Friday, August 13, 2009

Friday, August 13, 2009
It rained a few times in the night, but nothing like the short downpour of yesterday afternoon. My weather station is indicating that I have received .06” of rain in the past 24 hours, but it seemed like more than that. My barometer is currently saying rain, and cloud cover is moving across the sky as I write this at 10 AM. NWS is still predicting thunderstorms, with 80% today and 70% tonight, tapering off through the weekend. It appears that the bulldozer may sit where it is at for a couple of more days.
By 9 O’clock last, I was enjoying my homemade chill with beans and loving it. The beans actually were cooked and palatable by about 8 O’clock, so I fried up some hamburger with all my spices and other ingredients, which I normally would have added to the simmering beans, but didn’t want to waste them if the beans weren’t going to be eatable, diced half an onion and half a fresh tomato, adding them and two cans of tomato sauce to the pot. I let it cook a while longer and then over indulged on two large bowls. It was very good and worth the effort and time to make. I just wish I had some cornbread to have with it.
I am enjoying a quiet morning, watching the antics of my chipmunks as they keep me amused with their games of chasing each other around. I put a clear tube out in the woodpile, with peanuts inside, to see if they would be brave enough to climb into it for the treat. It took several days, but as soon as one figured it out, the others began to go for the treats. The learning curve for some is a little slower, and the attached pictures show one desperately trying to dig his way through the tube. He finally managed to dislodge the tube and the peanuts fell out for him to grab and run off with.
I have identified at least four different families that come to gather the nuts and sunflower seeds. One family lives under my front porch, another lives in the covered wood pile next to the cabin, a third lives under the deck, and the forth lives in the area under the willow bushes down by the creek. I watch the different chipmunks as they carry their surplus to their homes and can see all of the peanut shell debris near those locations. If family members are together, gathering nuts and seeds, they share, if another family comes, the dominant ones chase the others away. Sometimes the attacks look violent, but their contact is only for a millisecond and one always runs away.
When I purchased two more bags of raw peanuts the other day, the clerk asked me if they were for the squirrels. I told her about my chipmunks and how they will even come into the cabin looking for peanuts, if I don’t feed them every morning (I know my sister, Sharry, can identify with this as she has to feed her hummingbirds several times a day to keep them happy). The clerk said, “How neat and I’ll bet you have even named them.” I told her that I had indeed, giving her some of the names. I have one with a tail that is about a third shorter than the others, so that’s Shorty. I have one that always takes his peanut to the doormat to eat, so that’s Matt. Another has a small spot on his left hindquarter, so that’s Spot. One chipmunk is always stopping to scratch, so I named him Itchy. And then there is Humper, and you can guess what he is always trying to do.
Between Zack and Zoey, the comedic chipmunks, deer, moose, bears, wolfs, and various other visitors to my wonderland, I am kept amused and I am happy to live where I do. I just finished reading a letter of complaint in my RV magazine, that was from animal haters, or at least it seemed so, as they were complaining about dogs pooping in their space at RV Parks, and how the dogs (and children) making noise kept them from enjoying the camping experience. The responses to their letter were scathing and let them have it with both barrels. I am so glad that I don’t have to deal with such things at my cabin, and when I do travel, I can put up with almost anything, knowing I’ll be coming home to the peace and quiet of having no neighbors to complain.
I plan on working today, if not on the dozer and road, then on removing the big generator and putting it in the back of the truck for its trip to Great Falls on Monday. First, I have to reinforce the bed of the truck for the jack mount so it won’t bend over while helping me load it. I managed to get the generator into the shed and set up without any help, so I am hoping that I’ll be able to do the same to remove it. The repair shop in Great Falls told me that he wouldn’t even be able to get to it for a couple of weeks as he is the only mechanic that works on generators and has several in the shop right now. Seeings how I am leaving in a couple of weeks and will be gone for at least three weeks, it shouldn’t make a difference if I take it in Monday, or wait until I can get help from Joe and take it in after next weekend.
Speaking of Joe, and Michele too, I have asked them to cabin sit, at least on the weekends, while I am gone. I always get a good snowstorm in September, and if I leave the propane stove in the living room set to keep the inside warm, and have someone checking on things, I shouldn’t have to winterize it for the short time I’ll be gone. They have agreed and will be coming up next weekend for me to show them all the things that need to be done, like; starting the little generator to charge the batteries, working the water pump, operating the woodstove (there are a few tricks that help it produce good heat without smoking), and what to do in certain situations or if the temperatures get to freezing and below.
It will be a mini-course on how to survive short term, as I do year around. The price I pay for living off the grid, which is worth it to me, is that there are maintenance issues that need almost constant attention. Living this way certainly makes you better understand how utilities, on a small scale, work and why they seem to cost more and more each year. All in all, I would rather depend on myself to provide electricity, sewer and water, than a large company, city or state operated system. I know that if my electricity goes out, I need to start the generator and I instantly have power. No waiting or phone calls to find out when power will be restored. I know where my wastewater goes and how the system works. As long as I maintain the septic system, it will continue to work, maintenance free, for years to come. I know where my water comes from and its condition. I understand what the process is to make sure it is free of all germs (ultraviolet filter) and to have it be clean, pure water (two additional filters for sediment and taste). I test it regularly, plus have a lab test it once a year, so I know what I am getting. Can you say the same?
Now at 5 PM, and I am still watching the recap of the Presidential Town Hall in Belgrade, MT. I watched it in its entirety and thought it was a waste of time. The sweet flowery rhetoric flowing from Obama’s mouth brought nothing new to the public. At the beginning, he asked that the questions be kept short and his responses would be likewise. He couldn’t answer any of the questions in a short manner and sometimes even expanded to other areas to get his point across. Neither he, nor any of the politician’s answers cover the tough questions. They are, in many cases, rehearsed answers to dance around the plain and simple truth.
The Whitehouse team seems to think that getting Obama out to stump for the health plan is a way to win over those that have educated themselves by reading the bill, and are against it. I’d be willing to bet you that Obama himself hasn’t read the current versions of the House or Senate bills. He relies on staffers to read and report to him with Cliffs Notes of the bill. Even the Talking Heads are missing an important part of the “Death Panels.” They seem to all focus on the end of life counseling referred to in the original Senate version of the bill, when they should be looking at the “Medical Advisory Council” that is charged with making the decisions on whether or not a patient gets specific treatments. This council will be made up with a few doctors and the rest are bureaucrats.
Well, the remainder of the evening was spent lowering my blood pressure and relaxing with another bowl of beans and some television.