This Site Is Closed

This site has become rat-infested and is hereby closed. No further posts will be made.
                                   Mel Larsen

No More Posts

There will be no more posts on this blog site until I find out who the Confidential Informant (A.K.A. Snitch or Rat) is that has caused such hard feelings between Ron Levang, his Signifigant Other and Myself to snowball into something that never should have been.
 I have a right to know who my accusor is.

The Mighty Cowlitz

Boy, the Cowlitz River levels are going straight up today! It will be interesting to see how high she gets this time before levelling out. I would guess that we will have very high flows until the first of next week.
   I recieved a nice statement from moms' attorney today. There are one or 2 little issues that need to be addressed, but other than that it looks real good. My attorney says it could still be many months though until things are all settled and titles are transferred.

Bye, Bye Bunny

I am now no longer in the rabbit business! I sold my rabbit, pen, and all accessories yesterday to a man from Toledo for $40.00. I am so very happy. That is one less thing that I need to worry about. Now as my baby chickens mature I will be able to scale back on that whole operation to the point where I only have 1 pen of birds to feed and that will be the bunch that is right here in my backyard.
   I have the late shift today, the same tomorrow, and then my weekend kicks in. I was looking forward to a dry 60 degree day on Thursday. However, now the weather man is telling me that I will have a very wet 60 degree day. He is also saying that snow levels will be rising to 6000 feet. Combine the increased snowmelt from rising temperatures with the fact that WDFW is going to be flushing small fish downstream from the Cowlitz hatchery this week -- for which they always increase river flows -- the river should be back up to extremely high, muddy, and unfishable by mid-week. This could be the year when we don't have much of a Spring Chinook run and virtually no opportunity to fish them. It would not be the first time.
   I turned in 3 employment application packets yesterday.

A Semi-Dry Day Off

I managed to get both yards mowed today for the first time this year. Now it will be a never-ending job for the rest of summer.
   The river looks absolutely gorgeous today. The level is perfect, so is the color. Unforunately, I just don't have the time to get the boat pressure washed and launched. Maybe next week.

Smelt In The Cowlitz

I have confirmed -- through a reliable eyewitness source -- that a fresh run of smelt had entered the Cowlitz River and gone upstream as far as Lexington. That is what prompted all the seal & sea lion activity  in the lower river earlier in the week.
    Today (Wednesday) is my Friday and I have the next 2 days off.  Naturally, it will be raining constantly until I return to work. I read a weather forecast today that said we are due for another cold, wet spring, much like last year. If that is to be the case, I might just put a whole bunch more manure fertilizer on my garden and cover it with black plastic for a year. If I do that I should have a garden that would be the envy of Ed Hume! Not to mention that it would be one less thing that I feel I need to keep up on this summer. The more I think about it, the better it sounds. At the very least, I would end up with a 50'x50' lot of the best top soil that no amount of money could buy. Then, if I would construct raised beds and use this "super soil" to fill them with I would really have something special to work with.

I May Have Been Wrong

I may have been mistaken about a sudden surge in Spring Chinook entering the Cowlitz River. I heard a rumor last night that a fresh spurt of smelt had entered the river and were upstream as far as Rocky Point. This would account for the seals/sea lions in that stretch of the river. It would also account for the increased seagull feeding activity at Carnival Market. The report for last weeks' fish return to the Barrier Dam on the Cowlitz states that NO salmon were counted, not even one. This news is all just fine & dandy with me because although the water level has dropped, the Cowlitz still is off-color downstream of the mouth of the Toutle and I don't like fishing above the mouth of the Toutle, plain & simple.
    On a different note, I got my last baby chickies yesterday. I got 7 new babies. When these are all raised, I will have 27 chickens. It looks like 3 or 4 will be Roosters. If they will get along, I would like to keep the 3 nicest Roosters, so that the eggs laid by the hens will be fertile and therefore can be hatched. The mix of chickens that I now have will be laying medium brown, dark brown, very dark brown, medium brown with dark brown specks, and olive green eggs. I am thinking that I might have to get a few Americauna chickens that lay blue eggs and light green eggs, just so that the eggs that I share with people look real cool!
   Late next week the pork should be ready to be picked up. I am looking forward to trying some.

Salmon In The Cowlitz!!!

There must be increasing numbers of Spring Chinook in the Cowlitz River. Yesterday I drove by Rocky Point at Lexington and there were at least 6 seals/sea lions fishing there. If the critters are there, then the fish must be.
   Work is long and arduous, and my back and feet are sore. But enough complaining from me, right? After work today I am going out to my friends house in Rose Valley to pick up some more baby chickies. This should be the last baby chicks that I get this year. I have a couple of pullets to move this weekend. I have stopped giving the cows grain for the winter as the grass is beginning to grow. I have a pair of Mallards that are nesting in the Bluegill pond.

This Was My Monday...

Today was my "Monday" at work. Like anybody elses' Monday at work, it sucked! I am over-worked and under appreciated. It was some consolation to find out at the end of my shift that I am making as much as the manager who has worked there for 3 years. That made me feel some better.
    My dog (Tippy) is getting used to me being gone for extended periods of time. She is now greeting me at the door and is genuinely happy to see me come home. Could the fact that I am usually toting a baggie full of Prime Rib trimmings have anything to do with her enthusiasm?
   Tomorrow is another long day at The Masthead (in at 12:00 -- out around 11:45) and then Monday is a little 3 hour stint.
   Tonight...seeing that I was swamped with work, the manager tried to boost my enthusiasm and also my speed. I told her "Look, I have 2 speeds. If this one is not fast enough for you, you sure aren't going to like the other!" At the end of the night she was doing my sweeping and mopping. They love me down there at The Masthead....but then what's not to love?

Reeeelaxin"

I took it easy today. Cleaned up the house real good, all the floors & the kitchen. Took care of "The Critters" and just flat-out enjoyed the day.
   That darn Cowlitz River is still pretty "colored-up" but it is dropping fairly fast. If the present trend continues I would like to have my vessel on the water and be fishing late next week. That is the plan. But, like all my "plans" it is subject to change and more often than not, will go awry.
   Uncle Cliff is preparing to move into new "Digs" next weekend. The place he has found is located on Pleasant Hill Rd., abot 5 miles south of here. I have given him permission to take with him whatever he will need to accomodate his new place. This is exactly what mom would have done for him and anyone who doesn't like it can just go piss up a rope.

T.G.I.F.

