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.

First CRMPOA Meeting

Thankfully we got a full autumn weekend by the river this week, Friday to Sunday evening.  Better still, the time-change provided an extra hour of sleep (or of raking leaves, depending).

Saturday was the semi-annual meeting of the Property Owners Association, and our first such event.  The group met at 11:00 at the church in the middle of town followed by a social luncheon hosted by one of the members.  At the business meeting they decided, among other things, to build a hand-rail at the common area, give $200 to a local food bank, and participate in the July 4th parade next year.  We had an opportunity to introduce ourselves and got to meet many of our friendly neighbors.

They are a varied and eclectic bunch: some young, others old; some retired, some semi-retired; many weekenders, like ourselves, and some full-timers; some liberals and some conservatives; all good people.  I'm undecided on which topic of conversation I enjoyed the most.  There was the discussion of Spence, a deceased resident whose spirit apparently inhabits the subdivision now.  Then there was talk about one of the neighborhood artist/authors whose first fiction book set in New Orleans is too racy to repeat.  Finally, there was one gentleman who sadly reported his rocks were being stolen.  I'd kindly offer him my rocks, but it was all too sensitive.

Sunday was a treat too.  As a family with two kids, so often my attention is split between the boys and we end up doing most everything as a group.  Today, however, my elder son and I hiked to the green bridge and back by ourselves.  Later we climbed around the closets outcropping of rocks, some of the oldest in the world, I am told.  The whole thing was joyous.

The menu this weekend included bacon and egg sandwiches, baked ham, cabbage soup, steaks on the stove, boiled potatoes, salad, rice, and hot dogs and hamburgers over the open flame.  The shower was hot, the beer was cold, and the kids were singing and playing.  It is almost hard to imagine life getting any better.

Pictured above, with Halloween behind us, the jack-o-lanterns are becoming restless.

Early Snow

Our decision to go to the property late Saturday was partially based on curiosity.  Snow late this week was the earliest in the season our family has seen snow ever.  We were curious what the property looked like after an early snow.  What we found was very impressive.  Many trees still had colorful leaves which contrasted nicely to the white now.  And, our jack-o-lanterns survived without aggression by squirrel, deer, or bear.

Sunday I walked for the first time to the nearby deli, about a mile away.  It was a good walk dotted with points of interest like a tree fallen in the river, another tree laying on a sagging power line, and a friendly neighbor asking whether our cable TV was out.  I easily convinced him that we do not have cable, but was not so successful at diagnosing his cable trouble.

The family enjoyed a spaghetti dinner before returning late on Sunday.

Take Me Home, Country Roads

Got another late start, arriving at 9:30 PM so the boys could attend a dance-theme birthday party beforehand.  Our ritual of singing Take Me Home, Country Roads during the drive has been enhanced now that we are accompanied by the disk playing on the car stereo.  The song is so addictive, I'm afraid we are going to have to limit to two hours per day the amount of time the kids listen to it, along with TV and video games.

Sunday was an action-packed day that began with a "secret mission" to deliver eggs to the neighbors.  The morning air was brisk.  A round of eggie sandwiches from the dozen we kept for ourselves was followed by a couple hours of raking in the yard.  The autumn leaves were deposited in a small area designated for next year's vegetable plot.  We'll leave it up to Mother Nature and the leaves to kill the grass there.  Hopefully the bugs and snakes don't retaliate.

Into the slow cooker went a batch of potato soup, the kind grandma made when I was a kid.  Spuds and onions from our home garden, combined with corn, milk and bacon.  A family walk through the neighborhood gave the soup time to consummate as we worked up an appetite.  Along the way we met Corbin and his young dog, an athletic husky with enchanting blue-gray eyes.

After lunch I replaced the mower's battery before slipping away for a scenic drive down real country roads to enjoy the fall colors.  We built a campfire for no particular reason, and spent a good thirty minutes shelling three walnuts with a pair of pliers.  Our youngest took me on a Power Ranger "scavenger hunt" along the riverbank to the "magical staircase".  Just the kind of agenda I like.

