Sunday, July 5, 2009

Sunday, July 5, 2009 -
It was clear and promising to be a nice day this morning, so we planned on doing some more target practice and just relaxing all day long.
Just before noon, I prepared deli sausage, hash browns, eggs, toast and OJ. We had a leisurely brunch and then laid around relaxing. By afternoon, we did some more target shooting and although the afternoon thundershowers appeared on schedule, we got out the rifles and gave Michele a chance to try her hand.
It turned out she was better than both of us with my pump .22 at 50 yards, hitting more consistently than either of us. We started shooting the metal swinging targets, which are about 70 yards out, and once again Michele proved to be the best at nailing the little targets that are not much bigger than silver dollars.
It rained a little bit most of the afternoon, but we were under the roof on the deck and it didn’t spoil our fun. We finally took a break and played 5 rounds of Yahtzee, with Michele winning 4 of them. It was a good weekend for her.
There were additional steaks from last night, so I barbequed them and cooked some artichokes that I had purchased Thursday. Artichokes are more of a California food, as many people here have no idea how to fix or eat them. I gave Joe and Michele a quick lesson and we had soon devoured them to the heart, dipping them in butter. It being a new food for them, I don’t think they were sure the effort was worth it, but I certainly enjoyed mine. Any time I have artichokes, I think of the Little Rascals episode where Stymie is given one and he carefully peels off each leaf and throws it away, not knowing what it is. When he gets to the heart, he throws it away and says, “It may have choked Artie, but it ain’t going to choke me.”
Soon after clearing the table, they needed to load their things into the car and head back to town. They have to been in Great Falls to open the store in the morning, so had to get back.
I watched some television and looked at the mess I need to clean up, knowing it will be there tomorrow. I need to clean the weapons, put them in their place, as well as vacuum and straighten things up. I went to bed around 11:15 for a good nights sleep.

Saturday, July 4, 2009 - Happy 4th of July

Saturday, July 4, 2009 - Happy 4th of July
The morning weather was looking good and I actually got up at 8 O’clock. Joe had already been up and Michele followed.
We visited and then by noon I fixed us bacon, hash browns, eggs, toast and orange juice. After “breakunch” (breakfast/brunch/lunch), we visited and then set up targets to have our own little fireworks display. We started by firing the new crossbow and taking turns, doing pretty well with it. None of us had ever fired one before, but there are very much like shooting a rifle, so it wasn’t too difficult. Michele had never fired a rifle before, so it was a new experience for her, and wouldn’t you know it, she out shot both Joe and myself.
This crossbow has a 175 lb. Pull and it was really hard to cock it without straining a bit. The bolts passed half way through the target at 50 yards, so it has some power. The target is a self-healing archery target that I have had for several years. I bought it to use while learning how to throw knives and it was with the things that I had in storage.
We moved on to trying to sight the scope on the Mini-14 at 100 yards. After about a hundred rounds, it started to rain and I never did get it sighted correctly. When it stopped raining, we moved on to other weapons and took turns shooting to practice our skills.
Although it rained off and on most of the afternoon, we were on the deck and protected by the overhang of the roof, so it didn’t bother us. As the day was ending and the intermittent sun had gone behind the mountain, I fixed the steaks that Joe and Michele had brought up, along with baked potatoes and a green salad. We all sat down and enjoyed a 4th of July dinner.
More visiting and a little television and we were all ready for bed by about 10 O’clock.

