Tuesday, July 14, 2009
This morning is cool and overcast, with light rain. Between last night and this morning, I have received another ¼ of an inch. It is cold enough (50 degrees) to have a fire and Zack is happy to stay inside and lay by the fire, while I continue to work on the computer.
This is the wettest summer in several years, but closer to normal before the drought hit, so I guess we should be grateful instead of complaining.
I spent most of the day cleaning and organizing the sunroom, plus working on the computer. I am narrowing down which solar panels I should purchase through my online research. All of them are still more expensive than you would think, after this many years of research and manufacturing, but it is what it is. To think that the solar chips they are currently producing are only about 6% efficient, leaves me thinking that monies to produce and use solar power, to lessen our need for fossil fuels, is either misspent or doesn’t even make it to the producers. The prices have come down since last year, as the demand is up because of the energy rebate offered by the government.
The day continued as it began until about 4:30, when the clouds parted long enough to let some sunshine in. Zack and I played and enjoyed the warmth as a change from the colder morning. By 6 PM, the clouds closed in and it began sprinkling again.
Some dinner for Zack and Zoey made them sleepy and they napped while I showered and then fixed myself dinner, relaxing for the rest of the evening.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
This morning started off like last night ended . . . in rain, hail, and lots of lightning and thunder. I received more than a ½ an inch in less than an hour. It occurred between 8:30 and 9:20 AM, and other than the noise of the thunder and hail hitting the tin roof, I was awakened by Zack and Zoey jumping in bed with me due to the thunder.
We all huddled together in the warmth of our covers while the storm passed and by the time I got up, it had passed. I had my coffee and then got ready to go into town for my chiropractor and dentist appointment.
I gave Greg a call to see if he’d like to join me for dinner, but he was out, so I stopped at The Mother Lode and had their soup and sandwich. Another sign of the times, as the bread and tomatoes were sliced so thin that my fingers went through both. I finished and then picked up my mail before heading to my chiropractor appointment.
After my adjustment, I went to Safeway, picked up some groceries, filled two cans and the Jeep with gas, and headed to my dentist appointment. I arrived 15 minutes early and waited until they finished another patient. I had the new crown cemented on and was on my way.
I decided to take the back way home and then decided to try to find my way to my cabin through the back way, which I had never tied before. As I traveled the road, I saw Ron, which I had met at the air show a couple of weeks ago. I stopped and he invited me up for a beer and visit.
After a couple of beers and finding out the road no longer goes through, I back tracked and took Skelly Gulch back and went home by way of the Marysville Road.
Once at home, I unloaded the car and played with Zack before feeding him and Zoey, and then showering before starting a small fire and relaxing with a microwave dinner and some television.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
This morning started off like most mornings, my coffee, read and answer my emails, a couple of You Tube videos, enjoying some sunshine and antics of my chipmunks, when the day turned to night and peals of thunder raced across the mountains.
I love a good summer storm and this was a good one. The rain laden black clouds rolled in from the west and the sky opened up. The gusts of wind slammed doors, knocked things off the tables and hit the cabin in waves. It rolled over my cabin moving east, but there were more clouds following it. It lasted about 3 hours and then began to clear, leaving open blue sky behind it.
While the storm was passing, I boiled some eggs and cut cubes of cheese for a special breakfast treat for Zack. After he cleaned his bowl, I expected him to bug me to play, but the thunder was more than he wanted and he went straight upstairs and jumped into my bed.
I hope that the rain didn’t undo my hard work of spraying those weeds yesterday. I don’t think it rained enough and the spray was dry by now, so it had a chance to do its business. I am glad for the little amount of moisture to help keep things green a little bit longer.
In the late afternoon, I gave Zack a bath, trimming his way too long nails, and bushing his teeth. We played as his reward and it helped dry him. Because of his earlier treat, I just gave him some dry food for his dinner, and he turned his nose up at it. I cleaned the kitchen and did the dishes in preparation of fixing my dinner.
The remainder of the evening was taken up with resting and watching some television. After I thought this was finished, a new thunderstorm moved in and pounded the area with rain, wind, and hail, leaving almost a quarter of an inch.
