April 11-22, 2005: No Guests

Monday, April 11, 2005

I was up early to beat the wind, sunrise found me outside the shop building new frames for the solar panels that blew down. After Breakfast I started clearing away the mess on the shower house roof. The old frames and supports were kindling; it’s amazing the panels didn’t break. Someone was smiling on me. The wind usually starts up about 10am; just as it cranked up I was putting the last touches on the new set up. I shifted the direction of the panels and angle to get better exposure to the sun. After lunch I spent a couple hours running new wires from the panels to the batteries after ten years in the sun they were getting brittle so I figured while I was up there I might as well. Then I figured I might as well get the tar bucket and brush and seal the usual leaky seams. By the end of the days my knees were so sore from kneeling on corrugated metal roof I could hardly walk.

Nate and Trent got here about 9am; they hauled up the Dodge truck, which had been in town getting a new front suspension.

I kept them here at H.Q. to finish building a fence across the mares pasture, one I had started two years ago. The mares are so close to foaling and the yearlings are still in there too. They haven’t yet been halter broke and we have to do that before we turn them out in the big country for the summer. They are all together right now and even tho it is mothers and children, after four months apart there was a lot of heels flying around out there so this fence has become the new priority.

They got a lot done in one day, 200 feet of woven wire fence up after having to reset some posts the horses had decided made good butt scratches. Work sure goes faster when you pay by the job and not the hour!

Sunny hi 49 moderate wind low 20.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

I spent the entire day working fence. First worked the South side of Bearwallow pasture where our working horses are now. I only went over a couple miles of it, the most pressured area. The elk had done a good job tearing up a couple spots and there was also a fair amount of winter deadfall on the fence. Wasn’t the most exciting day to write or read about. The most interesting thing was a red fox that came walking along the fence line. He walked up to within fifty yards of me as I was on my knees splicing a bottom wire. I’m sure he was trying to figure out just what the heck kind of forest creature I was. He watched for a couple minutes then moved on up the hillside.

Lyndsey spent the day cleaning saddles. It was a warm sunny day so the oil flowed and the warm leather really sucked it up.

Hi 60 sunny no wind. Low was 19.

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

I was fearful of proclaiming my excitement too early but after today I just can’t hold back shouting spring is here!!

The last couple days have been just amazing. Sunny and kinda warm in the mornings. Birds singing all around, the grass getting green. Halle F_____ing Luya!! Sorry just a bit wound up here. It’s a bit early for it to stay this way, I’m sure we will see a few more cold snowy days. We are busy at work around the guest camp. The usual spring fix it up. I was working on replacing three porches on cabins while Lyndsey and Maggie started painting.

It was a sweet spring day with a high of 60 and a low of 17, sunny and a bit breezy.

Friday, April 22, 2005

I gave up on writing daily for the last ten days. We have been working from 6am till 8pm or later and I have just been too dang tired. All our work has been going on at the guest camp. My porch project as most has become a major undertaking. I went into it thinking I would just lay new plywood on the porch decks. Now it has become a project of jacking up all the cabins, replacing joists, setting new block, and building new steps. As many of you know I am no hand with a saw and hammer, what I build won’t be level but it will be stout. We have done many little jobs that have taken too much time such as replacing the wood stove in the cookhouse, rebuilding the back steps to the cookhouse, building bunk beds. The list goes on and on, things no one will ever notice we did but would notice if we didn’t do it.

The weather keeps getting better and better, the days have all been in the low 60’s, sunny and the worst wind was only moderate.

Nate hauled Annie to her new home in Texas, we were sad to see her go but she’s headed to a good new home and productive life.

A small miracle has taken place here. The old cow we call “Mrs. Grape” after the movie “What’s eating Gilbert Grape” got up today after three weeks being down. I have never seen this happen. When she first went down Maggie suggested we give her some “Near Death” which is an injection of B12 and other super vitamins. It’s pretty expensive stuff and I told her it was too late for it, not worth wasting good medicine on a dead cow. Three days ago Maggie and Lyndsey started giving it to her with out telling me. Yesterday she had moved during the night into another pen but was back down by morning. This morning Lyndsey went to feed her and she was standing up eating. Just amazing.

The shoers came and of course for the first time in a week there wasn’t a horse to be found. We rode and found a handful to get them started then Lyndsey spent the day hunting the rest. It’s Turkey hunting season now and a gate was left open. She tracked 28 horses to Dog Spring where she found them all hanging around the pond there eating the rich green grass along the stream. She drove them all home and what a sight it was when they all came running into the corrals.

Just a week left before our first guests arrive, so much work to be done. As I do every spring I stress we won’t be ready but we always are.