New Life in the Woods

I just realized that I have been overwriting older pictures as I upload new pictures with the same names. I will try to go back and replace the old pictures in the next couple days, for those of you who are still catching up on my posts and want to see the originals.

This is a long post, fair warning.

A person really needs to be in good shape to attempt a life in the woods. I wasn’t. But I’ve been getting closer to being in good shape bit by bit. Ordering that wood made a big difference. It gave me the time I needed to work up to good shape. Spending a week bending and picking up all that wood, tossing it or carrying it, and carefully stacking and re-stacking it helped. I had to move a bunch of it out from my porch to the main wood pile or inside last week when I had to take apart a portion of the porch railing to get the siding off at the front of the house. I think I moved that entire pile several times, in addition to splitting most of it.

Yesterday was another rainy day so I continued to do stuff inside and rest my muscles. It can take days for aches and pains to subside and most of mine had. I got a few more boxes emptied, put some contact paper on some shelves, moved dishes and cups to the shelves and washed a couple sink loads of dishes which also got stacked on the shelves this morning. It is a little easier to move around the kitchen now with fewer boxes, and I finally found where I put the rest of my hot chocolate (very important to my morale)! I also managed to make a big pot of chicken soup on the wood stove for the first time. I used about 2 cups of rice, water and chicken broth, 3 chicken breasts and vegetables cut up and sauteed first in a bit of oil with spices, and I even threw in some frozen pasta salad that had feta cheese and olives. True kitchen sink soup that will last me for a week. It got hot enough to boil and it was delicious!

Today was supposed to be rainy and wet as well, with 3-4 dry days to follow, during which I hope to take off the siding at the side of the house and repair the rest of the plumbing. But today turned out to be sunny too! SO, around noon I decided I had to get off my butt and move some of that wood down at the bottom of the ravine. See, all that wood I bought and that George (the guy I bought it from) helped me cut here and split, may not last me through the Winter. My best estimate is that the remaining wood might last 7-8 weeks at the rate I have been burning it. That’s with starting a fire in the morning when I wake up (usually only coals are left from the prior night) and keeping it burning at a low-medium level all day and a good part of the night. I could probably bundle up and leave the house a bit colder for part of the day, especially when I have a shower to help get me warmed up in the morning. But so far, it has felt necessary to keep the fire going pretty much all the time.

So, the snow just after Christmas made me realize that if I wanted to move that wood at the bottom of the ravine up to the cabin, I would have to get on it as soon as I had decent weather. Just one problem: I wasn’t in great shape when I first moved up here and it took everything I had to move the equivalent of 2 logs (split and carried 1/2 at a time) up the hill to the cabin. I have been sitting behind a desk (or my computer at home) for too many years, and I never practiced diligence in building up my leg muscles after my knee surgery a couple years ago. My legs have been getting gradually stronger through normal use, but they aren’t up to heavy climbing with serious weight added. Let me show you what I mean….

This is a view from the bottom of the ravine, roughly where the wood that Mark (my neighbor) cut for me in November. I am still working on taking better pictures, so some of these are still a bit fuzzy, but you get the idea. The slope is steep at the bottom, covered with wet leaves over soggy ground. Carrying wood up this slope is like carrying several bags of heavy groceries up 10 flights of slippery stairs. My legs just can’t do it too many times (yet) without starting to give out on me. Also, it has been too cold and wet for me to do a lot of the hiking that I hoped to do by now. I have chosen to get dirty and sweaty doing more urgent stuff, because cleaning up (heating all that water, standing in the cold, etc.) is such a pain right now.

There was about a cord or a cord and a half of wood down there though, and I needed to get it (or at least some of it) up the hill before more snows buried it and made it even more impossible to carry up. So, what to do? I decided to use my arms and back to move the wood closer. I would toss the wood up the ravine at a tangent to the direct line to the cabin (in other words, toss them to the left in the picture, instead of straight up the hill). I would have to toss them over the fallen trees just above where they lay, and keep tossing it further up until it was at a point where the slope up to the cabin is easier.

But most of that wood was still in the form of big logs that I wouldn’t be able to toss, so I had to split it into quarters or thirds first. You can see a small part of the pile here. Most of it was spread out along the ground where the tree had fallen. I had to move the first half of the tree (the biggest half) to the base of the tree to split it first, then toss it over the two fallen trees next to that, and begin tossing it further up the ravine from there.