After dinner we left drove home which, of course, gave us another opportunity to listen a few more times to Take Me Home, Country Roads.

Pictured above is an autumn scene from Ridersville, WV.

Update on the Bear

The Department of Natural Resources reviewed our photo of the bear and gave this response:

Yes, that is a rather large bear.  I have camped in many areas where bears are habituated to humans and never had a problem.  Be aware that a bear of that size has been a nuisance in your area for much of the summer and this may be the same bear.  If people camp on your property, make sure absolutely no food, including snacks, are kept in the tent.  I would also recommend making sure all trash, bird feeders, pet foods, and BBQ grills are kept inside.  With hunting seasons now being open, this bear should start to make itself scarce.

Bear on Film

Thanks to Nick, our gracious neighbor, for providing the above image of our local bear captured about a week ago at 1:30 AM via Nick's automatic nature cam.  Initial reports were that the bear was "about as big as a trash can."   Upon closer inspection it appears that the bear has the trashcan beat, sitting down.  Maybe our concerns about tent camping are not completely unfounded.

We returned to our vacation home Saturday after spending the morning doing house chores, and visiting with family.  Funny how having a vacation home throws a wrench in normal housework.  At least we found that newborn cousin "Alex" was oblivious to chores, vacation homes, and almost everything else.  Baby and family are doing well.

Saturday night daddy fell asleep early in response to a lingerly cold, so he cannot report what really went on that evening in the cabin.  Clearly the kids stayed up longer because they kept waking him up.

On Sunday the kids enjoyed carving pumpkins, hunting bugs, and collecting walnuts.  We built our first daytime campfire.  Daddy mowed the yard for the second time, this time with Dee Dee, Nick's aging John Deere.  Nothing that a new battery, fresh breaks, and a better drive-belt won't fix.  Sadly we had to leave Sunday night and return to our normal lives.

Apple Butter Festival

Ten-, 20-, 30-, 40-...100-percent there!  Bedtime, first...and last..chapter of Bad Kitty.

Theraflu and Halls.

Nine o'clock watched parade, ten o'clock ate blueberry pancakes, eleven o'clock gathered walnuts, noontime ate peanut-butter  and honey sandwiches.

Unloaded half a cord of firewood, set up tent, discovered a vandalized fallen sapling.

Cousins arrived late, stew by the fire, talent show by candlelight, learned that the sapling was fallen by vandal beavers.

Bedtime stories, sick cousin coughing, thinking about bear, shivering in hammock.

Children's Tylenol.

Last fire log, last crying kid, too damn cold, going inside.

Breakfast by the fire: cornbread, eggs, bacon, peaches, and apples.

Hide-n-seek inside and out, raked leaves, played Stomp Rocket, built a rake, raked more leaves.

Weekend almost over.  Wait!  Kayak trips up the river.  No, wait!  Canoe and raft trip to the green bridge.

Coloring with crayons, baked chicken, Grandma's bread, doing dishes, waiting for laundry.
Sleeping on the way home, Black and Blue Berry Life Water with Pizza Goldfish.  Fifty hours away from mommy.

First October Weekend

Last weekend was the first weekend that nobody went into the water above their ankles.  The cooler temperatures, however, did not discourage anyone from enjoying the river and the autumn color.  We arrived late on Saturday after completing many chores at our neglected first home.

On Sunday morning we made our first river journey by canoe.  Our large aluminum vessel is adequate for parents fore and after, with kids hanging on in the middle.  The river was not so much high as it was fast-moving.  Mommy and daddy made a quick (and wise) last-minute decision to take portage at the shelf.  After a potty break in the weeds and a canoe-drag to the other side, we were on our way again.

Thanks, Nick, for the shuttle back to pick up the car.

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.