This morning started off like most mornings, my coffee, read and answer my emails, a couple of You Tube videos, enjoying some sunshine and antics of my chipmunks, when the day turned to night and peals of thunder raced across the mountains.
I love a good summer storm and this was a good one. The rain laden black clouds rolled in from the west and the sky opened up. The gusts of wind slammed doors, knocked things off the tables and hit the cabin in waves. It rolled over my cabin moving east, but there were more clouds following it. It lasted about 3 hours and then began to clear, leaving open blue sky behind it.
While the storm was passing, I boiled some eggs and cut cubes of cheese for a special breakfast treat for Zack. After he cleaned his bowl, I expected him to bug me to play, but the thunder was more than he wanted and he went straight upstairs and jumped into my bed.
I hope that the rain didn’t undo my hard work of spraying those weeds yesterday. I don’t think it rained enough and the spray was dry by now, so it had a chance to do its business. I am glad for the little amount of moisture to help keep things green a little bit longer.
In the late afternoon, I gave Zack a bath, trimming his way too long nails, and bushing his teeth. We played as his reward and it helped dry him. Because of his earlier treat, I just gave him some dry food for his dinner, and he turned his nose up at it. I cleaned the kitchen and did the dishes in preparation of fixing my dinner.
The remainder of the evening was taken up with resting and watching some television. After I thought this was finished, a new thunderstorm moved in and pounded the area with rain, wind, and hail, leaving almost a quarter of an inch.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
It is clear and sunny this morning, with temperatures in the mid 60s and no wind. Today is the annual Marysville Picnic and we will drive down and see what there is to see.
After my morning coffee and other activities, Zack and I hopped in the Jeep and headed for Marysville just a little past noon. Marysville has been having an annual picnic for a number of years, and I always make an appearance just to see who’s there and what venders and entertainment they have.
As we approached the meadow area, about a mile from the cabin, we happened across a cow moose with her baby, which couldn’t have been more than a few days old. We stared at each other as Zack made a fuss about not being able to get out and investigate. I reached for my camera, only to discover that I had forgotten it on the kitchen island. Another missed opportunity at a nature photo.
This is the second year that they posted “No Dogs” at the Marysville Picnic, as they had a problem with so many local and strange dogs being turned lose to chase and play, along with stealing hot dogs and hamburgers from small children. I found a parking space in the shade and Zack napped while I visited and had a cheeseburger for lunch. The money they make from the concession stand and auction (one pie sold for $165.00) goes to help restore and maintain some of the public buildings and the museum.
After visiting with several acquaintances, I decided that there wasn’t much else there for me, plus I didn’t want to leave Zack in the car as it was hot, even in the shade. I missed seeing Dan, the fire chief, and his family, who just returned from a trip to Flagstaff and Grand Canyon. He had emailed me while I was in that area, asking how far they would have to travel south for his son, Levi to see a saguaros cactus, as he had learned about them in school and really wanted to see one. I had given him directions to Black Canyon City, which is the furthest north they seem to grow, and he emailed me today to let me know their trip was a great success and they even found a park in Black Canyon City with a trail that takes you in and around the cactus.
Mary wasn’t to be found either, but I know that she is busy taking care of her grandchildren while Guy drives Jill to Chicago. I was going to stop by their home on my way back to the cabin, but decided not to as I had things at the cabin that I needed to attend to.
We got back home by 3:30, and I changed into work clothes and went out to spray more noxious weeds, which took the rest of the day. For those that don’t know, I am contracted by the BLM to spray along the road all of the way to the Divide, and all the equipment and materials are furnished by them. I am paid $45.00 a week, but haven’t seen a cent of it from last season yet. Such is our government. I finally quit at 6 PM, showered to get any overspray off myself, fed Zack and then sat down to cool off and relax before having some dinner and watching television until bedtime.
It is clear and sunny this morning, with temperatures in the mid 60s and no wind. Today is the annual Marysville Picnic and we will drive down and see what there is to see.
After my morning coffee and other activities, Zack and I hopped in the Jeep and headed for Marysville just a little past noon. Marysville has been having an annual picnic for a number of years, and I always make an appearance just to see who’s there and what venders and entertainment they have.
