The Root Cellar

I showed a Preview of the hole for the Root Cellar in the last post. Now I am going to give you an In Depth view of what we built. I know I had told people that I was going to put the cellar under the cabin but that changed once we started digging and discovered the conditions of the sub soil. If I had dug a hole big enough under the cabin the cabin would have fallen into it. This soil has no compaction, it is all sand and rocks and caves in very easily.
The first thing I must say about the process of digging the hole got very much easier and I must give out a big Thank You to my neighbor that got a new (used) excavator this summer. Thank You ERIC, you saved me weeks of labor.

How neat is it to live 65 miles from a road and have a neighbor show up to the cabin with this.

Now that the big shovel showed up I got to show you a few more pictures. I had just recently cut down 3 trees that were right next to the cabin on the south side. I was originally going to dig the hole for the cellar on the north side of the cabin but once the trees were down and the yard was cleaned up it just looked like it made a lot more sense to dig on the south side.
This is the side yard the day before the excavator showed up. I had cut the big tree near the back door and the two trees near the fuel oil tank at the front of the cabin. The roots of the front two trees are still under the leaves near the fuel oil tank. The trees here grow very different than in Ohio. The roots of even the biggest trees only go about 2' to 3' down, they just spread out very very wide and thick just under the surface of the forest floor. I had cut a bunch of roots from the back tree and tilled the yard preparing it for grass seed next spring. This was a finished project, just before Eric had offered to bring over his machine. I was going to start hand digging the root cellar hole on the north side with-in the next few days.

It took me about 5 hours to cut and dig the roots from the back tree stump to make the root ball as small as you seen in the last picture.












It took Eric about 20 minutes to dig up both root balls on the front trees and carry them away.















Take a good look at this picture. We are digging exactly where that back tree was at. There is no sign of any roots going out of the hole, they were all on the surface. I had cut the roots to the point that when Eric got to the stump with the excavator he literally just grabbed the top of it and picked it up and carry'd it away.








This is (what was) my groomed side yard that was ready for grass. This was just a couple of hours after Eric showed up.

Now for the Building of the Cellar. I had bought the treated plywood but all other wood had to be made. This picture is of the "Alaska Mill" attachment on my chainsaw. I cut trees, pulled the logs to the yard or milled them where they laid in the forest depending on the situation. You see an example of slabs coming from a log.

In this picture you see logs stacked in the background, slabs of wood leaning up against the front of the wood shed, the table saw and circular saw set up and cut finished boards laying on a rack to the left.


The process; cut the tree trim the branches and take what is usable for firewood, cut the log into required lengths for the length of boards I need to make, decide what thickness of slab is best suited (and needed) to calculate how many boards I can get out of each log then cut the next log as needed, cut the starter flat side on the log using a guide, then Mill the slabs off of each log. Repeat the process for the next log. Now take the slabs, cut the first straight edge on the slab, set the table saw for width of boards and cut the actual boards. Now, sort and stack the boards until all are accumulated to do the job. For this job I had to apply a treatment to a lot of the boards that were going to be in direct contact with the ground. You will see "Green" color on boards in later pictures, this is the preservative.


Now I have made all of the boards and start building the cellar.















Notice the floor is built inside of the walls instead of on top of the walls. This is so the floor pushes out on the walls for counter pressure against the dirt that will be pushing in. The roof trusses are also cut to set on top of the walls but also down inside the walls. The roof trusses are 8" deep and notched down 3" inside the walls to push against wall studs. (I forgot to take a picture of that.)

The box is built and the roof trusses (joist) are in. We are wrapping it with Ice and Water Shield to try to stop moisture penetration.

Eric came back over, (he had left the machine here) and picked the box up and put it in the hole.

I am helping the machine, lol

This sure beat trying to build it down in the hole.

Notice how deep it is below the surface of the ground as it sets now. You will see the mound over it later.

We set it in here then I put a couple of temporary sheets of plywood on the top. Eric back filled a few feet around 3 sides of the box and kept setting dirt on the top that I hand shoveled into the side under the edge of the cabin. Once we have it set and filled so that it won't move I have a lot more work to do.

I had to build the ladder shoot and finish water proofing.

Sure looks pretty in this picture huh!

It rained for 3 days straight after I got it all buried.

I found that it leaked like a sieve around the ladder shoot. I had to dig it back up, wash it down, torch down the water shield and add more, then covered in visqueen and re-buried it.

No more leaks as of yet, but it froze shortly after this.

I have the roof finished over it now.

I have working lights and an outlet in the cellar now.

It has been sub-zero temperatures for several days now and down to as low as -30 below and is currently -15 as I type this. I just went to check the temperature inside the cellar so I could be very accurate. It is 33 degrees in the cellar. I have 150 gallons of water in there and no signs of ice anywhere right now.

