Last week Brittany, Blitzen and I went "camping" at the property. Despite the weather guessers forecast of a rainy trip it turned out to be a lovely sunny two days! It was so much awesome seeing the sunset in the evening and being there for it to rise again the next morning. I realized how tiny that trailer is for two people and a large dog. Definitely cramped quarters!
I cooked all our meals on the propane bbq! We had cheese burgers for dinner, eggs for breakfast and spaghetti-o's for lunch! All of which were great meals! We even got a bit of work done. There is a ton of fallen/cut branches laying around on a rocky hill, so we piled it up by the road to pick up with the tractor and trailer.
Guess what! We have two or three barn cats! And I saw them up close! A fuzzy grey cat and a black and white fuzzy cat! Those are some of last spring's kitten! I'm super happy that we have ratters!
Now it is rainy and stormy. And I'm going to be stuck in Citrus Heights for a few weeks. Oh well, I'll be up there permanently soon enough!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Good Food and Good Company
Been in the draft folder for two weeks...oops!
After a month of being stuck at home, I finally was able to go up to the property. Mom and Dad had been up a few times since the last time I went. The electricity and tractor have been long repaired since my last trip. There was cold soda waiting for me and Brittany and that made us very happy! We skipped breakfast and opted for some bbq burgers. Dad went to a local butcher and got some hamburger to bbq. It was local beef and it was amazing! It didn't even have cheese and the burgers were awesome.
As for the work we did. Brittany and I unloaded the utility trailer that was full of horse manure from our stop at SHA. Then the we fixed all the tarps on the ground to finished killing off all the grass so we can plant our orchards. After that the real fun began. Dad used his new torch to start the fire and we had a huge bon fire. We got three nice size piles burned and then cleaned up more from the bottom pasture.
After a month of being stuck at home, I finally was able to go up to the property. Mom and Dad had been up a few times since the last time I went. The electricity and tractor have been long repaired since my last trip. There was cold soda waiting for me and Brittany and that made us very happy! We skipped breakfast and opted for some bbq burgers. Dad went to a local butcher and got some hamburger to bbq. It was local beef and it was amazing! It didn't even have cheese and the burgers were awesome.
As for the work we did. Brittany and I unloaded the utility trailer that was full of horse manure from our stop at SHA. Then the we fixed all the tarps on the ground to finished killing off all the grass so we can plant our orchards. After that the real fun began. Dad used his new torch to start the fire and we had a huge bon fire. We got three nice size piles burned and then cleaned up more from the bottom pasture.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
It Was One of Those Days...
You know those days where nothing goes your way? Today was one of those days. Or it seemed that way.
When we first walked in the door and opened the fridge the light was off. Uh-oh! Something had tripped the line, we reset the plug and everything seemed fine. Then Dad and I riveted the pull start back on to the log splitter and split some logs (that went very good). Then we took the auger bit off the tractor (this didn't go so nicely). One of the bolts was bent and we had to take to forceful persuasion to coax it out. Then the bit itself would not detach. After much more forceful persuasion it finally came off. Not too big of a deal. Then we went down to cut out the last of the brush in one particular area. Chainsaw worked, loaded the trailer, took it up to the firepit and unloaded it. Took a cocktail break and started lunch.
You would think lunch would be easy, considering we were having canned ravioli and spagetti-o's. All you have to do is open the can and heat it up, right? The microwave refused to work. The electricity had shorted out. No real problem, just use the propane BBQ, right? Not so easy. Before the food was warmed we ran out of propane! So now was the time for some American Ingenuity! The old 1970's trailer had two propane tanks we had never touched...now was the time to test them out. One tank was empty, but the other was full! We had a hot lunch!
Now, back to work! Take the tractor back down and finish cutting out that patch of brush. Cut the brush, load the brush, meet you back up at the top! Not so! While heading back up the hill, the tractor just died on us! Seriously! Just died wouldn't do nothin' no more! Call the tractor repair guy, hopefully he can come out soon!
So on to the next project...put the bottom boards on the long side of the pole-barn style pump house. First board was nicely warped. Oh joy! Next boards were nicely straighter. After getting two boards nailed on each of the long sides, we spliced together the warped board and the straighter board on top of it (I neglected to get pictures of it today...will do next week).
While Dad and I were having this lovely day, Mom had a much eaiser and not so disappointing time building a small rock flower bed around two of the crape myrtle trees and working in the crape myrtle grove. I must say that Mom's area looks wonderful.
So in conclusion, we have to have a tractor repair guy come out and an electrician come out in the very near future. But in reality we did get a lot done today, despite the set backs.
When we first walked in the door and opened the fridge the light was off. Uh-oh! Something had tripped the line, we reset the plug and everything seemed fine. Then Dad and I riveted the pull start back on to the log splitter and split some logs (that went very good). Then we took the auger bit off the tractor (this didn't go so nicely). One of the bolts was bent and we had to take to forceful persuasion to coax it out. Then the bit itself would not detach. After much more forceful persuasion it finally came off. Not too big of a deal. Then we went down to cut out the last of the brush in one particular area. Chainsaw worked, loaded the trailer, took it up to the firepit and unloaded it. Took a cocktail break and started lunch.
