Then: The 3rd Week of June 2008 Now: June 9, 2011

Then: The Third week of June 2008

The snow on the ninth was Winter's last fling.  Now Spring is rapidly moving toward Summer and it is warm enough for me to use the shower.  I set out the solar water bag in the morning and by late afternoon it is nice and hot.  Then I hang it in the camping shower enclosure we bought at Cabella's.  Not that I haven't been washing prior to this, but no showers.  Just a washcloth, soap and a basin of warm water.  But these showers feel so good, and I guess they not only washed away all the sweat and dirt, but some of my common sense as well.  One evening, feeling so clean and languid, I went for a short walk - without my gun - to our north ridge admiring all the flowers, when something moved a few yards in front of me.  A baby bear!  Then mama bear stood up about 20 yards further up the ridge.  And time stood still.  We looked at each other and somehow I had the presence of mind (or stupidity) to actually take her picture.  Then I grabbed my whistle and blew it.  I could almost hear her muttering as she and her cub ran off into the woods, "Well, there goes the neighborhood!"

As they took off in one direction, I took off in the other, and actually arrived back in camp without having to change my underpants.  Needless to say, now I never go anywhere without my .45.

The holes were dug for the water cistern and septic tank this week, and the tanks delivered and set in place.  It took almost an hour for me to lead the truck carrying them up the 3 miles from the gate.  When we arrived, the truck driver could barely get out of the cab as he was shaking so much.  Guess he hadn't been told about that road!  He said he thought for sure he was going to lose one of the tanks several times and go tumbling down the side of the mountain after it.  But now all is well.  The tanks are in the ground and the drain field finished.  The cistern cannot be covered with dirt yet as it has to be connected to the well.

Last year I had done quite a bit of research on wood stoves, and finally decided on a soapstone stove from the Woodstock Soapstone Co., along with a stone hearth for it to sit on.  The soapstone will hold and emit heat long after the fire is out.  I had ordered it in April while staying with my brother, scheduling delivery for June.  This week I got the call advising of its delivery and met the truck at our storage unit.  The stove alone weighs 500 lbs and the hearth another 200!  The driver used a forklift to unload and move it.  I have absolutely no idea how we will get it up the mountain and into the house. . .

Now: June 9, 2011

Yesterday was a typical Seattle day - cold with rain and fog - so we pretty much stayed inside all day.  Got all our maintenance done, and worked on our computers.  Because of my passion for photography, each month I have literally hundreds of pictures to label and sort on my computer, so I worked on those.  I also created a new page entitled, "OTG Equipment and Appliances We Use."  I hope this will be of some use to those of you who are planning to live off the grid.

The rain stopped long enough for us to go on our daily walk after dinner.  It's not a really long walk, but half of it is up hill, as is any walk UP Here.  We walk up to and along the South ridge with a view of the next canyon and the mountains.  Then we walk down to our North ridge with a view of the Columbia River, mountains and the canyon up which our road climbs.  We all enjoy it and the dogs get insist on going even in bad weather.

And, speaking of our dogs, let me tell you about them.  We have two: a female Red Heeler (Australian Cattle Dog) and a male Blue Heeler/Terrier mix.  She is 3 years old and he is 5, both rescued from the Humane Society.  We got our little female in September of 2008 when she was just 4 months old and named her Dinga.  A mix of Aussie and Spanish as she looks like a female Dingo, from which the Australian Cattle Dogs are bred.  In keeping with that international flavor, we gave her a Chinese middle name - Ling.  (Dinga Ling)  We got our little male in June of 2009.  He was already named Jesse, so we gave him the middle name James.  They both weigh between 35-40 lbs, which is just the size we wanted.  This is not the place to have a very small dog because of the eagles, hawks and coyotes.  And with such a small cabin, we had no room for a large dog.  They get along great, and are wonderful companions for us.