As we approached the meadow area, about a mile from the cabin, we happened across a cow moose with her baby, which couldn’t have been more than a few days old. We stared at each other as Zack made a fuss about not being able to get out and investigate. I reached for my camera, only to discover that I had forgotten it on the kitchen island. Another missed opportunity at a nature photo.
This is the second year that they posted “No Dogs” at the Marysville Picnic, as they had a problem with so many local and strange dogs being turned lose to chase and play, along with stealing hot dogs and hamburgers from small children. I found a parking space in the shade and Zack napped while I visited and had a cheeseburger for lunch. The money they make from the concession stand and auction (one pie sold for $165.00) goes to help restore and maintain some of the public buildings and the museum.
After visiting with several acquaintances, I decided that there wasn’t much else there for me, plus I didn’t want to leave Zack in the car as it was hot, even in the shade. I missed seeing Dan, the fire chief, and his family, who just returned from a trip to Flagstaff and Grand Canyon. He had emailed me while I was in that area, asking how far they would have to travel south for his son, Levi to see a saguaros cactus, as he had learned about them in school and really wanted to see one. I had given him directions to Black Canyon City, which is the furthest north they seem to grow, and he emailed me today to let me know their trip was a great success and they even found a park in Black Canyon City with a trail that takes you in and around the cactus.
Mary wasn’t to be found either, but I know that she is busy taking care of her grandchildren while Guy drives Jill to Chicago. I was going to stop by their home on my way back to the cabin, but decided not to as I had things at the cabin that I needed to attend to.
We got back home by 3:30, and I changed into work clothes and went out to spray more noxious weeds, which took the rest of the day. For those that don’t know, I am contracted by the BLM to spray along the road all of the way to the Divide, and all the equipment and materials are furnished by them. I am paid $45.00 a week, but haven’t seen a cent of it from last season yet. Such is our government. I finally quit at 6 PM, showered to get any overspray off myself, fed Zack and then sat down to cool off and relax before having some dinner and watching television until bedtime.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
The day’s weather started out just like yesterday, except the winds were mild and there are fewer clouds. It looks like I may have enough rainless warm days to actually do my roadwork. Of course, that being said, I’ll probably be complaining about how hot and dry it is within a week or two.
I worked on the computer most of the morning and into the early afternoon, and then forced myself to stop and do some of the things outside that needed to be done. Unfortunately, I chose to do one of the items on my list of “want to do” instead of those “need to do,” and ended up spending almost three hours climbing a mountain. I have always wondered what might be up Greenhorn Mountain and today I discovered what. Nothing.
This was NOT Fred asking if we want to take a little walk, which is an inside joke for; let’s hike until we can’t stand up. Zack and I headed straight up the mountain and about 50 minutes later, found the apex and stacked some rocks to show we’d been there. Now, some of you may be asking why we did this, and I would have to say, “Because it was there.” In all the time I have lived here, I have never gone up that side of the property, and I wanted to see exactly what was up there. I had hoped to see signs of a spring, or any human activity, or just find the game trails, but none of those things existed.
It would have been great to find a long lost and forgotten old rifle leaning against a tree, or the shed antlers of an elk or deer, or signs of a long forgotten cabin, but we found nothing, not even a well worn game trail, which surprised me. I wish I had taken my GPS with me, so I would know how far we traveled and the difference in altitude.
From the apex, the mountain drops down a short distance to a ravine and then rises again to another mountaintop that isn’t as tall. Because of the forest, I couldn’t tell for sure what was beyond that, but I do know that somewhere in that direction is the ridge road I’ve taken before in my Argo.
We headed back down, taking a different route, as I hoped to come out in the creek bed that I believe my resident moose frequent. It is much steeper on that side and we descended quickly, finding patches of Bear Grass and thickets of willow brush, but still no game trails. I guess the animals are smart enough to follow the creek beds and not have to climb away from their food supply. The forest on the mountain is thick, so not much grows in their shade, and almost no grasses or berries were present on the northwest side. I did find a few trees that had been cut by a hand saw, but no signs of any cabins or other man-made structures.
