Thursday, July 16, 2009

Thursday, July 16, 2009
Aside from still having a breeze, the morning is completely clear of any clouds and sunny. It is 76 degrees in the sun at 11 AM, so I am looking for another nice day, allowing me to work outside.
I need to clear the silt and weeds from my creek tributary feeding my pond. My house water pick-up is pulling too much silt into the system and while the filters take it out and the ultra violet light removes all the bacteria, the smell is that of muddy water.
I did two loads of wash while having my morning coffee and before I could start working outdoors, a couple of visitors came and distracted me. It was a “neighbor” and her son. I had met the husband and a younger son last week. They bought the placer mining claim on Dog Creek; about three miles from me near the beaver ponds, and moved in a prebuilt log cabin about two years ago. I had originally looked at that piece of property when I was investigating this area, but decided against it as a county road passes through it. I felt that it was too open and would be exposed to a lot of passersby.
After they bought the property and moved the cabin in, they fenced the entire area off, including the county road, with barbed wire. The county made them remove that part that prevented the roads right of way, but they left the rest up. That caused a lot of bad feelings among the folks that have been using the area to camp in for all their lives, so I wasn’t surprised to find out that all the cabin windows had been shot out and someone broke in and stole all their guns. You don’t make friends by coming in and fencing off commonly used land, even if you now own it.
His defense was that the trucks were causing damage by tearing up the area. I tried to explain to him that any vehicle traveling through during rainy season is going to do that. It probably wasn’t intentional, but there are kids with big trucks that like to “mud bog” and try to get through some bogs without getting stuck just for the fun of it. He then tells me that he has called the sheriff and the Federal marshal on several occasions for people camping near his property and shooting guns. I tried to be polite and not call him an asshole, but it was difficult.
He lives in Helena, so is from the area and should know better than to piss off locals the way he has. He asked me if I have ever had any problems with vandalism, what with my open garage and leaving things out. I told him no, I had met and become acquainted with just about everyone that frequented the area and got to know the cattlemen that grazed here, as well as the National Forest law enforcement. I explained that I hadn’t moved here to change the way locals used the area and that was why I don’t fence off the road that people have been using most of their life. I had hoped he would get the idea, but I doubt that he did.
They only use their cabin during the summer and not for extended periods, so when they are gone, they are subject to the ire of people they piss off. I visited with the wife and oldest boy for a while and then excused myself so I could get back to work. They left of their four-wheelers and I tackled a leak under my kitchen sink. I had noticed that the flange, where the drain attaches to the sink, was loose, but didn’t realize how much water it was allowing to drip into the cabinet below. The pressboard was soaked and it was beginning to get moldy and smell. I cleaned and sprayed the area with a bleach and water solution and then tightened the flange to stop the flow.
In the course of cleaning everything out from under the sink, I had to clean and rearrange things to put it back. This led to me cleaning the cabinets and kitchen from top to bottom and before I knew it, it was 6 O’clock. I finally stopped, played with Zack, fed him and Zoey, and then sat down with a drink to relax.
I finished the day with my usual, a shower, some dinner, watching television and then going to bed.