Today (Wednesday) is my Friday, thank goodness! This has been a long first week at a new job, doing a type of work that I have never done before. It sure has been raining hard here lately. Torrential downpours, some of it.
   My friend who lives out in Rose Valley has hatched some more baby chickies for me. I think I will be getting about 8 or 10 from her next week and that will be the end of my baby chickies for this year. Next year I might just raise some hatchery broilers and call it good. I have had baby chicks at different stages of growth for the last 3 months and am glad that this will be the last ones for quite some time. I am definitely looking forward to scaling back on all the care and feeding involved in owning such a variety of animals. It is definitely a large responsibility and one that is not to be taken lightly. The animals depend on the human to have their needs met and it is the humans' responsibility to do this to the best of their ability. I am proud to say that all my animals are healthy and happy, sleek and fat. With all these baby chicks that I have had this year not a single one has died. I am quite proud of that.
   One thing about working at The Masthead...my dog gets Prime Rib trimmings for dinner every night. Do ya' think she might be getting just a little bit spoiled? I cut the trimmings into little bite-sized pieces for her and then heat them in the microwave, being very careful not to get them too hot..she eats it until she waddles around like a little Butterball...
   So, for my 2 glorious days off I am going to try to wrap up a few outdoor projects around the place and maybe sharpen the lawn mower blades in anticipation of a day when I can begin mowing lawn. The daffodils are ready to burst into bloom and the tulips will be following shortly. This summer I am planning on toning way back on any landscaping projects and just concentrate on enhancing what I have done over the past few years. My biggest enhancement will be seeding some bare areas of my property. Under the Mighty Fagnolia tree needs re-seeded. So does the area where the Weeping Willow tree used to be, the area where the wood pile used to be, and the area where the big brush pile that I burned was located.

Cowlitz River

That darn Cowlitz River is so blown out.....high & muddy with lots of debris coming down. In checking the fish count at the Barrier Dam on the Cowlitz I see that for the third week in a row, there was only 1 Spring Chinook that had returned. So if you figure that one fish per week is swimming past my place...those are pretty poor odds when it comes to trying to catch one. I completed my first solo shift at work today. After work I picked up employment applications from Cowlitz Clean Sweep and Pacific Fibre Products. I enjoy everyone that I work with at The Masthead, but the split shift thing eats up any profit I would make in the cost of fuel driving to Longview & back twice a day. I'm very tired this afternoon so I'm going to try to catch up on some sleep and work on those apps in the morning.

Busy, Busy, Busy....

The new job keeps me very busy. More so than I thought it would. The whole "fishin' in the morning" thing is totally not going to happen. I probably won't even look at launching my boat until sometime in April. the second part of my shift doesn't end until midnight and by the time I get home, interact with my dog and unwind, it's 2:00 AM or later when I get to sleep.
   We had the pigs butchered today! Soupy & Norm are soon to be bacon, sausage, pork chops, pork steak, pork roast, pork ribs, and braats! I love pork. As long as I have pork and venison -- with occasional fish -- I am a happy camper.
  I downsized my layer flock of chickens last week by getting rid of those mean tempered Welsummer birds that I had. Now I will rebuild with Cuckoo, Splash, Black Copper, and Blue Copper Marans. I might have a few Blue Laced Red Wyandottes too, I'm not quite sure about them.
   I found a section of my fence that is in dire need of repair so that is what I will be doing tomorrow morning before I go to work.

New Job

Today I start my new job at The Masthead in Longview. I have been looking for work for a long time and am very happy to have landed this job. I will be washing dishes, to start, but that is just fine with me! I will get full medical and dental insurance after 90 days. This position offers other benefits too. I will be able to fish in the earliest part of the morning, and I will be able to bring home unlimited table scraps for my pigs. So as long as they behave and stay in their pen, I will raise the 2 pigs that I have to a bit larger size than I did the previous 2 and then when these are butchered I'll need to hurry and get more, as I can raise them for free!
   So....yesterday I went to Workplace Wellness in Longview to submit a urine sample for drug testing. I went back into a small room where the nurse asked me to put my personal belongings in a cupboard. When I opened the cupboard door there was a roll of $100.00 bills in there! Not 4 or 5, but a roll! There had to have been over $1000.00 there. So (of course) I gave them to the nurse and she said "O my God! That guy dropped some $100.00 bills on the floor when he left, too! He must not have gotten all his money out of here!" They had the previous clients' name & phone # so they called him to let him know of his mistake. All I can imagine was that it was someone who deals drugs...nobody else would be so careless with so much money. In the end I felt pretty darn good about yesterday. I landed a job, performed a good deed, oh - and I got some new shoes for working on slippery floors. Next door to the shoe store was a picture framing shop and in their window they had some antique signs for sale. I bought a real cool antique sign that shows a naked lady fishing and it says "Fish Naked -- Show Off Your Bobbers". The other sign, which I haven't purchased yet, shows a naked man fishing and it says "Fish Naked -- Show Off Your Rod".
   One final note: The river has risen over 3 feet in the last 12 hours and is very muddy. I sure am glad that I didn't launch my boat last weekend.

Perfect Conditions

The Cowlitz River looks absolutely PERFECT for fishing right now. Last week at the barrier dam they only had 1 Spring Chinook return, so there aren't very many fish in the river, but there are some. I hope to steam clean my boat this week and launch her. By next week I should be working a job that will have me going to work at 12:00 noon -- leaving me the first hours of morning to fish. This is a good thing, as that is when the best "bite" is.
    The chickens are all doing real good. The baby chicks are all happy and peeping. The pigs tore down part of their pen last night and I had to make repairs this morning. Other than that, they seem to be very happy and are growing fast.

Here are a couple current pictures of Tip

and here are a couple pics of the new chicks we got today.

More Baby Chicks

We are going after 4 more baby chicks today. My friend Dutch Savage brought me down a couple of incubators a short time back, but I haven't gotten any fertile eggs to put in them yet. However, the baby Marans chicks keep rolling in!
   I found this real cool poem on someone elses website this morning and I would like to share it with you here....

When GOD had made the earth and sky
The flowers and the trees
He then made all the animals
And all the birds and bees.
And when His work was finished
Not one was quite the same
He said I’ll walk this earth of mine
And give each one a name.
And so He traveled land and sea
And everywhere He went
A little creature followed Him
Until it’s strength was spent.
When all were named upon the earth
And in the sky and sea
The little creature said “Dear Lord,
there’s not one left for me”.
The Father smiled and softly said,
“I’ve left you to the end…
I’ve turned my own name back to front
And called you DOG, my friend”.

Wet And Cold, Again...

Not much has changed around here in the last 24 hours. It's still wet & cold outside. I was looking at the river last night and as I was watching, a large root wad came down right smack-dab where I would be sitting if were to have been fishing. Having a large log or piece of debris come up your anchor rope can lead to disastrous results before you can even react. The only hope is to have a knife handy and be able to cut your anchor rope before the boat is swamped. Scary stuff, friends!
   I got the camo seat covers the other day that I had ordered for the red Dodge and yesterday I tried to install them. They are too short, too narrow, and don't have any cut-outs for seat adjusters, lumbar support adjuster, or the lever that releases the seat to fold forward. Fortunately, I was dealing with a good company (Max Camo) and they said that I can send them back and they will gladly credit my account. How nice is that?
   Moms' estate is close to closing. As long as the other heir is capable of paying her 50% of the final bills, this should be done in short order.

River Report

I wish I had something good to report about the river. It is high, muddy, has lots of debris floating down, and the wind is so strong it nearly has whitecaps.
   On the positive side, my latest column has been published in The Valley Bugler. Here is a link to it.
http://www.valleybugler.com/category/open_season/ 
http://www.valleybugler.com/category/open_season/

The Worst Thing Possible...