Friday, July 2, 2009

Friday, July 2, 2009 -
It was raining when I woke up this morning and then stopped for about an hour before sprinkling for another couple of hours. It is supposed to clear this afternoon and be nice all weekend, so I am hoping it will be.
I did a lot of last minute cleaning and then decided I needed to mop the tile floors before Joe and Michele showed up. I managed to get everything done, shower and relax before they showed up at 8:45.
We visited until after one O’clock in the morning and then retired.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Thursday, July 2, 2009 -
The sky looks uncertain this morning, but I don’t expect much, if any, rain from an afternoon thunderstorm. I’ll be in town this afternoon, so I’ll have to see what happens when I return.
I have been tracking another delivery and UPS says it was delivered to my mail drop, so I’ll make the trip to town and pick it up. It is a couple of extra, stainless steel magazines for my Mini-14 and some shot gun shells. I also need to fill up the gas cans and Jeep, pick up a couple of prescriptions and one or two items for this weekend.
While in town, I collected my phone messages and had one from my doctor letting me know that the labs came back on the spot she removed from my arm. It was cancerous but she had removed enough of it that the margins were clear, meaning she got all of it. It is at the itching stage and healing just fine.
We made it back from town, after completing all of the errands, and as we climbed to the Divide, Zack and I stopped to watch a mother deer licking her newly born fawn clean, having just given birth. They weren’t more than 15 feet off the road and evidently didn’t see us as a threat, because they stayed right there. And wouldn’t you know that I didn’t have my camera with me. We drove on and found that it had rained at the cabin. Everything was really wet and the depressions in the road had filled with water. I unloaded the car and then played with Zack before feeding him dinner. I showered and then fixed myself some dinner before relaxing in front of the television, going through my mail and the items that were delivered. Bedtime followed early tonight as I was still catching up after running out of sleep the night before.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 -
It is a warm sunny morning and there are two deer munching on my newly mowed grass in the front yard. Zack is out and per my commands he is just watching them. He moseyed over to the front porch to lay down, without taking his eyes off them. They continued to forage and slowly moved off towards the creek and disappeared. Zack never acted like he was going to chase them and just kept his eyes on them.
The high temperature for yesterday occurred at 4:14 PM, reaching 86.1, and at 6:30 this morning, the lowest temperature was 34.3 degrees. The wind was variable most of the afternoon, with the highest gust being 17 mph. The barometer is indicating rain, while NWS is giving a 20% chance this afternoon and 30% chance this evening. I am glad I mowed yesterday and got it done before any rain. I would welcome rain this week to keep things green and lower the fire danger.
I went out and rewired the batteries into a different configuration, but it doesn’t seem to make much difference, at least as far as dropping the generator out of the charging cycle. It seems to be correct now, but the generator still loads down and kicks out when the charge is at 25.8. It should charge to 26.8 and hold it for two hours, but it isn’t and I have no idea why. The type of battery (AGM in stead of flooded acid) and number, 4-12 volts versus 8-6 volts, are the only thing that changed. I have adjusted the settings on the inverter to compensate for the battery type and size, so it should work fine.
I’ll do some more research to see if I missed something, but I doubt it as I have been over the information four or five times now, and made some adjustments without it making a difference.
I will spend the afternoon cleaning the cabin and then in the early evening, work on the road with the bulldozer.
My intentions were good, but I didn’t get out to work on the road, but did do more research on the batteries, inverter and generator. I thought I had found the problem as when I wired the generator upon my return home, I accidental wired it incorrectly. I have two 30-amp circuit breakers on the generator, so there are five wires, two for each breaker and one for the ground. I had wired one for one breaker and the other for breaker number two. Because only one breaker was on, I thought that maybe it affected the amp output, but after rewiring it and trying it again, it still kicks out the charger before reaching 26.8 volts.
After playing with Zack in the early evening, I fixed him dinner and then showered and by 9 O’clock, I fixed myself a bite to eat. I relaxed for the rest of the evening.

INFORMATION FOR NEW READERS OF THIS BLOG

INFORMATION FOR NEW READERS OF THIS BLOG

Because others are now reading my online blog, I thought it would be appropriate to give the new readers some background.

A lot of information can be read on my page at My Space, which is www.myspace.com/montanaalbert

After retiring from a career in teaching, and working as a Detective in Sexual & Elder Abuse for the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department, I traveled full time in my RV.

While traveling, I always looked for possible places that I would enjoy settling down to spend my later years.

I found my spot during the spring of 2005, while traveling through Montana. It is an 1863-patented mining claim in the middle of the Helena National Forest. It is more isolated than most people would appreciate, but it is perfect for me. I am surrounded by almost a million acres of forest, with my closest neighbors being about five miles away, in the ghost town of Marysville.

I have always been one of those people that prefer to be alone and I am happy keeping myself occupied. Living alone always gives me the last word, and I win all of my arguments. I do have companions that keep me from feeling alone and fill my daily life with joy. Zoey, my calico cat was the first friend to keep me company, and then came Zack, a German Short Hair Pointer. He is one smart dog and we spend all our time together. Both of my friends travel well and go on trips with me in the motor home.

Zack travels with me all of the time, whether it is just a trip to the Continental Divide for a cell phone signal, or a trip to town, meaning Helena, or some other place. He likes to travel and see new places, being perfectly happy to stay in the car when he can’t accompany me.