Once back at the cabin, Zack and I both needed to rest and drink more water. After that, I went out, cut the heads of the thistles off, and sprayed the remainder to kill the roots. This took me until almost 7 PM, so I fixed Zack’s dinner and cooled down before taking my shower and having dinner. Zack and I both over did it and were limping around, me with sore feet and him with what I think is a sprained front leg. We both rested the remainder of the evening and then went to bed.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
It looks like another beautiful morning in paradise, with the sun shining brightly and only a few clouds on the horizon. The temperature is a bit cool, in the mid to high 50s, with hope of it becoming warmer as the day wears on.
The winds are still blowing and keeping the wind-chill factor active, but local weather reports are saying that summer is back with temperatures in the low to mid 80s this coming weekend.
Today is a town day, so after my morning coffee and a short amount of time to check and respond to my emails, I will get ready and leave so I can meet my friend Greg for lunch in town.
We made it to town and I had lunch with Greg and a nice visit, and then ran a couple of errands and picked up my mail. My appointment is with an allergist and is at 3 O’clock, but they phoned and asked if I could come in earlier as they finished early with a patient. Because this is my first visit, he wanted more time to gather my history and discuss possible solutions to my Rhinorrhea, which is a constant running nose, or to put it bluntly, diarrhea of the nose.
I drove to the office and checked in, and was then led to a room and waited for the doctor. He arrived and introduced himself, Dr. Richard Buswell, and began asking me questions, referring to the letter of referral from my doctor. As we talked, the discussion of where I live came up and come to find out he is a well known professional photographer of old cabins and historical spots. We spent more time talking socially than about my allergies, but finished up with possible remedies for my Rhinorrhea, as well as asthma.
He prescribed a couple of different medications for my Rhinorrhea and one for my asthma, giving me several samples of them to try. Because of my high blood pressure, he doesn’t want me to use anything with a decongestant and due to my past problem with WPW (Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome); he doesn’t want me to use inhalers with stimulants in them.
Before leaving, he shared the three books of his photographs currently in publication, and told me that another was being compiled for publication. He shared that his home has a complete dark room and processing lab and that he does all of his own developing. He shoots 35 mm black and white and coats the film with gold, on top of the silver, to make them long lasting. He also has a climate-controlled room to keep all of the original negatives and invited me to come see it some time.
He said that he has been torn between being a doctor and professional photographer all of his adult life. He has specialized as an allergist for over 30 years and done photography for more than that.
I am very impressed with his photographs and we exchanged contact information so he can come up and see some of the places I have found that he may not be aware of, such as the mine and miner’s cabin hidden in the gulch near me. He grew up in this area (my location) and his father recently sold their old homestead, which isn’t far from me. I have digital photographs of many of the pictures in his book and offered to let him go through and see if there are any he was unaware of. He told me that I was now officially one of his information contacts for places to go check out. I invited him to come up and we could use the Argo to get some of the sites that you can’t drive to. He assured me he would.
Other than stopping at Safeway for some items and to pick up a prescription, we headed for home. Once the Jeep was unloaded, I played with Zack until he gave up. I fed him and Zoey, showered, fixed myself some dinner and then relaxed for the remainder of the evening.
This morning’s low was 30.1 and the high for the day was 74 degrees, with wind gusts to 24 mph. No rain for a change, and if things dry out, I may be able to get some work outside done.
It looks like another beautiful morning in paradise, with the sun shining brightly and only a few clouds on the horizon. The temperature is a bit cool, in the mid to high 50s, with hope of it becoming warmer as the day wears on.
The winds are still blowing and keeping the wind-chill factor active, but local weather reports are saying that summer is back with temperatures in the low to mid 80s this coming weekend.
Today is a town day, so after my morning coffee and a short amount of time to check and respond to my emails, I will get ready and leave so I can meet my friend Greg for lunch in town.
We made it to town and I had lunch with Greg and a nice visit, and then ran a couple of errands and picked up my mail. My appointment is with an allergist and is at 3 O’clock, but they phoned and asked if I could come in earlier as they finished early with a patient. Because this is my first visit, he wanted more time to gather my history and discuss possible solutions to my Rhinorrhea, which is a constant running nose, or to put it bluntly, diarrhea of the nose.
I drove to the office and checked in, and was then led to a room and waited for the doctor. He arrived and introduced himself, Dr. Richard Buswell, and began asking me questions, referring to the letter of referral from my doctor. As we talked, the discussion of where I live came up and come to find out he is a well known professional photographer of old cabins and historical spots. We spent more time talking socially than about my allergies, but finished up with possible remedies for my Rhinorrhea, as well as asthma.