What we have going on with the weather right now is the worst thing possible. I worry about this happening every year and now it looks like we are "getting it" in spades.
   With all this low snow melting, all the tributary streams that dump int the Cowlitz are full and muddy. The Toutle, of course, is high and muddy.
  Tacoma Power and Light -- who controls water releases on the Cowlitz have just increased flows from 13,000 cfm to 18,000 cfm, and they will continue that same high release due to the rapid snow melt that is inevitable in higher elevations. What this all means is that the Cowlitz river is going to be high, muddy, and out of shape for quite some time. Due to the amount of low and upper elevation snow that will have fallen by the end of this week and the fact that Spring thaw HAS to be just around the corner, I don't look for the Cowlitz to be fishable until the middle of March at the earliest -- if even then. It's entirely possible that Spring Chinook fishing on the Cowlitz will not take place this year until April.
   And this is really a shame, since I see that they recovered the first Spring Chinook back at the Barrier Dam last week. That means that they are swimming right past my place every day, and the river is blown.....

Cold Weekend

It is a cold weekend here. This morning when we awoke (shivering) the temperature had to have been in the mid to low teens. The pigs were very happy to get a hot breakfast, even if it did mean that they had to climb out of their hay bed that they so happily rooted themselves into yesterday. The pigs are big enough that they get 2 hot meals a day now, the second one being between 2&3 in the afternoon.
   I used the wood splitting maul to break the ice out of the cows' water tank so that they could drink. If things don't warm up a little bit this afternoon I may need to do that again when I feed Soupy and Norm this afternoon. The chickens were very grateful to have access to water this morning. The critters need to drink, that is for certain.
   Tomorrow I am going to go to Jeff Johnsons' house to have some boards re-cut to the width/length that I need for a project I am working on. One of these days it will have warmed up enough that I will be able to stain the chicken house that I built this winter. Today will be spent keeping the fire going in the wood cook stove and thereby keeping the house toasty-warm for Tippy & myself.

Pig Update

Here are some recent (today) pics of the pigs. My, how they have grown!

A Not-So-Soggy Blanketing

We finally got some snow yesterday and into last night. About 6" worth of the white, cold stuff. Tippy is still kinda' confused about it. The snow sticks to her feet & legs and so she runs & jumps a little harder trying to get rid of it but the harder she tries the more accumulates and it's frustrating to the poor pup. One thing is for sure -- when I open the door to the house she wastes no time in shooting past me and into the house.
   The chickens on the other hand are quite certain that they don't like the snow. They are all staying inside of their chicken house - eating, clucking, and wishing that things would warm up a bit.
   I haven't been over to check on Soupy & Norm  (the pigs) yet, but when I do go over I will put a couple fresh bales of hay in their pen so they have something to burrow into and keep warm.
  My day is going to be spent keeping fires burning in the house and the shop so that the critters and myself will stay warm. Today is supposed to be the worst of the cold temps, then tomorrow it will start to slowly warm up.

A Soggy Dusting

We woke to a soggy dusting of snow today. Tonight it is supposed to start in earnest so I hauled some extra firewood to the house so that we can use the wood cook stove for additional heat. The critters are all fed and happy. While at the barn I transferred some hay bales so that I would have a better idea how much hay is left. It looks like there will be plenty to get all the animals well into spring, and then some. Next winter there should be one more cow to feed (unless Pretty Baby has twins!) so I will need to buy just as much hay next year. I will feed out this present barrel of grain to the 2 cows and that will be all the grain they will get until next winter. Thank-goodness! That grain is expensive, but the alternative is to feed higher-protein alfalfa hay and it would cost more in the long run to do that. When dad milked cows he fed them alfalfa hay and grain, every day.
   This afternoon I'm going to L.C.C. to get my food handlers' certification so that I can work part-time in the food service industry -- or so I hope.
   I expected to hear from my attorney yesterday, but did not. That's O.K. though, as it makes no difference to me whether or not these titles get transferred anytime soon. This whole issue with moms' estate is working out better than I could ever have imagined. Thanks Mom!

No Salmon Yet

I just wanted to add a short note on here that during 5 days of operation, there were no Spring Chinook recovered at the Barrier Dam on the Cowlitz River last week.....still a little early, but I just walked over and looked at the river and DANG! it looks really good. Excellent green color to it right now, but that won't last long once these low snows start to melt.

Ready For Snow

We are ready for the snow around here. Yesterday I got my flight netting for the top of the outside chicken coop. Today Uncle Cliff helped me stretch it out and get it stapled into place. It is so much easier and less hassle than using chicken wire....not to mention the savings in cost. Even if I replace it every 5 years, I'm still ahead to use the netting.
   I went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart today and stocked up on everything I should need for at least 2 weeks for under $50.00. That wasn't too painful. I spend more on livestock food than I spend on food for myself.
   Well, it's supposed to snow like the dickens tomorrow and Thursday. I will be very surprised if we get 6" of total accumulation. Then it is supposed to get cold for a week or so. Hopefully after that cold snap breaks it will be springtime around here and my flowers can start blooming.

Meet "Madison"

These are pics of my new cockerel. He is referred to as a cockerel and not a rooster because despite his size, he is less than 1 year old. He is a Marans, but because of his coloring he is known as a "Splash". I have named him "Madison". When bred with other pure colored Marans hens he will produce some AWESOME little chicks!
   The pigs have grown so much that they now eat 2 troughs full of food a day! My goodness! When we have these butchered it will be done a little different than last time. Instead of getting ground pork it will be 50% Italian breakfast sausage and 50% regular breakfast sausage. The bacon will be sliced 1/2 regular thickness and 1/2 thin, instead of all of it being sliced extra thick. Also, I anticipate the pork steaks lasting a little longer since they will be in my freezer under lock & key!
  The top netting for my outside chicken yard should arrive any day. I have 1 hen that keeps "flying the coop". This afternoon Tip & I are going to go to Tim Johnsons' house to pick up a whole bunch of 14"x14"x4" square pavers that I will use to make a footpath from the back porch to the shop. I walk there often enough that the grass is worn out and it has nearly turned into a muddy path.
   We are due for a significant snowfall later this week and into next week. Sometimes the forecast never materializes but I have a bad feeling about this one. I think we are in for one last blast of winter weather before Spring finally gets here.  That's O.K.. Lets get this done & over with so the rivers will get back into shape and the Spring Chinook fishing can start. By the time this snow event has passed and we have our little spring meltdown the fishing should be on!

Cold Morning

We got home with our new "fowl" yesterday. The baby chicks are cute as can be and the young Rooster is much bigger than I thought he would be. He has real big legs and feet so if he continues to grow into them, he will be quite large. He is "Splash" colored, meaning he is kinda white with dark splotches on him. I am hoping that he doesn't take too long to "get acquainted" with the hens. I want to start hatching some eggs in these incubators that Dutch brought down. I'm sure that as we gain more daylight he will feel the urge and I will soon have fertile hens.
   I need to go get some more pig and livestock feed today. Tip and I will go do that about 3:00 this afternoon. Tomorrow I go to the courthouse to have the facilitator read over all my divorce paperwork and make sure that everything is in order.