It will be interesting to see if we have a refrigerator or a freezer before winter is over.
The cellar is over 42" under ground and no frost has gotten that deep yet, I am not sure where the cold temps are coming from inside. I have some insulation on the two trap doors and the roof inside the ladder shoot. I think I am going to have to add more and maybe keep blankets on top of the inner trap door.

I have more pictures of other projects that I will post in the near future. We have taken out many trees with Eric's help,and I put in a gray water drain system outside. We still have to do the drains system inside plus we are going to try to do the kitchen remodel this winter. I still have not gotten the outhouse built, just using the pit and we have other things to do.

Thanks for visiting, now go build your own root cellar!
See You soon,
Roger

OK, I know its' been a while

Since the last time I posted a lot has taken place as you might guess. I am not going to try to put it all in this post. I am going to start with a quick update of "today" and then go back into September. I will do some catch up with each post for a while.

Today: 11-18-2011 It is currently -16 degrees outside @8:00am, we have about 15" of snow on the ground. The high temperature forecast for the next 7 days is 11 degrees and the low temp forecast is -13. The forecast low for last night was minus -1 and we are minus -16, you can only guess how cold it is going to get. We have virtually no snow in the forecast. The sky has been clear and gorgeous for days and looks to continue.
The river ice stopped on 11-9, I went to the post office on the snowmachine on 11-15. The river is not in good enough condition to go to town comfortably yet and we need more snow to cushion the ice.
Myra and I have been care taking North Woods Lodge since 10-26. This is the same Lodge we took care of for a month last year. The owners son should be back tomorrow and we will be able to go home. I have been going to our cabin almost everyday to do work on one project or another and take care of the cats and keep the power on etc.
Today, life in general is pretty normal and smooth.

Back to September:
Oops, first I guess I should clarify that; Myra made it home! She had her knee surgery the first of September and recovered very well and fast. She got to the cabin on 10-5. Thank you to everyone that sent their thoughts and prayers.

OK, now September. I went Moose hunting for the first time, with a friend of mine that has a cabin down river. The hunt was successful but Nope, it's not my moose. Craig Saunders is my friend that got this one. In this first picture is me and Chad. Chad is a son in law of a brother in law of Craigs' just incase you are keeping track of who is who.
This is Craig with his moose.
Craig taught me how to field dress this large animal. It is similar to but different than White Tail. These things are huge. This is about the smallest Moose that is legal to shot during the "open season" hunt. Its' antlers were only 1/2" above the small limit. Trying to maneuver this big animal to get to where you need to cut is not easy and just the gut sack weights over 100 pounds. I cut the antlers off along with the crown of the head using a chainsaw. Taking the whole head and neck is a 200 lb option if you want to have it mounted but this one obviously was not trophy size.

I moose hunted for a few days with Craig then a couple of days around home but did not have any luck. Craig is a very good "Moose Whisperer" and can call them straight to him. He shot this one about 20' away, he had called it so close. I guess I need some more practice. I will be hunting again in a month or so up in Denali National Park for the "Residence Subsistence Hunt". Any male moose is legal for this hunt it does not half to have 50" antlers like the open season limit. It takes a special permit to do the residence hunt and for the National Park permit you must be a "Remote Resident" to get the permit. The city folk won't get to join us. I am looking foreword to this next hunt. We will be going on snowmachine and will camp in the park for a night or two, until one of gets a moose (I hope).

I finished the wood shed (at least for this year). It has the tarp roof on it that was on the barn that collapsed from the snow last January. It won't be hard to put a permanent metal roof on it when needed in the future but I had the barn roof material so why not use it until it is no good. I did not take a good picture of the shed right after I finished it so this one was taken a couple of weeks ago when in first started snowing.
I did not get the shed full of wood until the day this picture was taken. This day (the picture was taken) was my last day of cutting wood and we got 6" of snow before it stopped. I "Cut" that one close huh.

I harvested the garden in September. We have not planted a garden since our second year of marriage (over 30 yrs ago)and I did not remember a thing. I had never grown potatoes before and I think those buggers grow pretty cool. We got over 60 lbs of potatoes from about 5 cut up old potatoes that has started growing in a storage bin. How cool is that. Then we got Little carrots, Little green onions, cabbage, cauliflower,lettuce, broccoli and a few tomatoes. It was fun eating fresh salads and I had a couple of boiled diners. I enjoyed that a lot. I did not can anything and the root cellar was not done so I am afraid that some of the stuff went to waste but I ate as much of it as I could.

