Little Truck

It's hard to believe it, but the little truck survived the fire on the  mountain.

Really hard to believe.

Why?  The flames came right up to the truck.  The grass next to the tires was burned, one of the tail lights was just a little bit melted.  But the truck was untouched.

I had left a bag and a half of corn in the truck two years ago.  That was a mistake.  Inside of the truck was nothing but moldy corn and mouse crap.  A year ago they hadn't found their way in, but since then they've owned it. 

Dusted off the driver's seat and tried to turn it over - no go.  Lifted the hood.

Yeah, not ready for what was waiting for me.

Every inch under the hood was packed - I mean PACKED - with rat's nest.   Including a nursing female with two youngins "attached" to her.  She looked at me for a second and jumped down through a hole and disappeared - youngins and all.

I tied a shirt around my head to help filter the dust, and proceeded to pull a couple BUSHELS of rats nest out.

Impressive caches of corn, acorns, and mushrooms.  The mushrooms had done their thing and there were huge blooms of fruit that had grown out and dried up.  Pretty sure they were "those kinds of mushrooms" but who the heck was going to eat them covered in "rat". 

Got Sherri to help pull the little truck out from the carport with the Nissan, threw the jumper cables on, and it fired right up.

It's important to state that after seeing how awful the interior of the truck was, and the horrible mess under the hood.  I honestly knew that I did not deserve such an awesome truck. 

Maybe a testament to Japanese engineering, or just proof that it's far better to be lucky than good.  No headlights or taillights, but running like a champ.  We packed up and took off for the Lake House 100 miles away.

Gotta get back before dark!
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Over the next couple days I washed the dust and ashes off the truck - and the bear tracks and nose prints that it had accumulated since the fire. 

Vacuumed some/most of the rotten corn and mouse crap.  Replaced fuses, got the tire pressure right (all were about 10 lbs low), and did my best to finish digging out the mushrooms and rat collections. 

The vents still have plenty of rat in them - maybe even actual rats - I'm not sure.  It really needs to be pressure washed INSIDE and wet-vac'd out - and probably have a vacuum hose jammed down into the vent system.  

Maybe I'll get to that, maybe not. 

Day one.

So the schedule for day one on the mountain:

Meet a potential contractor in Red Oak and get some ideas for a new cabin.

Get a dozer guy up there for quotes on
1. Scraping the old cabin
2. Making the deer pond bigger
3. Fixing the damn at the quarry pond (so we can rename it "catfish alley".
4. Get our road cleaned up so we can get building materials up the hill.

Determine the status of the electrical system.

See if the little truck will run. 

Try not to cry like a little girl.

Almost a year later

We're back at the lake house for the first time since November last year. 

The place is in great shape. Upon arrival we dusted, swept, and vacuumed the place and it's really pretty good. Most of the dishes and silverware were packed away in plastic totes, so it was a quick start up.

It's Oklahoma after all, there's always bugs - but almost none in the house this time.  Some mouse crap, but nothing we can't clean up and take care of.

Tomorrow we're heading to "Sherriland".  I have to keep biting my tongue to stop from saying "the cabin" - yeah, 'cause uh - that ain't there.

Will meet with the bulldozer guy and get a price and a time frame for putting him to work.  The thinking is that I'll have him scrape the old cabin site (to prep for the new cabin site).  Maybe push the whole pile off the hill and bury it in the empty pond.  

Along with that - clean up our road, fix the damn in the quarry pond (big job), and maybe make the deer pond bigger. We'll see.

I also have a contractor coming out to talk about what he can do to get started on the new place.  In a perfect world I'd like  to get the footers dug and poured, a slab poured, and concrete blocks delivered.  Then I can work on stacking at my leisure.

Mmm.

What will I dream of now?

More post-fire pics

"Gone."

Oklahomaness

Day one back at the Lake House. 

First of all, make a note that making the drive on a Sunday is the way to go.  If you get as frustrated as I do at big rigs blocking the highway, travel on Sundays.

Upon arrival, the house is shockingly clean compared to when we came back in June.   Livable even.

Dug out an old Serequel, really wanted to get a good night's sleep.  Cut it in half and set off on my journey.

Anyone who knows me,  also knows sleep and I have never been friends.  Back when I was working, the full dose barely helped.  I never thought I'd say it - but "Wow, this stuff is strong."

Could hardly drag my ass out of bed at noon.  Three double coffees later, I'm just shaking off the cobwebs.

Something about being here just makes me feel lazy.  I could plant myself in this chair for a few days easy.

Dark here today - but surprisingly NOT raining.   Need to get off my ass and knock down some weeds.  Also got a broken window to contend with here. 

Then get up to the cabin and get some real work done.

I miss Oklahoma

I'm having a lot of fun this summer in Colorado. It's great to be around friends, enjoy our big comfortable house, and have been playing with a band too.

But I miss Oklahoma.

Hunting season is coming.

Never a lazy moment

For all the "peacefulness" at the cabin, there sure seems to be a lot of work to do.
I got one coat of paint on the main gate. Not perfect, but better.  Will hit it again in the fall.

Weed whacked and sprayed in preparation for doing a turnip plot in September.  Lots of weed whacking and spraying for bugs around the cabin. 

We finally got our first visitors in Oklahoma, which was really great.  But my poor wife did little more than clean house and serve as bug bait!  After 6 months both the cabin and the lake house were dirty, dusty, and in need of about 3 days of house work. -oh, and three days of yard work for me (each). 

Quick visit to the Cabin in June

I wanted to get up to the cabin and see how things are going without me.  It's been a full 6 months since we left Oklahoma for China. I really didn't know what to expect.

The good news: solar power system and electric were in perfect condition. I topped off the batteries and we should be in good shape upon our return in the fall.

Water is OK. But having trouble getting enough pressure in the system.  Seems like the pump is holding its prime, not sure what's happening there.

Still amazingly peaceful there...

AmazingSportsman.com or BUST

Have put off the return to Oklahoma for now - maybe for the whole summer.  I decided "a little project" would do me good and jumped into AmazingSportsman.com with some kind of plan.  Never having run an ecommerce website - or any website - ever...  ...yeah, there's been a lot that I didn't know while getting into this.  As I've explained to a dozen tech support guys...  "I didn't know what I didn't know."

But kick-ass internet is a MUST while putting in the legwork on the site.  So Oklahoma is off the table for now.

Still hoping to make it out before turkey season is over, but no promises.