He prescribed a couple of different medications for my Rhinorrhea and one for my asthma, giving me several samples of them to try. Because of my high blood pressure, he doesn’t want me to use anything with a decongestant and due to my past problem with WPW (Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome); he doesn’t want me to use inhalers with stimulants in them.
Before leaving, he shared the three books of his photographs currently in publication, and told me that another was being compiled for publication. He shared that his home has a complete dark room and processing lab and that he does all of his own developing. He shoots 35 mm black and white and coats the film with gold, on top of the silver, to make them long lasting. He also has a climate-controlled room to keep all of the original negatives and invited me to come see it some time.
He said that he has been torn between being a doctor and professional photographer all of his adult life. He has specialized as an allergist for over 30 years and done photography for more than that.
I am very impressed with his photographs and we exchanged contact information so he can come up and see some of the places I have found that he may not be aware of, such as the mine and miner’s cabin hidden in the gulch near me. He grew up in this area (my location) and his father recently sold their old homestead, which isn’t far from me. I have digital photographs of many of the pictures in his book and offered to let him go through and see if there are any he was unaware of. He told me that I was now officially one of his information contacts for places to go check out. I invited him to come up and we could use the Argo to get some of the sites that you can’t drive to. He assured me he would.
Other than stopping at Safeway for some items and to pick up a prescription, we headed for home. Once the Jeep was unloaded, I played with Zack until he gave up. I fed him and Zoey, showered, fixed myself some dinner and then relaxed for the remainder of the evening.
This morning’s low was 30.1 and the high for the day was 74 degrees, with wind gusts to 24 mph. No rain for a change, and if things dry out, I may be able to get some work outside done.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 -
It is sunny but cool this morning, with a low this morning of 34.8 at 3:28 AM. The temperature is dropping as some storm clouds close in over the sun. When I got up this morning, the sky over my little valley was completely clear and deep blue, but within 30 minutes, the storm clouds that had surrounded me, closed in and it began to lightly rain.
In the years I’ve lived here, I haven’t experienced a spring and beginning of summer with so much moisture. I hear that this is more the norm than in the past, when they had a drought for several years. This past winter, while I was away playing in the sunny south, we had more snow that in the past 7 years.
I am personally glad for the daily showers as there are so many beetle killed dead trees in the forest, it will help keep the danger of fires low. I am glad that my cabin sits in such a large open area and my creek can furnish water to my fire pump if there were a fire. I believe that I could easily defend the cabin, but for safety sake, I’d grab Zack and Zoey, the valuables and head out of the area. If time permitted, the Forest Service and my volunteer department from Marysville could get here to assist in knocking a fire down.
Have you ever given any thought to what you would do if a fire broke out in the middle of the night? I have made a list of things, besides the obvious living things, and keep them in a location where I can easily grab them. They are just material objects, but if time permitted, and it didn’t pose a danger, I would try to save them. Pictures are always one of the first things people try to save, and with the advent of digital pictures, grabbing my computer and back up drive would save the largest majority. Other than my strong box, with some important documents, I could leave my safe and the contents would survive with a fire rating of two hours at 2100 degrees.
I don’t own much in the way of irreplaceable things, so wouldn’t miss those things I couldn’t save. I think everyone should have an emergency plan that covers all possible catastrophes. I carry an emergency box in each of my vehicles that would help me survive for several days (this site calls it a Bug Out Bag http://www.survivalistbooks.com/faq/bugbags.htm). I have a written emergency plan for fire, flood (unlikely here, but who knows), earthquake, and invasion. I don’t feel the need for a plan if Yellowstone, the largest volcano ever, were to blow, as I am close enough that I’d probably be a goner. I don’t worry about a landslide, tsunami, tornado, or hurricane, but some of you might.
The Boy Scout motto of always being prepared is a good one, and we should think about the possibilities of something happening, but not dwell on them. I remember reading a story about a father that lost his life, because he returned to his burning home to find his children. They had safely escaped out the back and because the family didn’t have a planned meeting place, he needlessly lost his life.
