Hard Winter

Every post prior to this one shall be considered part of Chapter One.  This blog has been idle for two years, and for no particular reason.  Blogging is good for the soul, so I am resolving to resume our documentary.

The winter of 2013-14 has been particularly difficult.  For the past two months our primary residence has been without a working heat pump forcing us to rely on our wood stove for sustenance.  This was a new experience for all of us made even more challenging by two bouts with extreme temperatures in the single digits including a day without any electricity.  Cold temperatures, heavy snow, and a serious ice storm lead to many snow days for the kids.   The pipes at the cabin burst during the worst of it.

Fortunately the HVAC guy showed up at the house this weekend just as the plumber finished fixing the cabin.  The plumber explained how to use an air compressor to properly winterize the cabin.  This cabin chore takes only about 15 minutes, and possibly saves a lot of money and grief.  The HVAC guy almost finished his job too.

Pictured above, the river rose to above ten feet and raged before receding as temperatures rose to 59 degrees.  The winter is not over, but the relief of today's sunshine was welcomed.

Christmas Week

Although it was the holiday vacation week, we decided to have a traditional family Christmas at our primary residence.  To have Santa relocate the gifts to the cabin was simply too much to ask.  Moreover, we were concerned that some gifts may not fit down the chimney and, even worse, Santa may hold it against us and leave a lesser bounty.

On Tuesday following Christmas we arrived at the cabin rather leisurely to find grandma and grandpa had already arrived.  Our visit with them was too short and we thanked them for driving all this way to visit with us.

On Wednesday night the kids returned home with Mom to spend a day with their cousins.  Naturally, I enjoyed two days of bachelorhood, sleeping, reading and making fire.

On Friday the family reunited for a couple more days together at the cabin.

Cold January

Fortunately we have had very little snow this year, almost none since October.  Still, sub-freezing temperatures make enjoying the outdoors more difficult.  We took walks to the green bridge but managed to miss each other at the destination.  I planted some oyster mushrooms in a dying tree that we hope to harvest later this year.  Most of the time was spend indoors playing Fantastic Contraptions on the computer, and watching classic Looney Toons cartoons.  The menu included homemade rolls, goat stew, and a hearty vegetable soup.

Feral Cats

Beautiful couple of days by the river, albeit a bit cold.  On Sunday we split into two groups of two for our weekly walk.  Our younger son and I walked the CSX tracks, while my wife took our other son for a hike to neighboring properties.  Seeing a big freight train up close running at full throttle is exhilarating.

We rendezvoused at the green bridge where we were met by a pack of feral cats.  After enjoying our gifted beef jerky, the smallest cat proceeded to lunge through the air at one of the boys.

The weekly visits are slowly becoming bi-weekly with winter upon us.  During this trip we returned the mower to storage following its first annual service in years.  Later we cracked some walnuts, made a fire, planted some plum saplings, and lit firecrackers.

Paw Paw

Following a semi-traditional Thanksgiving of roasted pork instead of turkey, our family journeyed to the property late on Friday.

On Saturday our seven year-old committed to climbing Cacapon Mountain and invited me along.  We parked on Power House Road and entered the woods at power line easement.  For more than an hour we hiked, climbed, and clawed our way up the 800 foot incline.  At the halfway mark we stopped near five large power poles to split a Cliff bar and rest.  The scenery was wonderful, offering a view of the town of Cacapon to the west and the Potomac river basin to the east.  The trip was made even more enjoyable by the handheld radio which allowed us to talk with mommy and brother every thirty minutes.  Wisely we agreed to save the other cereal bar, just in case, and to descend without going up and further. We will be back to conquer the rest of the mountain!

Seldom do I have an opportunity to drink fresh rainwater from naturally occuring falls, yet this weekend I did it twice in two days.  At the end of our hike we discovered an outcropping of rocks at the trail head with a small seasonal waterfall where we refilled our Nalgene bottle.  The second time would be on Sunday.

After the hike we skunked around the railroad tracks near the green bridge, then radioed "base camp" to see if they wanted us to bring chicken wings from the deli.  Naturally that offer received an affirmative response.

On Sunday we made a spontaneous journey to the Paw Paw Tunnel, an historic attraction some thirty minutes away, by car.  The 3,100 foot tunnel, which was built by hand around 1840, allowed boats to circumnavigate the Potomac River before it was made obsolete in the 1920s.   The walk is a unique experience through the near pitch black passage with only light at the end for what seems like an eternity.  On the far side we heated Beef Stew using the backpacking stove.  The fact that we had only one spoon made the two servings seem more than adequate for the four of us.  (I nearly fell over when our four year-old ate all his peas and carrots, and said it was the best meal he'd ever had!)

Before walking back through the tunnel we filled our Nalgene bottle again, this time with rainwater that exited the woods down the rock face above the tunnel.

The rest of the weekend was spent in a sort of relaxing fashion.  The boys flew paper parachutes and helicopters from the loft.  We cracked butternuts, baked bread, fried fish, shared mean bean soup, and drank "mountain dew" rainwater tea.  Mommy said she felt as though she were convalescing at an independent living facility.  I guess that is the point, afterall.

Autumn Color

Got off to a late start Saturday after doing the necessary chores at home.  (Owning a vacation home clarifies the reasons to not have a vacation home.)

We hauled some 300 lb. of salt with us to feed the cabin's water softener this winter.  I'm fairly sure that shipping salt everywhere, and carrying it up two flights of stairs, is not a sustainable system.  I have yet to discover the alternative, but I am convinced there must be one.

On Sunday morning, my wife and eldest son walked to the green bridge, the same destination he and I sought two weeks ago.  He even managed on the return walk to survive a slide down the same hill he and I stopped at.


While they were hiking, my younger son demonstrated how Stomp Rockets can be used to strike at bird nests.  I offered him a dollar if he could land one in a trash can, but he soon changed the bet to pay himself a dollar if he could land a rocket on the roof of the cabin.

Later Mommy made an emergency trip to the drug store while the rest of us played archery.  Fortunately she returned with Chinese food in time to save the family again.

Many goals were accomplished during our short visit.  No fewer than ten black walnuts were planted in hopes of growing trees.  We planted a patch of Jerusalem Artichokes--an edible, native tubor that is neither from Jerusalem, nor an artichoke--in hopes of harvesting them next fall.  A new shelf was installed in the shed for drying walnuts (or, in our case this year, butternuts).

Mommy made spaghetti on Saturday and we ate at Weavers's of Hancock on the way out Sunday.

Pictured above, Cliff Bar seasonal flavors include gingerbread and pumpkin spice.  Mommy thought about buying them, and Daddy did!

No Cacapon

We stayed home this weekend.  All weekend.

Closed down the vegetable garden, an annual effort of the heart.  Sunday morning was started with breakfast at Bob Evans, a ritual now.  Harvested the remaining potatoes and Jerusalem artichoke.  The latter is neither from Jerusalem, nor an artichoke.  It is a tuber, deciduous to Maryland, cooks like a potato and easy to grow.

Next weekend we will be lucky if we get one day at 1033 Clarion.  There is still much to do around they yard.  Which is good.