Recent photos of the cabin

I think most of these were taken last October November.

A little rough on the outside. 

Much nicer on the inside.   

And most importantly...

Anyone who knows me knows that I've been aching for hunting season in Oklahoma. That hunting season starts in about 2 hours. I have a bear tag and hope my bears still coming into the deer stand. I cited in the crossbow today not a bad grouping!

That's three, Robin Hood style!  I broke one of the knohs with the next bolt. ..

To rage broad heads and a dirt diver to unload the bow. 

Up on the roof. ..

Just some quick pictures of what's on the roof. A hodge podge of miscellaneous solar panels and five different sizes of mounting brackets. But I can definitely work with what's here and get my panels mounted.

I can use the old panels to power auxiliary water systems and as back up when needed. 

Getting ready for solar

I ordered batteries today, should have them Thursday.  The battery company is giving me core credit on all the old batteries, which turns out to be a very big savings since I'm cashing in 17 batteries and buying 8.

Took lots of pictures in hopes of remembering how to put it all back together.



I had planned on lifting thebatteries straight up and out of the battery box, but it short is I am, it was going to be all upper body strength mostly shoulders, and lifting batteries as high as my head. I didn't get very far with that plan.

So once again stupidity beat out brute force.  I removed 30 odd screws to remove one of the panels from the box, only to find it was glued in place. That is the best built battery box on the planet.  So the stupidity part kicked in and I cut a little doggie door in the box. I could drag each battery to the end of the box through the hole and out to the door of the shed.  By the look of the marks on the floor I wasn't the first one to drag these batteries in and out.

The little trailer is maxed out at 1350 pounds which is just 10 batteries.  I'll have to make two trips down the hill on Thursday to swap these batteries for new ones.

How big is the bear?

These pictures were taken by the trail cam, stations at the same point for both pictures. I put the two pictures side by sideto get an idea of how big the bear is. You can see we're both standing at the same rock, but he is a little closer to the camera. Any guesses?

he should taste awfully sweet with all the corn he's been eating.

The simple task...

Yesterday afternoon I was a little sore and grumpy, and decided to do something that would be easy. I would unload the solar panels from the truck into the shed.

That however, sent me to the task of cleaning out the shed. I have yet to find anything here that doesn't require brute force and stupidity to get it done. The good news is what I lack in brute force, I greatly overcompensate with stupidity.

Oh yes, there will be a bonfire.  The first load of mouse-turd covered furniture on its way to the fire pit.

But the shed is clean, and a solar panels are tucked away nicely. Today I work on pulling the old batteries out of the other shed, and maybe cleaning up that mess a bit too. New batteries come Thursday, yea!

17 batteries going out, 8 batteries coming in. At 125 pounds each I hope this creatine really kicks in.

Movies I've Watched So Far

Killing them Softy
   Imagine the Soprano's with less tact and pazaz. Worth noting, well known wise guy gets sweet slo-mo hit.

Stoker
  Weird girl grows up to learn she's an even weirder woman.

Pain and Gain
  True story of idiots who commit kidnapping and murder.  Good performance form Tony Schalube (sp).

Awake
  Elaborate murder plot unfolds while a patient is under anesthesia.  He can hear everything, but can't do anything about it. A movie that'll leave you thinking "what a bunch of dicks".

Assassins Bullet
  Meh, worth watching.  Some twists, but mostly predictable. Wish it were true!

Pusher
  British movie with unwinable Quadrafinia type ending.

Upstream Color
  Uuuuuugh...  Canadian art film with difficult-to-connect sci-fi plot.  Lots of droning music and montage-like boring artsy footage.   Let's hope someone with a good B-movie mentality remakes this one. It has potential.

Meskada
   Who done it cop movie based in a rural Montana county.  Seemed more like a pilot than a movie.

Furious 6
   Wow, Vin Diesel looks like a squirt next to The friggin Rock huh?

Man of Steel
   Reasonably good retelling of the super man story.

Mud
   Busy movie, but good. At least its very original plot.  A little too feel-good-coming-of-age.

Cosmopolis
   I started this movie several times, but it drones on with such lifeless drivel, it's near impossible to stick with it. Ugh, Cronenberg, I should have known. Closer to punishment than entertainment.

Franklin (sp)

"bink" the sound you don't want to hear

Went out a couple nights ago to turn off the genny, then walked around to the back side of the shed to check the propane level in the tank. It was about 10 pm.

Then "bink" the bulb in the 18v flashlight blew.

It took a second to sink in. Wow, living in the city all these years, I forgot what DARK was. No lights in the cabin, no residual light from anywhere. I couldn't see the shed - and it was 3 feet away!

D d d d daaarrrrk...

So yesterday after getting back from Durant and getting my bear tag in Talihina, I made the trip to Poteau and found new bulbs. I just couldn't bring myself to sit here in complete darkness.

water and power, a slow start

Drove to Durant yesterday in the rain and picked up solar panels.

I had been working with some folks in Kansas to design and install a new solar power system. Out of the blue they've come back to me with some ridiculous pricing, so it looks like I'll be knocking this one out on my own.

The whole solar industry seems to be flakes and schysters. The first group I was working with put me on a wait list. Then called 15 minutes before they were to arrive and said they couldn't make it. (Sun City Solar)

The Kohler service company in Tulsa(Clifford Power Systems) put me off for weeks to come out and do a top down service on the big generator.   They wouldn't give me prices, but finally set up an appointment. No show, no call, no surprise.

