Sunday, August 9, 2009

Sunday, August 9, 2009
The weather is windy this morning, with some clouds, but altogether nice. The low temperature this morning was 36.7 degrees, so it got cold last night. I had to build a small fire to remove the chill in the sunroom, but by afternoon it warmed up to the point I opened the doors to let the wind blow through the cabin.
I went online and discovered that I had won the auction and got the camera for $139.06! I had to pay that, plus shipping and handling of $12.90, so I did that online and hope to have the camera before I leave for Missouri, at the end of this month. The web site says delivery in 14 days, and I have a tracking number to follow it, so we shall see. I computed the cost of all my bids, added it to the cost of my winning bid, and discovered it totaled $367.86, but that is still cheaper than I could get it any other place. In fact the cheapest online price was just shy of $900.00, so I feel pretty good about that.
I managed to avoid working outside today, as Sundays are usually a day I take to relax and do what ever I want, even if it is nothing at all. In the afternoon, I had some visitors come by and stop for a little visit. It was Tom; one of the woodcutters I met went I first moved here. He comes by every summer just because he loves this area so much. Today’s trip was on his brand new ATV, with his girlfriend, her son, and three other guys that work with him.
He said he was keeping busy cutting all the dead trees around Helena, as the city is paying to have them removed. He said he would still like to come up here to cut wood, just because he can get away from the city and enjoy the forest more. I told him I had plenty of trees to cut and that he was welcome to come up get some. He told me he might do that before summer is over. He said he has a new trailer with dual axels that allow him to haul two cords at a time, plus what goes in his truck. I told him I would be working on the road so it would be easy for him to get in and out.
Writing, research, reading, organizing and playing with Zack finished the better part of the day. I had just finished playing with Zack and giving him his dinner and as I sat down to watch the news, I caught a glimpse of something trotting down the road near the garage. It was too small to be a deer and too big to be much else, so I grabbed the camera and went to the front door to see what it was.
Zack was upstairs sleeping off his dinner and didn’t alert to anything until I opened the door to get a better look. It was a dog, no wait, it had to have been a coyote, but wait . . . it was too big and muscular to be a coyote, it must be a wolf, but it couldn’t be because the government says we don’t have those in this area. Yeah, right. I stepped out onto the porch and hollered at the animal. He simply stood in the road and stared at me, or I should say glared at me. I snapped a couple of pictures but due the lateness of the day and fading light, they aren’t very good. I yelled for him to leave but he stood his ground and continued to glare at me. Zack started barking but wouldn’t venture out the door, which I wouldn’t have let him if he tried, and yet the wolf just stood like it was frozen, not moving at all.
Just like the bears, I needed to let him know he wasn’t welcome, so went in, put my camera down, grabbed my .22 rifle and walked back out front. He still hadn’t moved, so without aiming, I fired a shot in his direction. At first he didn’t move, but as I fired another shot, he jumped and then started moving up the mountainside, but stopped and glared at me again. I took better aim this time and fired, hitting near him and that got him moving further into the woods. I fired off several rounds in the general vicinity until I couldn’t see or hear him anymore.
This is only the second wolf I have personally seen in my area, and I am not sure what the law is about shooting them. I know that if they bother the cattle or threaten humans, you can kill them, but other than that, I’d have to do some research to see if there are restrictions. I know they serve a purpose in the food chain and I wouldn’t kill one unless it was threatening my animals, or me but I sure don’t want any “hanging around” the cabin.
After that excitement, I finished watching the news, took a shower, cooked a pizza and had my dinner, finally going to bed around 11:30.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Saturday, August 8, 2009
This morning was cool and overcast and I expected a thunderstorm, as had been predicted by NWS, but it is now 4:30 PM and I haven’t had a drop of rain.
Shortly after getting up this morning, I was hit with an allergy attack and have felt crummy all day. It isn’t the nose faucet like in the past, but it is definitely allergies. I feel lousy and so haven’t even tried to work outside, and haven’t done much inside either.