Here you can see part of the first pile, just over the fallen trees up hill from the tree that was cut up for me. Even tossing the wood in pieces, I had to pause for frequent rest breaks. I have to learn to pace myself to my current state of fitness. I still remember being in much better shape and I tend to work fast and wear myself out. Then I had to climb the hill a couple times to use the bathroom and then get more drinking water.

Here you can see the other pile of smaller sections from the top of the tree. These pictures were from about half-way through my work. I had a lot more moving and splitting to do and both piles got bigger before I had all the logs split (if needed) and tossed once up the ravine. Once I had that done, I judged that I had enough energy and strength left to toss them once more further up the ravine today. As I started from the up-hill edge of the first pile, I was tossing logs up to 20 feet further up the ravine! But I quickly realized I was tossing the lighter sections that were on the leading edge because they were light enough to make it that far on the first toss.

As I continued to toss the wood, I relied more and more on tossing from the hips. My arms got too sore to throw overhand, especially my right arm (I am right-handed). Still, a lot of crouching, bending, and picking up the wood took its toll and, by the time I was finishing tossing the second pile further up the hill, I was staying crouched and tossing the logs from that position, or simply carrying the bigger logs up to the new pile.

By that time it was about 3:30 and I knew I had enough strength to climb back up the hill, but wouldn’t if I kept going. I had manged to move, split all the bigger logs, and toss them twice up the ravine, about 1/3 or 1/2 of the distance I needed to move them to get them to an easier slope up to the cabin. Not bad for one day! And I (supposedly) have 3-4 more dry days to do this (and work on the plumbing).

This is a view of the easier slope up the hill to the cabin. It may not look that much better, but believe me, it is. However, I may have to let the wood sit where it is for a day or two. My arms hurt and I think I can afford one day of relative rest. Prying the siding off the side of the house will be enough exercise tomorrow, while I wait for the money and supplies to complete the plumbing.

A good friend of mine was chiding me the other day for not getting out more and exploring the woods, wrassling a bear, or hunting wild turkeys, etc., as I had talked about (well, some of that) when I was dreaming about all that I would do up here. But the reality is that I have had to prioritize, pay close attention to how tired I was getting, and make sure I was staying warm and dry. I hope to get out and explore more, but I don’t have the right gear for serious back-woods exploration in the cold and wet, so it may be a while before I go very far. By that time, I expect I will be in much better shape, and getting better all the time!

Well, it’s possible I spoke too soon. It looks like it snowed again overnight and there now seems to be almost an inch on the ground. It is prime snowball snow too, slightly wet and compacting easily. After all, it is still (supposedly – I may need a new outdoor thermometer) just 37 degrees outside. So, I may have trouble getting down to the Post Office later today. Then again, the snow is supposed to turn into rain this afternoon and that should clear the ground fairly fast.

I’d love to tell you that I was getting tons of stuff done indoors while the weather outside is so frightful, but the truth is I have been (mostly) lazy for a few days. The good news is that I have water again. The delivery truck made it up yesterday, so I had another luxurious sponge bath today. I have also been doing some cleaning here and there, and moving a few things and unpacking clothes, etc., but mostly I have been taking it easy.

After all, I can’t really begin work on replacing the rest of the copper pipes yet. Susan still hasn’t sent me the money for it (much less reimbursed me for the extra stuff I have bought up till now), and it is supposed to rain the rest of the week. It looks like I have time to relax a bit, take stock of my surroundings, and take care of other stuff. The new wood stove continues to work great. I am sitting here in a T-shirt as I write this, something I never would have been able to do with the old busted-up stove. I have water and plenty of food. Maybe I will go work on the electrical system a bit later, since it would be nice to get rid of some of the extension cords running around the house, but chances are that will wait a bit too, until it really starts to get on my nerves. It has been a rough few weeks starting out up here and it is nice to sit back and relax for a few days.

After the New Year I will be looking for work. I really hope I have the plumbing fixed by then, so I can shower and be presentable, but I’ll work something out if not. In the meantime, it is very beautiful up here and I am going to sit back and enjoy it. I might even go out and play in the snow a bit.

It stayed warm enough that it mostly rained (drizzled) off and on yesterday, but by midnight a few flakes were starting to fall.

Here’s a view off my deck at mid-morning. As I write this the sun keeps peeking out and turning the snow in the trees into impromptu showers, but there’s still plenty remaining both in the trees and on the ground. I knew I’d find snow on the ground today, but didn’t know how much it would be and I was a bit nervous about it last night, but I think I probably don’t need to worry about getting snowed in until January.

