Welcome to the Neighborhood!

Looks who's moved into the neighborhood... Bigfoot!

Delia, this is Bigfoot.

Rumor has it, he's been scouting the area since Christmas (ahem) and it looks like he finally decided on a spot on our property! Eep!

Bigfoot, this is Delia.

He's set up his lair about halfway between the house and the road among the spring wildflowers.

Winter Wonders in our Woodland Home - Winter Storm Stuff

It seems that there are degrees to the old "if a tree falls in the woods and there's no one there to hear it, does it make a sound" thought experiment. We had quite a snow-followed-by-wind storm from Sunday night all through Monday afternoon. There were times when I looked out the window to see nothing by white, almost like the windows were frosted, because the wind was blowing the snow off all the trees and roofs. Interestingly, not so much off/around the ground and hardly any off the truck. But what I didn't notice was any out-of place noises, so you can imagine my surprise when I went out the back door to start plowing our driveway around 2:00 p.m. to this sight.

I believe the exact words I said out loud to the forest were, "Oh, shit." Because, as I mentioned, I didn't hear anything particularly loud or unusual from inside the house, which is probably about twelve yards from the fence (to the left).

Speaking of the fence, it got in the way of this dead Ponderosa Pine tree from the National Forest falling over! Luckily, the tree was not that large and it was apparently plenty-dead, so it doesn't seemed to have hurt the fence at all.

You'll notice in this last photo, that the branches are going the opposite direction of the branches on the trunk on the forest side of the fence. That has got to mean that when the trunk broke on our fence rail, that the broken-off top must have flipped over in the air before landing, right? SO now the top of the tree is pointed at the center of the case of the tree! WHOA.

And look just how close this is to the only power pole on our property! And the wires are not that high, by the way. There is not a mark on the power pole and we had no interruption of power to the house, nary a flicker.

All in all, we got pretty lucky. As did anyone whose power is tied to those lines on that pole, of course. Delia is feeling pretty lucky, too! It's a Stick Bonanza!

Trees, especially the dead ones, are made entirely of sticks, ya' know!

Whose Poop Is This, Anyway? + Fruiting Tree

It's been quite awhile since I have come upon some mystery scat, but on Wednesday I did. Right in my own dang driveway!

I was heading out to round up Delia for her morning fetch sesh, but instead of finding her in the first three spots-where-chipmunks-hide where she can usually be found these days, I found this turd near the shop. It's not one of hers... she does her dog business off in the tall grass... she values her privacy.

And it certainly wasn't dropped by the same critter that sneaked in to eat EVERY LAST ONE OF THE CHERRIES on our tree within 24 hours of me even seeing that we had a tree full of cherries. Or at least it wasn't shortly after eating them... this thing is FIRM.

Yes, I went out a day or so after noticing the cherries to pick them and it took me a second to find the tree, because NO CHERRIES. NOT A ONE. It was just a green blob like all the others. Even those that had fallen on the ground were sucked right up. Sigh.

Go Home, Mother Nature. You're Drunk. a.k.a. Sometimes It Snows In May

May 17, 2017

Wore snow boots that day.

View from the top of the deck stairs.

The balsams and probably some arnica.

Our LILACS! I sure hope we don't lose all the blossoms. Sigh.

Tulips aren't supposed to have snow!

Will we get any apples this year?

Oh, little lupine! Stay strong!

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds... because the squirrels were still raising hell.

We both wore flip flops last week.

Last Week of #BitterrootAutumn : The First Big Snow of the Season

Our clothesline snow gauge... NOT the deepest snow around here!

As often seems to be the case, we get the same weather system as our friends & family in the Portland Area, but just several hours later. That seems to be the case with last week's Snowpocalypse. We're already running out of places to pile the plowed snow and winter doesn't even officially start until Wednesday!

But it surrrrrre is pretty. Impressive, too.

Let's have a picnic!

You may have noticed this birdbath in the little video up top, but wait'll ya' get a gander at the other birdbath!

This birdbath is just about buried already! I do not know if they are different heights, but I think they're pretty dang close.

Shoveling the deck like cutting up a big sheet cake at an office party.

Boy, am I glad that I got all (but one) of my holiday packages shipped off on Monday and Tuesday! And all of them (but that one) have arrived, according to My USPS, as of Saturday evening.

UPDATE: Long Winter's Nap

A bad throw of the ball by mama, but easier to find than when it goes in a snow bank! At least for mama.

Now that Delia has fully integrated her fireside dog bed into her lounging and napping routine, it has come to the attention of certain other members of our household as the choice spot for cold mornings. Well, maybe not as choice as the people bed where Delia goes immediately after breakfast, but choice for someone who doesn't go back to bed.

Animal activists, not to worry. Shortly after this photo was taken Eric let her have her bed. She chose to join us in the living room (under blankets) anyway.

What a Difference a "Year" Makes: Fourteen* Months of DIY

My Spring/Summer To-do List still has some things on it. Things that I probably won't even get to this autumn. So, I've been feeling a bit like I failed. But THEN I looked around the place and saw all that we have accomplished in year (and two months)... it's A LOT. So you know that I'm going to list them here to make myself feel good.

1. September 2015. We installed a kitchen island. MOST of this work was done by carpenter extraordinaire, Renaissance Handyman Nick. I just finished it.

2. September 2015. I built that gorgeous wood shed. Well, most if it.

3. Sept 2015 & June 2016. Painted and restrung the clothes line. Also made one end of it into a snow gauge.

4. October 2015. Repainted and replaced the name sign at the bottom of the private road.

5. February through July 2016. Did a major surface remodel of our kitchen. There are many posts about it through those months. In fact most of the posts in those months are of that. And September 2016, refinished the stovepipe.