My usually computer work and checking on some online things have taken up the day. I had received a recall notice on the motor home, saying that the welds on the propane tank may fail and could cause a possible fire (they didn’t have the guts to say “Explosion”) and I should have an authorized service dealer inspect it. So, I looked up the closest dealer with a service department, which is in Great Falls, and sent an email to schedule an appointment. I haven’t received a reply yet, so it may be Monday before anyone checks the email inbox and replies.
Another time-consuming task was writing a letter of response to my senator, Max Baucus. His email newsletter arrived today and he has taken the obvious party (Demo) line in an attempt to sell Obamacare to his constituents. I just had to send him my two-cents worth in a carefully crafted letter.
Inbetween playing with Zack and Zoey (she is still acting goofy), I have been following and bidding on a new digital camera. I found a site that is fairly new to America (Swoopo), that lets you purchase bids and then participate in an online auction. The camera is a new Nikon D90 12.3 MP DSLR Camera with 18-105mm Kit, which normally sells for $1,139.00. They have auctioned off dozens of them, and some have gone for as little as $7.96. It is easy to get caught up in the auction, so you have to have a strategy. I have been following them for several weeks now and think I have the hang of how to increase my chances of winning. This particular camera is up to $25.58, with each bid adding 2-cents to total. Each bid costs the bidder 60-cents, so you could easily end up paying several hundred dollars with the cost of the bids and then the cost of the item, but they always sell for less than the suggested retail price.
The site has a ton of different items you can bid on and you can select items to follow and then watch and see how it goes without spending any money. Aside from adding to the total, sometimes 2-cents per bid, sometimes 6-cents, your bid adds time to the clock. Once the clock reaches zero, whoever had the last bid wins the item.
They have a BidButler that you can set up so you don’t have to watch the item all of the time, and then you can go about doing other things, like play with a dog, which I am going to do right now. Okay, I’m back now. Zack has been worn out and fed, along with Zoey who really likes her canned salmon, and I am relaxing before my shower and dinner. The camera is now up to $29.78 and there are 40 seconds left on the clock. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Friday, August 7, 2009
It rained most of the night and I was surprised to see that it added a half-inch more rain to my rain gauge. It now stands at ¾ of an inch, with my official weather station rain gauge showing .77” over that past 24 hours. More appears to be on the way according to NWS, with flash flood warnings.
It has stayed cloudy with some off and on rain all morning, so I plan on staying inside and working on things in the dryness of my cabin. Thunder is rolling across the mountains and up the valleys as I write this, but it currently isn’t raining. I have managed to have some playtime with Zack but then came in and built a small fire to remove the chill in the cabin. The outside temperature is 50 degrees, while inside it has gone from 64 degrees this morning, to a more than comfortable 72 degrees.
I spent some of this afternoon reading The Art of War, by Sun Tzu which is supposed to be the definitive word on war, but also many other aspects of dealing with situations in everyday life. Much of it, at least the first five chapters, make perfect sense and most are common sense, but it brings it before your eyes to think about and see how it applies.
Other than playtime with Zack, and some with Zoey as the weather has her in a really squirrely mood, I fed them both and then washed, drained, cut up, bagged and froze the fresh grapes, cherries, and melons I purchased yesterday. Because I don’t get enough fresh fruit in my diet, being able to fill a bowl and let it thaw for my morning brunch is not only good for me, but also a delicious treat. I wish I had a large enough freezer to keep some for through out the winter, but alas I do not.
It is now 6:30 as I finish this and I will send it now and then shower and have a grilled skinless chicken breast, sliced tomato, and an ear of fresh corn for my dinner.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Thursday, August 6, 2009
It rained off and on through the night, and my rain gauge indicates I received a ¼ of an inch. The rain clouds are broken and drifting southeast while NWS is still predicting a 70% chance of a thunderstorm today.