Whoa, how did I get off on all of that? Let’s move on to something else, shall we? I love how green everything is right now, and as the storms abate, the meadows and hillsides will turn a golden brown. Friends often ask me, “Why on earth did you move to Montana, where it snows and is below zero in the winter time?” My answer is, “because I love the changes in the seasons, and if you prepare for the weather, it isn’t a problem.” This past winter, while I was in Arizona and southern California, my mind was fooled into thinking it was summer. The temperature was consistently in the mid 70s to 90s, while back home there was little doubt it was winter with 30 below and 10’ of snow.
Everyone has their “ideal” location and weather, mine just happens to be here where I can feel each season to its fullest. Many people are born, raised, work and die, all in the same location, and there isn’t anything wrong with that, but I am not one of them. I love to travel and have experienced so many wonderful places that I wanted to choose my place to retire.
I may not live the rest of my life right here, but for now it is my little piece of heaven on earth, and I’ll stay. As I got older, my idea of the perfect place to live changed. I had long thought that living on an island in the tropics would be the ideal place, but after a trip to Costa Rica a few years ago, I changed my mind. It was a beautiful place but humidity and bugs got to me quickly. I guess the ideal thing would to be able to experience all of the possible places before choosing one. I did that to an extent, by traveling to experience places with different climates and conditions. Another factor was financial and political. Having been a fifth generation Californian, I loved it and all the differing climates, but the tax system and politics weren’t for me.
I guess the most important thing is to be happy. Not selfish happy, but just happy with your life and surroundings. I have met so many people that are unhappy with their jobs, marriage, location, etc., that it is sad. I think that there are actually people in this world that are happy to be unhappy. If they didn’t have things to complain about, they wouldn’t be happy.
Hold it. I just had war break out next to me. The four chipmunks that are at the seed dish outside my window are starting a war over who gets all of it. Some times they look like they are really hurting each other, while other times it appears to be more of a game. There seems to be a fine line between the two and I guess the young ones learn about defending their family, food and territory by playing at fighting.
Since the sun disappeared, the temperature has dropped 7 degrees and it became uncomfortable enough that I have built a small fire to take the chill off. I am sure it seems odd that it is cool enough to have a fire in July, but it is here. Even though the rain is discouraging me from working outside, I am enjoying it. It becomes my excuse to stay indoors and work on less physical things.
As it approaches noon, I have enjoyed watching the massive thunder clouds moving through the sky, the wind blowing the willow bushes in the creek bed, a light rain, the chipmunk and bird’s antics at the feeders, the dancing flames of my fire, and the beautiful green mountains around me. Give me this over a city or even small town any day. No human made noise, other than those I make myself, and the still peacefulness of being in the wilderness.
As the afternoon moved on, I did research on emergency preparedness and found several interesting sites. One such site has several pages of information that I thought some of you may be interested in. It is http://www.captaindaves.com/guide/ and has links to other sites on like subjects.
I finally quit at 8 O’clock, showered, ate dinner and watched a bit of television before going to bed. The days rain equaled a quarter of an inch on my rain gauge, which was emptied this morning.
It is sunny but cool this morning, with a low this morning of 34.8 at 3:28 AM. The temperature is dropping as some storm clouds close in over the sun. When I got up this morning, the sky over my little valley was completely clear and deep blue, but within 30 minutes, the storm clouds that had surrounded me, closed in and it began to lightly rain.
In the years I’ve lived here, I haven’t experienced a spring and beginning of summer with so much moisture. I hear that this is more the norm than in the past, when they had a drought for several years. This past winter, while I was away playing in the sunny south, we had more snow that in the past 7 years.
I am personally glad for the daily showers as there are so many beetle killed dead trees in the forest, it will help keep the danger of fires low. I am glad that my cabin sits in such a large open area and my creek can furnish water to my fire pump if there were a fire. I believe that I could easily defend the cabin, but for safety sake, I’d grab Zack and Zoey, the valuables and head out of the area. If time permitted, the Forest Service and my volunteer department from Marysville could get here to assist in knocking a fire down.
Have you ever given any thought to what you would do if a fire broke out in the middle of the night? I have made a list of things, besides the obvious living things, and keep them in a location where I can easily grab them. They are just material objects, but if time permitted, and it didn’t pose a danger, I would try to save them. Pictures are always one of the first things people try to save, and with the advent of digital pictures, grabbing my computer and back up drive would save the largest majority. Other than my strong box, with some important documents, I could leave my safe and the contents would survive with a fire rating of two hours at 2100 degrees.