I took the boat out of the water after the moose hunting trip to Craigs' cabin. I think it was Sept. 26th that I got it out of the water. The timing was about perfect for the low water last chance. That was the last time I had been anywhere outside of our little neighborhood until I went on the river this week. I have not been to town since September 9th. We are doing pretty good on supplies all except for dog food. I had #200 lbs of dog food and thought 50lbs a month but I under estimated them eating to put on winter weight. We have ordered some dog food to come out on a transport plane that is bringing items and a person for a lodge. It was supposed to be here Wednesday but the windy weather wouldn't let them fly. Hopefully we get some tomorrow. We are down to about 10 lbs.

October was Really busy, I had a wood shed to fill and holes to dig and a cellar to build and snowmachine's to get ready and a yard to clean up and more.
I have had several "Stupid Chickens" hanging around the cabin this summer. They have been driving the dogs crazy like it is a game. I have several pictures of one that is the exact same location as the one I blew up last year. I chose Not to shoot this one right next to the cabin. This one day in particular a bird hung around all day. The video is after I had taken several pictures, walked it around the cabin and talked to it for better than 10 minutes. It just did not want to leave.
I think this picture is awesome. I hope you are able to click on it and it blows up big enough to see, The Grouse is in the center right of the picture flying and there is a perfect silhouette of it in a shadow on the back wall of this hole. The hole is for the Root Cellar. I will show that in the next blog post. (Take note of the size of the hole. That is a 10' step ladder leaning against the back wall of the hole.)

Thank You for checking back with us on the blog. I have gotten many request to keep it up and "Get Back at It". Sorry it took so long.
It is a privilege to be able to share with you today.
God Bless and Take Care,
Talk to You soon,
Roger

Back to the Fun Stuff

I have been typing about the other part of life most of the summer. You know, the part where we have to deal with work, things breaking, people getting sick, struggles etc, etc. Well, enough is enough. It is time to have some more fun and get on with this life's adventure here in the bush. Myra will be back to join me soon (I Hope).
Several weeks ago I got in some new power inverters to make a better electrical supply system in the cabin. While I was working with the installation I had things setting all over. I guess I put a few things in Isabelle's chair and she refused to let me get in the way of a good nap.

I have had some time to work on the wood shed lately. It is now finished for the year and I have started putting things into it. Next year, or when the "Alaska Shed" roof wears out I will probably put a metal roof on this. It won't take much more work to make that possible.

Now I have put Gas barrels and lawn tools in there and I have metal roofing and wood in the loft. All I need to do is get my wood cut and in there before winter!


I managed to keep the Garden alive for the summer. I have eaten some of the fresh vegetables and that has been a real treat. I have to dig potatoes very soon now and I will finish getting the rest of the "greens" out of there and put to use. We got down to 29degrees the other night and these plants will not take much more of that.


I have also barrowed a little digger from a my fine neighbors and have gotten a new outhouse pit dug. As I was burying the old outhouse pit the motor blew up on the digger, and a new one is on order. It only takes a little Briggs and Stratton 5 hp to run it so it is not terribly expensive.I am not sure What would make me want to replace this beautiful little out house that was here besides the fact that there are no walls the floor is rotten and the pit is full.



This is the floor of the new Outhouse. The white ring is a cut off barrel that will be the "shoot" where the seat will be at. Behind the shoot is a little lift up door that will be outside the back of the outhouse for dumping the honey bucket. This will be built so that when the pit gets full again you just dig a new pit and pull the whole outhouse over to the new pit. There will be no need to build a new outhouse for many years.
Once I get the little digger repaired I am going to dig in the "French Drain" system for the grey water of the cabin and I am going to try to get the "Cold Storage" dug in. Time is beggining to run short before winter gets here. Fall is definitely in the air and the leaves are blowing off of the trees.

I have had to do a bunch of repairs as of late and i still have more to do. It seems that everthing waited until after fishing season. I am not sure if I made it wait to break, I just wasn't using it so it did not break or if God just knew I could not handle any more at that time but; another drive axle broke on an ATV and the second one has a bad U Joint on one axle. The propane refrigerator has stopped working. The big generator has died. The boat took a big drink of water from bad gas and it got all the way into the fuel injection pump
the little digger blew up and I am forgetting something?
I took two ATVs and made one that works. I still need to get some parts before all the used cobbled together stuff falls apart on the one that is working. Tom, our neighbor, gave me another big generator that is broken but in a different area than ours. I will take the two and make a good one of them. The boat was a real challenge but I finally got it running last night about 6:30. I still have not figured out the propane refrigerator. I may end up having to take it out of the wall I built it into and turn it upside down for an hour or two. That is an old fashion fix for this type of fridge but it works most of the time.
Fishing season: What can I say! I fished over 55 days that I documented and I had many many Salmon on my boat.I had over 1000lbs of King salmon come on board, over 500 lbs of Coho salmon and over 200 lbs of rainbow trout. I did not track how much Pink salmon or Chum salmon, Sockeye salmon was over 200 pounds.
The very last fishing trip of the season is when I got a motor full of water and the boat died. That was the first time that ever happened with clients and it was very embarrassing. Thankfully they were great about it and would not even let me row the boat. We never even got out of Fish Lakes Creek and we were able to barrow another boat from a neighbor and finish our trip with very little delay. (Thank You Dana and Deanna).
The last two days of fishing were fairly slow in some ways but very good considering that it was the first week of September and the salmon were supposed to be all gone. We caught about 12 silvers and 8 chums but only 4 fish were keepers as they were too old and degraded to keep most of them. There were lots of Zombie fish swimming around.
You Oughtta see Zombie fish sometime. These salmon all die after spawning you know. They do not eat and they burn all of thier energy just getting to their spawning hole and laying or fertilizing eggs. These fish literally rot on their bones but they keep swimming until they are in an un-believable state of decay. Some literally have skin coming off and holes threw their body. It is really gross but amazing to see the full life cycle.