Gettin' Ready For Babies!

We'll be getting a few more new baby chickies tomorrow! Plus, Dutch brought down not one -- but 2 incubators yesterday, so hopefully I will be loading some fertile eggs into one of them this weekend also.
   Between the full moon and the solar explosions we sure had an eerie light going on between 3 & 4:30 this morning. It was actually quite bright outside all night last night. I watched a bunch of cottontails out running around in the yard last night. We must not have any owls in the neighborhood right now, or the bunnies would never get away with that!
  I made a crock-pot full of pork hocks and navy beans yesterday that sure turned out good. Other than that -- not much to report this morning. I'm looking forward to some warmer temps and I know that the tulips & daffodils are too cause they are all pushed up and ready to go into bloom. It won't be long and there will be spring color in the flowerbeds and Spring Chinook in the river!
  

More Smelt????

I have often been asked "When is the best time to dip smelt?" and with a lifetime -50 years- of experience behind me I say "If you had to figure on one weekend to dip smelt, it would be Presidents' Day weekend. Well, yesterday while I was in Kelso I noticed that there were a lot of seagulls looking for -- and getting -- smelt around the bridges. By the time I came home the gulls were working the river all the way to Lexington. Now, there have been smelt in the Cowlitz for the past 3 weeks, but I am thinking that we are about to get a real surge in the run. I noticed this morning that there are now gulls working the river right here at Castle Rock too. Another thing that I noticed yesterday after I got home was that the game warden was driving up & down Larsen Lane! For those of you who do not know, it is presently illegal to dip smelt, as they have been listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. It will be interesting to see how this weekend develops, and if the smelt run will increase.

Wet And Cold

The day is starting out wet and cold. I do not look for any major change as the day progresses, unless it gets wetter and colder!
   I managed to get the chickens caught that I am giving away this morning. The rooster is not happy with his confinement and has been letting me know this since about 4:00 AM.
   The March job that I thought was "in the bag" has somehow eluded me...or so I was told yesterday. So now it is "back to the ol' drawing board" as they say. That's OK tho....today is a good day to work on re-building my resume. I do need to go to town and talk to Bank of America tho. They have sent me a bill on an account that has been closed for some time and I want the charges explained to me before I hand over my money. No doubt I will end up handing over my money, but at least I will know why.

Fewer Beaks To Feed

I placed an ad on Craigslist today to give away my 2 Polish, 2 Bantam, and 1 Silkie chickens. I had responses almost immediately and am now waiting for verification by phone so that I can catch them tonight and be assured that someone will come and get them tomorrow. These birds are not laying eggs and contribute nothing to my flock. It is time for them to go. In their place I will be getting a Splash Maran rooster this weekend as well as 3 more baby chicks from Pinkchick. I also have the 6 that I just moved to the other barn. I will continue getting birds from Pinkchick as the spring progresses. I have an order in for 1 dozen Blue Jersey Giant hatching eggs from a friend on BackYard Chickens. I also have 15 Blue Laced Red Wyandotte chicks that will arrive in mid-May.
   This is all not counting getting that incubator from Dutch Savage and hatching out some of Pinkchicks' eggs here at the house! Lemme do some math here...I presently have a dozen...plus the 3 in the other pen (15)...plus the 4 that I'll be getting this weekend (19)...a dozen hatching eggs from which I'm guessing 9 will hatch (28)...plus the 15 chicks that I have ordered from Meyer Hatchery(43)...and then whatever I hatch here with the incubator....yea, I'll have enough to develop a mid-size flock of good birds.
   If present outside conditions are any indicator, then the drought is over!

More Blustery Weather

Another blustery day today. Tip and I went to town this morning to get Tip her final puppy shot. Then we did some banking, went to the Social Security office, and finally to Petco -- where the pets go --.
   At Petco we got Tip a warm sweater, some chewie snacks, and a new toy. We also got a dozen small goldfish to put in the rain barrel that will keep mosquito larvae eaten and the water clean. Before coming home we stopped at Mucho Gracias for a couple of burritos. They sure do make good burritos there.
  Now it is cold, wet, and rainy. We are going to stay inside and do some housework this afternoon. Oh-yea...the 6 small chickens were doing real good this morning!

Wind and Rain

Well, we got the wind and rain yesterday that the meteorologists were predicting. Now this morning there is no rain at all showing on my radar screen, which is odd because we were supposed to get more rain today. I'm thinking that the radar might not be reading correctly at this time, since the screen is seldom as "blank" as it is this morning.
   Today I am going to move 6 smaller chickens into the pen that I just emptied out last week. I have had these 6 birds in a brooder box since January and they are rapidly out-growing it. I'm sure that they will be much happier in their new "digs".
   I finally eliminated another mole yesterday in one of my Vermin Retention Units. I was sure glad to get that rascal out of the yard!
Today is mostly going to be spent in the shop, cleaning out the old brooder box and setting up a new one for the next chicks that we will be getting. Tomorrow Tippy has an appointment with the vet to get her final puppy shot. Then I think that we will go shopping for a sweater for her. She was awful cold last night. Poor Doggie!

Ready For Rain

I cleaned out the cattle feeding area of the barn yesterday. That resulted in two pickup loads of manure, which I spread over the garden area. Now we are ready for rain. If I had not gotten this done, I would never have been able to back the truck into where I needed to go on wet ground. With this is all spread out on the garden area, the ensuing rains will wash all the "goodness" of the manure into the soil to the benefit of this years' garden. I am thinking that I will plant only Golden Jubilee corn this year. It is easy to care for and the patch of green will look cool. Any extra -- as well as all the stalks at the end of harvest -- will be eaten by the cows.
   The baby chick's are no longer baby chick's, but have turned into young pullets. I am needing to move them to a larger pen, but I really wanted to clean the larger pen out first and put down new sawdust. Maybe I can just put down new sawdust and clean it out later....

Haircuts

I got a Les Greene haircut yesterday and today Tip got her first haircut. The lady at the doggie haircut place said that she did real good with the bath and cut. Tippy is a very good dog. I really got lucky with getting her. Now, I'll try to post some pics....okay, so the pics are on top of  the writing, O.K.
   Last week I took an online test to be a contestant on  Jeopardy , the game show. now tonight I have to log on at 8:00 to take another test. I don't think I'll ever make it on the show, but at least I will have tried!
   I hauled the last of the large, bulky items from here that go to the county landfill over to 2278 Larsen Lane today. As I finish cleaning out the barn over there I will add to the pile and when everything is done, haul it away. I also went to the assessors office and the "mappers' office" today and learned a lot about these Larsen Lane properties and the boundaries. Good information from some very helpful people.

