PM, and still snowing, but lightly. As the day warmed up, most of the snow on the ground melted, but it was sure pretty to see. I drained, disconnected, removed the old water heater and installed the new one in less than two hours and had no difficulties. It is taking a while to heat the cold mountain snow melt, but already the water is warm enough that I could use it to shower, but I’ll wait until it is really hot so I can bathe in the luxury of a long hot shower.
I just played with Zack and built up the fire, so he is napping in front of it while I finish this update. I will do a load of wash and then take a shower before eating some dinner and relaxing in front of the television.
I have been thoroughly enjoying the antics of my chipmunks and was happy to see Shorty show up for his fair share. In case you forgot, Shorty was the one with only half a tail, so I named him for it. I wasn’t sure if he survived the winter, as he didn’t come when all the others showed up, so I am happy that he did.

Sunday, June 7, 2009 - Snow*
At 11:00 AM this morning, it is 41 degrees and snowing heavily. When I got up at 9, it was a very fine corn snow and 35 degrees, so as the morning warms, the snow gets larger and heavier. The low temperature last night was 28.2, with the high yesterday of 42.9, with winds only reaching 11 mph for a short time at around 6 PM.
My barometer is showing sunshine and a raising pressure, while NWS is predicting a chance of showers, so only time will tell.
I finished my research on water heaters and made the decision to just replace the tank type with another. My research showed that all but a few of the tankless type water heaters require 120 volt plug in, or a standing pilot light, which means it is using electricity or burning all of the time, just like a tank type. It also showed that I would have to completely replace the venting with stainless steel of a different diameter than I currently have. The stainless steel kits for tankless can cost $300.00 or more, so add that to the cheapest one I found ($559.00) and by the time I bought all the correct fittings, it would cost over a thousand dollars to put one in. Some even required that I change all the black pipe for the propane feed, to ¾” verses the ½” I now have.
When all the research is in, it makes more sense to just replace it with the same type and size water heater that can simply be exchanged, without having to re-plumb everything. My research on the tank type showed that Rheems 30 gallon high altitude water heater was the cheapest, at $283.00 but none are available, locally or on the internet. They were back ordered online until the end of June, so the next best one was the Whirlpool 30 gallon high altitude at $429.00, which was in stock at my local Lowes store. I will plan a trip to town and buy one tomorrow. I hope the exchange with the old water heater is as easy as I anticipate.
I put the battery back in the truck and it started up immediately, and I hope it will hold its charge. It is still snowing lightly, but melting soon after it hits the ground. It isn’t causing any problems at the moment, but I know the road out will be slippery and the mud holes will be filled with water.
I decided to check the oil in the generator before starting it again for the evening, and it needed about half a quart, so I filled it up. I checked the gas tank and was surprised to find it empty, and was sure that if I had left the generator run another 15 minutes this morning, I would have run it completely out of gas. Not having any more gas available made my trip to town today imperative. I put all four of my 5-gallon gas cans in the back of the truck, got my wallet and headed to town. It was already 3:45, but the days are long, not getting dark until after 9 PM, and I knew Lowes is open until 9 at night.
We drove straight to Lowes and I had them load the water heater for me, paying and getting underway. I drove to Safeway to get a few items and fill the truck and gas cans, and then we headed for home. Arriving without a problem, I unloaded and filled the gas in the generator tank and started it up. I was going to unload the water heater, but Zack was anxious to play and it was drizzling, so I left it in the back of the truck.
After playing with Zack, I filled the bird feeders as they are going through the seed in a couple of hours, and that is all four of the feeders. Coming in, I built a fire, fed Zack, straightened out the kitchen, heated water for a shower and then relaxed before having my dinner.
My root canal hasn’t given me any problems but my jaw muscles are still a bit sore from holding my mouth wide open for 90 minutes. I also hate having to only chew on one side, as the temporary filling is too soft for any serious chewing, as in a steak or something really good. I ended up heating a frozen chicken enchilada dinner, which was quite good and filling.
Some television and a glance at the local Nichol Saver, which is the town paper with deals like the Penny Saver, Gold Panner, or other papers, and then to bed at eleven O’clock.

Saturday, June 6, 2009 - SNOW!
Zack woke me at 8:15 by whining for permission to come upstairs and get in bed with me. I told him okay and opened my eyes to see what time it was and noticed that it was snowing heavily outside. The local radio weather person mentioned a Canadian cold front moving down to our area, that might bring freezing temperatures to town, but I didn’t think that it would mean snow.
Thursday’s high temperature was 76.6, and a last night low was 26.2, so the cold front definitely has moved over my place. It is noon and still snowing, having deposited about ½ to ¾ of an inch, covering things with its white shroud. Just when I thought I had missed winter, it comes back to show how wrong I was. I don’t really mind as I am sitting in the sunroom with a nice warm fire, doing my research on which batteries to order.
As I sit here, watching the fire, snow, and birds, all of a sudden half a dozen Juncos showed up and are downing seed as fast as they can. I also spotted a robin on the lawn late yesterday afternoon, so my usual birds are all back now, and enjoying the seeds I have provided.
I am continuing to research the batteries and will order the best ones I can find, for the best price available. I will also do the research on the water heaters and make up my mind what I want to do. If I go with a tankless and the prices are close to what I found in town, I’ll go buy one. If I find that a LP tank is the way to go, and they are close in price to the ones in town, I’ll go buy one of them today.
Just when I think I have everything under control, Hughes pulls that bullshit about Fair Access Policy and slows my ability to surf the net to a snails pace. I wrote them a scathing email previously about this and the email NEVER WENT THROUGH. Do you think that they have a filter on their emails to customer service and it refuses any negative emails? I wouldn’t put it past them. I am sending another one and if it doesn’t go through, I’ll call and lodge a formal complaint and back it up with a registered letter to the top.
Now I can’t do all of the research I wanted to do, as it either won’t put the request through, or it takes up to 20 minutes to open a page.
It is now 8:30 and beginning to snow lightly again. I managed to do some of my research, but haven’t been able to get the final cost on the batteries or the water heater. It seems that none of the local stores carry the water heater I’d like to get and it would take until June 26 to get it, so I either wait for hot water or buy something else. I am still looking into the tankless water heater as I found one that can be mounted in the closet without all the special vent ducting. I’ll continue looking at the information tomorrow and make some decisions.
I’ve had some deer and a moose visit it me this afternoon, and enjoy being back in the mountains. I’ve enjoyed a fire all afternoon and have relaxed while trying to do my research and waiting for the internet to give me the information I seek. I’ve had dinner and played with Zack, feeding him and Zoey, and will watch some television before going to bed.