Hey, I got lots to do and should probably not be sitting here typing, but I was in the mood. I hope you have a great day and Thank You for letting me share some of my adveture with you.

Talk to you soon,
Roger

August 2011 / OMG

I posted at the beginning of the month that I have been busy. I know that one must be careful what they ask for in prayer with God but I did not know talking about being busy could only make you busier. Well, I am not sure if I got busier but my families life certainly did.
The last time I typed an update I was getting ready to fly to Ohio for Mandy's wedding. A world of events have happened since then.
The weeks before and since the wedding went something like this, my days might be off by one but the accounts are all accurate.
On the Tuesday before the wedding Myra's grandmother passed away. She was only a couple of weeks from being 101 years old. Grandma lived a long and wonderful life and was a gift to the world. God bless her and remember all of her family in your prayers. On Wednesday before the wedding Myra's Mom (one day after Grandma) was found on her kitchen floor, unable to get up and disoriented. She was taken to the hospital and admitted for extreme dehydration and other problems. I flew to Ohio for the wedding as planned on Thursday. Needless to say, Myra's life was upside down with grief, concern and joy all at the same time. What a bunch to deal with.
We did all the pre-wedding events and requirements and Myra dealt with her Mom's illness, as she has medical POA for her.
The wedding was awesome. It was outdoors in a park, near a train tracks. We had contingency plans for rain and trains but; the weather was perfect and no trains went by during the ceremony. It was way cool to see my daughter so happy on her day and she is married to a guy I like; how cool is that! I wish them all the happiness and love in the world.
Mandy was married on Saturday, I flew home to Alaska on Sunday. Myra, Mandy and family and other family all went on to Michigan. Grandma was buried on Monday. Myra got on a plane on Tuesday and flew to Florida for her Mom. Myra was supposed to have knee surgery on Wednesday but she postponed it for a couple of weeks. (She is actually in surgery as I type this).
Mom, Myra's mother is not doing very well at all. She was in the hospital for about 10 days and is now in a rehabilitation center. She has a feeding tube, she is down to about 70 pounds and she has a large yet un-determined mass in her lung. Please pray for her comfort and family comfort also, while dealing with Mom's illness.
Myra flew back to Ohio on the 29th and now on the 31st, today, she is having knee surgery. Myra can really use your thoughts and prayers. OMG what a month for her, and here I am in Alaska and she just keeps taking care of things down there while I try to get ready for winter up here.
We are already beginning fall season here. It gets into the 30s at night frequently and leaves are changing on the trees and bushes. Especially on low islands and sunny meadows. The river water level is dropping very fast this week which is signs of things to come. I made my last trip to town yesterday for final fall supplies. I was not going to go to town again after I got back from the wedding but I needed several building supplies to complete some projects for home improvement.
I have completed the wood shed structure but still need to get our wood cut up and split. I dropped all of the trees last year for this years firewood and I sectioned the trees into logs and stacked them all this spring. I thought I would have all firewood prepared by now but I had no idea how busy I would be fishing this summer. I have no complaints but this fall is going to be hugely busy.
I have to cut up, split and stack the firewood. I have materials and a borrowed mini backhoe to put up a new outhouse. I have materials for the cold storage room that we have not gotten built yet and I have all of the plumbing supplies to put in a drain system for all of the gray water drains in the cabin.
Today I am care-taking at Yentna Station Roadhouse for Dan and Jean and this weekend I have fishermen scheduled for a couple of days. This is my last known (scheduled) guide trip of the year. I may still get a few day fishermen fly in for trout fishing but I know nothing fixed right now.
August was slower for guiding than June and July because of the wedding, the flood on the river and I took a week off to fish with friends from the Quad Cities area of Davenport Iowa that flew up and spent a week with me. That was really cool to have friends come up; I leave an open invite to each of you to come visit this great land. Thanks Tom and Gary for coming, and we had a successful week of fishing. The guys took home 68 lbs of fresh salmon fillets. That is the Fillet'd weight of the keepers they caught.
I have some pictures of various things to post but the connection speed here at the Roadhouse is pretty slow, they won't upload so I will add them later, stop back and visit!
Thanks for being here,
It is a pleasure to share,
See Ya
Roger

Holy Cow it has been Busy

Willie on the 4th of July,,, Need I say More!