You would think lunch would be easy, considering we were having canned ravioli and spagetti-o's. All you have to do is open the can and heat it up, right? The microwave refused to work. The electricity had shorted out. No real problem, just use the propane BBQ, right? Not so easy. Before the food was warmed we ran out of propane! So now was the time for some American Ingenuity! The old 1970's trailer had two propane tanks we had never touched...now was the time to test them out. One tank was empty, but the other was full! We had a hot lunch!
Now, back to work! Take the tractor back down and finish cutting out that patch of brush. Cut the brush, load the brush, meet you back up at the top! Not so! While heading back up the hill, the tractor just died on us! Seriously! Just died wouldn't do nothin' no more! Call the tractor repair guy, hopefully he can come out soon!
So on to the next project...put the bottom boards on the long side of the pole-barn style pump house. First board was nicely warped. Oh joy! Next boards were nicely straighter. After getting two boards nailed on each of the long sides, we spliced together the warped board and the straighter board on top of it (I neglected to get pictures of it today...will do next week).
While Dad and I were having this lovely day, Mom had a much eaiser and not so disappointing time building a small rock flower bed around two of the crape myrtle trees and working in the crape myrtle grove. I must say that Mom's area looks wonderful.
So in conclusion, we have to have a tractor repair guy come out and an electrician come out in the very near future. But in reality we did get a lot done today, despite the set backs.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
At The Bon-Fire
This past week or so has been extremely nice and sunny. The ground at Hobble Rock is much more dry and not so slushy in the valley areas. The lack of rain gave us a chance to do a little more work outdoors. Last Saturday, my parents went up to do a little work. Dad brought up some metal pipe that we are going to weld into gates and livestock panels. Mom worked on the rock wall around her crape myrtle grove. Dad hooked up the flat bed trailer to the tractor and drove down to load up all the brush we cut a few months ago and dumped it off by the fire pit.
This past Thursday I went up there with my parents and we had a huge bon-fire! It was amazing! We got all that Dad had brought up from what we cut burned in around an hour. Then we hooked the flat-bed up to the tractor and went down to the bottom of the property to get the random piles of branches that the previous owners had cut and left to rot. We got about three or four piles of those branches burned and saved back some of the big stuff for firewood.
I can definitely say we are not anywhere near done. But what we have done is something. Something that will help us move forward and make this property a home.
This past Thursday I went up there with my parents and we had a huge bon-fire! It was amazing! We got all that Dad had brought up from what we cut burned in around an hour. Then we hooked the flat-bed up to the tractor and went down to the bottom of the property to get the random piles of branches that the previous owners had cut and left to rot. We got about three or four piles of those branches burned and saved back some of the big stuff for firewood.
I can definitely say we are not anywhere near done. But what we have done is something. Something that will help us move forward and make this property a home.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
January Cleaning!
Today was a nice, cold and rainy in Bangor. The rain gave us the opportunity to take some time and really clean up the house/shed. I neglected to take a before picture but it was packed to the brim with "stuff". It really was impossible to walk through the house. Not true now!
Dad and I assembled another metal shelving unit. We put seven shelves on it spaced about a foot apart to accomodate the wood bins we have. After we had the shelf up and the bins in place we started an organizing frenzy! The big plastic storage bin of tools we have was separated and organized - all the hammers are together, the wrenches are by themselves, the welding tools have their own box and so do all our other tools! The hoses were stacked neatly on top of the shelving unit and the old Camp Box just fit on the bottom shelf. I emptied out the wheel barrow that the copper wire was thrown it and put it in the plastic storage bin that used to have our random tools. We dug out a forgotten empty plastic storage bin and put our hoses with holes in it until we need the hoses.
Now that we know what we have and where it is our future projects will be a ton easier! The only thing left to do is label the bins and shelves. Until next time. God Bless!
Dad and I assembled another metal shelving unit. We put seven shelves on it spaced about a foot apart to accomodate the wood bins we have. After we had the shelf up and the bins in place we started an organizing frenzy! The big plastic storage bin of tools we have was separated and organized - all the hammers are together, the wrenches are by themselves, the welding tools have their own box and so do all our other tools! The hoses were stacked neatly on top of the shelving unit and the old Camp Box just fit on the bottom shelf. I emptied out the wheel barrow that the copper wire was thrown it and put it in the plastic storage bin that used to have our random tools. We dug out a forgotten empty plastic storage bin and put our hoses with holes in it until we need the hoses.
Now that we know what we have and where it is our future projects will be a ton easier! The only thing left to do is label the bins and shelves. Until next time. God Bless!
New-To-Us Lumber Rack!
Solar heater
Our trailer all rainproof and winterized!