6. April 2015. Made a few funsies or accessories projects for the kitchen remodel, including this magnetic cap catcher bottle opener, a bag drying rack (that's right, I wash and reuse freezer storage bags), and a paper towel holder.

7. June and August 2016: Painted all the exterior window trim and the balcony door and its trim.

8. July 2016. Rebuilt and refinished the picnic table.

9. July and August 2016. Picked up where I left off with remodeling and redecorating the downstairs bathroom. Still plenty of work left to do, but it is getting there.

10. July 2016. Replaced a few truly rotten deck boards.

11. July and August 2016. Hauled the non-recyclable and non-reusable rubbish left by the last owners to the transfer station. Two trips down, probably at least two more to go. Sigh.

12. August and October* 2016. Finally installed a handrail on our staircase.

13. September and October 2016. Painted front door and new stop & brick moulding for it. Finished new interior door moulding. Renaissance Handyman Nick reset the front and back doors so that it would have enough clearance for us to finally have a door mat inside like civilized folk.

All this while taking care of life's general and typical requirements and events, various creative projects, cancer treatment and end-of-life care for Betty, and Eric getting his publishing deal and all that goes with that. In conclusion: we really kicked some butt!

No wonder I'm tired and feel like I need a break from house projects.

*Well, more like fourteen-and-a-half months. I had expected to get the handrail done by the end of October, but it took until the end of the second week of November.

This & That Projects; Out of Doors, Y'all: 3

A picnic table came with the property, but it's seen better days. The seats and table top were rotty, warped, and splintered in addition to peeling. The whole thing was painted with the same cheap barn-red bulk paint that is on the chicken coop and deck. And since it's coming of in chips and sheets, I can see that they didn't prime or seemingly otherwise prepare the wood. Of course, I didn't get specific before pictures, but here is a photo of the garbage I have collected in the "yard" over the last two-and-a-half summers (yeah... nice) sitting on the top and the boards from the seats after I took them off.

Note the lag screw overkill. So many more opportunities for moisture and rot! Woo.

Legs/trestle was in good-enough shape, just a color that doesn't work of us.

So, I sanded that down to bare wood & bought replacement 2 x 6 lumber for the table top and seat surfaces. And you know that means I got to bust out my Milwaukee 12" compound miter saw! And use a new angle! Thirty-one point six degrees*, baby!

I just used framing lumber, so there were a couple of twisty pieces and there's no disguising that I'm not an experienced woodworker, but DANG if it ain't about a thousand times better! Not splintery! Not creaky! Not pinching! Not "squishy"!

I couldn't wait until the last coat of stain was dry and it was moved into it's position near the corn hole pitch to get a shot, so here is the view from the shop doors.

I bought higher quality exterior wood stain - Benjamin Moore Arborcoat Semi-solid, 1571 - Imperial Gray. The idea was to coordinate with the new exterior window trim paint which coordinates with some of the lichen in our trees. Both colors are in the patio chair backs.

A redo of the top photo just for funsies. Note instead of lag screws, I used deck screws. Wait. Deck screws? Oh, that's right! You can't see them, because I used exterior wood glue to insert wood plugs over them. Do I know that this will work for wood furniture that stays outside all year? I sure don't! But I sure hope it does, because I like the result and it was fun to do.

I added a couple of brackets to the cross brace for added sturdiness. It's not better looking, but it is stronger and it is under the table.

Ahhhhh. I completed it and Eric helped me get it back into its spot before smoke season!

* Why is that a pre-set angle on my beloved compound miter saw? Me asking the question is another indication of my lack of experience and knowledge of woodworking.

Other Projects at the Vast Mountain Estate (VME)

While I am entering Week 12 of the kitchen remodel, Eric has spent time the last few weekends dealing with the pine needles and cones* in the yard. First raking them into piles and then performing the first burning this weekend!

Of course, Betty decided to run through one of the piles, stop in it, then squeal and run. Eric caught her and I ran out with a ice pack and within 6 minutes she was barking insistently for her papa to kick a pine cone for her to chase.

This time of year we see lots of smokey piles around as people are trying to get their yards and properties cleaned up before burning closes for summer. We've got a just few weeks in spring and a few weeks in autumn when open fires are permitted.

Eric has also spent the last few weekends exploring all the options and benefits of his new Weber gas grill! I have spent those same weekends enjoying delicious grilled dinners. And we've been lucky that at least two of the last three weekends have had eat-al-afresco weather!

Even pizza!

* Oh yeah, and some dog poop. There's definitely some dog poop in those piles.

Winter Wonderland: December 2015 Edition

This is the road home. We're a few hundred feet higher.

Who's got two thumbs and is getting proficient at chaining up her tires? This gal!

Bert wearing her new winter accessories.

We've been getting snow in smallish doses over the last couple of weeks and it's accumulating into a decent blanket on the ground. It's fun to get to put the new snow gauge on the clothesline

to use!

About 5 inches.

Just over 6 inches!

Nearly a foot and still coming down when this was taken on Tuesday.

As the chaining up of tires would indication, the snow can make the driveway and road a little slick even with regular plowing and shoveling, but so far it hasn't been too treacherous and it sure is pretty.

Usually you can see the Sapphire Mountain Range across the valley from here, but it's snow clouds all around.

Old fencing rolled up behind the shop looks cool with the snow accumulation.

Before the snow got very deep, I spotted these bird prints under the front deck.

And not one to miss a chance to show off pictures of the woodshed, we've made a noticeable dent in the firewood for the season and can see the back wall.

Sometimes I like to sneak a peek through the brush, but not in a creepy way.

We expect perhaps a few more inches before the end of the week and below freezing temperatures, so it shall no doubt be a white Christmas. Yahoo!