Liquid Propane

Having a wood-burning stove or fireplace was high on my wish list for a vacation home.  My rationale was, if I am spending the winter in a remote location, I would prefer the safety of a renewable and sustainable source of heat, in case of a power outage, and especially in these times of economic uncertainty.

As it turns out, our place does not have a wood burner, but does have a liquid propane fireplace to supplement the electric heat pump.  (Alternately, the electrical panel is configured to use a generator, if and when we get one.)

While propane is not forever renewable or sustainable, it may satisfy our needs, and it does offer some advantages over wood.  The system has a 250 gallon capacity, so it is not likely to run out without warning.  In case of a blackout we would have days if not weeks to come up with another heat source.  Propane is delivered more easily than firewood which has to be sourced, cut, dried and carried.  As a bonus, the same system runs an instant hot-water heater.  (And the fireplace has a remote control.)

Last week we refilled the tank for about $3 per gallon.  It took seventy gallons, and we have begun to monitor our usage as the seasons turn cooler.

Grandma and Grandpa visited this weekend, bringing along my Uncle and Aunt with them.  (Uncle Calvin headed straight from the car to the river, barely noticing the family and house along the way.)

Mommy enjoyed reading, Calvin enjoyed kayaking, Grandpa enjoyed fishing, and everybody enjoyed the $0.69 pot pies from Sav-A-Lot.  The kids took their grandparents down the river for a short rafting trip.  The water was cold, but not cold enough to keep a couple of us from continuing on down the river a bit.  Grandpa spent the better part of the day rigging up a pulley system to deliver his bags from the driveway up to the deck.  I shucked some walnuts in the dark resulting in severe hand stains.  Oh, and one of the adirondack chairs collapsed and had to be sacrificed to the fire ring.

DSL and Fried Green Tomatoes

Somehow subconsciously I left my work credentials at our vacation home this weekend.  Of course this gave me a perfect excuse to return and "work from home" at the cabin on Tuesday.  The DSL Internet connection was installed last week but had a minor connectivity issue.  To my amazement, the telephone guy met me here after work to resolve it.  This is my first blog post from on site.

With the Internet connection established, my attention turned to eating dinner.  Thankfully September is the time of year that many amateur farmers are discouraged by all the green tomatoes that will surely die on the vine with onset of cooler temperatures.  Being from the south I am eager to put those babies to work!  Tonight I scored a lovely organic tomato of the green variety from our neighbor, Nick.  Dredge in beaten egg and cracker crumbs--tonight I used rye crackers and corn flakes--and fry in bacon grease.  (I had to use up the bacon.)  As Alton Brown would call it: Good eats!

As much fun as it is bach'n it for a night, I miss the family.  Which is a good sign.  Miss you guys!

Pictured above, Cacapon River from Power House Road. 

River Chub

The river chub and fall fish are two of the larges species of minnows.  Although the two look very similar, I think the river chub was the first fish I caught on the river, above.

Most fisherman say the chub is not suitable for the table, but we enjoyed this fish pan-fried in bacon grease with a dash of Chinese cooking wine.

We have enjoyed too a couple of small-mouth bass.  At least that is what I think they were.  All were caught on Rapalla lures.

Four Feet

Following Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, the river was up to six feet this week as reported by www.CacaponInstitute.org.  Thanks, Nick, for sharing the link.

By our visit Saturday the river had settled down to four feet, but was still daunting when compared to its serene clarity just one week before.  The water temperature changed too, dropping almost ten degrees to around 70 degrees F.  It is obvious now why we had been warned of the potential danger posed to the unsuspecting.  Nevertheless, we could not spend another beautiful weekend by the water without unleashing the inner-tubes.

The longer of two trips on the first day took us from the Low Water Bridge back home in just over an hour.  The same route the week before took over two and a half hours!

Joining us for the adventure was our guest, Paul, who fared well for his first time in a kayak.  The trip was not without a reasonable amount of peril, however.  One child left at home his life-jacket, causing  Paul to nobly give up his.  The raging river managed to capsize the kayak, pinning Paul to a tree at the put in.  Five minutes downstream the turbulence of a man-made shelf attempted to swallow the boys' rubber boat, resulting in their father losing his car keys during the rescue.  If asked, the onlooking walnut trees would probably have described the end as a sort of crash landing given that the kayak capsized again and we overshot the take out by about 200 feet.  But fortune was ours, no one was injured, and a good time was had by all.  We even recovered the car keys floating along nearby in their protective plastic baggie.  (We had overshot the take out on the day's first trip, but apparently had not learned anything from it.)

Momma would join us later that day after working a few extra hours to help pay for her vacation home.  She accompanied us for the final river trip, a quick jaunt from the common area to home.  At the put in we met Evelyn, a neighbor who enjoys bird-watching and lives "at a fork in the road" nearby.  Chatting with her gave me chance to adjust to the chilly water once again.

It was possibly the biggest weekend of cooking yet: egg sandwiches, a pair of roasted chickens, Daddy's Mean Bean Soup, cheeseburgers, chicken soup, pasta salad, and freshly baked bread.  Oh, yeah, and one more pan-fried river fish, probably a bass.  Naturally the kids tried to talk us into keeping the fish as a pet before their father decapitated and disemboweled it.

Pictured above, like most normal boys their age, our kids enjoy frog catching and reading Harry Potter, respectively.  The younger one sports a shiner self-inflicted by a mean old armchair.

Labor Day Weekend

My wife's mother and sister joined her for a ladies' retreat this weekend.  The kids enjoyed two days of tubing on the river, despite the occassional rain shower.  In other adventures, our youngest son claimed to have been "bitten by a fish" although his parents were a bit sceptical.  The same day, mommy encountered a black snake with yellow stipes coiled and ready to attack.  Daddy joined the festivities a day later after doing some chores around the house.  The weekend ended with an awesome meat soup with homegrown long gourd, accompanied by grilled chicken drumsticks.  Sadly it had to end.