Steel roofing guy - so I can set up a catchment system - vanished.

So I'll do what I can on my own. Set up a well pump, tank, and toilet flushing system. See if I can find some videos of solar installs, and get it done.

A full day of heavy rain

Wasn't able to get a time lapse of the clouds rolling by this morning. It was very cool in real time.

Ever wonder where clouds come from?

They come from Oklahoma. After the rain, it all just wafts up from the forest. ..

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Most days I'm only eating one meal, I think I've just been too busy to get hungry. I'm sure I haven't lost any weight or anything.

Yup, SPAM. 

Cleaning up

Spent a couple days last week cutting small trees and branches to help clear the view from the living room. Today was the fun part, hauling all that brush to a place where I can burn it later.

Three trailer loads and four dragged loads of bigger stuff. 

 The little truck gets worked pretty hard.

I'm sure this is too much to burn all at once.




Still a couple trailer loads I didn't bring up, and plenty more to cut.

Pics of the cabin 15 years ago

I know I haven't posted pics of the cabin NOW, but I have to try to upload everything I can while the power is on.   Will get some up soon. ..

We were SHOCKED when we saw these. I can't believe it's the same place I'm sitting in right now. 

We have grapes

Concord grapes growing on the edge of the deer pond.   I smelled them before I saw them.  They are past their prime for this year, but I'll remember for next season.

WFWF BABY!!!

That's World Refrigerator Wrestling Federation for the uninitiated.

It's the new kid on the block "Eazy Freeze" taking on the long time champ "Servel" and the appliance mangler Jon "Grizz" Hungryguy.

In the preliminary qualifier, Grizz needs to strap down the new box and get it up the hill in one piece. One good ding and the Eazy Freeze becomes an overpriced coffin, leaking toxic ammonia and bromide.

The Raider was overheated due to the ridiculous slow pace of the climb. But it'll live to climb another day.

Then the real wrestling begins!

Ok, enough of that. I'll be sore tomorrow, but the fridge is getting cold.

Awwwww...

Ania hits the sack.

Poor little thing, she's all tuckered out. 

Bear Video from This Morning - and BACON

Our protagonist discovers bacon flavored corn...  BACON!

Chilly Mornings, Cool Days

After weeks of crazy heat, and a month of no rain - Fall is here in a big way. Mornings are below 60, I'll have to think about firing up the heater in the next few days.

I got to talk to my daughter and grandson on skype yesterday, and talk to Sherri via video on we chat. Otherwise, its crazy quiet here. 

I picked up another 200 gallons of water, which pretty much maxed out the Nissan. It was still safe, but at the limit of safety for me. 

Still trying to finish up the food before it goes bad. Big pile of bacon and eggs.   I mixed the bacon grease with 2 gallons of corn and stirred it up. Then left it out for the bear. 

I'm really not willing to bring in five hundred pounds of food a week for the bear. But I think if I leave him something every couple days to keep him interested he'll stick around. I've done corn mixed with honey, and put out some old bread that had dried up also with honey, and now the bacon flavored corn. I think he's eating better than most of us.

Entertainment, what to do when you don't want to do anything.

Believe it or not, there's a low level of mental exhaustion in pushing yourself to do things you don't absolutely have to do.

I scoured the internet and made over 30 phone calls to get the information I needed and order a new refrigerator. I had 9 calls back and forth with the guy who delivered the hot water heater.  I had to decide - $1300 on demand hot water heater that will save us propane in the long run - or $350 conventional system that saves money now. [But I digress... ]

I know I know... working people do all this and more every day - usually for no real personal pay off.

But I don't actually have to do this stuff. If I sit on my butt and do nothing - the world still turns. So there's this goofy leisurely discipline, like trying to get yourself out of bed on a Saturday morning when you know you're just going to migrate to the sofa and watch TV.

Anyway, so yesterday I did mostly nothing. And I'm pretty damn good at it.

My evening entertainment is usually centered on the Galaxy tablet and the phone. The tablet is great for movies, tv shows, and a couple of games. I transfer stuff from the hard drives when the power is on, and the tablet and laptop work great when the power is off.

With the phone I try not to run the battery all the way down, but usually do (I managed to wipe it out every day in Colorado too).  But that's what I use to write all the blog entries and take all the photos. So it rarely makes it through the day without some additional charging.

If the genny is on, I'm charging. If I'm driving the Nissan, I'm charging.

I did figure out today that the laptop is good for loading large numbers of pictures - like from the trail cam.

So for those times I'm just too lazy to do something - I've pretty much got tv and Internet replaced.

Once we have ongoing power, we'll have the net 24/7 (well, maybe 6/7, and that will enhance the experience.

Will try to get in the habit of doing something productive in the house every evening, but no promises.

One More for now - More recent Bear Pics

I have my camera set on video, I'll have to see if I can post or at least link to video here later.

 You can almost set your clock by this guy - swinging through to get a drink every 12 hours or so.

Walks through at 7:20 pm...

 Comes back from the pond 20 to 30 minutes later and hangs out at the stand...

 He slept there from about 8pm to 11:30 pm

 Got another drink and came back through...

And 12 hours later going for his morning drink again...

...being this predictable is just begging me to go get a bear tag.

More cam pics - other than bear...

 Spider on the lense

 I a million coon pics, but this one's an albino - I'll try to get him during trapping season.

 Who's friggin' DOGS are these?

 A little heartbreaking, but turkey only came in for 20 minutes on ONE day that the stand was set.  They were 2 hours after, and two hours before the bear.