Took my little dog on a walk last week. As we turned a corner on the two-track about a mile from the house, there was this weird noise. Looked up and there was a cougar bounding down the slope to our left. Darn it, left the pistol at the house. Grabbed the dog-bait on a lease- and went the other way quickly and quietly. Made it back to the house intact. Then this morning, looked out the back door and there was a coyote stalking the outside cats. Opened the door and scared it back to the forest. I think the darn fire made a lot of the animals homeless and hungry.

That's pretty scary. I'm sure the fire sent them fleeing. But please, unless they're aggressive and coming for you, no need to shoot.

Heya Tricoy. Good to see ya. Have you given any thought to adopting me yet?

Remember it is better to have a gun with you and not need it than to need one and not have it with you.

Adopt? Sure, why not. As long as you can help around the place and keep my shack from falling down. Been busy replacing corner fence posts, filling in the ruts in the road, watering the plants and thinking about replacing windows and re-roofing part of the house.
On the other hand, I've just got a friend with a full-dresser Harley and we have taken some great road trips-one to the Canyon's North Rim. He is trying to talk me into getting a motorcycle license, but then I wouldn't be able to hold on to him while riding which is a big part of the fun. Decisions, decisions.
I did the walk again last night, gun at the ready. I agree it is better to have one and not need it, than to caught out without one. I wouldn't shoot unless needed, but then I would shoot.
What is really weird is that the elk and deer are not really around at this year, but the predators are. Usually I have to chase the elk off at night because they try to drink from the rain barrels and bang their antlers against the bedroom wall. Got to get back to work.

Rain Barrels? No indoor plumbing tricoy? Why do you collect rain water?

It is very dry here and I like to grow things like squash, tomatos, potatos, peppers, onions, along with some flowers, roses, land bonsai maple and oak trees. That takes a lot of water and water is very expensive here, so I like to collect all that I can from rain and snow and use it on my plants. I have 10 or so 30 gal. barrels on the side of the house that collect water from the roof. I either hand bucket it to the plant beds, or use a small pond pump connected to a hose. I also catch the rinse water when I do dishes and use that on the plants each day.

Uh.....I was thinking more I would just sit around and keep a lookout for cougars and elk and bears and such.

Seriously, when it comes to doing things with wood I'm pretty useless. I did build a table for the kids' train set years ago and it's still standing, sort of. My wife wants me to throw it out but I have it out back and use it to clean fish. It sags in the middle and collects water so I drilled some holes.



Well I doubt your friend would want you to adopt a 52 year old cougar/elk/bear lookout anyway.

I've always wanted to ride out west. What's stopped me so far is the long, alternately boring and terrifying ride to get out west. If you get a license and a bike I'll send you a bell.

You must not be bothered by mosquitoes. Are you in the desert regions? Maybe one day you can post pics of your humble abode and land?

I forgot I built another table back in my longhair days. I built a coffee table out of logs. Basically, I had two logs stacked horizontal at each end and a big wide thick plank for the top. I think I was inspired because somewhere I had come across some spikes that looked like they were big enough to fasten logs together- and they were. I thought the finished table looked pretty rustic. Everyone thought it looked pretty rustic. It was hell for stout too. You didn't have to worry would it tip over and spill the bong water. In fact it weighed probably more than a hundred pounds.

RF, sounds like you and I build things the same way. Rustic was the way my Dad described my house a long time ago and it has gotten more "rustic" with each passing year. Hum, a lookout-sounds intriging-have a lot of really nice looking raccoons too this year-can you turn skins into coats or rugs or stuff?
Maybe not adoption per se, but arrangements could be made. You and my friend would probably get along great, you are very close in age. I have made many trips back East in the last 30 years and it is getting more and more congested and spooky with people who should not be on the road driving-and that was with me in a car or truck, but if you ever make it out to Northern Az. let me know and I might be able to hook you up with a bike to tool around on.
Grace, it is called high country desert and we used to have the largest Ponderosa Pine forest in the world, but a heck of a lot of that is gone due to fires in the past ten years. This country goes through cyclic droughts and hopefully we are starting to come out of this one. Mosquitos are only a problem if I let the the water sit in the barrels for over 2 weeks, but I use it before then. We do have gnats up here that are extremely bothersome, and wasps, and killer bees in some areas, but not as bad as Phoenix.
I would love to post pictures, but am quite illiterate on that aspect and do not have a digital camera.
Well, to work I go, have to make sure we are pleasing the government inspectors 'cause one is due any day now, so I have to do walk-throughs and cause trouble.

Oh, RF, how are you at killing prarie dogs?

tricoy



PS - and I heard the only hides RF has tanned are long gone from this board. Well one was recent.


tricoy

I believe it was you who got a lot of snow this season too? I hope you get lots of rain soon.
Yep you need a digital but no biggy. I have a good imagination and there's always Google.

He's better at killing doves. By the way tricoy, ever hear of the word co-habitate? Let's not forget you're a guest in their home.

Nope, I was here first, they came in after I had the land and was farming and planted an orchard. Goodbye oats and corn and apple and cherry trees, not to mention fence posts and making the land look like a mine field ready to either brake a leg or an axle. They are cute vermin, but vermin just the same.

I used to be pretty good at sniping groundhogs with a .223 Remington.

That would work! Been busy with ripping out the living room carpet (darn dog!) and watering the plants. It rained to the west of me and to the east of me all weekend long, but none fell on my place. While watering yesterday, I noticed a bunch of tall weeds long the septic line and thought "oh no, not again". Went over there pulled the weeds out and yep, the line is broken in two places. I hate putting that thing back together!
As an added note, my friend came over on Saturday-late afternoon-and while looking at the damage I did to the living room, looked out the window and that darn cougar was between my two sheds. The outside cats seem to be disappearing too.