5 September, 2014 Getting ready for winter.

Fall is here! And along with fall comes a whole slug of things needing our attention.  The garden is coming in strong now along with the attendant canning and drying.  Bow hunting season for big game - Deer, Elk and Bear - begins tomorrow morning (6 Sept.).  If successful it means more canning and butchering.  There's still wood to cut as well.  Overall though, fall is a great time of year.

We've been firing up the wood stove mornings and evenings for about a week now just to compensate for the dropping temperatures outside.  That also means we do more cooking on the wood stove.  As long as we're using it anyway we may as well save propane and cook on it too.

 

Susan had her violin out practicing.  When she put it down Scott decided to try his hand at it. He has a ways to go before he's ready for Carnegie Hall!

 

We showed our son and DIL the trail going into Martin Lake.  Scott, of course, takes his place on Uncle Tristan's shoulders.

 

Tristan is young and strong and Scott took advantage of it on the trail in.  The trail is short and easy by Montana standards.  It's only a half mile with only two small hills in between.

 

It is a gorgeous little lake though and not greatly used.

 

Krystina and Scott.  The mountains in the background rise about two-thousand feet above the lake level.  They are steep and heavily forested!

 

Scott gets a lot of clothes dirty and with the unusually rainy weather we've had lately, we were making too many trips to the laundry mat in Eureka.  Our oldest son had an extra automatic washer to give away so we took it home and hooked it up ... redneck style!

 

The pump drains the wash/rinse water into the black tub.  This thing uses 20 gallons of water each time it fills the washing chamber when on the "large load" setting.  We haul water and use captured rainwater for washing clothes and needed a way to conserve on the water supply.

 

I drilled a 3/4 inch hole at the base of the tub and screwed in a male hose fitting.  You don't need to thread the hole in the plastic.  Simply screwing in the brass fitting will make a seal that's leak free.

 

The drain hose from the washer runs into the top of the large plastic pipe going into the black tub.  The plastic pipe can pivot so we can take the tub out from under it as needed.

 

We have the drain hose to make it easier to drain the water away from the cabin and get it where it's needed (watering trees).  We use the wash water for watering trees then save the rinse water in the tub and use it for the next "wash" cycle.  That way we save and recycle at least some of the water

 

The water comes from our rain water tank.  We pump it out of the tank using the well pump we were given (it had a cracked housing so I had to fix it before putting it into service).  I personally like the old way we did wash better but the automatic washer has some good points too.  It's a lot easier on zippers in coats and jeans and gets the clothes dryer than the wringer does.  They don't have to spend as much time hanging on the line.  Of course we'll have to put some RV antifreeze in it soon or the water left in the pump will freeze.

 

Scott is helping Susan strip Thyme leaves off the stems after drying them. (She grows an assortment of spices in the garden.)  We've bought Thyme from the store where they just ground up the leaves and the stems.  It takes us longer to do it our way but we really don't like having the stems in our food.

 

Well, Scott was helping for awhile anyway!  He did pretty well for a three-year-old!

 

Some of the things Susan has been doing ... Cans of huckleberries, cherries and raspberries on front.  You can see the muffin pan to the right.  The corn muffins were made using home grown and ground sweet corn.  You can't get better corn flour or corn meal than that!  If you want to have some fun grow some different colored corn for different colored corn meal.  Our electric grain mill is on the towel above the canned food.  Susan had just finished grinding some wheat into flour.  The pan at the top right has scraps waiting for a trip to the compost pile.

 

Under the towel are cans of home made salsa in front of canned chicken and canned chicken broth.  We grew and butchered the chickens.

 

The fire danger is finally down low enough to burn some slash piles.  This one has so much green stuff in it that's it's being difficult to get it burning.  We've been clearing off more of the land.  If you don't keep at it the trees will keep coming up until everything is choked out.

 

We've been covering the less frost hardy plants in the garden at night this week.  The night time lows are about thirty-degrees.  If we can make it through a week or so we often get another month of warmer weather.  The blankets were salvaged from the dump.  We also purchased rolls of cloth on clearance.  Sometimes material that doesn't sell well is available for pennies per yard.  We bought several bolts of cloth a couple of years ago and use them to protect the crops from frost.

 

Onions were pulled and brought into the cabin to cure.  The tops will go in the compost pile.  We cut up our onions and dehydrate them.  We've never had any luck storing them long term unless we dry them.

 

Zucchini squash tucked in to bed for the night.

 

We stack boards of Styrofoam insulation around the bottom of the greenhouse and add cloth covering to help protect the plants.  One more month will make a lot of difference in the amount of food we harvest.

 

Now to get ready for hunting tomorrow!



July 15, 2014 Home Again

We arrived home from our book trip on July 3rd.  Total mileage for the trip was over 7,630 miles.  A lot happened on it but I don't have a summary organized yet so it will have to wait.  This posting will be some of the things that have happened since we arrived home on the third.