I expect most of this will melt over the next few days, but some may remain, hidden away beneath leaves and fallen trees. I am hoping it won’t make it more difficult to drive up my driveway. If anything, a hard freeze should make it easier since the ground wouldn’t be muddy then at least. Right now the thermometer says 37 degrees though, and it seems to be a bit rainy outside.

I guess I will find out a bit later since we are supposed to be getting a delivery of water for the water tank today and I will probably drive up to the main house to pay the guy. That way I can go on down the road after to check the mail. I am still expecting a couple packages!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Ok, well, snow flurries actually — but it was real snow! I haven’t seen snow for years, since the last time I went out East for the holidays.

I don’t think I realized why I was so intent on staying up here for the holidays until I saw the snow flurries coming down and realized what they were. It took me a minute — they were so slow to fall! Big fat flakes drifting lazily down in front of the kitchen window where I was making brunch (pancakes with yogurt, raspberry preserves, bacon, orange juice, and coffee). Maybe I thought it was ash from the chimney at first. It had been feeling especially cold all morning, but the thermometer outside said it is still about 34 or 35 degrees. But then it hit me and I knew what it was.

I moved to the big sliding glass doors near the wood stove and watched it come down for about 10 to 15 minutes. That’s all. No big snow drifts, just some light dusting in shady places where it stays cold enough not to melt right away, so nobody has to worry about me getting snowed in… yet. Hehe

But it was a thrill. And I hope I get more flurries throughout the day. The sky certainly looks like it could snow again!

Well, there’s no snow on the ground at the cabin today, although I did see snow on the mountains to the NW on my way back from town today. Also, tonight is the night the temperature is supposed to drop and another storm move in. It has been raining a bit now and then since late last night, but the temp has been in the 40s so far today, so I don’t know if it will drop enough to get snow here tonight. I’ll let you know!

Well, it was pretty depressing finding those new leaks. I probably wasn’t thinking of all the possible solutions due to the funk that put me in. Luckily my mother called last night and did some trouble-shooting with me over the phone. I realized that I could disconnect all the new plumbing and just reconnect the incoming water to the kitchen sink again, which I did last night.

That feels a bit like a failure, or a step backwards, but the truth is all the work I have done so far is still there, waiting to be reconnected when I have the rest of the copper pipes replaced. And this gives me water for the time being. It was a big relief to have running water again last night and I was even happy about being able to take a sponge bath and shave! Funny how one’s perspective on these things can change from day to day.

Well, for those of you who were doubting that this was the last leak, congrats, you were right. Hehe

I got the section I cut out replaced with PEX pipe and it seemed to work fine, but a few seconds later, I saw water dripping out of two more locations at the side of the house. I think all of the old copper pipe is rotten, cracked, broken, kaput.

This will mean taking more siding off to replace it all. Some of that will be a real bear. I will also require a ladder to get to some of it. Susan has said she will pay to have it all replaced, but so far I haven’t gotten the funds.

In any case, contrary to previous forecasts from a couple days ago, it is raining again today and I don’t want to be outside prying off siding while the weather is bad, so I will take a break today.

It is supposed to rain today, be dry tomorrow, rain again Xmas Eve, and then be dry Xmas morning. But that last storm may bring snow, especially to the passes through the mountains, but maybe as low as 2000 feet. I think I am probably at about 1500 feet here, so I probably won’t have a white Christmas, but who knows?

Anyway, it looks like it will be another week or so before I get this all fixed. After that it may take me another week to put the house back together. In the meantime, I will be taking it easy and maybe working inside a bit. Hope everyone else is doing Ok with holiday madness reaching it’s peak. At least it is quiet and peaceful here in the rain in the mountains of Oregon. Happy Holidays!

If I am very lucky, then I might have water, even hot water, tomorrow. Here’s what’s been going on.

Remember I said that there was a bad leak somewhere in back of the bathroom near the toilet? Yesterday I pried off some of the plywood under the floor at the front of the house to see if the pipes ran through there. They didn’t. It was a lot of work for nothing. Truth is I was avoiding trying to take off the siding at the front of the house, because that would be a whole lot more work. I also stacked a bunch of the wood that we split on Wednesday, but it was still raining off and on, the wood was wet, and my gloves kept getting soaked, so I had to keep coming inside to warm up.