Our new organized splendor!
Our friendly neighborhood rooster (who seems to have lost his ladies)
Friday, January 7, 2011
Wood Run!
I don't quite know why, but I love going on wood runs. What is a wood run you ask? A wood run is when we (my family) go to get wood to heat our home via our fire-place insert. We used to go up out of Georgetown in the El Dorado National Forest with a wood cutting permit and get wood out of the National Forest. Now our wood comes from our property. Most of the wood we have now is solid oak, ponderosa pine, and madrone.
The wood run was just up to the property, we just split wood from the wood shed, cut long pieces down to size and loaded up the truck with enough wood to suffice us for a couple weeks. In the spring when we start trimming trees we will split and stack the wood to cure for use in the winter.
We did have some trials yesterday, first of all the log splitter had a flat tire (which really wasn't too big a surprise), the guiding plate that guides the splitting blade sheared a bolt off and we had to go to the hardware store to get new bolts, and then we broke the pull start string and had to drill off the cover plate that was rivetted on instead of screwed or bolted. We shall fix everything this week at home and put the log splitter back together next time.
The best part about yesterday was the amazing, pristine, air and sunshine! It never cleared up down in Sacramento but up in Bangor is was a beautiful sunny day! But it was COLD! And another highlight was stopping for breakfast in Marysville at Gary's Place. I got a great plate of french toast and Dad got the ham and egg special which consisted of three plates - a huge-mungous ham steak, a plate of potatoes and eggs and a gi-normous pancake! It provided us with two nice meals that day.
On a not so high note, our cat Hunter has gone missing since early November. There has been a mean raccoon spotted in the area that is killing for fun, not food. But we haven't found a body yet, and I doubt we will. I hope Hunter is just spooked off the property but I doubt it. We still have two kittens, but I think I'll be in the market for some barn cats in the near future.
The wood run was just up to the property, we just split wood from the wood shed, cut long pieces down to size and loaded up the truck with enough wood to suffice us for a couple weeks. In the spring when we start trimming trees we will split and stack the wood to cure for use in the winter.
We did have some trials yesterday, first of all the log splitter had a flat tire (which really wasn't too big a surprise), the guiding plate that guides the splitting blade sheared a bolt off and we had to go to the hardware store to get new bolts, and then we broke the pull start string and had to drill off the cover plate that was rivetted on instead of screwed or bolted. We shall fix everything this week at home and put the log splitter back together next time.
The best part about yesterday was the amazing, pristine, air and sunshine! It never cleared up down in Sacramento but up in Bangor is was a beautiful sunny day! But it was COLD! And another highlight was stopping for breakfast in Marysville at Gary's Place. I got a great plate of french toast and Dad got the ham and egg special which consisted of three plates - a huge-mungous ham steak, a plate of potatoes and eggs and a gi-normous pancake! It provided us with two nice meals that day.
On a not so high note, our cat Hunter has gone missing since early November. There has been a mean raccoon spotted in the area that is killing for fun, not food. But we haven't found a body yet, and I doubt we will. I hope Hunter is just spooked off the property but I doubt it. We still have two kittens, but I think I'll be in the market for some barn cats in the near future.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New Year!
It is the very last evening of 2010. After an evening of reflecting on the past year, I conclude it has been a good one. Not only for me and my family, but for the progress we have made on Hobble Rock Ranch, what we have learned and the experiences we have had.
After almost a month we got back up to the property. It was a beautiful, cold wintery day. We found a huge leak in the trailer, and Dad and I had to tarp it. It actually turned into a comical predicament. The big ladder was at the Citrus Heights house because we had to clean gutters down there and put up Christmas lights, so we only had the small ladder. After a good while of trying to throw the tarp over the trailer without actually getting on top, we had to devise a way of getting me up there. We ended up moving our picnic table up against the trailer and putting the small ladder on top of the table and even that was barely enough to get my hobbit-size self on top of that trailer. But after a little more effort we got the tarp on and tied down. Did I mention the wind was howling against our efforts? I really hope that the tarp holds!
On the way home we stopped at the bridge dividing Butte and Yuba Counties. The nice little stream was a raging water. It was crazy insane!
After almost a month we got back up to the property. It was a beautiful, cold wintery day. We found a huge leak in the trailer, and Dad and I had to tarp it. It actually turned into a comical predicament. The big ladder was at the Citrus Heights house because we had to clean gutters down there and put up Christmas lights, so we only had the small ladder. After a good while of trying to throw the tarp over the trailer without actually getting on top, we had to devise a way of getting me up there. We ended up moving our picnic table up against the trailer and putting the small ladder on top of the table and even that was barely enough to get my hobbit-size self on top of that trailer. But after a little more effort we got the tarp on and tied down. Did I mention the wind was howling against our efforts? I really hope that the tarp holds!
On the way home we stopped at the bridge dividing Butte and Yuba Counties. The nice little stream was a raging water. It was crazy insane!
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