We purchased fireworks on the way home.  We decided to have our celebration the 5th instead of the fourth to give us more time to get the place ready for company.  We were gone during the monsoon season so we expected the yard to be severely overgrown.  We were not disappointed!  The grass had all gone to seed and was waist high and thick.  We purchased a good power mower on the way through Kalispell just for cutting through the tall grass.  After a couple of long days working with the weed eater and mower we got the yard in good shape.  We had most of the kids over to begin the evening with a barbecue and games then shot off about $500.00 worth of fireworks in the evening.

It was a good show.  We plan on doubling our fireworks expenditures for next year.  We'll buy more things for the kids to shoot in the afternoon while waiting for it to get dark to light up the big stuff.

 

We use game cameras for security cams.  This one caught some good photos of a whitetail deer and her fawn.  Most of what I've seen has been deer and rabbits.  There are reports of a grizzly bear roaming the area so I may have photos of it on another camera.  Nothing is missing so I didn't expect to find much in the way of illegal activity.

 

I used the weed eater and mower to clear some of the grass that had grown up on the garden paths while we were gone.  I tilled up the planting sections before we left but there wasn't anything I could to stop the grass from growing on the pathways.  You can see a sample of the tall grass we are dealing with on the far side of the photo.

The gophers moved in while we were gone so I set out a bunch of traps.  I caught four of the little buggers one day and average two per day for the other days.  The tall grass gives them good cover and about the only way to get them now is by trapping them.

 

We used all the water in the main tank so I loaded up the barrels and we made a couple of water runs. I have seven, fifty-gallon barrels here so I can get about 350 gallons per trip.  We filled these up in Fortine since we were going there anyway.  Normally I either pump it out of the lake or go to a neighbor's house to fill them.

 

We purchased 84 meat chickens.  I called up the local feed supply store to see if they had any chicks left and he said they had about 60 Cornish Cross chicks to sell.  We told him we'd take them all and when the final count was made we had 84.  He was selling them for $1.00 each and they were two-weeks old so he'd already been feeding them awhile so we got a really good deal!  These little guys are eating machines.  We take the food away after 12 hours to keep them from overeating.  We'll be getting a lot of meals out of this batch and canning a bunch of them too.

 

The "run" outside the henhouse was overgrown with grass and raspberry vines.  Susan got inside and cut it all out with hand clippers so the chicks could get outside.  Note the grass outside the pen and how tall and thick it is.  It was the same inside the pen.

 

Another view of the chicken run.  This is too small for 84 chickens so we'll split them up into other pens as they get bigger to keep their stress levels down.

 

We've also done some brush clearing.  I cut this out with the brush blade on the weed-eater (used the chainsaw for the big stuff) to make it easier to get into and out of the driveway.  I also took out a small tree near the road.  I used the winch on the truck to remove the tree stump.  I used a snatch block to double the pulling power of the (12,000 lb.) winch.  The winch barely grunted in exertion but we had to put the tires of the truck up against another stump to hold the truck back.  It was sliding all four tires.  It's a good way to remove smallish sized stumps as long as you can chain the truck to a good anchor.

 

The water tank needed cleaned so after draining it to water the garden I let it dry for a day then scooped the gunk out of it.  There were also left-over fireworks in the tank.  The kids liked seeing stuff blow up underwater.

 

We've been reading grocery store labels more and have been shocked at the amounts of salt and sugar used in processed food.  We had a hankering for turkey and finally found some that weren't injected with astronomical amounts of salt and other seasonings.  They were pricey but we'll get a lot of meals out of this one.  We have neighbors raising turkeys this year so we'll probably do some trading of chickens for a turkey or two this fall.  I can also shoot one during hunting season.  They don't have as much meat as a domestic turkey but they're still good, organic meat. 

 

Here Susan is picking the meat from the bones for use later.  Nothing is wasted.

 

After the first meal Susan boiled down the leftovers for broth and meat.  We'll use it all eventually.  We're also going to grind some for canning in addition to the regular small chunks for stews, casseroles, etc.

 

When we got back from our second water run Susan heard air escaping from one of the tires.  It had a large screw in it.  The good thing is that it's in a place I can fix without removing the tire and rim from the truck.

 

I marked it well with a tire crayon.

 

I then unscrewed it from the tire.

 

Scott is holding it in his hand.  It's fairly large.

 

I'll use a plug to repair it.  The first step is to ream the hole out good.

 

Next you put a plug on the installation tool and generously lube the plug with rubber cement. (Use lots of rubber cement!)

 

Now you just shove the plug through the hole leaving a little of the plug showing above the hole.

 

Pull back on the installation tool and the plug stays in the tire.  Leak fixed!  I then fired up the compressor and pumped the tire up to 80 PSI.

 

Susan has been busy in the garden.  Even though we got a late start we still planted some potatoes, carrots and onions.  Scott is big enough to help some although his attention span is still pretty short.  At least he knows to not step on the new plants and how to distinguish the weeds from the plants.