As you may of guessed by the length of time it has been since I have posted on the blog, I have either been busy or I just got lazy. I would like to tell you that it has been all busy but the truth is I have had time to do a post a few different times. I did not do it because I just could not muster the energy to put into it. That energy was gone from being busy.
It is pouring rain again today and it has rained a lot for the last 8 or 9 days now.
I have fished at least 4 days a week since the beginning of June up until this last week. I was scheduled to fish 5 days this week but we have had serious rains and the river has gone into flood conditions. It has not been good fishing at all this week and there was several trip cancellations this week. I am ok with that. It has given me some time to get caught up around the cabin and to catch my breath.
I have fished with people from several European countries and all over the USA. I have even fished with people from Dayton Ohio (90 miles from North Baltimore). I have learned to fly fish, which I had never done before this year. I now really enjoy fly fishing. I have caught all 5 species of Pacific Salmon and Dolly Varden, Burbot, She Fish and Rainbow Trout this summer.
I have fished with a Fish Wheel for subsistence fishing for our freezer. The fish wheel sank on me when a tree floating down river hooked on the anchor rope and sank it while I was working with it, that was a rush. The fish wheel is basically built like an old paddle wheel only it has chain link baskets that scope the fish out of the water as it rotates. It is built on top of two aluminum boats with the wheel between them. The tree hooked on one of the boats rope and sank one of the two boats and broke one of the fish baskets. It also pushed the rig into the shore and broke the fish cleaning table where I was cleaning fish at the time of the crash. It is a long story about this fish wheel but to sum it all up, I was able to get the boat back up out of the water enough to bail it out and Tom came down with Andy to repair the broken basket. Alls well that ends well right!

I have not accomplished any projects around here because of Fishing and Fixing. As you know I did start on the Wood Shed. I have not gotten it completed yet. I do have the roof rafters started but that is as far as I have got. I did get the main beam up by myself by putting up the to main support columns then strapping a taller log to them and hanging a chain fall from the taller log and hoisting the main beam. Putting up the rafters is not too hard, just time consuming. I have had to cut the trees, peel the bark and do the forming and shaping. I did use a few old rafters from when I tore off the old back porch from the cabin.

I bought a new Much Bigger chain saw so that I can cut boards myself. I have an Alaska Mill that was given to me to use by a neighbor. Now with that mill and my new (Used) 36"long chain saw I can cut some pretty massive logs and boards. I am looking forward to being able to get to work with it more.

I have replaced a CV Joint on one of the ATVs for the first time. That was a learning experience. I had the little generator where out and start blowing oil thru the exhaust. I now have to buy a new generator while I am in town for travel to the wedding.
I have sent the power inverter in for repair and now have ordered a new one because I am having trouble getting the company to honor the warranty on the old one.
I have another sputtering fuel injector on the boat. The fuel injector's are getting frustrating. This is the third failure of one. The fuel up here is hard to keep pure with having it transferred from truck to truck to barrel to pump to can etc. I have a very good fuel filter on the boat but I am thinking about putting on another one in addition.
I have repaired a portable water pump so I can water the garden directly from 50 gallon barrels. I now have several plastic barrels for hauling water. I have been getting 250 gallons at a time for the garden now. Of course I have been getting that one barrel at a time with the ATV.
I have been keeping the garden weeded (and doing a pretty good job of keeping it alive). The Lettuce and Cabbage is heading, the broccoli is broccoling, the cauliflower is blooming, the potatoes have blossomed, the tomatotoes are tomatoeing and the pepper plants look great However they are extremely miniature. The tallest pepper plant is about 5 inches but they look healthy. The onions and carrots look good on the surface and I pulled one carrot to check it. It has a skinny orange thingy on the bottom. I think that is a good sign, don't you?
I have been keeping the cabin clean, the pets alive and most of the house plants look like they will survive my care.
I received a notice from the postmaster that our post office is one of the 3700 post offices expected to be closed in the near future. The local Skwentna Roadhouse is working on becoming a UPS store or something like that so they can continue to receive our mail. It will be more hassle because they are a mile inland with no direct boat access but it is far better than going 63 miles down river. Getting mail may be even more interesting in the near future. If this works out we might even be able to receive ups service, who knows?