Cold can be terribly debilitating. It is important to pay attention to how you are doing in the cold, and getting wet makes it even more dangerous. My coat and hat kept the rain from bothering me, mostly, aside from the back of my neck. But I was working hard and dressed warmly because it was in the 40′s outside, so I was sweating underneath everything, and anytime I stopped to, say, rebuild a section of my wood pile, I very quickly got cold. I think the money I spent on that wood was very well spent because that plus the new wood stove meant that I was able to come in and warm up quickly each time I felt the cold getting the better of me. I also ran out of dry gloves after a while (I have 4 pairs of varying types) and then I just gave up on it.

Today I finished piling the wood, and then I moved a whole bunch of it from the porch out to the new wood pile, because I was gonna have to dismantle part of the porch railing in order to pry off the siding at the front of the house. The railing overlapped the siding and there was no way to pry it off unless I took it apart first.

It took forever to get it apart. I had to move still more wood, this time some inside and more out to the main woodpile. Finally, after a couple hours of work, I managed to pry the siding off enough that I could peek under the little strip right by the door. No luck. No pipes in view. Then I pried up the larger piece next to that and that was when I found the pipes, and the leak.

This picture shows the pipes with the leaky section cut out. The leaky section was actually just to the left of the stud shown here. You can see how the stud is wet just below the hole through which the pipe passed through the stud. That whole section was thoroughly soaked, which was my first clue. The leak itself was not immediately obvious but by moving my flashlight around, I eventually saw it.

Here you can kind of see the split in the pipe. It is hard to see with the glare in the picture. It was actually split lengthwise in a section about 1-2 inches. I talked to Susan, the owner, last night. It seems that there had been breaks in the copper pipes before, down in the utility closet, before the place was vandalized and those pipes removed. There were two breaks down there that she had never told me about. Well, I found two more in the walls. Seems my hypothesis about water damage last year (or possibly even the prior year) was right. She thought that the house may not have been Winterized properly after the last tenants left (long before the vandals came in).

Well, obviously I cut out the damaged section. I went to the store tonight and got a couple fittings that will allow me to replace it with some of the plastic PEX pipe, but it was dark when I got back and getting cold. Instead of finishing that (the water is drained out now, with the pipes cut, so it should be safe), I went into the utility closet and put more insulation around the new pipes down there. Tomorrow I will fix the damaged section and try turning on the water again. This time the new section will be insulated. Eventually I may replace all the copper pipe, but that will be a project for another day. Right now I just have my eyes fixed firmly on a hot shower.

I watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” last night, so it put me in the mood to count my blessings (and the Christmas mood too). I didn’t get a call from Susan, the property owner, today but I did have a couple other good experiences.

George, the guy delivering the wood, showed up at about 2 p.m. today and, even though it was raining pretty hard, helped take down the dead Madrone tree by the cabin. It was leaning towards the cabin a bit, so it is a relief to have it down and the extra firewood from it is great too! He actually cut up the whole thing into logs for me and then, since he hadn’t had a chance to split the other logs he brought yet, we both stood out there in the rain with our mauls splitting wood for an hour. We got through all the wood he brought and all the wood from the tree we took down. We talked a bit. He seems like a nice guy and he offered to take me fishing sometime. He also knows some of the edible mushrooms around here so I hope to pick up some of that knowledge too.

At 5 p.m. I drove down to the mailbox to see if the DSL package had come and it had. I just installed it and everything went smoothly. I am now typing over a DSL connection and I should be able to upload tons of pictures soon (just as soon as I take some interesting ones). It is a big relief to be off dial-up.

Tomorrow I plan to open up the floor where that final (I hope) leak is and see what I can do about it. I may be able to repair it with sections of pipe that I cut out from the bathroom. Or it may require a couple small parts, but probably not a big deal. I am a bit worried that the pipes could freeze again this Winter, but I’ll insulate what I can and deal with the rest later.

Then, for the rest of the week I plan to work on unpacking and getting things organized around here. If I have water, heat, and basic electricity, I can worry about the other repairs later. I’ll probably also do a bit of job searching, but I expect I will have an easier time of it after New Years.

So, I am still without water tonight (sigh) and it is still raining (making work outside unpleasant) but I am in good spirits tonight because I have lots of firewood and a much better internet connection. Beyond that, I am deeply grateful to all the family and friends that have helped get me here. I hope the holidays aren’t driving any of you crazy. Remember to count your blessings too!