WOW!!! A Full Day

After feeding all the "critters" We finished cleaning up the new chicken pen and then started to move chickens. They were not real thrilled about the "catch and crate" part of the operation but they sure were happy with their new home.
   After lunch I went up and met with my tax prepares. That was a good meeting. I will be getting back over $600.00 this year! It will be the largest tax return of my life, I think. While in town I made an appointment to get my hair cut tomorrow morning and when I got home I made an appointment for Tip to get her first Schnauzer cut on Thursday. Later in the afternoon Ron Levang came down to finish up the work with the excavator. We got the 2 cottonwood trees felled that needed to come down, then we went to neighbor Janet's place and dug out 2 stumps for her. After that it was up the driveway at 2278 Larsen Lane to dig out the last 2 stumps that I needed removed from that property.
   During the course of the day I also got most of the weeping willow stump cut into firewood and also a bunch of wood scraps that were left where my old wood pile used to be.
  Last night for dinner I made some hamburger helper and it was so darn good that I'm going to make some more tonight to use up the rest of the burger...or maybe I'll just have some eggs...

Busy, Wet Day

We got a lot accomplished today, Tip & I did. I interviewed for -- and got -- a 3 week long 14 hrs. a day, 7 days a week job at the Weyerheauser mill in Longview. This will start March 1. The down side to this is that I will not be able to do ANY salmon fishing until the last week of March. Oh-well...I need the money more than I need the fish.
    We turned the taxes in to the tax-preparer today. I'll go up at 2:00 tomorrow to meet with her and sign papers. Got new ink cartridges for the printer today. Also re-stocked on grains for the livestock today. Got some house work done, got my cell phone "cleaned-up". It had something like 500 pics on it...and I don't ever take pics with it. They said that it was caused by carrying it in my pocket, so I got a snap-on side case for it. Paid the water bill, got some stamps, and got a latch for the new outside chicken yard.

Superbowl Sunday

Ron Levang came over this morning and dug the stump out from in front of the shop. Boy, that sucker was big! Then he went out to the pond and cleaned out the brush that we cut from the island last fall. I am very happy to have these things done.
   I waited impatiently for the Superbowl to start at 3:00. At 2:59 my neighbor fired up his muffler-less rototiller and began to rototill his large garden area. You know-- the one right next to my shop where I was wanting to watch the game. Then it started raining. He continued to rototill even in the rain. Finally I gave up and came into the house to watch the game in relative quiet on the small-screen. He stopped rototilling and went in.
  So now it is halftime and Green Bay is ahead 21-10, however, I called Dutch Savage to let him know that my team was winning and he says that Pittsburgh has been a come-from-behind team in most of their wins this season so the second half of this game could be interesting. One thing is for certain, the halftime entertainment sucked. I think Dutch will agree with me on that one.

Back To Wet

We have gone back to a little wet weather for a while. The new chicken pen is done, but I haven't put the birds in there yet. I may have to use it for a dog kennel next week if I start work right away.
   Ron Levang brought his excavator down today so we can get that Weeping Willow stump dug out and a couple of other small chores done that require hydraulic power. I've been feeding the pigs all the old canned food that was at 2278 Larsen Lane. They really seem to enjoy it and it makes the commercial food last a lot longer.
   The 6 small chickens that I have in the shop are all doing quite well. They are at a point in their growth where they look kinda' scraggly, but they will grow past that stage in a few weeks. My friend in Rose Valley (Pinkchick) hatched out a few babies yesterday with more to come. I am guessing that I will be getting new chicks sometime next week.

Takin' A Little Break

I haven't posted in a couple of days, I know....I'm hoping that moms' estate will be settled by the end of this month. I'm really ready to move on with my life and put this behind me.
   I think that I might be getting about 20 baby chickens sometime soon. Like maybe tomorrow! I am going to pick up some more big pieces of corrugated material tomorrow to make a brooder with. Then I need to order a dozen Blue Jersey Giant hatching eggs and have my friend from Rose Valley put those in her incubator for 21 days! In April I have about a dozen Blue Laced Red Wyandottes coming from Meyer Hatchery.
   I should be starting back to work next week so I have to really "get on the stick" and finish my chicken pen, plus I need to make accommodations for Tippy to stay while I am gone at work.
   I have noticed a marked increase in the number of eggs I am getting from my chickens. That is a good thing. I'm really hoping that Ron Levang would build a chicken pen so I can give Mary Weeks her Columbian Wyandottes, the 2 White Crested Black Polish, one Silkie, and 2 Banties that I have.

Funny Smelt

Funny kind of smelt we have this year....they taste a lot like Spotted Owls...

Housework and Barbequed Pork Ribs

Today I got all my housework done. Dishes, laundry, floors, everything. While I was doing that I cooked up a couple packages of BBQ pork ribs.-- mmmmmm good!
   Tippy got her first bath today. She was not thrilled but took it like a Trooper and we were soon done. Now it is my turn....
   Oh, and one more thing....the smelt are in the river all the way to Castle Rock. They are real thick down around Longview, but I just went and looked here and I can see the occasional fish near the top in the murky water.

Soggy Sunday

Kinda' wet out today but we did manage to get the chicken wire on the outside of the new chicken yard.
  It is supposed to get below freezing for the first part of the week so I made sure that all the outside faucets are protected. Tomorrow we will work on the chicken yard some more. It won't be long and I will be able to hear Tammy's rooster crow in the morning. Tip will be entertained by having other animals so close at hand all the time.
   Tuesday I go in to see my attorney. I am anxious to hear what he has to say. I will have a list of questions to ask him prepared before I go in, otherwise I will not remember what I wanted to ask until I am home.
   I received an invitation to attend the Larsen family get-together this summer at Spokane. I have decided not to attend this year, although I am going to make a weekend trip to Spokane this summer and will see most of the family members at that time.

Second Post Today

We made our trip to town today. We dropped off a saw at Woods' to get worked on. Then we went to Home Depot and picked up some lumber to use on the new chicken yard. I didn't really think that much would get accomplished on that project today, but I surprised myself. It's possible that I may even get the outside yard finished tomorrow. Before I know it we will have moved the chickens to their new home!
   Tomorrow is the Pro Bowl from Hawaii and next week is the Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers taking on the Pittsburg Steelers. I will be rooting for the Packers and my friend Dutch Savage will be cheering for the Steelers.

First Springers!!!

So the Daily News has reported that gillnetters in the Columbia River have already picked up 4 Spring Chinook. This is a good indicator of an early start to this years' run. I'll keep my eye on the Cowlitz fish counts and as soon as there is the first fish makes it back to the Barrier Dam, I will start fishing. Right now the Cowlitz is flowing at double it's rate for this time of the year. It usually runs about 10,000 c.f.s. and right now it is just under 20,000 c.f.s. If our weather would turn cold then I'm quite sure that the river levels would come down, but the 10 day forecast at this time is for more clear, sunny weather and unseasonably warm temps.
  If we start getting fish in the river with the water levels being what they are now, I will be fishing at the mouth of the Toutle as opposed to fishing right here in front of my house.
   Tip & I are about to go feed our critters, and then we will head to town. I need to stop at Woods' Logging and also at Home Depot.