Hans and I are having a Very Serious conversation about some recent problems. He keeps trying to explain his side. Look at all these expressions as he is talking to me. The dogs have gotten too used to going fishing with me. Now most mornings when I let them out they take off and make the 2 mile trip to the boat and sit there and wait for me to show up. They did this one day when I was not going fishing and they set there fore over 12 hours before I went to bring them home. I know they were at the boat all day because other people had called me to tell me they were there in the morning and then in the afternoon. One day I did not take them fishing with me, I left them in the cabin all day (it had rained all that day and they make a mess in the boat when it rains). The evening I let them out and they took off. They were not home at bed time and I assumed they were in the boat. I did not check on them. I did not have to fish the next day and the dogs did not come home so I went to the boat that morning. No dogs. I got a call a little while later and found out the dogs had gone to a fishing lodge 7 miles down river, where I fish for frequently. They were waiting for me at the fishing lodge instead of the boat. I now keep Hans tied up unless I am outside. I hope he learns not to run.

I chased a bear off of my boat one morning when I went to the boat to go fishing without the dogs. Look close at this picture and you will still see the wet foot prints from the bear AND the sucker pooped all over the boat. I think I litterally scared the shit out of him. It was a little guy, probably first summer away from Mom. He didn't really hurt anything on the boat he just got into the shore lunch cooler and bit open the shortening bottle and made an oily mess to go along with the poop.
I had a night time door knocker once. As you can see by the foot print on the door, I am glad I did not get up to answer it. It is the only time I have had a bear at the cabin that I know of this year. It knocked over the burning barrel also and spread burned trash around but no other damage. Of course the dogs were sleeping inside that night. The dogs have been doing a good job of keeping them away this year.

I need recipes for cooking Salmon. Please send them on if you have a good one. I have about #100 of fish in the freezer right now and a few more weeks of good fishing after I get home from the wedding.

Speaking of the wedding, one week from today (on August 13th) Mandy and Rick are getting married. I will be in Ohio for just a couple of days for the wedding. I am super excited for them and I wish them all of the luck and love in the world!

Myra was due to come home a week after the wedding but like all plans, they were made by humans and changed by god. Myra had a slip and fall in a grocery store where the floor was wet. As I understand it, she slid under the shopping cart and wedged her knee somehow. She has torn the meniscus and dislocated something around something and the surgeon gets another big house payment. Myra goes in for surgery on 8-18 and then has 4 to 6 weeks of PT before she can come home. Oh Crap, huh..

It has been one heck of a lot of fun but, I miss Myra and the rest of the family.
Thank you for letting me share with you, even if I don't share often enough.
I will try to talk to you soon,
Roger

It's the Little Things!

Remember back in April when I was plaining down a bunch of boards to work on the Cabin? See the large pile of Saw Dust at my feet? We did a little experiment just for Fun.

We kept the Saw Dust piled up to see how long we could make the snow last.

It is now June 30th and there is still snow / ice under the saw dust. This is a real testament to the insulation value of saw dust. We had 2 days over 80 degrees and many days near seventy. We have had rain and wind and rain and rain and rain. We still have snow on the ground in our back yard.

It is the Little things that can keep me entertained.

You know that you have been in the bush a while when: I was setting on the toilet the other night thinking about getting ready for bed when I realized "I still have my revolver and chest holster strapped on" then I thought about the fact that I was setting on a Honey Bucket, not a toilet.

You know that you have been in the bush a while when: I chased a porcupine out of the shop the other day, then I shot it just before it ran under the cabin AND, it did not even cause the dogs to stir!

You know you have been in the bush a while when: I get around other people and I have to consciously think about NOT going pee whenever I feel wherever I feel.

It is the little things that are letting me laugh about myself and this life.

This is a picture of the view out the front of our cabin shortly after we moved in.
This is a view after I had done some clearing work late last summer. You have seen Many pictures of Mountains Sunsets and Scenery thru this clearing as it was left last year.
This is one view of the clearing as I am almost finished with it. I needed some more wood for building the Wood Shed so I decided to take the wood from the front of the property and make this clearing over twice as big.
I still have to clean up 2 birch trees and 1 spruce tree. I will get the spruce today but the birch will wait until next spring for next years wood pile. no sense in doing much with them this year, they need to season for a year anyhow. I will use the spruce for building materials.

This is my "Log Hauler" that I made. This same little "Trailer Frame" converts to a "Barrel Hauler" and a "Flat Bed Trailer". I built one frame and axle with multiple attachments. This Log is 18" x 12'6" and weights probably 500#s.
You can see the beginning of the Wood Shed I am building. No more digging out the Wood Pile just so We can carry wood into the cabin. I will still have to dig steps down into the shed as winter progresses but that's OK.

I have been truly blessed with Good Health and the ability to do the projects around this property. I some times forget that it is a gift from God, just to have the aptitude to be able to do these things.