 

There's a lot more going on that's not on here.  Susan has put in hours cleaning out outbuildings and sorting things in piles to give away and throw away.  We've done laundry and moved our tubs back outside.  Most meals are prepared from raw ingredients which takes extra time.  We finally took one hot afternoon off to paddle around Murphy Lake in the canoe and kayak.  The temperatures have been in the upper 80's and low 90's so we do most of our outside work early in the mornings before it gets too hot and before the mosquitoes awake.

New Book Out

I have a new book in print title The Greenhorn's Guide to Chainsaws and Firewood Cutting.  It's available in print form or Kindle versions at: http://amzn.to/17m3O3C.

This book is for the person who is new at or just now entertaining the thought of cutting their own firewood. In fact, (if you haven't already!) don’t even purchase a chain saw until after you’ve read the first chapter because that’s where I tell you what to look for to get the saw that’s best for you. After that, there will be chapters on using your saw safely and effectively, a chapter on properly maintaining your saw and another chapter on sharpening the chain so it cuts like it did when it was new (in some instances it will cut better!) After learning about chainsaws and how to use them we’ll go on to chapters about which wood makes the best firewood and how (and why!) to season green wood properly. From there we’ll look at splitting firewood (including “problem” wood with knots or twisted grain), and the tools you’ll need to accomplish that. Safety is stressed throughout.

All through the book I’ll keep an eye on expenses. There’s a big difference between the equipment requirements of the professional woodcutter or logger compared to the homeowner just getting a few cords for the fireplace every year. Likewise I’ll bring up options for the more diminutive woodcutters among us. After all, not everyone is a testosterone driven, Paul Bunyan wannabe!

Keep in mind that this is the beginner’s course in woodcutting. I’ll tell you some ways to spot problem trees and then advise you to leave them to professionals. I have no desire to delve into the more advance techniques of woodcutting. Sawing on trees can be very dangerous work. Leave the risky trees to professionals until you’ve had a lot of experience and training. By the time you’re that good you’ll have the wisdom and knowledge you need to tackle the big jobs.

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30 December, 2012 - 5 January 2013 - Chimney Cleaning, Icy Roads

Another day another ... train?

Susan went through some of the toys we have stored from "yesteryear" and found this train set. It was missing a few pieces but there were enough left to make the loop.  Scott spent hours playing with it.

This is another of his favorite toys.  His big interests in life right now are planes, trains and automobiles.  Here he's making a crash landing on the snow.

Okay, on to the next adventure...

We bought him a kid's computer for Christmas.  He loves it and isn't as interested in "helping" us when we're using ours.

His mom and dad got him a Cars blanket.  Cars is one of his favorite movies.

I was sorting some brass so Scott decided to help a bit.  I gave him a can of 270 and 25/06 brass to mess around with.  I don't have any firearms in those calibers.  (Although if I found some at a good price ...!)

Chimney cleaning time again.  This time we need some repairs on the top pipe.  The bottom and top have both corroded to the point that they need replaced.

I took it off then ran the brush through the pipe a few times to knock the ash out.  There wasn't any creosote build up.  We only burn seasoned wood and I run the stove hot for awhile every morning which keeps creosote deposits at a minimum.  As long as I was already there and had the brush it only takes a few more minutes to scrub out the chimney.

I didn't feel like going to town for a new cap and and we keep a couple new sections of pipe on hand so I just attached the old cap to the new pipe.  It should work okay for several years before it needs to be replaced.

The snow was piling up on the U-Haul so Susan shovelled it off.  I think I hear the camper whispering "let's go south until the snow is gone."

We got a call at 5:30 am from our SIL.  He ran off the road dodging a deer and needed help getting on to work.  The battery was dead in his truck so I drove him to work then we got him out after he got off work.

A neighbor brought his tractor over to lend a hand.  It worked great because he could lift the back of the truck out of the ditch using the loader.  (The bumper is rusted through and was already bent before he hit the ditch.)  I'd have had to chain up all four wheels to get him out with the Cherokee.

I thanked another neighbor who stopped traffic on the curve while we were extracting the truck.  It's pretty icy and we were worried that anyone coming around the turn would ignore the flares I set out and either hit someone or wind up in the ditch themselves.

 

When Scott's parents came up Saturday there was a wreck blocking the road about two miles closer to the highway than where this photo was taken.  They had to make a ten mile detour (one way) to get to the next road to make it to our place.

 

We bought some bacon and fried it up for breakfast.  It was a nice treat. It's a lot better cooking it on the wood stove.  Eventually the grease splatters will burn off.

Getting water for the animals is always a chore during the winter.  We don't like using our drinking water if we can avoid it so I set a bucket of snow behind the wood stove.  It warms up during the day so we have water on hand for the animals.  All we have this winter is the cat, dog and seven chickens.  The chickens don't drink a lot but they need fresh water at least a couple times a day.