Is it really gone?

It’s hard to believe that Labor Day came so quickly. It seems like it was just weeks ago that we were digging the hole for our outhouse on Memorial Day. Yet here we are at the end of summer. The days are getting noticeably shorter, the maples have started to show signs of color, and the air is a bit crisper in the morning.

This trip to Rustic Pines gave us a little extra time to relax as well as get some work done. We try to make it a priority for ourselves to not focus solely on developing the land. Neither of us want to get burned out, and we have such a long way to go for our dream to be realized. I am however looking at the winter as a chance to catch up on work that needs to be done at home. No, not silly things like home maintenance, finishing projects we started before buying the land, or starting new projects to make our house better… who wants to be that responsible? (Please take note of my obvious sarcasm).

On the remaining fall trips, We’ll focus on clearing the site for a larger more adequate “cabin” for us to reside in. After the land is cleared, it will be time to put down a true foundation for our future. We were hoping to have the foundation in by fall, but as life would have it, we’ll have to push it off until the frost is gone next spring. This isn’t such a bad thing, as winter will offer extra time to ensure the design for the “cabin” is what we want and need.

We did accomplish some work this weekend. I set a goal for myself to cut and split more wood for the stove, but when I arrived, it donned on me that I really did need a better place to stack the wood. We have been stacking it on the outside north wall of out tiny cabin, and this presented a few problems. One, the sun never hit the stack. Two, it was right under the eave of the roof, allowing all the rain shed from the roof to pour directly onto the stack. And three, the cabin wall blocked the wind from hitting the stack. All of these things helped to keep the wood wet… wet wood is not what you need for a happy wife when the cabin is cool in the morning. The obvious fix? A crib with a roof.

Thanks to my unique ability to underestimate time, and overestimate material, I had just enough lumber on site to complete the job without a trip to the store. The dog was close at hand to supervise construction, my tools were at the ready, and the weather was great. The only piece of the puzzle was a crisp refreshing beverage. I’d like to say that I was a big boy and went and fetched my own beverage, but truth be told, Katie took a break from forging a new path to the location of our second campsite and brought me my drink… she’s awesome like that.

With occasional assistance from my beautiful bride, it only took a couple of hours to complete. I topped it with left over tin from the cabin roof.

As earlier mentioned, Katie spent the better part of the weekend cutting a new trail to a hill that sits across the pond from our tiny cabin. We identified this hilltop as a great place for a campsite. It’s far enough away from everything to offer a bit of privacy, but close enough to the outhouse to permit an easy midnight trip. Cutting trails is harder work than we figured it would be. Clearing the bigger trees is not too bad… you get a lot of progress for your effort. It’s all the little saplings that make it tough. It’s a time consuming process that involves cutting, bundling, and the dragging bundles out of the woods. The bundles are harder to move than the logs due to their length. With a tree, you cut the trunk and branches into manageable chunks, where as the saplings you leave full length so you can bundle them. Katie has worked diligently clearing trails, and with each armload of brush, comes the satisfaction of seeing our dream take shape.

Saturday evening found us enjoying a little time with our neighbors Scott & Michelle. We hadn’t seen them since Memorial Day, and they were interested to hear about our troubles encountered on Independence Day. After drinks and conversation, Katie and I retired to the cabin for a great dinner and relaxing under the stars.

We had a bit of a conundrum on Sunday, as Katie really wanted to go fishing. Of the two of us, she’s the sportsmen when it comes to fish. I’ve lived a life full of disappointment on the water. If I’m fishing, they aren’t biting. If the fish are biting, I’m usually plagued with equipment failure. So naturally, it can be difficult for Katie to get me to pick up a fishing pole.

On a previous weekend, my nephew Curt and I had spent the weekend sighting in the deer rifles and doing a little plinking. We also decided to hop on the ATV and head out on the trails for a while just to look around. About five miles east of Rustic Pines, the ATV trail climbs a hill, and crosses an active railroad. Also crossing deep below the intersection, is a six foot diameter culvert which carries a brook from one side to the other. We stopped at the crossing to take in the vast view that the elevation offered. With the ATV off, I was able to hear the rush and gurgle of water and I had to investigate. It was about a seventy foot drop down a rather steep hill, but Curt and I managed to make the climb down uninjured. There, hidden in the trees, was the mouth of the culvert, spilling water into a good sized pool before disappearing into the thick forest. Being a child at heart, the first thing I did was throw something into the water… I think it might have been pine needles picked from a branch. The water instantly broiled with the activities of hungry fish! I thought “this is where I’m taking Katie to fish”. I had visions of a fine trout dinner on Sunday evening.