When my twisted ankle from last year flares up and burns and is very weak when it gets tired, or, I have trouble sleeping due to muscle cramps I do wonder what the heck I am doing here. Then I stop and listen to all of the sounds and feel the wind and appreciate the freedom that I have been able to experience, Or I just go pee right where I am standing and then I know what I am doing here.

To know and appreciate the gift I have received, and continue to receive on a daily bases is still another gift. I see people that I guide or fish around that only get little glimpses of this world and then they dread going back to "Reality". This is my reality, at least for today. A gift and a blessing.

Some day I may return to the other world but I will never be the same person. I miss my family and my good friends but not much else. I have developed a relationship with God here, that I never understood in the concrete world. I have developed an appreciation for The Little Things that I never understood before. The Little Things are not Tap Water and Flush Toilets nor are they Just turning on the Lights or Taking a Shower, Though those little things are nice. Those things are not what makes getting out of bed fun and exciting.

The pursuit of Happiness is a statement I had heard all of my life. What an In-Justice that statement has done to Mankind. To pursue happiness is to chase your shadow, you will never catch it. Stop for a minute and breath. Look around,,, all around yourself,,,, then look down at your shadow. Your shadow is right there, touching you where it originates. You do not have to chase your shadow, it is with you. You do not have to Pursue Happiness, it is with you. God has given it to you if you chose to see it.

I said something to Myra not long ago; I told her I found something here, that I am not sure I can ever leave. I found peace and contentment, I found acceptance and I found happiness. As I type this I am beginning to realize that I would not have to leave that, anymore than I would have to leave my shadow. It can be with me, just as my shadow is, so long as I don't forget to look at it. I have to remember to see The Little Things all around me, no matter where I am.

The "Pursuit of Happiness" can end today for anyone by simply stopping the pursuit and just be happy with today. I woke up, the dirt is still under me not over me, I have conscious thought and the ability to sense gifts of life all around me. The gifts I sense are the things that I choose to sense. If I don't choose to see gifts I will have none. If I choose to see gifts I will have more than I had ever imagined before. (The best Things in Life are Not Things)

Thank You for letting me Share my Gifts with you today.

May you have a Gift filled day! (See your Shadow)

Roger

It's been over a Year

It's been over a year and Jeff still follows the ATV a little too close. It rained the other day so it is a little muddy. I think jeff wanted a mud pack facial.

Shore Lunch for clients. Notice the wine glasses? They had White Wine with their fish that I cooked them. This is how I work today! Ahhhh....

It has been over a year now since we moved into our little cabin in the woods. We have settled into routines on most of the daily and weekly mundane chores. It is no longer a complete thought process to do most things like, "We need power so fill the generator with gas and get it started", or "I would like a drink, is there enough water in the barrel or do I have to go get some?" It is just a normal part of life today, just like if You have to go to the restroom, You get up and walk to the restroom without thinking about having water to flush or capacity to dispose of the waste or a light to see inside the room. We do not have to think about all of those things each time we "use the facility" anymore. It has just become a subconscious thing of daily "Inventory" and just deal with it on a routine bases.

We put in the garden a few weeks ago. All items appear to be doing fairly well except some species of tomatoes. We put in 4 different types of tomatoes and the ones that grow close to the ground are doing ok but the ones that grow tall are not liking the cool evenings and we did not have plastic around here to get them covered. It just did not seem worth a $280 trip to town to buy plastic to cover tomato plants. I don't think we will get (or use) $50 dollars worth of tomatoes if we had a good harvest. I did have a little incident the other night that did not help the garden much. I got home from fishing about 11:00 pm and parked the ATV in front of the workshop like I frequently do. I went in the cabin and did whatever and went to bed. When I got up the next morning I stood at the window stretching and looking out at the mountains when I got this strange feeling that something did not look right. I began looking down into the yard when I realized the ATV was setting in the little valley about 100 feet from where I had parked it. Apparently I did not set the parking brake strong enough and the ATV went for a midnight drive on its own. It decided to take a foray through the garden on its way down the hill. There are a couple recovering potato plants and a dead Sunflower. The Onions, Carrots and Pole Beans all look ok today but time will tell. Ooops.

Un-Like last year, I have fished almost Every Day so far this season. I have only missed about 4 days in over a month. I have fished 13 days with clients (working as a guide) and the rest of the time fishing for pleasure and training. I have to learn all of the "holes" and "techniques" so that I am successful with my clients. Willie has been a Great Mentor and trainer for me. The guy is a Fishing Monster. He is so passionate about fishing that there are nights that he sleeps in his boat so that he is anchored on a good hole before anyone else can get to it. I am not that dedicated to the sport so I must learn several different places to fish so that I can find a good "open" place to fish. I don't fish all day, everyday. I do go early and come home and do chores, or I do chores and go in the evening.