I don’t own much in the way of irreplaceable things, so wouldn’t miss those things I couldn’t save. I think everyone should have an emergency plan that covers all possible catastrophes. I carry an emergency box in each of my vehicles that would help me survive for several days (this site calls it a Bug Out Bag http://www.survivalistbooks.com/faq/bugbags.htm). I have a written emergency plan for fire, flood (unlikely here, but who knows), earthquake, and invasion. I don’t feel the need for a plan if Yellowstone, the largest volcano ever, were to blow, as I am close enough that I’d probably be a goner. I don’t worry about a landslide, tsunami, tornado, or hurricane, but some of you might.
The Boy Scout motto of always being prepared is a good one, and we should think about the possibilities of something happening, but not dwell on them. I remember reading a story about a father that lost his life, because he returned to his burning home to find his children. They had safely escaped out the back and because the family didn’t have a planned meeting place, he needlessly lost his life.
Whoa, how did I get off on all of that? Let’s move on to something else, shall we? I love how green everything is right now, and as the storms abate, the meadows and hillsides will turn a golden brown. Friends often ask me, “Why on earth did you move to Montana, where it snows and is below zero in the winter time?” My answer is, “because I love the changes in the seasons, and if you prepare for the weather, it isn’t a problem.” This past winter, while I was in Arizona and southern California, my mind was fooled into thinking it was summer. The temperature was consistently in the mid 70s to 90s, while back home there was little doubt it was winter with 30 below and 10’ of snow.
Everyone has their “ideal” location and weather, mine just happens to be here where I can feel each season to its fullest. Many people are born, raised, work and die, all in the same location, and there isn’t anything wrong with that, but I am not one of them. I love to travel and have experienced so many wonderful places that I wanted to choose my place to retire.
I may not live the rest of my life right here, but for now it is my little piece of heaven on earth, and I’ll stay. As I got older, my idea of the perfect place to live changed. I had long thought that living on an island in the tropics would be the ideal place, but after a trip to Costa Rica a few years ago, I changed my mind. It was a beautiful place but humidity and bugs got to me quickly. I guess the ideal thing would to be able to experience all of the possible places before choosing one. I did that to an extent, by traveling to experience places with different climates and conditions. Another factor was financial and political. Having been a fifth generation Californian, I loved it and all the differing climates, but the tax system and politics weren’t for me.
I guess the most important thing is to be happy. Not selfish happy, but just happy with your life and surroundings. I have met so many people that are unhappy with their jobs, marriage, location, etc., that it is sad. I think that there are actually people in this world that are happy to be unhappy. If they didn’t have things to complain about, they wouldn’t be happy.
Hold it. I just had war break out next to me. The four chipmunks that are at the seed dish outside my window are starting a war over who gets all of it. Some times they look like they are really hurting each other, while other times it appears to be more of a game. There seems to be a fine line between the two and I guess the young ones learn about defending their family, food and territory by playing at fighting.
Since the sun disappeared, the temperature has dropped 7 degrees and it became uncomfortable enough that I have built a small fire to take the chill off. I am sure it seems odd that it is cool enough to have a fire in July, but it is here. Even though the rain is discouraging me from working outside, I am enjoying it. It becomes my excuse to stay indoors and work on less physical things.
As it approaches noon, I have enjoyed watching the massive thunder clouds moving through the sky, the wind blowing the willow bushes in the creek bed, a light rain, the chipmunk and bird’s antics at the feeders, the dancing flames of my fire, and the beautiful green mountains around me. Give me this over a city or even small town any day. No human made noise, other than those I make myself, and the still peacefulness of being in the wilderness.
As the afternoon moved on, I did research on emergency preparedness and found several interesting sites. One such site has several pages of information that I thought some of you may be interested in. It is http://www.captaindaves.com/guide/ and has links to other sites on like subjects.
I finally quit at 8 O’clock, showered, ate dinner and watched a bit of television before going to bed. The days rain equaled a quarter of an inch on my rain gauge, which was emptied this morning.
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