Feels Like Rain

It feels like rain outside this afternoon. Maybe we will have a damp weekend, then back to this dry sunny stuff next week.
   I worked on the outside chicken yard most of the day. A lot got done. I also put together the door that I had Jeff Johnson cut the wood for. It turned out better than I expected. Very light and very strong. Tomorrow I think I'll be ready to get some treated wood and a roll of chicken wire to finish up with. We are in the home stretch, and things are looking good. The moles are still hiding.

No Mole Activity

There was no mole activity last night. They know I'm after 'em and they are running scared!
   I got a bunch of woody debris cleaned out from the back of the new chicken house today. Also got the door fitted and dual latches installed. I took some lumber to Jeff Johnsons' house this evening and he cut it for my outside door that will go into the chicken yard.
Now, I need to start building the outside yard. I am going to bury my wire 12" so that the chickens can't get under it to get out & critters (coons, mainly) can't get in. I will have to buy 8 treated 2x4's to do this and I am thinking that is all. Oh...and I need a couple sets of hinges.
   The other critters are all doing real good. Tip was extremely active in today's warm weather. Boy, when she gets started she sure has a lot of energy. The extended weather forecast is for next week to be more dry weather in the 50 & 60 degree range. Can you believe it?

Writers'Block?

Writers block or just boredom, not much went on around here today. The weather is just phenomenal. It is hard to believe that we still have a winter left...it's out there somewhere.
   The critters are all loving life, I assure you.
I am having issues with moles again. I had every mole eradicated from this property just a few short months ago. Now I have every Vermin Retention Unit that I own activated, and I'm sorry to say that the moles are kickin' my butt right now. I'm really hoping for that to change soon.
   It's actually been kinda' boring around here the last couple of days. Maybe tomorrow I'll go out and scare up something to write about. Oh-yeah....we took pics of the cows this evening.

Meeting The Vetrinarian

Today Tip got her 2nd shots and also her rabies shot. The vet said that she did real good and didn't struggle or whimper during either shot. She did better than I would have. I struggle & whimper every time I hafta' got a shot!
   We worked on the roosts in the new chicken house today. Maybe tomorrow we can finish the roosts and the nest buckets. Then we will start on the outside yard.
   I've gotten back into the habit of shooting my bow every day. It's something I should keep up on.
   All the critters are doing very well. I have noticed that the pigs are eating the junk and freezer-burned food that I am giving them out of the freezer in preference to the commercially produced product that I buy at the feed store.
   The weather here is unreal for this time of the year. It feels more like April than January! On a final note...I meet with my attorney on Wednesday morning.

Green Bay vs. Pittsburg

It looks like it'll be Green Bay against Pittsburg in the Super Bowl this year.
   In other news, we got a lot of the area around the new chicken house cleaned up today. We fixed the walking gate in the back yard. We also got the debris raked where the back-field burn pile was at. Between little jobs we watched most of both football games today. True multi-tasking if ever there was.
   Not much else to post from around here. Pretty quiet day.

WOOOOOOO....HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

I HAVE LOST 21 POUNDS IN 19 DAYS!!!!!!!!

HOW COOL IS THAT?!!!!!!!

Working On The New Chicken House

I am presently turning my irrigation well pump house into a chicken pen. Today we got the nest boxes (buckets) almost finished. They look really cool!
   We also went grocery shopping right here in Castle Rock. About all I buy is fresh veggies & sugar-free creamer for my coffee. I did get Tip some special treats today tho...She likes em'! When we got home I made up a nice pork roast and put in the oven. It turned out excellent! No potatoes, just celery, onions, and carrots.
   I took pictures to go with my March installment of the "Open Season" column for The Valley Bugler. The photos show in detail how I set up a K-13 Kwikfish for Spring Chinook fishing and also how I fillet, prepare, and install my sardine wraps.
  We are supposed to be in for some unseasonably warm, sunny weather this next week. I am hoping to get my spring landscaping prep & cleanup done. The plan is that if I get it done now, then I won't need to be working on it when the Springers are in the river in late March.

$10.00 Wasted

So today I stopped in to get a 5-year printout of my driving record for a job application. The man says "That will be $10.00" so I give him $10.00 and he handed me back a blank sheet of paper. I didn't like paying $10.00 for a blank piece of paper, but it sure feels good to have a SPOTLESS driving record! Especially if you knew what it looked like 15 years ago.
  I actually started out my day with a very nice meeting with the administrator of moms' estate. It sounds like things are progressing nicely at this point. I was happier when I left than I was when I got there, but all is well.
   We moved the plastic livestock water tank to the back field today. I had a load of wood chips dumped there and I have that water tank situated in an excellent place now.
   All the "Critters" are doing good. Tip was more active and did more enthusiastic running around today than she has since I got her. She is beginning to get comfortable with her surroundings.

Where Did Today Go?

Today I worked on the new chicken shed for most of the day. The old shelving is down and I have a good start on building my new nest boxes, which I am making out of 5-gallon buckets. It's gonna be cool when it's done! I went to Kelso to pick up some needed supplies to accommodate the baby chicks I am hoping to get tomorrow. I also got some job search work completed today and will be turning it in tomorrow. I have more to do in town tomorrow than I will have time to accomplish. I would like to get my last load of garbage and my last load of scrap metal hauled this week. It looks like we are in for a bit drier weather, so I would like to take advantage of it.
   I did put more bedding in the pen for Soupy & Norm. They really seem to enjoy it. There were 2 Bald Eagles sitting in the top of the tree at 2278 this afternoon.

Drier Day -- Rivers Are Receding

Let me see....I started the day by completing some "internet errands" that I needed to get done. Then we fed animals and unloaded the feed that I bought yesterday from the back of the red Dodge. Afterwards, I cut up the rest of those blocks from the weeping willow tree that used to stand in front of the shop.
    Ron Levang stopped by this afternoon and said that he could use some of the wood that I was going to throw out so I will let him have it. In return he will bring his excavator down to dig out some stumps that need to disappear.
   Tomorrow I might be getting 3 baby chicks. I will find out for sure in the morning. I do need to make a trip to town tomorrow, so it is not like I would be making a special trip just for 3 chicks.
   I have one load to go to the garbage dump and one load to go to scrap metal, then things will be pretty well cleaned up around here. I have noticed that my "to do" list is getting to be smaller & smaller projects. That is a good thing.

Is It Really January?