Our problem was that neither of us had a fishing license. My conundrum was part of me thought why spend the huge amount of money on a license just for a chance to catch a fish… on the other hand, with my luck, I’d have a banner day only to be caught by the warden and lose not only my gear and ATV, but a lot of money in fines and bail. So with that, Katie, me, and the dog, headed in to town to ask if it pleased the crown if we might withdraw sustenance from the crown’s waterway.

$56.00 freaking bucks for a family license with trout stamps… at least now I know if I need to mail a fish, the postage is covered…

We returned to Rustic Pines, loaded up the ATV, put the dog in the cabin (under great protest from the dog), and headed off to go fish. We got to our spot, baited our lines… and nothing! My luck was in force. We fished for more than an hour, going through the usual routine of trying different baits until despair set in, and then packed up to leave.

On our way back, I pulled off to the side of the trail to check a marsh that had some open water. I was a desperate man in search of a happy wife… I needed to find fish! Thankfully, heaven heard my soul cry out and provided us with a distraction.

As I was standing at water’s edge, Katie called out from the back of the ATV, “Wow! It’s a whole caravan!” ATV after ATV came rolling by, headed in the general direction of Rustic Pines. I watched as the machines rumbled by, but the fifth one caught my eye. It wasn’t the ATV that I noticed, but rather the haircut of the driver. I remember thinking “man, that’s a good looking flat top…”. I know, it’s weird, but I’ve worn my hair that way for years, so I tend to notice them. As my eyes moved from the hair to the face it was attached to, I thought “I know that guy!” Katie was startled a bit when I hollered his name as loud as I could while simultaneously jumping on our ATV to try and catch up. His rider had heard me call his name, and got him to stop. As I pulled along side, his eyes were searching for recognition. After a moment, his scrutinizing gaze gave way to a smile and a loud “well you son of a bitch!”

We followed Jeff back to the lake place and chatted for a bit as they cleaned up after their long trail ride. We invited Jeff and his girlfriend over to see our place and enjoy a camp fire that night.

It had been two years since Katie and I had seen Jeff at a funeral for a friend who had served with Jeff and I in Iraq in 2006. In true form for military brothers, we hadn’t talked in quite a while, and just picked up where we left off, swapping lies, drinking beers, and remembering the old days. My failed fishing trip resulted in an awesome catch after all. We ended the evening fireside, catching up on each other’s lives and looking to the future.

One event of note that occurred between when we left Jeff’s, and when they arrived at our place, involved the lightning fast Beagle and a bird. Katie and I decided to hop on the ATV and head up to Fire Tower Hill, which I should rename “Cell Signal Slope”, because it’s the only place you get a strong enough signal to really use a phone. We wanted to send a photo, and check the weather to see what was moving in. The dog loves to run ahead, behind, and next to the ATV when we head up the hill. She stays close, probably too close for Katie’s nerves, but I haven’t run over her yet. I mean the dog… or Katie for that matter. As we rounded the curve, Sami was running on our right side about as fast as a beagle could go, when I was surprised by a large grouse crossing from lower left to upper right, right in front of my face! I hit the brakes quickly to avoid a mouth full of feathers… but Sami sped up, and got exactly that. There were two birds that we flushed! One got away, The other got the Beagle! Katie’s initial reaction was panic because she didn’t know what the dog had gotten a hold of, but after the bird was dispatched, and she realized what the dog had done, she was very proud. As soon as we got back, the bird was breasted out, the meat seasoned and placed on the grill with the burgers we had planned to eat for dinner. I had started the grill before we left, so from capture to consumption is was less than thirty minutes. It doesn’t get much fresher than that. Katie exclaimed with her first bite of grouse, “It tastes just like chicken!” And yes, the dog got her fair share as well. About damn time she starts pitching in…

A storm arrived late Sunday night, and with it, the promise that winter is coming soon. The wind blew horribly strong… which reminded me that when I built the screen porch, I forgot to reinstall the ridge cap on the metal roof… it made an awful sound when it came crashing down next to the ATV. I woke up on Labor Day, to a chill in the air, and a request for a fire in the stove from my wife.

We spent the day completing tasks we had planned on. I was able to caulk the trim around the windows, cut, split, and stack wood, get some tar paper on the outhouse, and Katie made great headway on cutting the trail to campsite number two.

One thing I hadn’t mentioned, mainly because I didn’t miss them, were the bugs. In fact, the only bugs I really took note of, were dragonflies. Katie’s father is a bit of a dragonfly expert, and I am hoping that the dragonflies will still be around when he comes up later this month. I snapped a photo or two and sent them to Dave.

Katie captured some great fall photos (shown in the slide show below) Take a minute to look at them, she’s really becoming quite the nature photographer! Click on any photo to bring up a larger image.