I spent the morning cleaning up my work area in the sunroom and doing computer work and research. One or two emails always seem to demand I go to a web site for information and then I end up going to another and another and . . . it is never ending.
I have a chiropractor appointment for 2 O’clock today, so I’ll head into town and fill a couple of gas cans, dump my trash, pick up my mail, and do some shopping at Safeway. If the thunderstorm does come to fruition this afternoon, I won’t be able to get anything done outside, and I usually don’t get much done on days I have to go to town anyway.
While I was in town, coming out of Safeway, the sky opened up and dumped tons of water. The drains in the parking lot, and the rest of town, couldn’t keep up with it and water was ankle deep in the parking lot and even deeper in the city streets. Town got most of the rain from this particular storm, as it was wet in Marysville and at the cabin, but nothing like in Helena. My rain gauge was still at a quarter of an inch, so I know not much fell at home.
As I knew would happen, we didn’t get home until 6:30, after stopping to visit with Mary and Guy. Mary had written me that they acquired another dog, and he resembled their old Golden Retriever, Bear. A cousin had just moved to the area and couldn’t find a place to rent that accepts pets, so had to find a home for him. His name is Charlie and he is a 2-½ year-old Golden Retriever. He is more active, due to his age, but gets along well with their Black Lab, Bella, so has made himself at home.
Once back home, I unloaded and put away the groceries, played with Zack, fed him and Zoey, sat down to read the mail and then showered before dinner.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Wednesday, August 5, 2009
When I awoke at 6 AM and looked out my bedroom window, it was foggy to the point most of the trees were obscured on the mountainside. When I got up at 8:30, it had cleared and the sun was shining through a broken cloud cover. By 10 O’clock, the sky became black and by noon it was raining. It looks like I got the front 40 mowed just in time. I am glad for the rain, as the mountainside near me is turning brown.
NWS is predicting heavy thunderstorms for the next several days, and there is a Hazardous Weather Outlook warning for heavy rain and strong winds for today and tomorrow. The predicted high temperatures are in the mid to low 50s, with lows in the high 40s to low 50s, and by Sunday, warming back into the 70s. This should help the fire danger if the lightning strikes don’t set off any fires.
I spent the morning on the computer and doing three loads of wash. I was going to finish spraying and maybe work on the road today, but due to the rain, I think I’ll busy myself with working indoors for the day.
At one O’clock, the rain stopped long enough to give Zack some exercise. On the first throw of his disc, he picked it up with some grass and began shaking it, which is something he enjoys doing but ruins the $22.00 disc, so I yelled at him and in doing so scared one of the largest bull moose I’ve ever seen from the creek bed. Zack had alert to something in the creek bed earlier, but due to all the willow brush I couldn’t see anything. It may have been the moose grazing and I just couldn’t see it.
The moose took off at a full run and up the mountain into the forest, so I didn’t have time to grab my camera and get a shot. He had a huge rack and long dewlap, which is the loose skin that hangs from their chin. I believe that he may be the resident male that I spot every year, but he is usually seen with his mate, unless she stayed hidden I didn’t see her. I hope that he will remain in the area as I really enjoy seeing such a massive animal in the wild. I have had deer at my mineral licks almost every morning and afternoon, but haven’t seen any elk yet this summer. When Zack and I came off the mountain from our hike to the peak, I saw droppings of elk, but that is all.
Computer work, cleaning, and research, with Zack’s playtime inbetween, consumed most of the day. I finished the evening with a shower and nice dinner before going to bed at 11 PM.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Tuesday, August 4, 2009
It looked like it would be a nice day, but then it became overcast and looked like rain. No indications from NWS or my barometer, so maybe it is just something that will blow through. It is windy, versus breezy, this morning and if it continues, it will be good weather for outdoor chores, except for spraying.
My plan was to work on the road, but first I needed to change the oil in the small generator so I could charge the batteries later. Once that was done, I decided to work on the trail mower so it would be ready when I got around to mowing the front 40. After jacking up the deck to gain better access to the underside, I realized what needed to be done, made the necessary adjustment, and reattached the lock nut to the bottom of the adjusting screw.