Boy, the temps are up in the mid & upper 50's. Some of the frogs have come out of hibernation and are sitting on the edge of the big pond. Nightcrawlers are out in the yard. It seems more like late March or early April. The river is pretty darn high, and rising. I am guessing that it will remain high for most of next week as Tacoma Power & Light tries to keep reservoirs drawn down in anticipation of our spring thaw, which is yet to come. The only real concern I have is that the water levels and clarity is conductive to good Spring Chinook fishing when they come in. That should be starting in mid to late March and run into the first part of June.
   I got the gutters on the shop cleaned out today and also helped Carey Murray load the rest of the junk wood that I had thrown down from the loft at the livestock barn.
   The Seahawks lost their football game against the Chicago Bears today and the N.Y. Jets beat the Washington Patriots, which really surprised me. I expected the Pats to be in the Super Bowl for sure. Next weekend will decide who the top 2 teams really are for this year.
   Norm & Soupy are doing good. The chickens are doing good but this heavy rain has caused part of their coop to be muddy. The cows are looking exceptional. This grain that I have been giving them is really paying off. They are as sleek and fat as any Herefords that I have seen. One thing for sure, you don't have to chase happy cows -- and I don't like chasin' cows!
  Oh-yea....and the rabbit is doing good also.

Now It's REALLY Gonna Rain!!!

A couple of inches in the next 24 hours....That's a pretty good soaker. Before the rain started today the animals all got fed and the rest of the "garbage wood" that was in the loft of the livestock barn is now ready to be loadedup & hauled away. There is till some work to do upstairs there but the worst of it is definitely done.
   I sharpened the big Husky saw today. I made a venison stew for dinner tonight. Put some pasta in it....mmmmm good!

I Was Right (for once!)

Back on Monday I predicted warm, wet, weather and nowhere near the snow event that was being predicted at that time. Now here we sit...smack dab in the middle of a "Pineapple Express" as it is known. By Sunday evening we might even see some high water in the Cowlitz Valley.
   Tip & I re-constructed the home made river gauge that is at the fishing hole. It isn't accurate in "real" river depth but is marked every six inches in order to determine how fast the river is rising. The City of Castle Rock comes up on the dike and check the river levels during high water. It gives them somewhere to go and something to do.
   We got the shop all finished today. That was a big job, but it needed to be done. Now I need to finish the livestock barn. It won't be hard to do, just take some time. The nice thing about it is that as I clean I continually gain usable space so the job gets better as you go, not worse.

A Warm, Wet Day

Today was just a warm, wet day. It rained all darn day. The snow level is above 6,000 feet and the river has risen almost 4 feet in the last 24 hours. She's high & muddy with an occasional log floating down. With the weather forecast being what it is, she'll probably stay out of shape for a week or so.
   We cleaned in the shop again today. It's just about as "done" as it's going to get at this time. One more time out there...workin' on the floors & vacuuming the rugs, and it will be ready for Springer fishin' season.
   Tomorrow depends on the weather. If it keeps raining, I need to finish cleaning the loft in the livestock barn. I can also finish the floor in the shop. I need to sharpen the big saw and cut up these big blocks of willow wood where I just had that tree taken out. If I managed to get all three of those things done tomorrow, I will have gotten a lot accomplished.

Meetings And Cleaning

There was a conference meeting this morning at Imbodens' (moms estate attorney) office. Things went pretty much as I expected. There is a chance of having everything completed by the first part of April, but that is subject to change. It would be nice to have this all done and behind us so that we may get on with our lives.
  Tip has been a real good doggie so far. We have not had a single "accident" in the house yet. I made a nice batch of ham hocks & navy beans this afternoon. It'll be "good eats" for a couple of days.
   Last Wednesday I weighed myself on a digital bathroom scale. It read #357. I have been paying close attention this past week to what I am eating and this morning that same scale read #346. That's #10 in one week. Do ya' think I can keep it up? I'm hoping that by posting my weight on here at a regular basis it will keep me feeling more "accountable" and thereby, help me to continue to loose weight. I think that I weighed about #240 - #250 when I came home in January of 2010. I would love to be down to about #225, but I think that #250 is more realistic.
  Tomorrow I go see another attorney about a different matter. "My" attorney is out of town until the 17th or else I would have probably met with him this week too.

Snow, finally...

We finally got some snow this evening. Just a skiff, but it is snow. I hope that there is no early morning accumulation as I have this appointment with Imboden tomorrow and there are some things that I would like to know.
   I sold the bathtub today, but not the stove. I think he wanted me to come down on my price & I wouldn't do it. I finished putting the big window in the new chicken house today. I fits great and will let in a lot of early morning light. We got the rabbit pen moved today and had BBQ pork ribs for dinner.
   I managed to get a little more of the shop cleaned up. That is a work in progress. As soon as I get it where I want it, I change my mind. It is not easy to orchestrate such an elaborate "Man-Cave".

Just A Good Winter DAy

Today was just a good winter day. This morning Tip & I took the red Dodge to Longview to have a new C.B. antenna installed. Then we went to Petco where Tip made her public debut. Everyone in the store stopped to pet her and comment on what a pretty pup she is. She was still kinda' nervous but I noticed that squeaky toys definitely get her attention so we got some of those. And some Beggin' Strips minis, and some training snacks, and a leash, and a brush, and some dry snacks, and some Beneful dog food. Before we left I made her a nice name tag that has name, address, etc. on it. We need to get our Castle Rock dog license and then we will be set.
   This afternoon we made a fire in the shop and did some cleaning out there. I found the rabbit! She was hiding under the riding lawn mower, but I got her out of there and she is now back in the cage where she belongs. When Tim Johnson comes down we are going to move that cage to the back porch so the shop doesn't get to smelling like "rabbit", if ya know what I mean.
  I am turning the pump house into a chicken / rabbit house and got started putting a window in it today. I am hoping to finish the window tomorrow. I am planning on making an outside chicken yard there too. That will help to reduce the size of my garden and -- the amount of weeding I will have to do! The critter pens will be right there close so that I won't have far to haul the manure for fertilizer, either.
   We were supposed to get a bunch of snow this week, but the second joint of the third toe on my left foot is starting to throb and that can mean only one thing....rain and warmer temperatures. Maybe even warm enough to melt a bunch of snow and make the rivers rise. It could happen. That toe-joint is really a throbbin'!
    Soupy and Norm were doing very good today when we fed them. As were the cows and chickens. I can tell that our days are growing a little longer and apparently the chickens are feeling it too as I am getting a couple more eggs ever day now. Boy, these sure are nice big eggs. I don't recall ever producing such big eggs in the past. My egg cartons are for Jumbo eggs and these are too big for the carton. Oh, they go in and you can close the carton but it is obvious that the eggs are a couple sizes bigger than Jumbo.
   Tonight is the Oregon Ducks vs Auburn Tigers championship football game so Tip & I (along with the rest of the Pacific Northwest) will be watching it. I cooked up a nice, succulent ham for dinner. Tomorrow a guy is supposed to be coming to look at the wood cookstove and the claw-footed bathtub. I hope he buys them both.

Meet "Tip", My New Best Friend!

I found me a Miniature Schnauzer today. Her name is "Tip", which is short for "Tipper". I drove to Goldendale, Washington and picked her out of two litters of pups that were available. She is kinda' silver/grey with white feet and a white beard -- Gorgeous! Today is a "bonding day" so I'm not going to write very much on here, but get back to my doggie. The Columbia River Gorge was beautiful and most of the waterfalls still had lotsa ice on them.
   The pigs were doing great this morning but the rabbit seems to have escaped and must be hiding somewhere in the shop! We (Tip & I) will try to find her tomorrow. I left food & water on the floor for her.