My property had a modern seasonal log sided cabin built in 2002, and I have adapted it for full-time living. Every morning when I get up, I say to myself, “Another day in paradise,” because it is. The wild life that visits me on a regular basis includes deer, mule and white tail, elk, moose, an occasional black bear, and I have seen a wolf and the signs and sounds of a mountain lion. None of the more dangerous animals bother me and Zack always warns me when one is on the property.

The deer and moose frequent the mineral salt licks I have in my yard, and even play with Zoey once and a while. I have several families of Least chipmunks that entertain me, playing in the firewood pile just outside my window. I hide peanuts and sunflower seeds for them to find.

Most retired people want to move away from cold winters and the snow, but I sought out this environment. If one prepares themselves for cold snowy winters, it isn’t difficult, and I love to watch the snow fall and feel the changing of the seasons. I use an Argo for my winter transportation to and from town. It is an 8-wheel drive amphibious vehicle with snow tracks.

My place is so peaceful that the only man-made sounds you hear are those you make yourself, with an occasional airplane flying high overhead. Sitting on my deck, the songbirds and the breeze rushing through the trees is all you hear. Because of my altitude, I don’t have frogs or crickets, and no snakes or other reptiles. Another nice thing is that I don’t have fleas or pesky weeds like foxtails or burrs, to remove from Zoey or Zack.

I do worry a little bit about Zoey when she goes out hunting, as I do have Red Tail Hawks, Golden and Bald Eagles looking for a meal, but she is a wily cat and dashes from place to place, never staying in the open areas for very long.

My property is a Placer mining claim, and a creek runs through it that is fed year around by a spring. There are trout in the creek, but they aren’t very large, so I don’t fish for them. There is also gold in the creek, but the amount of work verses the amount of gold dust doesn’t make it profitable for me at this time.

Many of my friends ask me what I do with all my time during the long winter nights, but the days and nights aren’t long enough for me to do all of the things I enjoy. I write, mostly my daily log, but also books. I do artwork, mostly pencil, pen & ink, and water color work. I read or listen to books on tape, while sitting by a cozy fire watching the snowflakes slowly drift to the earth. I have satellite television and Internet, so surfing the net or becoming absorbed in a television program or movie is always available to me.


Living off the grid, meaning I produce my own electricity and pump my own water, can be challenging, but also very rewarding. If I have a power outage, I don’t wait for the power company to fix it, I do it myself. I also have no utility bills to deal with. Living my lifestyle may seem stressful to some, but challenging myself to overcome problems tells me I am alive and not just living.

And now that you have some background information on me, let me say that I love my lifestyle and many of my friends are jealous of me. I hope that those of you that love your lifestyle can enjoy it as much as I do mine.

Now, I invite you to keep up with my daily log and allow yourself to live vicariously through me.

Mountain Man

Sunday, June 28, 2009 -
The weather is a bit calmer this morning but before I could enjoy having the sliding doors open, the wind built to around 7 mph, gusting to 10, so I closed all but one door so Zack and Zoey could come and go without me having to get up and let them in and out. Zack likes to go out and lay on the front porch, soaking up the sunshine, and then comes in and goes to my bed for a short nap. He repeats this several times, so having the door open keeps me from jumping up all the time.
For those that may be new to reading my blog, I have one of the screens on my sliding door that allows you to pass through without having to open and close it. The flap has magnets that allow it to close and stay shut until someone passes through it. It makes it nice for the animals, but I do worry about them bringing in a mouse or gopher, or the chipmunks that seem to find their way through the crack and come visit me.
I have spent the early afternoon doing research, paying bills, and picking up the cabin in preparation for a good cleaning. My friends, Joe and Michele are going to come up for 4th of July weekend and spend it with me. They are bringing all the food for a nice steak BBQ, along with snacks and chip & dip for our usual board game time. We usually play Yahtzee and Monopoly, and some times other games that I keep for when I have company. So, I’ll be doing some cleaning to bring the cabin up to my standard for guests, as well as mowing the front forty and working on the road.
I spent the remainder of the afternoon researching cameras and cleaning the cabin. I managed to pick up the sunroom and kitchen, and then scrub the kitchen clean. It is now 9 O’clock and I have gone too long without food, so dinner is my focus at the moment. After dinner, I shall shower and then relax in front of the television until bedtime.