Because I had to detach the mower from the Argo and the wind had died down, I decided to use the Argo to spray the weeds along the road as far as I could. I have a 30-gallon spray tank in the Argo, but as of right now, I don’t have the irrigation pump hooked up and the water source is shallow, so can’t really use it. I managed to spray all the weeds on the right side of the road as far as the cattle guard, which is the dividing line between the National Forest and BLM land. This too, took me off the road and into the meadow areas to make sure I got all of the weeds. A couple of the Canadian Thistle had already bloomed and gone to seed, which is unfortunate, but nothing I could do about it. The Houndstongue, Musk Thistle and knapweed are just starting to bloom, so I had to search for them. Almost anything that has thorns is a noxious weed and needs to be eliminated.
I almost made it to the cattle guard before running out of spray, so I headed back to the cabin. The wind was picking up again, so I decided to wait for calmer weather to finish spraying. I rested and had another Gator Aid and then hooked the trail mower to the Argo and started mowing. Because of the bumpy terrain, I needed to go slow so it took a lot longer to mow than I thought it would. I mowed from the road in front of my place all of the way to the cabin before the trail mower ran out of gas. I had the portions on either side of the cabin to finish, so I filled the gas tank and continued until it was done. I decided to see how well the mower might work at mowing down the willow brush, so I took it into the creek bed and started mowing.
The engine stalled a couple of times and I had to adjust the blades to a higher level, but other than that, it worked fairly well. I mowed a couple of strips at the bottom of the grade and then took it across the creek to a grassy area that needs to be mowed. The mower stalled again and due to the lateness of the day, I decided to call it quits and left the Argo and trail mower in the creek bottom.
I hiked up to the cabin and a very anxious Zack, who had been waiting patiently to play. He knows that when I am spraying or mowing, he is to stay in the cabin and away from what I am doing. He also does that if I am cutting wood, which is a really good thing, as I can’t always keep an eye on him.
We played for a while and then I fed him and Zoey, took a long cool shower, fixed a drink and sat down to relax before having some dinner.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Monday, August 3, 2009
Although it is still cloudy, the morning is warmer and I am hopeful that it is a forecast of things to come. The high temperature for the past few days has been in the mid to high 80s, in the direct sun. I’ve had a nice breeze that has helped make it feel cooler, for which I am thankful.
My usual morning routine ran into the afternoon as I continue my research on solar panels and trying to keep myself informed about what is going on in the world and in particular with our country. One web site always leads to another and before you know it, you have spent several hours and only accomplish questioning all that you thought you knew. It is a never-ending struggle to understand the full depth of how our government can spend so much money for what seems to be frivolous items. In the FEMA budget , there was an expenditure of for 15 MILLION dollars for “Stone Garden” in 2007 (00.15 StoneGarden...15). No explanation anywhere on exactly what that was. Maybe it was a code name for some black bag operation.
By 2 PM, I had finished and changed into my work clothes and headed out to accomplish something. I was going to work on the road, but needed to take some plywood over to the cattle guard so the dozer tracks didn’t destroy it. The Argo was still hooked up to the trail mower, so I hauled things over to the dozer, which is still parked on the other side of the creek, in the Jeep. I filled my 3-gallon spray tank to spray the thistle along the road and hauled it with me.
When I got to the dozer, I began spraying and once I was finished with the immediate roadside, I notice more a short ways away. Well, one led to another and another and after 6-gallons of spray, I still hadn’t gotten all of them. I had hiked a couple of hundred yards off the road and was worn out from lugging that spray tank back and forth. The sun was ducking behind the mountain, so I decided the rest of the weeds could wait until tomorrow.
After playing with Zack and resting enough to regain some strength, I showered and then relaxed before having some dinner and taking it easy the remainder of the evening.