We Are Farmin' Now!!!

There are now 2 more piggers in the pigpen! I went to Amboy this morning and picked up two real nice looking weaner pigs, both males. One of them is two weeks younger than the other, but is just as big. I figure that he must be some kind of super pig so I named him Soupy. I could have named him Beans & Ham Hocks, but Soupy seemed like a good name. The other one, which is a good size pig too, I named Norm, because he is more normal. They are both white. I can tell them apart because Soupy has 2 notches in his ear, to identify him as being from a different litter.
   On the way home I stopped at the feed store in Battleground and bought a real nice New Zealand rabbit. A female. Now I need to find a young buck rabbit, so I can raise bunnies for the freezer.
   This afternoon the season-losing Seahawks kicked some Looseriana ass in wild card football at Qwest Field. It was the best game I have watched all year.
   It feels like snow tonight but the radar screen does not show much moisture coming into our area so I'm not expecting much snowfall....if any.

A Gloomy Winter Day

Today is just a gloomy, winter day. I went and visited with my new friend from BackYard Chickens website this morning. She, her husband, their children, and many chickens and animals live almost to the end of Rose Valley Road. That lady has some awesome chickens! I am going to be getting some from her later this spring. I can hardly wait.
   Tomorrow I will be picking up 2 weaner pigs and at least one rabbit. I'll probably be getting a female rabbit and then I will keep looking for a male. I can't get one of each from the same litter to use for breeding or the babies will come out looking like that squinty-eyed, toothless, hairless kid from the movie "Deliverance". You know who I'm talking about....the dweeb that played "Dueling Banjos" and was hanging on that bridge over the river.

Ready For Piggets!!

I got the pen all ready for the 2 weaner pigs that I will be getting on Saturday. I also got most of the driveway at 2278 cleaned off. I got the livestock chute hauled to Ron & Mary's today and borrowed their large pet carrier to transport the pigs in. I'm also looking for rabbits to raise and should have some located within a week.
   On Wednesday of next week there will be a meeting at Imboden's office. Hopefully I will be able to find out if & when I can begin moving some stuff out of the house at 2278. I don't want to wait until the title transfer occurs and then have to do everything at once.
  Tomorrow I'm going to visit a lady who raises the kind of chickens that I will be getting this spring. She is very knowledgeable about the breed and has been providing me with good information.

Bearer Of Bad News

So today the guys show up to split and haul off that gnarled, twisted old weeping willow tree. Anyway, they showed up about 0900 or so this morning and start to work. I was inside doing some work on the computer and I saw on the Longview news that a Ranier Oregon police officer had been shot this morning. WOW! A cop getting shot is always news, right? I noticed that the wood splitters were taking a break and so I stepped outside and related what was just on the news. One of the guys snapped his head around and said "My uncle is the Chief of Police in Ranier!" So I'm thinking, "Omygosh, that is a coincidence." Then I went back inside to continue with my work. A little while later it comes over the news that the police officer had died as a result of his wounds. The wood splitters were obviously interested in any developments so I told them what I had learned. By then their pickup was full and they went home. Wouldn't you know it -- it was the chief of police who was killed in Ranier this morning. When they returned for more wood (and having learned of the tragedy) I offered my sincere condolences. What else can you do?
   On a little bit brighter note, I am getting 2 more weaner pigs Saturday. This time I will keep the meat locked up so that all the pork steaks don't get stolen. I am also going to have the bacon sliced just a little thinner. I really liked the Italian breakfast sausage that I got from the last piggers, which were butchered and processed by Matt's Custom Meats of Kelso. I am anxious to get more pigs because there is food in the freezer and on the shelves at 2278 Larsen Lane that is outdated and I hate to just throw it out when it makes such good pig food.

Ready For Springers

Tim Johnson and I went to Jacobs Marine in Cathlamet today and picked up my boat. I had a couple of minor repairs to be made and now that they are done the boat is ready for Spring Chinook fishing. On the way home I stopped and got some lottery tickets for the drawings tonight and tomorrow night. Tonight's drawing is for 335 million $$$$$. (That's a LOT of dollars!)
   Also today I took the red Dodge truck to Greg Marcils' to get a full maintenance done.  Next Monday I get the C.B. hooked back up and then it goes to Dan Ledgetts' for some minor body and paint work. After that, Northwest Detailing will shampoo & detail the interior and we should be in good shape!
   When I got home today I finished a couple little things on the barn roof at 2278 Larsen Lane and it is now ready for rain, which the weatherman says could start by tomorrow afternoon.
   I spoke to Jamie Imboden's assistant today and she says that as soon as Vonda is willing to release moms' personal property that I can start getting stuff out of that house. I'm hoping that this will happen next week. I would like to move the big screen t.v., bedroom furniture, some household furniture and a few other things over to my house. It is stated in the will that nothing is to be done to impede implementation of the directives listed and so I'm hoping that this will be happening next week.

A New View

I now have a new view when I look towards my shop. The reason being that today I had the large, sick, 1/2 dead weeping willow tree that used to stand there removed. It makes the shop much more visible from the road, which is not neccessarily a bad thing. I also had the tree removal guys dump a load of wood chips where I am going to put my livestock watering tank. This will hopefully keep the area around the waterer from getting muddy during times of rain. I am hoping to get Ron Levang to bring his excavator down here and dig up the remaining stump. I will probably plant a Golden Chain tree where this big, messy willow once stood.
   Also today I ordered some baby chicks that will arrive about Easter. The birds that I have ordered are Blue-Laced Red Wyandottes. I ordered 10 hens and 5 roosters. Out of that many I hope to end up with 5 good hens and I will keep the best rooster. I really enjoy doing the "baby chickie" thing and hope to expand on this hobby.
   Tomorrow I am going to pick up my boat from Jacobs Marine in Cathlamet. It will be good to have the boat home and I can be getting ready for Spring Chinook season, which should start in March.

More Barn Cleaning

I got another truckload of junk and scrap wood hauled out of the barn loft from the 2278 property. There is probably one more truckload of junk out there and then I'll pretty much have 'er whipped!
   Went bowling with Cliff today and I can see that I am very much improved over my last few weeks. I have an average that is over 100 and I am now able to go bowling without feeling like a complete idiot. I would say that it has been "mission accomplished" at this point. I have no intention of League Bowling -- I just wanted to be comfortable doing it, and now I am.

Hot Dang!!!

Carey was here at 0900 to finish the barn roof and we got 'er done at just a few minutes after noon. It ended up costing me $110.00 in materials & labor and I had budgeted $200.00 for the job.
   It is still cold here, but no precipitation is predicted until at least mid-week. There currently is a burn ban in effect due to stagnant air and when the neighbors built a little outside bonfire last night it wasn't long until the "Town Clown" showed up with his gun & badge to make them put it out.
   I have made up a crock pot of smoked ham hocks and beans to cook while I watch old re-runs of Dallas.
                        Isn't ol' J.R. just the greatest?