I did go out last evening with Willie and a freind of his. I caught a 23 lb and Ruth caught a 24 lb fish. I got out the coleman stove and shore lunch supplies and I filleted my fish right there on the boat and we had a fish fry for the "nieborhood". There was 12 people fishing in close proximity and I fed all of us with 1/2 of my fish and I brought the other half home to freeze. The weather was beautiful and it was a Great evening. I wish Myra could have been there.

I have had over 50 King Salmon on or to my boat so far this year. The biggest one so far is 39lbs 10oz. I had 4 guys from Switzerland fish with me for 8 days. They were only scheduled for a guide for 2 1/2 days so that I could teach them how and where to go, but we had such a good time they hired me for their whole vacation and we fished together every day. This was a "33 pounder" that the old boy in the light blue jacket caught. When we are going to release a fish we are not allowed to take it out of the water so I have to release it while it is still in the water. That is a challenge with a fish of any size but it gives them a much better chance of survival if you don't net them or remove them from the water.

It is quite the process to catch these fish. We are fishing in fast water along the edges of the Yentna River , where clear water runs into the river from Lake Creek, and it has not blended with the Silt Water of the Yentna. The fish go to this clear water to clean their gills and or start heading up this creek depending on Their final destination. Anyhow; The water is flowing from 5 to 10 miles an hour depending on the day. We Anchor in a "good" fishing hole and put out lures just like you would be trolling in open water. The fast current makes the lures work while we set still. There maybe one to fifteen boats setting beside, behind or in front of us. When we hook a fish the first thing to do is Holler "Fish-On". This puts everyone around us on alert to get there lures out of the water. These fish are so big and powerful that they pull the lures wherever they want and they will tangle every line for one hundred yards in a heartbeat. Everyone starts reeling in their lines and We pull the anchor rope loose off of our boat and start drifting down stream while the guy with the fish on is fighting the fish. Then I start the motor and begin to drive the boat out into the main river and away from all of the other boats. Once we are clear of everyone else and in a safe drift pattern I turn off the motor and raise it out of the water. The guy with the fish on basically fights the fish for all he is worth, the bigger the fish the longer it takes. The 40 pounder took about a mile of drift before we got it next to the boat so I could net it. Netting it is a whole nother experience because we are now out in the Silt water with about two inches of visibility to see the fish, literally. To net the fish is a lesson in watching the line and looking for the dorsal fin, then "Go for it". Once You have a 30 or 40 pound fish in the net on the end of a five foot long handle you have a hole new fight on your hands to get it in the boat. Wow!

Once the fish is in the boat, whack it with a club as soon as possible because it is not happy, and it tares apart and tangles up everything it can by flopping around. Now cut the line to the pole and start driving the boat back to the anchor and get people set back up to fish. Then once everyone is back to fishing, Un-tangle the fish from the net and remove the lure and repair the line that was cut and stringer the fish and wash down the floor of the boat and pray during the process. The prayer is that the next fish comes right After the clean up and re-grouping is done, not before. I have had another fish on the line and had to re-do the driving, drifting process while still removing fish from the net etc. That gets really exciting.

I have had fish take off up river and strip all the line out of the reel quicker than I could start the boat and chase it. That is a bummer when one breaks off. We are fishing with large poles and 40 lb test and 8" long lures with big hooks and we get a hold of fish sometimes that the gear can't handle. The biggest on boated that I have heard of this year is 52 lbs and the largest boated in the area is 70 something. I had a fish on that out witted me, that I never seen but another guide did see as it went by his boat. That guide "with many years experience" told me it was every bit of 60 lbs. We had a great fight for about 10 minutes before Me and the Client made a mistake and put too much pressure on the fish and it straightened the hook and got away. That will make your heart pound for a while!

For a Whole other experience, catch one of these fish when you are by yourself. I have done it many times now and it is still very exciting. Hook the fish, pull the anchor rope loose, start and drive the boat, watch the drift pattern (going into the shore sucks), fight the fish and Net it one handed, then get it in over the edge of the boat... Yee Haa. It is a blast!!!!

These are the 2 egg sacks from 1 36 lb fish. I will cure these and use them for bait for Coho salmon season. ( No Live bait for King Salmon)

I have most of the fire wood grouped near the cabin so I can go out and do a little splitting and stacking at a time. I have started digging the root cellar.

Myra has left for Ohio for 2 months to "help" Mandy get ready for the wedding. I think she just went to be the "Mother in Law" and make sure the future son in law does not like her by wedding time. Mandy gets married August 13th so mark you calender if you want.

The "same" fuel injector went out on the boat motor again. They replaced it under a parts warranty which means I paid labor only. The part was over $450 so at least I did not have to pay for that again.

This is one of the "Cabin Complexes" near our place. Notice the guys mode of transportation to and from his Cabin? I think he is a lawyer.






It has been over a year, And, Life is good today and every day!
Thank You for letting me share this life with you,
God Bless
Roger